After taking pros advice I changed the testing kit and showed absolutely positive.
At least I know I wasn’t imagining myself to have it. Thanks for all your help.
Update on my covid status: After taking pros advice... - PMRGCAuk
Update on my covid status
Written by
keeptalking
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
62 Replies
•
PMRproAmbassador
Bingo - but it is rather concerning isn't it? Needs reporting and publicising. No wonder the figures are going up - and they will be far higher in fact because all those negative ones aren't counting ...
And we don’t have to test anymore so they could be way down
When we do test and it's positive....a friend who works in a school was told after3 days she must return to work....ill or not, she is still positive!....they said that are the rules now....she is still coughing over everyone!......it's a private school....
Shakes head sadly ...
What chance do we all have....they must be thinking it's not such a dangerous strain....but it's very transferable!....selfish lot!Had to come back sooner than I would have liked from meeting friend....too fatigued...had a "mild episode!"..(excitement!) .....have rung Max's sec to see if he has my results....
Will ring GP for appointment too
Numbers are really shooting up here too - 3 in ICU, with a bit of luck compulsory masks will be back soon - still quite a few wearing them anyway.
Yes, many wearing them today...stayed well away from others.....and so it goes on.....like politics!!...😏
The laugh is we caught it whilst holidaying in Italy 😂😂.
Doesn't surprise me in the least!!!!
Awful lot of tourists here to blame too 
Two weeks ago My daughter and her family flew with Easyjet. No mask requirements. They returned to London and two days later all of them corona positive.
Did they wear masks themselves? It does help a bit. But I have no desire to be on a plane with untested and unmasked people!
I decided my conscience wouldn't let me get on a plane knowing I was positive but as travel insurance doesn't always cover for Covid (depends on each policy) I guess I can't blame people for going, I don't know yet if I'll get my money back. A relative of mine got it on holiday then went on holiday to Cornwall and loads of people in the hotel had Covid. I think this next few months are going to be peak Covid in the UK as I know so many people who have it and it spreads like wildfire. As one of the generally mild symptoms is runny nose and diarrhea many people probably think it's just hay feveror over-indulgence, I did at first
And masks aren't compulsory flying out of the UK are they? Not sure of the status here on planes but a chap was told off on the train this morning for having his nose out of the FFP2 mask! When the girls flew back last week they said the airport was one big Covid spreading event!! They'd both had it in the previous few weeks so we were less worried. Not that herd immunity is developing as far as they can tell.
I think it is spreading in airports and trains etc, but a young neighbour said she came back on a flight sitting next to somebody coughing and spluttering all the way and not wearing a mask, even though you're supposed to. She got Covid somewhere along the line and assumes it was from him, and even though only 30 tested postive for 12 days. I know the HEPA filters on planes are supposed to help but I guess not so much if someone is directly coughing over you. I know so many people who have it now or have recently had it, I think it's rife and easily spread atm, I'm advising everyone I know to avoid crowded and confined places for the next few weeks at least.
Was walking down the train a few weeks ago - woman pulled her (compulsory) mask off her face to have a coughing fit! People can be SOOOO disgusting.
Started reading the book about the AZ vaccine this morning - one of the authors said the day it was announced she walked into work to see a cleaner wearing their mask below their nose - and she ticked them off!
But the problem is I just don't know what to believe. On the one hand, intelligent knowledgeable people like doctors and scientists say masks and vaccines help. On the other hand, uneducated people who for some reason actually take pride in their ignorance, disdain of science and lack of education say all this mask and vaccine stuff is all none sence and hav there own theory's and opinion's they av found on the internet and its all a big conspiracy. There mate had Covid and its just a bad cold and he got it coz he ad the vaccine the fool he adnt research it there hiding the truth and they ant never worn a mask and they ant never had covid but there neighbour did and had the vaxine and she still got it LOL shows they dont work any how.
Such a tricky decision to know what to do for the best 😄
Yes but the experts reckon that the masks we wear don’t protect us, but others.
Which experts? Only the sceptics. Old research said they didn't and plain cloth masks probably don't but the right sort of mask does.
They do protect us, FFP2 masks reduce the amount of virus that gets to/from the nose by over 95%, more when both the shedder and the receiver are wearing one. FFP3 masks are even better. Since it is viral load that decides whether there is enough to be infected and how severe the illness is likely to be it makes sense to use every available measure to do that. No single measure - even vaccines - will be perfect, but adding them all together improves things.
Just out of interest, can you tell me if the test kit that produced the negative test result was one where you're required to do a nasal swab only, or one that requires both a nasal and throat swab?
They advised a while back to go back to swabbing both throat and nose regardless of what test
Mmm. I've somehow missed that. Who are 'they' that you mention?
I have been sent two boxes that require nasal swab only. The actual swab itself is far too short to do a throat swab also so not quite sure how that would work!
Tesco sell the nose only ones. Much easier than nhs ones as they are prepared and not fiddly so less stressful.
When reporting my positive result last night I noticed they kept stressing that they only considered NHS testing kits.
Very likely - but they don't work either!!!! My daughter is a nurse - 3 days symptoms testing negative!
I personally find the nasal swabs I'm sent (FOC) from NHS are absolutely fine to use, but as pro asks.....are they reliable? I also have some boxes of tests that require a throat & nasal swab combined, which I find uncomfortable but not difficult to use. .....but again, are these considered more reliable now! 🤔
I've been using NHS tests on and off for years as they were free, always been negative and so wondered if I'd been doing it right or whether they were accurate. Just tested positive for 18 days in a row now though, day 19 yesterday the line is very faint so hopefully on the mend. Fatigue is terrible, and random though, it'll take a while to et back to normal (whatever is 'normal' when you have PMR and vertigo too. rang the Helpline a few days ago to get some more tests but have been told you don't get them free any more, even if classed as ECV. The reporting system is a farce and pointless, I upload my results and then the NHS sends me an email telling me I've tested postive for Covid. Well I know that, I've just told you that NHS!
Jenny can’t remember her surname but who tends to be on in place of Chris Whitty
Harris -in fact Dame Jennifer Harris 😊
Harries - has her moments but ...
Beg her pardon!
Tim Spector (Zoe Covid Study) advised some time ago to continue swabbing both nose and throat.
👍Thanks.I'd still like to know how though with the testing kit for nasal swabs only. The stick on the swabs is not long enough to reach the back of the throat!
The last lots that I received from the NHS were the nose and throat very long ones.
I never know which sort I'm going to be sent when I order them and you can't choose. Hopefully will get more of those sort in future.
It was a free test from NHS taking both throat and nose. Both test kits looked exactly the same.
Thanks.👍
I'm still testing positive on Day 15, and still feeling a bit rough and fatigued. A woman I spoke to on the NHS 119 service helpline says if you're still positive you're likely still infectious - if the test is picking up the spores in your nose and mouth then you must still be spreading them. Seems logical. I'm lucky I don't have to go to work, I read in the paper the other day the NHS is not going to pay sick leave to staff who test positive for Covid - what kind of logic is that to have infected staff working with the most vulnerable? Hardly anybody is testing anymore anyway now that you have to pay for tests and don't have to report them, if fact you can't report most private non-NHS tests. Anecdotal evidence from people I know who also have or have had Covid is they probably got it through travel eg trains, planes yet as there is no legal obligation to either test or isolate you are free to travel and travel insurance therefore probably doesn't cover you. My conscience wouldn't let me get on a plane and go on holiday last week knowing I had it but it's going to be a battle to get the money back from the insurance, there's no reward for doing the right thing
And NHS staff who risked their lives last year and got Covid and then developed Long Covid are being abandoned. So much for all that sodding applause outside their front doors ...
What?? How disgusting! Do your job, stick to the rules, get Covid then get ignored by the NHS. 😬
Most insurance for travel is including covid cover. Ours was anyway.
Ah yes, I thought I was covered, but when I read the small print you are only covered if you die, are hospitalised or if it is mandatory to self isolate, and as it isn't any more you are in theory free to travel even if you have Covid. There are some exemptions like if a medical professional advises you not to travel so i got a letter from my doctor saying that and I will fight it. The only other option was to keep quiet say nowt and board the plane but I couldn't bring myself to do that. Not least the risk that being ECV I didn't know how I would be. As it happens it would have been a lousy holiday, I haven't even had the energy to walk to the local park 5 mins away
Employer's are telling staff to go into work with covid....well some are....
It'll come back to bite them - a load of people will be off sick too unwell to get to work.
The friend I said on here who's employer said she had to go in, said pay only first 3 days only.....she is coughing, not breathing right and very drained.....she's a single mum, so didn't feel she has a choice.....and it's in a school!....wonder how many more employers have jumped on that bandwagon so to speak....
You couldn’t make it up, could you??
No you couldn't, but sadly nothing's surprises anymore....
How are you feeling now ? Any side effects.
I haven’t had any side affects from the antivirals I was given. Other than the bitter taste at the back of my tongue. Extra strong mints helped. Slight diarrhoea the first couple of days. Am feeling so much better now and all in all it wasn’t worth the fear I had been given to believe about how ill I’d be if I got it.
No regrets about going away it did us both good and have lovely memories to keep holding onto.
Different matter now to a year ago though - I wouldn't want to risk the Delta variant even with vaccines.
No I definitely wasn’t prepared to risk it at that time.
I’m still feeling dreadful. Nausea, pains, especially in my back. Not to mention the awful fatigue. Lightheadedness.
I woke this morning at 8am. Struggled to get out of bed. Now I sit for ten or fifteen minutes until I feel stable on my feet.
My doctor told me, that rather than to get out of the bed to use the bathroom during the night , that I should use a diaper until the morning. Must admit it’s an excellent idea for now.
This Covid has left me feeling so afraid of falling again.
Today I sat on my armchair and was asleep for six hours nonstop.
Even when on high doses of pred I wasn’t feeling so fatigued.
As a little light relief, a good friend brought me round a 'Covid survival kit'. It certainly helped and brought a smile to my face and if I come across anyone else who gets it I'll do the same for them
image shows paracetemol and cake a friend gave me when I had Covid
That is a good friend!
Everybody says 'let me know if I can help' but she did the practical thing! I'm supposed to be doing low carbs but the pastry was wolfed down in seconds ...
Ahh..well, once in a while does little harm😉..that’s my excuse anyway and I’m sticking to it.
Not what you're looking for?
You may also like...
STATUS UPDATE
Since I have been off I have been in pain daily in shoulder, pelvis, hands and feet. Take Celebrex...
Status from my PMR (?) journey
a trip to London. So I was unable to breath and all blood samples where completely off. I stayed in...
Update on my Update on my wrist
understand it takes time. I will re update after the surgery and in the meantime hope all have a...
A Busybody’s Dilemma Updated- Covid jab reaction?
diagnosis from the medical profession.
Thank you for responses and advice. The diagnosis is...
Did Covid trigger my GCA?
An update on my tocilizumab experience.
Update on my PMR journey
