I guess this might be a useful archive one day so here’s my experience: suspected, not confirmed, as no testing where I am.
Vague demographics: middle aged female, non smoker, doesn’t drink, asthma, normal BMImoderate fitness. low air pollution at home, low to low/moderate at work.
I’ve had three serious bouts of flu in my life and this felt nothing like it. The symptoms may be the same on paper (fever etc) but this did not feel like flu to me.
It started with an odd sense of something being not quite right, then a high fever that broke after a few hours, during which time my whole body, especially the limbs, tingled. Then a day of being OK, then a constant low grade fluctuating fever (37.8-38.5) which is only just going now after two weeks. My eyes were sore, first the whole eyeball with a burning sensation then the tissues around them felt irritated and the eyelids became slightly red. Watery eyes persisted about six days. Like hay fever (which I don’t have) During this time I felt dizzy, even before the shortness of breath started, there was clearly some inner ear involvement, i felt like I was at an angle. So vertigo rather than loss of consciousness. Nasty palpitations and tachycardia, both worse on exertion .
The dry cough came on gradually a few days after the first symptoms started. It got worse, until I couldn’t finish a sentence. Completely dry cough. Walking across the room was about as much as I could do. Dizziness persisted but seemed more to do with lack of oxygen than ear involvement. Unable to check oxygen sats at home. One or two hours of intense vomiting halfway through, and I did have mild diarrhoea for a few hours before other symptoms started.
The dry cough remains, shortness of breath remains. Pain in chest and back. Lungs sound largely normal, just a tiny crackle but nothing much. I can now finish a sentence, but hollering at the kids is out.
Husband less severely affected but also had the same distinctive dry cough .
I won’t PL the ages of the kids, but the youngest has shown symptoms, and developed a nasty cough as well that required a hospital visit. Lungs also sound clear on all the kids, despite the youngest obviously struggling a bit,
Crushing fatigue, I am shattered. Affected child also v tired
I’ve taken doxycycline from day 5 and inhaled corticosteroids (the latter after I felt I’d beaten the thing off, do not quit taking any medication you already take, I am not your doctor, listen to your own.)I have no idea if either helped, I suspect I was just lucky and managed to get on top of it. Also self dosed with elderberry,, 2x 1000mg vit c a day and high dose vitamin D. no idea if any of that helped either. Child has inhaled corticosteroids and amoxicillin, perked up remarkably with the antibiotics so suspect secondary bacterial had crept in.
This is definitely not a cold. No congestion in the head, no nasal drip, no sneezing. No runny nose, snot etc. It doesn’t feel like flu. I’ve felt much ‘sicker’ with flu and colds. The only really alarming thing has been the shortness of breath, which is horrible and persistent.
I’ll be grabbing an antibody test as soon as I’m able.
