rona moved in: ilx0rs with the bug report on their progress

took mom to doctor's because she likely has a sinus infection (got worse and worse as the week went on, negative for flu, COVID, on several occasions). we were masked. two Geico cavepeople then walked in the door and the mom immediately starts telling the lady behind the counter that her son is really really sick, has had a 103 fever, been vomiting (basically TEXTBOOK Influenza B symptoms), and neither are masked, and dude comes into the area I'm sitting, so I somewaht dramatically got up and moved.

like....fuck, it was an expectation BEFORE COVID that you were supposed to mask at the doctor if you thought you had the flu. I remember CVS Minute Clinic having signage in the store back in 2014 that you were required to put one on if you had suspected flu symptoms before entering.

literally just avoided an exposure to Influenza A, not looking to get the much worse flu right now (I did get my flu shot). thankfully mom was inside the doctor's office the whole time.

Mom has COVID. And bronchitis and a sinus infection!

Yay.

Weirdly doc didn't give Paxlovid. He thought it might be false positive but it's not. Second test at home confirmed. She has antibiotics for the other stuff

I'm negative but we'll see if it lasts.

I may make mom get the Paxlovid tho

I'll be isolating of course. Just hoping mom feels better. She seems beat but oxygen and blood pressure fine.

mom still not doing well, but only on second full day of antibiotics for bronchitis and sinus infection. she was sick all the way back to last Tuesday with minor symptoms and wasn't testing positive then, so we think possibly she got sinus infection -> bronchitis first, then COVID.

still testing negative here. once last week, three times across two days this week. i've stayed at home and mostly kept my distance and masking in house. they didn't prescribe mom Paxlovid and I asked her if she wanted me to fill out the Walgreens form to get it yesterday and she seemed reluctant, thinking she's too far along in her infection, and also dreading the metallic aftertaste. I think we're still in the window to get it so I may persuade her again.

definitely not a false positive for her, it popped bright red immediately today for her

Good luck, man!

Damn Neando, that's a lot! Sending good vibes and hopes that it's all mild for her.

hoping so too. she had a coughing fit that freaked me out a little in the night, but then I remembered that's what bronchitis essentially does.

if antibiotics don't do anything and it doesn't improve, I might suggest an ER visit just to get looked at.

bummer is dad's birthday is Sunday and we had a dinner planned, mom, my brother, and I, to celebrate his memory - which we'll probably have to postpone now now. but as I pointed out - we can celebrate him on that day no matter where we're at, and do something more formal when we're all healthy.

She's really lucky to have you in her life Neando, that's for sure.

A lot of people underestimate how long it takes lung stuff to heal. Coughs, even regular coughs, can linger for weeks. If antibiotics don't take it out, might be worth checking for pneumonia.

I don't know why, but I've heard lots of stories (or at least, more than one) of doctors not prescribing Paxlovid even when the patient is right in the bullseye: covid, older, more at risk, etc. Granted, the medicine supposedly works best very early on in the diagnosis, and also interferes with a few medications that many older people often take (blood pressure?), but other than that, I'm not sure there are any real downsides. When I had covid in July, my primary doc didn't prescribe it, so I just immediately contacted a Teledoc right after and she prescribed it with no hesitation.

dreading the metallic aftertaste.

This I don't get. Yeah, it wasn't the best taste, but it wasn't terrible, no medicine tastes good, and it's only temporary. I can see dreading a colonoscopy or dreading getting a filling, but medicine that tastes weird for a couple of days? That's not worthy of dread, imo. You can tell your mom I said so.

Here's more fun long covid stuff

https://wapo.st/3UDglOd

Gift link

xpost yeah and it's easy enough to get at Walgreens so I might just tell her 'come on, what's one more pill'

tbf, it's a lot of pills!

oh she has like 12-15 already lol

mom improving. me, still nothing, no symptoms, no positive test.

and now i've been isolating, whereas before we knew we had basically been sharing a lot of the same air.

may get lucky.

isolating from mom that is in my own room. and a KN95

Good thoughts, that's a lot. Hope improvement continues.

the big improvement is in her cough, thankfully. suggests that the bronchitis might indeed be separate bacterial infection and that antibiotics are working.

mom has essentially beaten the bronchitis and sinus infection and just has residual gunk from the bronchitis.

still testing positive, but line has gotten fainter finally.

I continue to test negative and feel absolutely fine, and if mom is negative soon, I might completely luck out again. especially since we're basically in separate rooms and masking when in the same room.

https://scontent-hou1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/435678587_10163219403263709_6542223938633004152_n.jpg?stp=cp6_dst-jpg_p526x296&_nc_cat=105&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=5f2048&_nc_ohc=AuNwQ2OVFZcAb7E-ic6&_nc_ht=scontent-hou1-1.xx&oh=00_AfCocMRCAEi-acf4yXqKjmso_CA7Z6wfkht4QGAokz3Stg&oe=66204022

this lollipop sucks, who comes up with these flavors

Get well! How do you feel?

Not too bad, actually. A little achy, sinuses swole but not runny, feels like I have a slight fever but my thermometer says no. I caught it from my wife, who got it from her cousin last Sunday on an eclipse-watching trip. She had one very uncomfortable day but is on the upswing.

Hello Covid, my old friend
I've come to cough with you again...

A buddy tested positive this morning, so I thought I should take a test as well... Positive!

It's been a couple years since I came down with the 'Rona.. I thought I was having a little case of sniffles mixed with hay fever; nope, it's Covid

Current CDC guidelines say to isolate until you've gone 24 hours with no fever, without using fever-reducing meds (which I haven't been)... currently at 99.6* so not too bad

Sorry to hear Andy!

Last night was pretty rough, but I feel better this morning... I think it was the hot toddy