Covid strikes!

Update in hopes that my experience might help others who are dealing with, will deal with, or have already dealt with Covid.  Monday 6th, Labor Day, I noticed unusual fatigue.  Tuesday 7th I knew something was up but thought it a cold but could work from my home office.  Wednesday 8th I knew it was likely Covid but still felt just fine to work. Thursday 9th I awoke at 4am nauseous and obviously showing a lot of Covid signs.  I did not feel up to work and scheduled a Covid test which obviously was positive.  Prescribed ivermectin, antibiotic, steroids and felt good towards afternoon.  Friday 10th was back at work but noted a much diminished sense of smell and a wonky pattern of taste.  Saturday 11, may we all remember, my sense of smell and taste is totally gone.  Can’t smell Stirlings Texas on Fire and all and toothpaste is not minty.  I certainly have decreased lung function as climbing stairs seems like elk hunting but resting oxygen saturation is mid 90s and my lungs feel clear and don’t crackle in the stethoscope (yeah, I own one and listen to stuff with it).  I never had a raging sore throat, just a tickle, but I seldom get sore throats.  Sinuses are stuffy like a cold.  Mild productive cough.  Some sneezing.  A bit of occasional nausea that I think I can trace to medicine taking time so I assume it’s not from Covid.  I sleep well.  Have food with meds. Stay hydrated.  I notice muscles wanting to cramp sometimes and not related to dehydration.  All in all feel very fortunate to have had my bout several months from the initial illnesses with times attending knowledge.  Also grateful for a decades-long relationship with my doc who I’m sure was more comfortable visiting about a treatment plan.  My experience thus far has been easily tolerated except the isolation absolutely blows.  I suppose another week of this and I’ll get to assess if I get to hug my bride.  That my friends would be better than Christmas.  Love to hear your experences and timelines and when smell and taste might return.  I’d love to smell Doms Sir Henrys Black Velvet EdP!
Ps
Couple of points I failed to mention. Headache was an intense indication of “something different” in the beginning. No headaches now. And I really feel that vaccination was key to my mild infection.

Lipripper, I get my info from a DR who gets his info from the following site:

https://covid19criticalcare.com/

There are other sources as well, far too many to track back down. I get the information and move on to more. FWIW, you might find the Israeli data on the site above. I just don't know.

But back to ivermectin, India was is the toilet with covid not long ago. I don't know about the entire country but at least 2 states got it under control with ivermectin. One just takes a dose for a human and not for a 2000# bull.

edit: for anyone wanting a very accurate at home covid test CVS and WalMart have the Abbott labs BinaxNOW test. I don't know if they are inthe stores. I got mine from WalMart mail order online. They were approx' $20 each. The instructions need to be followed precisely so if one can't do that don't bother buying the test. It will indicate if you have it, not if you had it in the past.

Sunday 12 made a big mistake and lounged around in bed all day.  Thought taking it easy was the wise course of action but that was too easy.  Didn’t  sleep well at all Sunday night and in fact it seems Monday 13 proved me right.  Awoke with itchy eyes and an aching lower back.  Took until noon to work the kinks out.  Attended a video conference for work and folks asked if I’d spent the weekend smoking jazz cabbage.  Eyes are clearing.  Back is better.  Voice not so husky.  Persistent occasional cough that has nothing to move now.  Amazingly I regained just a bit of scent and quite a bit of taste today.  Taste is super sensitive to salt right now which I find odd.  Minty toothpaste however is not minty in either taste or scent.  No fever. Still easily fatigued.  But perhaps the worst issue is those damnable Glade plug ins my wife loves.  When she discovered I couldn’t smell she plugged them all back in.  I had to explain to her it wasn’t the scent that was the issue but the irritating vapor.  My eyes burning may have exactly zero to do with covid.

In your corner and hoping you get well soon.

Tomorrow is 10 days since symptoms and I believe CDC guidelines are 10 days from symptom start and 24 hrs with no medication controlled fever and ill be good to rejoin society.  My wife however is just getting over a bout of pneumonia though so I imagine caution will be my course of action and perhaps a few days more in the basement before I join her.  Interesting observations:  the malady hasn’t been fun but the worst part of the program is the isolation.  I miss time with my bride.  We talk on the phone but it’s just not the same at all.  I miss touch.  I miss the sound of her sleeping.  I even miss the noise of her damnable “Naked and Afraid” tv show habit.  I miss making her breakfast and unloading the dishwasher and folding socks.  I’m grateful for N95 masks, nitrile gloves, soap and water, and quaternary ammonia and I’m glad I had the foresight to trundle on down to one of the guest rooms for a convalescence when I got off the road before any symptoms.  The situation could have been dire, but man, as much as I like alone time, alone time with no purpose other than “waiting” blows.  I’ve caught up on some reading.  I rebuilt a string trimmer carburetor.  I rehung an axe head.  But time with loved ones is better than projects.
     The missing sense of smell and taste is tougher than I’d imagined it also.  It was novel to begin with but that has long worn off and I long for the scent of Darkfall soap, or any soap for that matter.  I’d love to slap on some Terre d’Hermes and really enjoy it.  Shoot, I’d like to taste toothpaste for heavens sake. You boys can marine.   read about nose training to regain sense  of smell so I pulled some bottles of essential oil out to sniff and my heart leapt with hope of a rapid return of scent.  I can make out weak  tangerine, a bit of grapefruit, cedar is weak but recognizable.  Lavender is a weak scent but wonky and not lavender at all.  Peppermint smells like water.  Taste as we all know is reliant on scent but I note my tongue is working better today although everything tastes too salty (and I’m not adding any salt to anything).  
     All in all, could be much worse and tonight I go to bed pleased with progress and hopeful.  Feeling good enough to recognize what I miss is a good sign.

I had a virus in early 2019 which caused loss of smell (anosmia), which is the root cause of loss of taste.  Too demonstrate this, pinch your nose closed while you are eating, and you will lose some taste sensation.  I spent 3 months of smelling essential oils everyday with no results, and I was only able to taste sweet, salty, bitter and savory.  I began to panic about whether this was permanent.  I could not smell my vast collection of soaps, aftershaves or fragrances.  As a foody/cook, with wine, shaving and fragrances as a hobby, a loss of smell and taste is VVB (very, very, bad).  My ENT did tests and concluded that the cause was a respiratory virus (pre-covid), and there was no guarantee of any return of smell and taste.  There is no cure for anosmia and little research is being done to find any treatments or a cure.  Believe me, when you cannot taste anything, you do not consume food as much since there is zero pleasure from eating.  Anosmia is very depressing for people who love food.  After 6 months of smelling jasmine essential oil many times every day, my smell began to return.  After 12 months it was approximately 80% of pre-virus.  I can now taste most things.  Everyone with anosmia has a different physiological experience, and no two are the same.  For me, the scent and taste of coffee and coke as changed completely.  Also, peppermint is totally different to me.  Surprisingly, peppermint is typically the first smell that many people completely regain.  I will most likely never regain 100%, but I am thrilled to have the magnitude of recovery I was blessed to get.
It usually takes many months for a recovery from anosmia, so do not lose hope.  I recommend smelling a variety of strong essential oils each day.  For me, jasmine was prime.  I used rose, orange, clove and lime oils as well.  Also, I used my favorite shaving fragrances such as Aventus (clones) as a measure of recovery.  In the kitchen, I used coffee beans, onions and garlic to measure any scent recovery.
I hope you continue with a successful recovery from the virus, and that you will have a total recovery of your smell and taste.  It does take time, so do not lose hope.

I had a virus in early 2019 which caused loss of smell (anosmia), which is the root cause of loss of taste.  Too demonstrate this, pinch your nose closed while you are eating, and you will lose some taste sensation.  I spent 3 months of spelling essential oils everyday with no results, and I was only able to taste sweet, salty, bitter and savory.  I began to panic about whether this was permanent.  I could not smell my vast collection of soaps, aftershaves or fragrances.  As a foody/cook, with wine, shaving and fragrances as a hobby, a loss of smell and taste is VVB (very, very, bad).  My ENT did tests and concluded that the cause was a respiratory virus (pre-covid), and there was no guarantee of any return of smell and taste.  There is no cure for anosmia and little research is being done to find any treatments or a cure.  Believe me, when you cannot taste anything, you do not consume food as much since there is zero pleasure from eating.  Anosmia is very depressing for people who love food.  After 6 months of smelling jasmine essential oil many times every day, my smell began to return.  After 12 months it was approximately 80% of pre-virus.  I can now taste most things.  Everyone with anosmia has a different physiological experience, and no two are the same.  For me, the scent and taste of coffee and coke as changed completely.  Also, peppermint is totally different to me.  Surprisingly, peppermint is typically the first smell that many people completely regain.  I will most likely never regain 100%, but I am thrilled to have the magnitude of recovery I was blessed to get.
It usually takes many months for a recovery from anosmia, so do not lose hope.  I recommend smelling a variety of strong essential oils each day.  For me, jasmine was prime.  I used rose, orange, clove and lime oils as well.  Also, I used my favorite shaving fragrances such as Aventus (clones) as a measure of recovery.  In the kitchen, I used coffee beans, onions and garlic to measure any scent recovery.
I hope you continue with a successful recovery from the virus, and that you will have a total recovery of your smell and taste.  It does take time, so do not lose hope.

Fascinating report.  Thanks for the words of wisdom and experience.  I will hold hope for a recovery to once again smell this good, grand world.

I had a virus in early 2019 which caused loss of smell (anosmia), which is the root cause of loss of taste.  Too demonstrate this, pinch your nose closed while you are eating, and you will lose some taste sensation.  I spent 3 months of spelling essential oils everyday with no results, and I was only able to taste sweet, salty, bitter and savory.  I began to panic about whether this was permanent.  I could not smell my vast collection of soaps, aftershaves or fragrances.  As a foody/cook, with wine, shaving and fragrances as a hobby, a loss of smell and taste is VVB (very, very, bad).  My ENT did tests and concluded that the cause was a respiratory virus (pre-covid), and there was no guarantee of any return of smell and taste.  There is no cure for anosmia and little research is being done to find any treatments or a cure.  Believe me, when you cannot taste anything, you do not consume food as much since there is zero pleasure from eating.  Anosmia is very depressing for people who love food.  After 6 months of smelling jasmine essential oil many times every day, my smell began to return.  After 12 months it was approximately 80% of pre-virus.  I can now taste most things.  Everyone with anosmia has a different physiological experience, and no two are the same.  For me, the scent and taste of coffee and coke as changed completely.  Also, peppermint is totally different to me.  Surprisingly, peppermint is typically the first smell that many people completely regain.  I will most likely never regain 100%, but I am thrilled to have the magnitude of recovery I was blessed to get.
It usually takes many months for a recovery from anosmia, so do not lose hope.  I recommend smelling a variety of strong essential oils each day.  For me, jasmine was prime.  I used rose, orange, clove and lime oils as well.  Also, I used my favorite shaving fragrances such as Aventus (clones) as a measure of recovery.  In the kitchen, I used coffee beans, onions and garlic to measure any scent recovery.
I hope you continue with a successful recovery from the virus, and that you will have a total recovery of your smell and taste.  It does take time, so do not lose hope.

Fascinating report.  Thanks for the words of wisdom and experience.  I will hold hope for a recovery to once again smell this good, grand world.

Lipripper660, this was an experience I had, as well, though I figured it out myself.  Originally I put down the loss of smell to my age as I was nearing 70.  However, it was too drastic and it lasted too long.  I thought it was permanent and, at times got discouraged.  However, just as Captainjonny stated, after a long time, my sense of smell began to return and today it is fine.  The upside is I can once again smell my shaving soaps and eau de toilettes.  The downside?  Well, I can smell when I go to the toilet, too.  Trust me, the downside was just fine with me.  Hang in there and concentrate on getting back to your wife. (I hope she's just about over the pneumonia.  I had it once and never want to go through it again.)  Concentrate on the day to day things you can get back to.  I think a lot of us here wish you the best so keep us posted on your progress.

11 Days post Covid and although I don’t want to do it again, I’ve sure been more ill than the illness caused me.  Still plagued by a debilitating fatigue which I understand is common.  Some days it is less noticeable but today was really heavy.  That said,  I only felt ill enough for one day away from work. thank goodness for remote offices!  Insomnia is still an issue and exercise would likely help that but you know….fatigue.   Sure don’t feel much like a sleep aid is in order however.  A little scent has shown its head but very little.  Enough to offer hope for recapture of olfactory ability.  That’ll be nice.  Appetite is ok.  Mental clarity is still just a bit fuzzed but in no way debilitating.  Glad I’m not on the debate squad however.  I’m also thinking to rejoin the Queen tomorrow.  That’ll help with normalcy. Planning a day trip through Yellowstone on Saturday with her anyway and that’s always a good time.  It’s been an interesting ride but I’m glad it’s about over.  Feeling very fortunate actually.  Lots of others I know struggled a lot more.  Besides, the lack of scent is letting me trip soaps and creams I haven’t touched in ages.

11 Days post Covid and although I don’t want to do it again, I’ve sure been more ill than the illness caused me.  Still plagued by a debilitating fatigue which I understand is common.  Some days it is less noticeable but today was really heavy.  That said,  I only felt ill enough for one day away from work. thank goodness for remote offices!  Insomnia is still an issue and exercise would likely help that but you know….fatigue.   Sure don’t feel much like a sleep aid is in order however.  A little scent has shown its head but very little.  Enough to offer hope for recapture of olfactory ability.  That’ll be nice.  Appetite is ok.  Mental clarity is still just a bit fuzzed but in no way debilitating.  Glad I’m not on the debate squad however.  I’m also thinking to rejoin the Queen tomorrow.  That’ll help with normalcy. Planning a day trip through Yellowstone on Saturday with her anyway and that’s always a good time.  It’s been an interesting ride but I’m glad it’s about over.  Feeling very fortunate actually.  Lots of others I know struggled a lot more.  Besides, the lack of scent is letting me trip soaps and creams I haven’t touched in ages.

So glad the recovery is going well! and a day trip to Yellowstone! Very cool to be so close to that Park. Enjoy!