
I had Covid-19, and these are the things nobody tells you - fortran77
https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2020-08-12/column-bill-plaschke-covid-19-experience
======
stuntkite
The context about the anger and powerlessness.. I haven't heard too many
people mention that.

I got the bug in March and my GP (who is amazing) told me to talk to the
health department and the health department told me to talk to my GP or go to
the ER. I was in the middle of moving out of my house when it hit. My
girlfriend was gone (she had just taken an internship) and I was alone. I was
furious about my lack of options and just the bullshit from everyone being
overloaded, the stress of work (I work from home) and still wanting to pack
boxes to finish my move. The last 4 days of fever were the worst. I remember
my last night of fever acutely. Sitting alone in my bed with a throat that
felt like a sun bleached mummy of a garden hose full of glitter,
hallucinating, and stupefied (the coronavirus brain fog is one of the most
interesting symptoms IMO). I sent my doctor's office a message on the medical
portal and said "Fuck you and fuck the fucking health department, if I die
alone today I want you to know you might have been able to help." My fever
broke a few hours later and I was largely functional by the next day.

I've seen my doc since, we are fine and haven't talked about my message. I'm
dealing with inflammation that looks like pericarditis by a lot of blood
markers but is almost invisible to anything else that would confirm it. I had
a heart attack a month ago. I'm 37 and relatively fit for a console jockey.
That feeling of powerlessness and isolation. The worry of giving it to anyone
else even if I did ask for help... On top of that the disbelief that I was
going through it and the still persistent disbelief that I get from other
people if I do talk about it. I won't forget it any time soon. Especially
because ever since it feels like I've got a dinner plate glued inside my chest
that no one can find.

Wear a mask. We are in this for a long haul. Well, I might not be.

~~~
sizzle
Wow a heart attack at 37?! How did the coronavirus contribute to it? Never
heard a link between the two. Glad you are stable now, any idea how the heck
you got it? I'm beyond paranoid of contracting it...

~~~
nradov
Many severe viral infections can increase the risk of heart attack.

[https://www.stjohnleavenworth.com/Services/Heart-and-
Vascula...](https://www.stjohnleavenworth.com/Services/Heart-and-
Vascular/Heart-and-Vascular-Flu-Impact-on-Heart.aspx)

------
jacobkg
For context, Plaschke is the senior sports writer for the Los Angeles Times. I
have been reading his columns (mainly Dodgers coverage) off and on for at
least 20 years. So my subjective experience was that this definitely felt like
someone I “knew” as opposed to a random journalist. Also this is the only time
I recall him writing about a topic other than sports

This part hit me especially hard as it describes one of my fears:

“I wore a mask everywhere. I followed all the rules, but a couple of weeks ago
I didn’t follow my instincts. I briefly let my guard down. The coronavirus
came out swinging.”

~~~
adevx
I believe he may feel it was this slip up, but I highly doubt it. Look at The
Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden or Norway where practically nobody is using
masks. If masks made that much of a difference, we would surely be able to
tell.

~~~
rumanator
> Look at The Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden or Norway where practically nobody
> is using masks.

I'm not sure you have a good grasp on what you're talking about. Sweden has
one of the highest death rates per capita in Europe,and the absolute worse in
nordic countries.

[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-
europe-53498133](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53498133)

The strategy followed by the Netherlands is to quarantine everyone who does a
covid19 test, and get anyone feeling any symptoms to get immediately tested.

[https://www.government.nl/topics/coronavirus-
covid-19/tackli...](https://www.government.nl/topics/coronavirus-
covid-19/tackling-new-coronavirus-in-the-netherlands/basic-rules-for-everyone)

More importantly, the strategy followed in the countries you've mentioned was
to intentionally let the disease spread in a way that didn't overwhelmed
health services. While the rest of Europe is intentionally trying to
completely contain the disease, the strategy followed by Sweden consists of
letting it spread freely as long as they can claim their health services
aren't overtaxed.

In my opinion that approach is idiotic because currently the best thing health
services can do to a critical covid19 case is linger around while watching the
patient die, thus what's the point of bothering about if a health service has
enough beds to fill?

~~~
adevx
As mentioned below one must look at deaths per million to get any meaningful
insight from the data per country. I probably should have left Sweden out to
prevent you from jumping on that specific case. Anyway, the measures about
quarantine you point out or only just in effect and have no bearing on the
spread and then decline, without masks as seen from February/March. Looking at
how masks are being used (reused, touched) one could argue they do more harm
than good. As was the original story from experts.

~~~
MagnumOpus
> Looking at how masks are being used (reused, touched) one could argue they
> do more harm than good

One could argue that, but one would look like a moron without any proof, and
with a lot of evidence showing the exact opposite.

Given the huge amount of evidence of transmission by cough droplets and the
lack of evidence of even a single transmission out of millions by touching
masks/surfaces, keeping droplets out of your mouth and nose is the only thing
that helps and it definitely does more good than harm.

------
justrudd
Reading this brought back memories. I caught it back in March here in WA
state. I’m not sure when I got it. But I’m pretty sure it was the week before
the lockdown (March 23rd). I was already self-isolating, but I just got
careless one day. I went grocery shopping, wore a mask, brought my groceries
home, put them away, and then ate something and scratched my nose. It was
right then that I realized I hadn’t washed my hands after I got home and put
away the groceries. About 3 or 4 days later, it kicked in.

My doctor was basically the same as the one in the article - couldn’t do
anything for me. Kept telling me my case is considered minor because I can
still breath and my temperature wasn’t spiking. I never hallucinated though.
Feel like I missed out on that :)

My fever hit 103 and stayed there for over a week. A couple of days it hit
104. I told myself if it went higher I’d figure out how to get to the
hospital. Luckily it didn’t go up. I was able to just stay home.

The chills were terrible. I was so cold and shivering so much that I couldn’t
sleep. Eventually exhaustion caught up with me and I just passed out. I have
no idea how I kept my dog fed and a minimum of accidents in the house. I
really don’t remember anything from those 2 weeks. It’s just a haze.

But the one thing I do remember is the cough. I’ve had the flu, bronchitis,
walking pneumonia, and even real, ICU pneumonia (to be fair over 2 decades ago
so I don’t recall how bad it was), and the COVID cough was so much worse. I
would curl up in the fetal position because I had coughed so much that I
couldn’t straighten up. I walked hunched over because my abs hurt so bad.
There were several times I’d start crying because I felt a coughing fit about
to start. I don’t know if cough medicine helped at all, but I was drinking it
every time I was lucid enough to remember to. I ran out one day and started
panicking. I got really lucky and found a couple of bottles at a local
Bartells. But I couldn’t go get it. I have great neighbors though. And one of
them went and picked it up for me. They put themselves at risk to help me.
They dropped it off at the end of my driveway and didn’t come within 40 feet
of my front door. I waited till they were back in the house before I went and
picked it up.

So yeah. It’s a “fever and a cough”. I really hope that none of you ever have
to experience that “fever and a cough”

Edit: Some bio facts about me. I was 43 when I caught it. At the time I was
training with power lifting, CrossFit, and a lot of rucking. If I really
pushed myself, I could hit a 7 minute mile (not competitively fast, but fast
for me). I would call myself healthy at the time I contracted it. No
underlying health conditions (beyond bad eyesight and partial deafness).

~~~
wyclif
I'm pretty sure I caught it 2 weeks before Christmas 2019. I don't get sick
often, I'm healthy with no underlying conditions, and when I've caught the flu
in the past I've always bounced back fast.

Not this time. In addition to the other awful symptoms you mention, I agree
that the worst thing is the cough. It would seemingly just not go away.
Painful, congestive coughing fits for 2 weeks. I basically couldn't do
anything during that time except stay in bed and tough it out. Fortunately,
I'd already been WFH for a few years and didn't feel well enough to leave the
house during that time, so I was self-isolating without realising what was
going on.

~~~
Trasmatta
Where do you live, and have you had an antibody test? I've heard so many
people who've said they had it back in December, but I'm really doubtful. All
the ones I've known who've had an antibody test have come back negative.

I had a flu back in October that matched the COVID symptoms almost exactly,
but obviously wasn't it. It was still probably the most sick I've ever been,
though.

I think there's going to be very few people in most countries who actually had
it pre February / March.

~~~
wyclif
I'm in the Philippines. I haven't had an antibody test, and I haven't been
sick since then.

To clarify, I have no real evidence that I had COVID-19. It could have just
been a bad case of the flu.

------
fulafel
Guesstimating the infection cause to a maskless moment ("Nobody is required to
wear masks at the tables, so I removed my mask when I sat") sounds iffy, the
protection afforded by masks is very light? (Unless he was always using N95
masks)

~~~
speedgoose
Yes, the masks are used mainly to reduce your spreading to others. Not so much
to protect yourself.

~~~
robocat
Although many masks have a one-way valve or vent which allows exhaled air to
bypass the filter and infect others.

~~~
danans
N95 masks in particular.

~~~
dehrmann
But someone who regularly wears an N95 mask with a valve might be less likely
to contract the virus (because N95), so discouraging use of N95 masks with
valves could make the situation worse.

~~~
danans
N95s are good for protecting the wearer, not so good for protecting others
from the wearer. In areas with high infection rates (a lot of the US), the
likelihood that someone wearing a mask is infected goes up, thereby making
N95s more problematic. Many stores around where I live are requiring N95
wearers to cover up the valves while inside. N95s are better than no mask at
all of course, but that's a low bar for comparison.

------
iagooar
I am not a person who underestimates Covid-19 and take all the precautions
that are required.

But to be honest, I had a flu with similar symptoms 2 years ago and I pretty
much thought I was dying. I am generally healthy, in my early 30s. Terrible,
terrible muscle pain, fever, cough, general nausea all the time. I basically
could not operate normally for 2 weeks, after those 2 weeks I was maybe
functioning at 50% of my normal energy. Actually, many of my co-workers would
get that flu too and my boss, a real workaholic that would work no matter
what, even he had to take few days off because he couldn't even think
straight.

So yes, Covid-19 sounds kind of like that bad flu. It is bad, but 2 years ago
we would just call it "a bad flu". So I wonder if a lot of the fear of Covid
is based more on propaganda and social panic than on actual health risks. The
only explanation I see why politicians are so eager to overreact is because
most of them are of certain age and belong to the high risk group.

Edit: I understand that most of the concerns about the virus might come from
the fast spread and impact on hospitals. Thanks for the comments who clarified
this.

~~~
Jean-Philipe
These two statements don't really go well together, do they?

> I am not a person who underestimates Covid-19 and take all the precautions
> that are required.

> So I wonder if a lot of the fear of Covid is based more on propaganda and
> social panic than on actual health risks.

You can inform yourself here about the differences to a normal flu:
[https://www.cdc.gov/flu/symptoms/flu-vs-
covid19.htm](https://www.cdc.gov/flu/symptoms/flu-vs-covid19.htm)

I don't like how people point out anecdotal evidence in this thread as if it
meant something.

~~~
refurb
Your CDC link is not that different than the OP's statement _" So yes,
Covid-19 sounds kind of like that bad flu. It is bad, but 2 years ago we would
just call it "a bad flu"."_

From your link:

\- People at risk: Both COVID-19 and flu illness can result in severe illness
and complications. 1) The risk of complications for healthy children is higher
for flu compared to COVID-19. 2) However, infants and children with underlying
medical conditions are at increased risk for both flu and COVID-19.

\- Complications: 1) Both COVID-19 and flu can result in complications,
including... 2) Additional complications associated with COVID-19 can include:
Blood clots in the veins and arteries of the lungs, heart, legs or brain.
Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

Is Covid worse? Yes, but there are a lot of similarities between the two and
for healthy young children, the flu is a bigger risk, but for children with
underlying medical condition, Covid is a bigger risk.

------
torusenthusiast
This is utterly terrifying, I barely go out but to know someone following all
the precautions could still get it freaks me out so much. Every allergy attack
I've gotten throughout the summer has plunged me into fear I've got it, or
every slight cough.

Honestly I was starting to think the dread of the virus was worse than the
virus itself, but the more articles like this I see the more I realize it
isn't.

Has anyone here had it? Especially as a younger person I read the advice
saying things like "the risk is low" but I'm terrified of having to face this.

~~~
coldtea
> _This is utterly terrifying, I barely go out but to know someone following
> all the precautions could still get it freaks me out so much._

In the end, almost everyone is gonna get it anyway for it to stop spreading,
precautions or not. Lockdown/masks/etc are more about flattening the curve
(spreading the infections) than about people not getting it ever.

And a vaccine could be perpetually "one year in the future" \- for many
coronaviruses we still don't have one after decades, so all those
announcements that we're "18 months from one" are mostly media BS and labs
competing for funding.

~~~
abiogenesis
> And a vaccine could be perpetually "one year in the future" \- for many
> coronaviruses we still don't have one after decades, so all those
> announcements that we're "18 months from one" are mostly media BS and labs
> competing for funding.

This is not entirely true. There was no economic incentive for the previous
ones but this one is different. We are able to successfully develop vaccines
for Coronavirus related diseases in animals. The main problem is upper
respiratory tract is a hard area for the immune system to protect.

------
brokenmachine
I feel so sorry for the sensible Americans who are trapped in America with all
these idiots who want to argue about masks and downplay a disease that has
already killed 175k of their compatriots in only 5 months.

Think about everything that came about because of 911 and that killed less
than 3k.

Hopefully I'm just seeing an overrepresentation of the dumb ones in comments
and in the media, and it's not so prevalent.

~~~
koheripbal
Social media gives idiots an outsized voice due to their abundance of free
time. This is exacerbating in the summer, and also in a pandemic. It's further
exacerbated by political opportunists trying to influence the upcoming
election.

We really need to construct better social media platforms. Ones that reward
nuance, constructive discourse, experience, etc...

------
dehrmann
I try to avoid anecdotal accounts because they give a pretty limited picture
of the range of experiences.

~~~
akg_67
You can go to /r/covid19positive and read experiences of 100s of People. If
all of their experiences Combined are still anecdotal to you, may be consider
170,000 people have died and 5 million people are infected in US alone.

~~~
Trasmatta
5 million confirmed cases, not current, most of which are recovered by this
point. Likely a much larger number total, though. I don't think we have the
data about the severity of each of those cases to really know much.

It's deadly in some situations (enough to make this a very serious disease),
serious in others, and mild in many more. As for the exact numbers, who knows?

There's absolutely a selection bias in places like that subreddit though, as
the people most likely to be there are those with serious cases.

~~~
Wasser
5 Million cases for a something we are trying to get rid of. Something which
has now killed 3times more people than the flu.

Something which should have 'gone away' in summer.

Isn't the issue not what numbers we currently have (which is bad) but numbers
which we would have if we would NOT do what we do?

We could have had New York, Italy or Spain globally everywhere...

------
tluyben2
It seems he was inside in that diner; as far as I read the latest, that is a
risk factor, so it might not be his friends (only) that gave him a critical
dose. If you have to do something, do it outside, preferably with a good
breeze and keep distance. Diners are almost impossible to social distance when
you sit inside and most places are hard to ventilate. Also wearing a mask
protect others, not yourself (he seems to say he thinks the latter).

~~~
rabidrat
> patio tables

------
autokad
it all started with my knees feeling suddenly sore for no reason. A few hours
later I started to cough and develop a fever and my whole body hurt. By the
next day I was in agony and my head was so hot it felt like it was going to
pop like a zit. I lost my sense of smell / taste, which added to the
difficulties of eating because I couldn't sit up or stop coughing. After 2
weeks I was down 40 lbs and had pneumonia in both lungs. Recovery started
after about a month and a half and was difficult. Walking more than 20 feet
was hard, but eventually I made a full recovery.

This was in 2012, and was not Covid-19. There will people who get it easy and
get it hard. That happens with all diseases, and covid-19 is no different. I'm
not saying it's not dangerous, especially if you are older, but acting like
its some sage advice to watch out because this one person got it bad, when we
do know that the majority of people dont. especially if young. I think this
doom and gloom does more harm than good and prevents us from taking steps to
handle the virus appropriately.

~~~
jjeaff
I assume it was the flu then?

And what percentage of people that get the flu, get it that bad? What
percentage of covid patients are getting it that bad?

And how much more contagious is covid than the flu.

~~~
koheripbal
That's not a great assumption. Coronaviruses and other non-lethal viruses make
people sick often, and because they aren't deadly, are not well researched and
almost never diagnosed.

------
mixmastamyk
Lucky to have a mild case in mid-March. Would really suck to have to worry
about it for six+ months.

I’m older but in decent shape. Had the blahs and burning sandy then stiff
lungs for a week. Definitely been sicker though. Basically shook it off.

Been taking vitamin D3 for a few years. That week I took 5-10k D3 a day, 1k%
vitamin C + zinc, etc think airborne or Emergen C +. Believe it was what gave
me the edge. By coincidence I take a baby aspirin as a blood thinner; it can
help avoid blood clots.

During the worst I’d say I lost 50% of my lung capacity. About 2% of the
irritated lungs persists, goes up to 5% if I drink too much or don’t take my
vitamins. I don’t notice anymore unless I pay attention.

------
mehrdadn
What I'd like to know is: did his friends have any symptoms? Or were they
asymptomatic?

~~~
dehrmann
I skimmed it, but he didn't mention that any of his friends even had it. He
just said "my guess is that I caught it there."

~~~
mehrdadn
Yeah, that's why I said this is what I'd want to know. It's hard to tell if
that's how he got it otherwise.

------
xkbarkar
Dont read this thread. The discussion here is at reddit level. Not the usual
HN quality.

~~~
koheripbal
HN is becoming the victim of its popularity.

------
dr_dshiv
Where can I find csv data on the hospitalization rate and CFR in the USA,
broken down by basic demographics? Age, gender, etc.

~~~
dr_dshiv
Nothing, does it exist?

------
orobinson
One thing that does seem to be rarely mentioned is the weird rashes Covid can
cause. My son and I both had a strange rash on our knees and feet that I’ve
never experienced before. It looked exactly like the erythemato-papular or
erythemato-vesicular rash described here [1]. For me this was the only symptom
that differentiated Covid from a bad cold.

[1] [https://covid.joinzoe.com/post/covid-
skinrash](https://covid.joinzoe.com/post/covid-skinrash)

------
haspoken
[http://archive.is/d3GZA](http://archive.is/d3GZA)

------
starpilot
My friend is in his 50s and had it (tested positive along with his girlfriend
who he lives with). He said he felt crappy for about a week, then got better.
Moderately athletic and mildly overweight, but not obese. No lasting effects
on his health.

~~~
CaptainZapp
> No lasting effects on his health.

How exactly would he know that? From all the information going around the
virus might do some nasty things to your body, which manifest themselves years
later.

~~~
just-juan-post
> From all the information going around the virus might do some nasty things
> to your body, which manifest themselves years later.

?????

> years later

?????

~~~
CaptainZapp
Here's something to chew on:

[https://differentdive.com/covid-19-and-
diving/](https://differentdive.com/covid-19-and-diving/)

And here's a quote from the link you may consider before making snide
comments:

"While covid-19 can almost be asymptomatic it can also lead to serious damage
to the lungs and heart. Two organs that must be in perfect working condition
for our diving activity. We will have to be very careful before resuming the
activity."

Have a nice day.

------
brokenmachine
Anybody got a non-paywalled link?

------
chromedev
What does this have to do with tech?

~~~
pts_
It concerns biotech.

------
tus88
99% of medical symptoms are just mental illness. Any doc will say the same.

~~~
brokenmachine
Maybe you should talk to a doctor.

~~~
tus88
I have, that's how I know. The 99% might be excessive but not by much.

~~~
brokenmachine
You could also talk to a second doctor.

------
jimmaswell
> The novel coronavirus is not a statistic. It’s not an agenda. It’s not a
> debate.

Sorry you had a fever but it is in fact still all of those things, and your
appeal to emotion doesn't make it not so.

~~~
zzo38computer
No, the novel coronavirus is a virus, and a disease, and is not a
statistic/agenda/debate. But, there can (and should, and is) be many
statistics, agendas, debates, about a corona virus, hopefully.

~~~
jimmaswell
That's what the construct means, that there are those things around it. It's
semantics but the point is the author is implying there should be no debate
because their anecdote should mean it's obvious we have to react the way the
author agrees with. It's a cheap tactic to shut down opposing arguments -
"This isn't a debate, this is a real issue and you can't argue with statistics
blah blah fall in line with my viewpoint or you're a wrongthinker with an
agenda .."

------
troughway
Upvote this one some more, we are sorely lacking on the ‘Rona (as the article
puts it) horror stories.

Can’t let the plebs have a day without frightening them at least once.

~~~
dang
Can you please stop posting unsubstantive and/or flamebait comments to HN?
You've been doing it a lot and we ban such accounts, for what ought to be
obvious reasons:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html](https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html).
We've also had to ask you multiple times already. That's not sporting.

