[Newpunter]

To the doctors who have been tirelessly answering questions on this thread, I have an additional question about the vaccine.

I have got an appointment to get Covishield tomorrow. But my last few health checks showed higher levels of Hemoglobin and RBC (5.98 - Total RBC, 47.1 - Red Cell distribution ). Am I at a higher risk of getting clots because of this? Should i opt for another vaccine instead of Covishield. I was hoping we would get access to the Pfizer vaccine, but our government doesn't consider that a priority.

[Satish Pari]

Our Covid Experience

I would like to share the covid experience our entire family of 6 underwent. The entire episoide started some 3 weeks ago when my teenage daughter developed throat pain and had fever for about a day. Since her temperature had gone to 102, my wife gave her a crocin tablet and the next day she was fine. One the 14th of May, my wife started developing flu-like symptoms and no one at home suspected it to be Covid. She had fever for close to three days and by Monday, her fever had subsided and she started to feel better.

On Sunday night 16th May, I started feeling unusually cold and the next day I developed severe flu symptoms and I got myself isolated. I also had a temperature of around 102 and was taking a crocin 650 every 6 hours. Even after taking crocin, my temperature never went below 99. It was tough - severe body pain, unable to eat anything and I just had liquid food.

On Tuesday 18th May, all of us decided to get the RT-PCR test just to rule out a Covid infection. The result came and me. my wife, daughter and son tested positive. Now the issue was that my senior citizen parents (73 & 66) had tested negative. Both of them had take their second shot in the last week of April. The on the same day of the test, my Mom and son developed similar symptoms and fell sick. Dad was the only one who did not show any symptoms. Mom had symptoms for 3 days and my son who is 11, recovered was fine from the second day - 20th May.

The test results for us came on Thursday 20th May and immediately Chennai Corporation people gave us a call and asked us to isolate for 14 days. Then the local sanitary inspector came home and asked how us how we would like to proceed. He told us that since we have mild symptoms, we could go for consultation at a nearby government centre. We agreed and they arranged a special cab (Covid special ambulance) to ferry us to the centre. The centre was located at the Institute of Basic Medical Sciences at Tharamani. After going there, they tested our pressure and oxygen levels and we were directed inside. There was two doctors who asked us about the symptoms and recommended a blood test for the the four of us. In addition me and my wife were asked to take an x-ray. The blood test and x-ray results came within a few minutes and it was an all-clear for us. They prescribed antibiotics and multi-vitamin tablets for three days. Once I came home, I had lost my sense of smell and also taste. The same had occurred for my wife and kids. After about a week from the infection, we started to feel better. Today actually marks the completion of two weeks for us.

On Friday 21st May, my father developed flu-like symptoms. We had a video consultation with a doctor from Apollo Chennai. She prescribed certain medicines and asked my father to take a RT-PCR test. So the test was repeated for both my parents and the results came out positive. So the same process was repeated for my parents, a trip to the government centre at IBMS and medication for three days. I would like to really appreciate the steps taken by the state government in this regard. And Chennai corporation are following up on a daily basis just to make sure we all are well. Me my wife also had taken the first shot of Covishield (May 3rd & May 10th) respectively.

Today is close to 22 days since the infection started at home. Now all of us are feeling much better and slowly getting back to normal. Initially on Day 8 and 9 of the infection, I had severe fatigue and slept for close to 3-4 hours in the daytime(I very rarely sleep during the day). Now food tastes much better and we are slowly regaining our sense of smell and taste. My observations are that the fever does not go below 99 despite taking crocin. Severe body pain and fatigue for the first 1 week. The things begin to change.

I would like to personally thank all the frontline staff out there who are putting in all effort in this fight against Covid. And to end on a lighter note, our trip to the government medical centre was in a Mahindra Xylo taxi and the highlight was that it had a siren - our first trip in a vehicle with a siren and the siren was used throughout the way.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by Satish Pari

I would like to personally thank all the frontline staff out there who are putting in all effort in this fight against Covid. And to end on a lighter note, our trip to the government medical centre was in a Mahindra Xylo taxi and the highlight was that it had a siren - our first trip in a vehicle with a siren and the siren was used throughout the way.

Thank you for your family story. I'm glad that none of you were serious and are recovering well. A good description of the actions taken by the corporation. Seems to me that they are doing a good job. I'm impressed that they have people calling door-to-door!

(I'm not impressed with how little those people get paid for doing a tough dangerous job and putting up with responses from those who are not pleased to see them --- but that is another story)

I don't think that paracetamol can simply return a person's temperature to normal. I have a doubt that that would be good anyway: fever is part of your body's defence system. Personally, I use it according to symptoms rather than the number on the thermometer. What do docs think?

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I don't think that paracetamol can simply return a person's temperature to normal. I have a doubt that that would be good anyway: fever is part of your body's defence system. Personally, I use it according to symptoms rather than the number on the thermometer. What do docs think?

Mostly it does, sometimes it doesn't.

Not a Doc. But my son (21) took Covishield jab on 29th morning. By late afternoon felt heaviness in the injection arm and back pain. By 9 pm had mild fever. I didn't use a thermometer, the back of my palm is good enough! Gave him a Dolo tablet, but his fever continued throughout the night after abating a bit in the beginning. By early morning he had headache and severe pain in the arm as well, in addition to moderate fever, felt very uncomfortable, so one more tablet was given around 5.15 am.

There was some relief, but after a short while same conditions prevailed, one more dose was repeated at noon. Still there was no change, he continued to feel miserable, and one more dose was repeated at 6 pm. Finally by 7 pm he started to sweat and gradually the temperature returned to normal. The headache lessened and continued till the next afternoon, but tablets were discontinued.

In contrast my wife had a sharp fever after the first jab, and took one tablet at bed time. The fever abated but came back the next morning , and she took one more tablet after lunch, and by evening she was fine.

After my first jab I had only pain at the injection arm and felt sleepless at night, and by next morning I was fine. I didn't take any tablets.

[Ragavsr]

Originally Posted by Ragavsr

Looks like my entire family is on the verge of testing positive.

Quoting my old post to tell our experience with corona. Mom and grand dad got discharged after 6 days of treatment on May 7 while myself, my sister and dad tested negative on RTPCR but blood tests showed high levels of D dimer and CRP. After consultation with a pulmonologist colleague of mine, we started taking steroids. Thankfully , everyone recovered well and everyone was back to work by May 16. God bless.

Funnily, the sense of smell is still subdued. A few days back , me and my dad were spraying natural pest repellants ( neem oil and other oils ) in our terrace garden and the neighbor was annoyed by the smell. We were not able to sense anything even after taking it close to our nostrils

[Satish Pari]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Thank you for your family story. I'm glad that none of you were serious and are recovering well. A good description of the actions taken by the corporation. Seems to me that they are doing a good job. I'm impressed that they have people calling door-to-door!

(I'm not impressed with how little those people get paid for doing a tough dangerous job and putting up with responses from those who are not pleased to see them --- but that is another story)

I don't think that paracetamol can simply return a person's temperature to normal. I have a doubt that that would be good anyway: fever is part of your body's defence system. Personally, I use it according to symptoms rather than the number on the thermometer. What do docs think?

Yes the Corporation is doing a good job. Every two days, a nurse comes home and checks our temperature and oxygen levels. She also asks us how we are feeling and so on. There is also a young chap who is a volunteer and he comes on a regular basis and gives us special bin bags for usage. The garbage collector also is fully dressed in a PPE kit and comes once in three days to collect our garbage. So overall I am pretty impressed with the action being taken by the state government.

[samaspire]

Originally Posted by NiInJa

It has been almost a month now since I had fever due to covid

1. Heart beat rate rises above 100 bpm for no reason:
Loss of focus, on your work for example, and mind starts wandering around.

2. Fatigue:

3. Sleepiness: I never used to sleep early

6. Anxiety:

I had Covid last month and was in home isolation for 16 days. I got out on 21st May.

I had each of these symptoms but they were mostly during the first 10 days. Heart rate rose whenever I had fever. Loss of focus lasted for a few more days but was not connected to the fever. Fatigue lasted for about 25 days and it's almost gone now. Anxiety was there for about 20 days.

Still sleepy though. I used to sleep for about 6 hours a day before Covid, now it's atleast 12 hours including 3 hours in the afternoon. I see it as clearing backlogs.

Point being, it looks like you are still having Covid symptoms. Maybe this is what is being called as Long Covid.

[warrioraks]

Originally Posted by NiInJa

1. Heart beat rate rises above 100 bpm for no reason even when resting, sometimes crossing 120 for few minutes and goes back to 90s. That causes trembling of hand and feet (not noticeable if you keep yourself engaged and distracted), but one thing it does is: Loss of focus, on your work for example, and mind starts wandering around. This usually lasted for about 2-3 hours initially, but now lasts for about 1-1.5 hours. I have started to live with it, so don't think much as thinking compounded the issue.

Question to doctors for a similar problem - I have noticed a key difference in my heart rate pre and post Covid. As an example - during my jogs before I got the virus, my average heart rate used to be around 140 and peak was around 170. Now after recovering from Covid, the same jogging session takes my average heart rate to 160 with a peak of 180. The only other thing except Covid that has changed is the weather. Nowadays the weather is 5 to 6 degrees warmer as compared to my pre-Covid jogs. Can Covid be the reason for this increase in heart rate patterns? Just to add, my overall daily resting heart rate calculated by Fitbit has remained in the same range.

All these things are taking a toll on my office deliverables unfortunately, and some times I wonder if as an employee am I supposed to give my 100% at all times. Will be interesting to know how some leaders here are managing work/deadlines with employees going through such stress.

I know a lot of companies (including mine) which have been very supportive for employees contracting the virus. If you have spoken up about your condition with your team/boss and there is very less support from them, then it’s clear signs that you need to find a new company as soon as you can. The only suggestion I can give you here is - put in leaves till the time you have recovered. You are not helping anyone (yourself or your office) by working the way you highlighted.

[Gansan]

A query for the doctors. The husband of a former colleague of mine, aged mid-late 30's, was hospitalized in ICU with ventilator support where he remained for nearly three weeks. He was then shifted to a room for a week, still on O2 support, before being discharged on 1st May. I enquired about him today and she said he is still on Oxygen support at home, the doctors said he will need it for another two weeks and she had arranged a O2 concentrator at home.

Can someone remain on Oxygen support for so long due to Covid? He has been on it for a month now. I have not heard of any such cases before.

[aswin93]

To all the doctors and frontline folks in this thread, A huge thanks, this thread was a boon while I was down with Covid.

I have a question regarding vaccination though, I had mild symptoms and was fully recovered by April 19th this year. Now my office is organizing a vaccination drive till June 15th, so is it advisable to get vaccinated? considering it is only been around 50 days post-recovery.

Thanks!

[saisree]

Originally Posted by aswin93

To all the doctors and frontline folks in this thread, A huge thanks, this thread was a boon while I was down with Covid.

I have a question regarding vaccination though, I had mild symptoms and was fully recovered by April 19th this year. Now my office is organizing a vaccination drive till June 15th, so is it advisable to get vaccinated? considering it is only been around 50 days post-recovery.

Thanks!

You have to wait 6 months for getting vaccinated. Look into the attachment found at a PHC in this post (Covid-19 Vaccine | Registration & Experiences)

[akhil994]

Originally Posted by Gansan

A query for the doctors. The husband of a former colleague of mine, aged mid-late 30's, was hospitalized in ICU with ventilator support where he remained for nearly three weeks. He was then shifted to a room for a week, still on O2 support, before being discharged on 1st May. I enquired about him today and she said he is still on Oxygen support at home, the doctors said he will need it for another two weeks and she had arranged a O2 concentrator at home.

Can someone remain on Oxygen support for so long due to Covid? He has been on it for a month now. I have not heard of any such cases before.

A relative of mine, early 30's spent 3 weeks at Medanta, majority of which was on ventilator support. He's had to continue using oxygen concentrator at home, with him barely even to maintain breathing without it for 2 hours a day post discharge initially. He had to take it really slow, with a physiotherapist visiting him daily for daily breathing/lung exercise sessions.

[drrajasaravanan]

Originally Posted by hondafanboy

The question is - If a person is taking antiviral medicines ( for skin rashes) prescribed by a dermatologist, can that person get a Covid shot ? Or is it best to finish the antiviral medicine course and then go for it?

Hi,
Antiviral are not the mainstay of treatment of COVID and I don't think your medication is going to interfere with vaccination. But the lack of details do not permit me to recommend for or against vaccination. Talk to your dermatologist and proceed.

Originally Posted by Newpunter

I have got an appointment to get Covishield tomorrow. But my last few health checks showed higher levels of Hemoglobin and RBC (5.98 - Total RBC, 47.1 - Red Cell distribution ). Am I at a higher risk of getting clots because of this? Should i opt for another vaccine instead of Covishield. I was hoping we would get access to the Pfizer vaccine, but our government doesn't consider that a priority.

Hi,
RBC count alone in majority of cases does not determine to risk of clot post vaccination. If you are below 40Y without risk factors watch out for unusual new symptoms or worsening of symptom post vaccination. Clot formation is rare and should not deter you from getting vaccinated.

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I don't think that paracetamol can simply return a person's temperature to normal. I have a doubt that that would be good anyway: fever is part of your body's defence system. Personally, I use it according to symptoms rather than the number on the thermometer. What do docs think?

Hi,
Paracetamol works in appropriate doses and frequency. Fever is a sign and not just a defence system. If it's protection and a defence system we would be inducing fever to treat. This was tried in bygone eras and did more harm than good. Temperature of 100 and above May not benefit and needs to be curtailed. Temperature measurement is important and self medicating without monitoring is better avoided.
Having said that recent trials are underway in relaxing the guideline of temp control in critically ill patients and we are waiting for outcome studies to form guidelines for care.

Originally Posted by Ragavsr

myself, my sister and dad tested negative on RTPCR but blood tests showed high levels of D dimer and CRP. After consultation with a pulmonologist colleague of mine, we started taking steroids.

Hi,
I have to point it out, it's wrong to start steroids in asymptomatic patients based only on CRP and for raised D dimer the steroids are not the choice.
I am surprised you have been suggested it and I am Sure you and your father would have recovered without it also.

Originally Posted by warrioraks

Question to doctors for a similar problem - I have noticed a key difference in my heart rate pre and post Covid.

Hi,
After your recovery there is a phase where your body heals all the damage due to the virus and it can last between 2 weeks to 2 months in most and can extend to several months in some who had critical illness. The key is to gradually step up your activity without over exerting your body.

Originally Posted by Gansan

Can someone remain on Oxygen support for so long due to Covid? He has been on it for a month now. I have not heard of any such cases before.

Hi,
There are a small subset of patients who suffer critical illness secondary to covid with extensive lung damage and will need oxygen for variable duration. This is individualized and forms a small proportion. In most cases with regular chest physio and care they will come of such support. It Will take a few weeks to few months depending on each patient.

Originally Posted by aswin93

I had mild symptoms and was fully recovered by April 19th this year. Now my office is organizing a vaccination drive till June 15th, so is it advisable to get vaccinated? considering it is only been around 50 days post-recovery.
Thanks!

Hi
It's too early and better to defer for 3months unless your risk of 're exposure is high.

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by drrajasaravanan

Hi,
Hi,
There are a small subset of patients who suffer critical illness secondary to covid with extensive lung damage and will need oxygen for variable duration. This is individualized and forms a small proportion. In most cases with regular chest physio and care they will come of such support. It Will take a few weeks to few months depending on each patient.

Thank you. What kind of power does a portable Oxygenator consume? She doesn't have inverter at home. If it can run on inverter I will advise her to install one, else tell her to hire a small portable genset for the duration. I googled after taking the model name from her (Philips Respironics), it seems to consume as much power as a mixer/blender but I am not sure. The equipment has to run 24 hours as of now and she has to check saturation every hour. He is eating normal food, there is no mask, just a small tube passing under the nose, according to her.

[stallmaster]

My family just recovered from covid.

Mom(58)-Took single jab of Covishield
Dad(65)-Took single jab of Covishield
Me(29)-No jab whatsoever.

This was my second infection after a gap of 1.5 months. First infection was kind of severe as O2 went down to 89, but my anxiety levels were in check since I was staying at a serviced facility with 24*7 medical attention and my parents were safe.

This time, meaning 5th of May dad tested positive first. He had very slight fever on 2nd May and lost smell-taste thereafter. Weird thing is, he never went out of home after April 17th and only went to the terrace for walks. But I guess this typical community transmission, when you don't know from where you get infected and the virus is airborne from infected droplets.

Subsequently I lost taste-smell and had a headache on 5th. Tested, positive. Mom had a slight fever on 10th, lost smell. Tested, positive.

But thankfully we had mild symptoms. No fever, breathlessness. But the anxiety was extreme because 3 of us tested positive at the same time when the death count was touching new heights everyday. Doctor prescribed medicines and asked us to check O2 levels every hour, especially of my dad, who's HIGHLY comorbid.

And the days went by. Hours were loooooooong, every moment was tense. The isolation period of 17 days were over eventually.

Now here comes the main issue: Post-covid, my health is in ruins. Since it was my reinfection, doctor said that it was definitely from a different strain, and although the antibodies generated from the previous infection ensured that the symptoms remained mild, the fight between the virus and the antibodies have caused inflammation inside and it will take 2-3 months to heal and get back to pre-covid physical activity levels.

I can't break a flight of stairs without gasping for breath(O2 is fine though), always fatigued, body aches all over, post-covid skin rashes, etc. Generally bedridden other than loo breaks and shower.