Today marks three weeks since I first began showing signs of what I thought was a very bad sinus infection. I normally experience these infections in the spring and early summer so it wasn’t unusual. I had gotten a little worse by Saturday and ended up not going to mass. By Sunday evening, I knew I needed a steroid shot and since it’s impossible to get a last-minute appointment with my primary, I knew that Urgent Care was probably the option I would have to take. That didn’t please me. I don’t like change and I really like my doctor. She knows my medical history and is familiar with my medical drama.
Nevertheless, I let my husband drag me to Urgent Care Monday morning where I tested Covid positive. Imagine my delight. The tech said if by six minutes there was no result then the test was probably negative. About ten minutes had passed and I got a text that my results were available. I love having the Ochsner app because I am not good at waiting for test results! Not only do they put positive in bold letters but they also put it in red and highlight it in yellow just to make sure you see and understand that you are one of “those” now. The minute the doctor walked in, she knew I knew and said as much. I guess the phone in my hand and the look on my face said it all.
I actually liked the doctor. She was very nice and I wouldn’t have a problem seeing her again should I find myself at Urgent Care. After discussing the current option of having an infusion, sending the orders to the hospital, and handing me the paperwork on supplements and other meds I needed to begin, we were off on our adventure.
Hubby deposited me at home and it was lights out for me. I was exhausted. He ended up going to two pharmacies to locate everything on the list. To give you a heads up on the list, it is not personalized and by Tuesday evening, an episode of I Love Lucy was in full swing. The list, in the event you would like to begin the supplements to perhaps ward off the virus, has Vitamin B1 or B complex, C, D (I recommend one with K to help in absorption), and Zinc. The other items were a harsh antibiotic and steroid that completely messed my stomach up. Also on the list were Mucinex and cough syrup.
Thank goodness I was already on some of the supplements because it looked like a meal sitting in front of me at medicine time! Like a good patient, I took everything. I began having horrible coughing spells to the point I couldn’t breathe. I was literally gasping for breath. This continued through the night. I took my meds again the next morning and the coughing started again and I experienced the same symptoms. It was so bad I was scared. The coughing mellowed out by evening and I took my meds again. Within a couple of hours, I was once again experiencing coughing spasms. To make things worse, I had also been experiencing face pain from the supraorbital nerve and severe eye pain, and headache pain. I was miserable.
Hubby was way past worried by this point. I can only imagine how all of my coughing and gasping sounded. I was picturing an elephant barreling through a jungle with a scuba mask. He had been on the phone with a pharmacist friend and a friend that is a PA. They were in the process of getting a nebulizer and albuterol, inhalers with meds, and cough syrup with codeine. Phone calls were going back and forth at a frantic pace trying to get in touch with doctors for prescriptions. Through my haze, by the grace of God, I realized that the Mucinex was trying to make me do something I wasn’t able to do. I didn’t have chest congestion which is what Mucinex addresses. I had sinus congestion so instead of the Mucinex helping me, it was making me sick. I was on the verge of calling an intervention with the guys so I could get them to listen!
It took until Wednesday mid-day for the effects of the Mucinex to fade and I began to feel much better. I at least felt I had a chance at living for the foreseeable future. Hubby still wanted to pick up the inhalers with the meds and the cough syrup. It made him feel better so I agreed knowing I’d never touch the stuff. I was talking with a friend yesterday and she said if the virus doesn’t kill you, the cure might. I told her no, that for me it was, if the virus doesn’t kill you, your friends and husband just might! I can laugh about it now.
In the middle of all that, on Tuesday morning I had to go to the hospital for the infusion. I had not taken my morning meds so I managed to sit through an IV for an hour and a half without coughing.
Most people report feeling better about 24 hours after taking the infusion. Had I not been having a Lucy episode I might have noticed an improvement. I couldn’t say I had one until the Mucinex was out of my system. I also think because I didn’t have chest congestion, stomach aches, or a list of the other ailments, I didn’t notice a huge difference in how I felt. I had and still have more of what I would call a sinus infection. I am so very thankful. My biggest problem by far is the burning in my face from the nerve and having fluid on my ears. I only have a cough in the early morning and then it goes away. I only ran fever once and that was when I went to Urgent Care. My Pulseox has been normal. I am tired so I just go with the flow. I do things and when I tire, I sit and rest.
Another concern will be my labs. My red and white cell counts have not yet reached a good place since I was sick in November of 2019 and my platelet count is on the rise again. I am hoping that this virus has not messed with my progress.
My biggest takeaway from all of this is you must be your own advocate. That is always my advice. The paperwork that they give you is generic. It is not personalized to the symptoms you might be experiencing and they may not discuss the paperwork with you. I suggest you read through all of the paperwork and then be aware of YOUR symptoms. You may need the Mucinex to break up the chest congestion and help you get rid of it. I did not. Ask questions! This applies to any illness.
A few things I can laugh about now –
Hubby was fixing me cups of hot steaming water to breathe. After a while you become sensitized and even water can smell so I decided to put peppermint oil in the water. The first time I added 3-4 drops. Oh my! That cleared up past, present, and future congestion! My life flashing before my eyes! Take my word on this – 1 drop is ENOUGH! It smells pleasant and helps you breathe.
When I had to cough, I would go to the bathroom and close the door. Hubby would get so worried every time I began to cough that I began hiding from him! A grown woman hiding in the bathroom! To cough! It never failed. I’d open the door and he’d be standing there waiting to see if I was okay. Scared the daylights out of me every single time!
If he heard me coughing while I was napping he would be standing at attention like Gomer Pyle waiting to see if I was okay.
My husband’s anxiety was so bad I finally convinced him to take a tiny little piece of one of his anxiety pills. He told me to watch to see if I noticed any changes in him. If I weren’t such a good person, I could have had so much fun! The piece of pill was so small I doubt his body knew it was there! lol
Conversation- “What are you doing?” Me: “Putting water to boil.” “I can do that. Why didn’t you ask?” “I did. Three times. You said after I do this…and this…” “Oh. I must not have heard you.” Ok, Ricky Ricardo.
Has anyone had Covid? What symptoms did you have?