Having escaped COVID all this time ...

[Dingdong]

Finally got it. I'm gutted, moreso because I kept my guard up quite rigourously over the past two years and only this summer when I've been daft enough to let it down.

I think this is day five and I've got a terrible cough and just lost my sense of taste and smell. The worrying thing is that I assumed (wrongly of course) that the virus had pretty much gone off the boil, so I guessed a sore throat last Friday was just a bit of a cold coming on. I went to the pub on Saturday, God knows how many people I might have infected.

I feel really stupid now. So, keep your guard up, especially in public places and on public transport (I'm pretty sure I contracted it on the train) and do wash your hands whenever you get the chance.
I don't feel desperately bad, but the 'COVID timeline' says that days 5-10 can be the worst and when serious complications develop. Hey ho.

[pwa]

Does it matter all that much? If you are not especially vulnerable, it is just another bug that will make you feel bad for a week and then leave you with a boosted immune system. If you are up to date with the jabs you are almost certain to come out of it okay. In another week you will probably be healthy again, but with higher immunity.

I haven't had it yet, as far as I can tell, but I'm not worried about it. There are too many hazards in life to worry about all of them all the time. And Covid is now way down my list of worries.

[rjb]

We have avoided it too. We are being careful as Mrs Rjb has had 2 cancer diagnosis and ensuing treatment which is still ongoing since lockdown started. Off for our booster jabs later today. No 4 for me and no 6 for SWMBO. If you're eligible now's the time to get online and book them.
Flu jabs as well. Ours are booked for Monday.

[Jdsk]

I hope that you're better soon.

...

Everyone: As above: please keep up to date with the vaccinations and precautions.

NHS advice:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavir ... -covid-19/

Jonathan

[Carlton green]

Does it matter all that much? If you are not especially vulnerable, it is just another bug that will make you feel bad for a week and then leave you with a boosted immune system. If you are up to date with the jabs you are almost certain to come out of it okay. In another week you will probably be healthy again, but with higher immunity.

I haven't had it yet, as far as I can tell, but I'm not worried about it. There are too many hazards in life to worry about all of them all the time. And Covid is now way down my list of worries.

I’m broadly of a similar mind but on the other hand Covid is still a hazard (it’s still killing people, about 350 per week) if a very much diminished hazard (in likelihood) relative to the other health hazards of life.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51768274 - Covid 19 in the UK

Edit. On the other hand let’s not forget the debilitating effects of long Covid. Long Covid might not kill you and you might not get it but it can severely affect you and maybe put you off work for weeks or even months … challenging and particularly so for the self employed and those with caring responsibilities. I’ve certainly come across quite a few people who have had long Covid.

I can now book my vaccination booster and intend to do so. As for guarding against Covid I’m still mindful of risks and temper what I do accordingly, that’s been a little restrictive - less now than it was - but it works for me. Of course I’ve eased up on things as death rates dropped and soon I’ll be able to stop taking any precautions, it’s just a case of tapering precautions off as appropriate (which is hard to accurately judge).

I hope that the OP recovers soon; it’s tough luck catching it now but it would be worse luck catching one of the earlier and nastier variants of Covid. Well done on getting so far without getting infected.

[boblo]

Get well soon OP.

Does it matter? Well it depends...

There are all sorts of things you might prefer to avoid and Covid might be one of them. So long as you don't have to take extreme measures, it (and other infections) are probably best avoided.

We were similar. Got cocky then picked it up in the Highlands of all places. 4 days of sore throat, coughing and flu like symptoms (horrible), then 6 more days of general 'uuuggghh' to a -ve test. I then had about 10 weeks of restricted cardio capacity. I always use a Heart Rate Monitor so could easily see the impact. My wife, who got it from me, just had the 10 days.

I'd prefer to avoid it as it stopped my running for weeks on end and restricted my cycling. Not the end of the World but given the choice...

[simonineaston]

A timely reminder - I'm off for my booster later today.

[Dingdong]

Well here I am, after 7hrs of a completely sleepless night. Every time I was about to nod off the cough would kick in and keep me awake.

Finally resolved to take myself downstairs away from the wife and just watch some old movies! It feels pretty bleak though, and I absolutely hate being indoors. I had a booster in April and though I've got a cough, aches and such, I've had no fever since Saturday (first symptoms last Thursday now I think about it), so probably things could have been a lot worse. Tomorrow should be day 7, so technically my self isolated period is up. Might try and venture outside, but I'll keep away from people until at least Saturday.

Apart from not being able to sleep, or smell, the weird thing is I'm able to (partially) taste things again this morning. Sneezing and catarrh products are slowly easing off, but now I'm really concerned I might have infected an old pal (he's 65) and who only finished a course of cancer treatment in March this year. He says he's okay, so far, but apparently symptoms can remain dormant for up to 10 days.

I'll feel very guilty indeed if I've infected him. Been a week now since I've been in contact with him. Fingers crossed.

[PH]

Does it matter all that much? If you are not especially vulnerable, it is just another bug that will make you feel bad for a week and then leave you with a boosted immune system. If you are up to date with the jabs you are almost certain to come out of it okay. In another week you will probably be healthy again, but with higher immunity.

Yes it matters, I got it at Easter and still haven't 100% recovered.
Not in any life threatening way, but this is the unhealthiest I've been as an adult. When I caught it I was up to date with the jabs and fairly healthy. I wasn't even particularly ill with it, a complete contrast to the first time I had it where I was felt awful for two weeks and had completely recovered by the fourth. I don't think the long term effects are fully understood, so still far better to avoid it where possible.

[horizon]

I can now book my vaccination booster and intend to do so.

if you carefully read all the other posts in this thread, you may come to a different conclusion.

[pwa]

I'll be having my booster when it is offered. That is the best way of dealing with it, for most of us at least. Covid isn't unique in sometimes having longer lasting effects. My wife had glandular fever about twenty years ago, and she experienced persistent tiredness for a couple of years after.

[Nearholmer]

Yes it matters,

Agreed. Some people recover fully in very short order, and some don't, having varying degrees and durations of lingering afer-affects, and that particular lottery doesnt seem one you avoid entering by being fully vaccinated.

In my case, I was more or less "wiped" for a fortnight, and it took me c6 weeks to (very gently) build back up to 50 miles, and several others of varying ages that I've spoken to found it similar. I'd swear that in some subtle way it sapped my stamina for multi-day rides for a good while after that too, although I'm probably back to where I was now, six months on. Without question the worst 'bug' I've had in adult life; worse than the immediate impact of "proper flu" in 2010.

A pal of mine had a six-month lingering affect which he thought for a long while was unassociated hayfever, but eventually turned out to be a consequential chest infection.

So, Ding Dong, sincere wishes for a swift recovery, and I empathise with the not-sleeping, because that was what really did me in for a fortnight.

[mjr]

Does it matter all that much? If you are not especially vulnerable, it is just another bug that will make you feel bad for a week and then leave you with a boosted immune system. If you are up to date with the jabs you are almost certain to come out of it okay. In another week you will probably be healthy again, but with higher immunity.

With Omicron, you don't get much boosted/higher immunity, according to the research. Reinfections are now more common. Vaccinated people will probably survive, but it's still horrible and a lottery ticket that you should try not to buy.

I'm just recovering. You could dismiss it as merely "feel bad" but that feels like understating screaming joint pain and slipping into unconsciousness one afternoon. Even the lead bad bits were like a really awful head cold. I was off the bike all week and even now, testing negative and heart rate back down, I feel sort of hollowed-out and weakened. Avoid it as long as reasonably possible, I'd say!

I suspect I caught it while spending hours in an underventilated waiting area with dozens of others, including some unmasked people sneezing, due to transport disruption (so I couldn't easily leave the building without further disrupting my journey). I knew the trip was a risk and I'm just glad that infection probably happened on the journey home, so I probably haven't spread covid on tour.

[yakdiver]

So far so good

[Dingdong]

Thanks for the kind wishes. Like I said I'm really gutted to get it after so rigourously following the rules. Like a lot of people on the forum (it seems!) I'm self employed, and I really can't afford the time off work, so I'm trying hard to be spending half my sneezing/coughing day doing accounts and updating my website. Luckily I've got someone to listen to my complaints and look after me. If I was on my own, this would be so much more miserable.

I'm wary of the 5-10 day period, as the evidence points to a slight improvement, which can then be followed by more serious effects of the virus. I'm sceptical now the booster has done me any good at all, because this is an order of magnitude worse than any flu I ever had.

I monitor my pulse regularly and have done so these past 20 years, my normal rest is about 54bpm, this morning it was 124, just lying in bed. Obviously that's something that's worth monitoring. It's definitely in my chest now, and though I don't feel short of breath, I get the distinct feeling I'm breathing much more shallow and often than usual.

So hopefully I can get a bit of a sleep later, as I feel really exhausted now. It's definitely one of the worst health scares I've ever had. I don't have any underlying health problems, and to be honest I would be lying if I said it wouldn't scare the beejesus out of me if that were the case.

Hopefully I'll be rounding the corner soon, if not, there might be a vintage Bianchi for sale on the forum real soon!