I had COVID-19, and it sucked. Hard. Even after getting 3 jabs of the vaccine, I still caught it somehow, and the symptoms were pretty bad. I know everyone responds to the coronavirus differently but my experience of COVID-19 was not pleasant, to say the least.
Luckily, I didn’t have to go to hospital but these were the symptoms I had:
High fever - 38.9°C was probably the highest temperature I had
Super sore throat - It was so bad that I couldn’t speak properly; I had to whisper. Even drinking water made my throat hurt a lot.
Muscle aches - My body was aching everywhere, even small movements felt excruciating.
Chills
Coughing up green phlegm
Loss of appetite - I lost 1 kg because of this (but I gained it back afterwards, hah).
The combination of all these symptoms made me feel like poop. I started having symptoms on Sunday, 27th March. I slept through the whole day and night on Sunday and the following Monday. I pretty much hibernated - I only got up to eat my meals and use the bathroom. Because of my sore throat and loss of appetite, I could only eat soft foods (e.g. wonton soup) and in small quantities.
Day 7
Day 12 (today)
It felt like having an incredibly terrible flu. For 3-4 days, I felt very awful but after that, I was pretty much fine. In the UK, you’re no longer legally required to self-isolate if you have COVID-19 anymore.
The only problem was that I needed to get 2 consecutive negative lateral flow tests (LFTs) taken on separate days before I could attend my clinical placement (I’m currently a third year medical student). I believe most people who had COVID-19 tested negative on day 5 and day 6 (counting the day they first tested positive as day 0). However, my LFTs kept coming up as positive until yesterday and today (day 11 and 12). The ‘positive line’ was so faint (as seen in the ‘day 7’ picture above) but it’s still considered positive. After 2 weeks, I can finally go back to attend my placement on Monday.
Even though I had an unpleasant experience, I’m grateful I got the vaccines beforehand. I can’t imagine how I’d feel if I wasn’t vaccinated. I’d probably end up being admitted to a hospital.
Stay safe and healthy, everyone.
With love,
Nana