I have COVID:(

Sun, May 22: I just found out I have COVID. My sugars have been crazy high since Wed, May 18, followed by on Fri, May 20: horrible GI symptoms, headache, body aches, painful skin to the touch, cramping (but that could be my period) and sore throat and a little bit of a cough. Sat/Sun, May 21/22 add phlegm and a fever. I ended up going to the ER and was treated for dehydration and fever (IV fluids and Tylenol). I had trace ketones, but was not in DKA despite days of sugars in the 22 range for a lot of the time. I can taste and smell (thankfully). For reference, I have had: Moderna, Phizer and Moderna. Any tips are welcomed and appreciated.

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@beans_betes sounds like you are having a fantastic run of luck lately! Fortunately most Dā€™s that I know that have been vaxxed and boosted have had milder cases than those that havenā€™t. Speedy recovery.

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Itā€™s probably your first time. Welcome to the club :frowning: Get a ketone test kit; I didnā€™t have one but after I got one I discovered it was really useful for helping me not panic about persistent highs, cramps and the weird tingling sensations I sometimes get from highs. Really useful when sick.

There are lots of COVID symptoms, at least in the US we have free COVID-19 tests so we can easily work out that we donā€™t have it; itā€™s the same as the cold, flu and, for that matter any number of reactions to more potent vaccines. I just had my second shingrix vaccine and the symtoms were much worse than any of the COVID vaccines (Iā€™ve had both COVID and chickenpox, including a more recent herpes outbreak which must have been zoster, and Iā€™m on acyclovir, an antiviral for shingles!)

Just take care. A lot of people just blast through it triumphing their painful victory but it can be more difficult for us, along with other people with chronic illnesses, because of the side effects, in our case the blood sugar. May the force be with you (substitute aphorism as appropriate.)

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I have the tingling in my hands!!! It comes and goes. Okay, thanks.

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Glad you got fluids! Keep us posted on your recovery. :bouquet:

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I too am vaccinated and got COVID-19. My doctor gave me a prescription for paxlovid and it helped so much. Just had a metallic taste in my mouth, but well worth it. I hope that you are feeling better.

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Doctor told me about that med and said he only gives it out to non vaccinated patients. Honestly, that felt like a kick in the pants.

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I had a phone appointment last week with my diabetes specialist. He had Covid himself! He said that most of his type one patients who have had Covid have done well and really no worse than when they have had ā€˜flu or similar illnesses.
He said that every patient here in Perth W Australia who is admitted to hospital is given an anti-viral unless they are non- eligible for some reason. I do know that being on a statin is a total contra- indication for Paxlovid. Apparently itā€™s not just a case of a recommendation, but can actually be fatal. I stopped taking my statin a fortnight ago so that if I should get Covid and need hospitalisation I will hopefully be able to have Paxlovid.
In Oz, the eligibility criteria for the antivirals, if you are looking after yourself at home, requires you to be a certain age PLUS 2 co-morbitities. Some of these are obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and non vaccinated (grr). so I would not qualify unless I get so sick that I end up in hospital, only then can I get something that could have saved me from going to hospital. Ironic!
All the best for a swift recovery.
Does your diabetes service or clinic have a written ā€œsick days management ā€œ guidelines document you could access? This can be very useful if you are really unwell and maybe not thinking as clearly as usual, guiding how much correction to take and how frequently, depending on your usual correction ratio, and ketone level.

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This link is to a sick days management guideline by the ADEA (Australian Diabetes Educators Association)It goes through all the usual stuff that you probably already know but may help. If you scroll down to the ā€œquick guideā€ it has a table of suggested correction doses like I was describing, depending on your BG, ketones and usual Total Daily Dose.

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Ugh, Iā€™m so sorry about this. Iā€™m glad that you are out of the hospital and donā€™t have DKA. Hopefully the rest of the symptoms clear up soon. It feels as if everyone has it right now.

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Thanks! I donā€™t have anything like this, but tomorrow Iā€™ll phone my doctors for guidance (itā€™s the long weekend and everything has been closed since I developed symptoms).

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Just be sure to doctor shop whenever you need something. One says yes, the other says no.

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Interesting. Ha ha. Well, I am emailing my GP now as itā€™s not easy to get an appointment within the week, and Iā€™m hoping to at least get a note for work so I can rest and try to get better asap. Maybe sheā€™ll give me something.

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ā€œItā€™s probably your first timeā€ ā€“ does this mean youā€™ve had COVID more than once? If so, was it the same variant and same experience? Just curious so I can gauge what to expect.

Thanks :slight_smile:

Documenting my experience here, in case I get COVID again, or in case it helps anyone. Monday, May 23 I had a terrible headache upon waking, croaky voice, phlegm likely from settling in the night. Lots of blowing my nose and sinus pain. I havenā€™t had a bad cough, barely at all actually, save for when I feel like phlegm is gathering. I took 1 Tylenol Cold pill. My throat feels a lot better than it did Fri, Sat and Sun. Iā€™m still achy all over and lethargic.

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No; just once and that time was January 2020, in Taiwan (just before the new year). No testing was available there and when I got back to the US my doc was told I was not eligible to be tested because I hadnā€™t been to Wuhan. I was sick for a further two weeks after that, as was my wife. It could have been something different, but we had full flu vaccines and it was serious; a more serious illness than either of us had experienced for many years (well, since we were children.)

Since then Iā€™ve had mild cold like symptoms at least two or three times, more recently last night, but recently COVID-19 tests have been available as a result of a change in government policy in the US. When I did one this morning it was negative. (I still had the symptoms.)

Of course the first time I hadnā€™t been vaccinated, except against flu.

Vaccines donā€™t stop us catching something; they prep our immune systems so that they are on standby to fight the particular virus the vaccine is mimicking (flu vaccines mimic several). In the extreme the infection is undetectable so we seem not to have caught it.

Your symptoms sound like mine from 2020; it took several days to develop but it wasnā€™t completely debilitating for me or my wife. My wifeā€™s sister-in-law was laid out on the couch for one of the days we were there; worse than either of us, but I donā€™t know whether that was unusual for her. The symptoms are broadly similar, indeed similar to cold and flu virus infections, the seriousness varies massively.

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Wow! I had not heard of this, but it seems that 2 statins in particular on on the bad guy list: lovastatin & simvastatin. Thanks for the heads up!

source: FDA.gov

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I had Covid back in August 2021 - it was the delta variant we think. I was vaccinated at the time, not boosted. I lost my sense of smell and taste and really appreciated it when it came back. You donā€™t know what youā€™ve got till itā€™s gone.

@beans_betes I hope you recover soon. There is a ā€œchinese menuā€ of symptoms - youā€™ll get some and not others. I had chills, but not much congestion, for example.

My daughter who lives in NY has had Covid twice, once in March 2020 and once in Dec 2021. And sheā€™s fully vaccinated.

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Interesting. I have the Omicron variety. I know vaccines donā€™t prevent, but Iā€™m hoping they will lessen severity.

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Shows how ā€œChinese Whispersā€ happens though:- I thought I had read that it was all Statins. But maybe itā€™s only some of them. Mea culpa!

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