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Saturday Question: Have You Had Your COVID-19 Yet?

I know that it’s Sunday already. But I didn’t want to miss the week completely, and I had absolutely no energy to do any posts yesterday, and today my creativity is still somewhere AWOL. Hence, I’m here as that songwriter who sings everything he sees.

Saturday Question on Undina's Looking Glass

Saturday Question #129:

Have You Had Your COVID-19 Yet?

If yes, how bad was it? How long did it take to get back to normal? Did you lose your sense of smell or taste? Did you wear or test perfumes while sick?

My Answer

My vSO and I came back from our trip to Germany with my vSO’s mother and COVID-19. Luckily, she seems not to be affected, and we’re trying our best to keep it this way, though it’s extremely hard to do while trying to “onboard” someone who knows nothing about how most things work in the US house, isn’t familiar with our food and doesn’t know where is what. But we manage somehow.

The first 2-3 days were the hardest, and now it’s just flu. Kind of. I can master some energy to crawl from the bedroom to the office (I just can’t stay in bed the whole day) or to the kitchen, but not for much more. I haven’t lost the sense of smell or taste, but I noticed that it is skewed somewhat. I’m not wearing anything, mostly because I’m constantly getting either hot or cold sweat, so I don’t want to introduce any irritants. But in the last couple of days, I’ve been testing new perfumes I got in the mail. I’ll have to re-test them once I get better. And Rusty has been a great moral support for both of us (though, we’re being very careful around him since we know that pets might also get infected.

Rusty

How about you?

Have You Had Your COVID-19 Yet?

54 thoughts on “Saturday Question: Have You Had Your COVID-19 Yet?”

  1. I have not had Covid and was so paranoid due to immune and lung issues that I masked, sanitized, avoided crowds, didn’t hug or shake hands and managed to get whooping cough and mumps and almost died. Broke a rib. Still sick and recovering then broke my foot and had surgery on my jaw. Then sewage backed up in my basement, and my cat started having strokes. The summer from hell. All since end of June. Sigh. I think Covid would have been easier.

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    • Oh no, that’s terrible! I’m so sorry to hear that you are going through all these awful things. We had the vacines for whooping cough and mumps last year since my son told me we couldn’t see the grandkids unless we got it. I’m definitely glad I did for sure. There are so many terrible diseases going around now because people refuse to be vaccinated for serious illnesses. There has been a case of polio in NYC in an unvaccinated man. Unbelievable!

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      • Thank you. I had both vaccines, too. Still got it. We don’t know how. The vaccines are not very effective my doctor told me. 80% the first year. 65% the second year. Decreases every year after that. I was vaccinated in 2017. I don’t go around kids. I’ve seen a few people. I work from home. Wear my mask. Not sure how this happened. I am in Ohio.

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        • I need to check on that myself. I actually had the mumps as a baby but I don’t know if that immunity lasts, either. But whenever my fabulous primary care doctor says I need a booster of something, I get it. I’m of an age when some of my mother’s friends lost children to childhood disease that vaccines now prevent. I have known polio survivors. Not taking anything for granted!

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        • Oh dear, now I’m really scared! I didn’t know the DPT vaccine was so short lived and so apparently ineffective. Yikes! I just had the DPT vaccine last year, but I’m going to have a discussion with my primary care doctor about this and I’m probably going to have another MMR vaccine for sure. I had both types of measles as a child, but, as others have said, I don’t know how long the immunity lasts and I’ve never had mumps. It seems like the world has become a lot more dangerous everywhere these days. I’m going to do some deep breathing and sniff some perfume!

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  2. Sorry that you’ve had to endure the effects of COVID-19, Undina. I wish for you a very speedy and full recovery.

    I have a friend in the fragrance industry that had her sense of smell affected by COVID-19. It has been a devastating part of her recovery. This is someone that could tell you what anyone was wearing. A great and accurate nose.

    I myself have not had COVID-19, but like Gina T. have been dealing with other health issues, like a compressed nerve in my neck that is effecting my neck, shoulder, elbow and fingers with burning and numbness. I too have not been as diligent with my own blog, for obvious reasons. Sitting, typing and just concentrating is challenging at best.

    Thank you for sharing your experience, Undina.

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  3. Oh no, feel better soon! I’m so glad you were able to rescue your VSO’s mom, and it seems you’re on the path to recovery. I haven’t had COVID, and am fully vaccinated and boosted, so I don’t really know what to expect. I’ve been wearing a mask occasionally, if I’m going into a crowded store, for example. Good for Rusty, keeping you company.

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  5. I’m so sorry you are ill. Everyone I know who has been to Europe this summer has come back with Covid 19. Ugh! I hope it won’t last too long for you. My husband and I have been lucky and have not had it, but we have not flown anywhere in the US or Europe and we wear N95 masks everywhere still. If we have to travel, we drive our own car. I have to take an immunosuppressant medication for my psoriatic arthritis so I have to be super careful. Also, I don’t want to be sick and inadvertently pass anything on to the grandchildren. Seems like the curse of the Corona will never end, doesn’t it? Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

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    • Thank you, rickyrebarco. I hope you’ll keep avoiding Covid.
      We also kept wearing masks everywhere. And it worked – until this trip. And yes, most of the friends and co-workers who went to Europe did get Covid while traveling.

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  6. I’m sorry to hear it caught up with you. Hope things get better and more settled for all of you soon. I had mine 3 months ago and was lucky it was during a relatively quiet period so could rest while sick. Hope your sense of smell recovers soon.

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  7. I had covid – New Years present. I was quite run down after my son’s 15 game season that went halfway through December; then my MIL passed away a week later. Not a lot of rest and recuperation during that time. It felt like flu, a little weirder, was sick for a few days and then very tired for at least a week. Felt better for a couple of days; then all of a sudden it all went bad and I ended up in the hospital with pulmonary blood clots. Two days of hospital/IV blood thinners; 6 months of blood thinner pills, finally off those. Not a lot of fun but I was back to my photography work in early February. No loss of taste or smell.

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    • Oh my goodness, pulmonary blood clots, that’s extremely serious! I’m so glad you are finally over it all and off the blood thinners. Your experience is a good incentive for me to keep wearing my mask everywhere. The young people I know who have had Covid just had flu symptoms for about a week and then they were fine, but those of us who are older have to be more concerned about it.

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    • That sounds scary, MMKinPA. Now I’ll be watching carefully my progrtroubles ess. I didn’t realize that complications could happen later, after one feels better.
      I hope you’re fine now. Scary!

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    • I also thought that it was a question of time. But if you do not need to go anywhere, keep shielding – hopefully, they’ll come up with better vaccines against it or some medicine to help if one gets sick.

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  10. I haven’t had Covid, at least, not as far as I know. I sometimes think I may have had it in February 2020 when there were very few cases. But I came back from a long flight that departed from busy Dubai airport and had a weird flue that took a long time to clear up. No self or other tests were available then.
    What I am still surprised by is how bad Covid strikes some people, and others, like my 88 year old dad who has impaired lung function, just have a very mild flue. He was vaccinated ofcourse, but still, even then some people get quite ill.
    Wishing all of you strength in recovering from Covid or other health/life problems.

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    • Thank you, Hamamelis. Feeling better already. Now the question is: when to do the next booster.
      I agree: it is surprising how differently it affects different people, often without any obvious reason.

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  11. I’m so sorry you’re ill-I’m so glad you have Rusty :)

    In our office we think we had Covid before 2020. in Nov of 2019 we all got sick with a wicked cold. Everyone in the small town we work in got it-noone could get out of bed, terrible coughs. I was run down and I know I was good and sick for about three weeks. In the end of Jan 2020 I got sick again-and lost my sense of smell for a long time. I couldn’t smell anything-not even gasoline. Then in March we found out Covid was in Canada.

    This year, in spite of all of us being vaccinated, the office staff got sick again-except for me. I’m pretty sure I had a cold, but my symptoms responded to over the counter meds. I live alone and we needed the office to be operational so I kept going to work. We closed it to the public, kept the drivers away from the office and limped through the week. But my coworkers were so very ill. They were too ill to work from home. One women said she could have used a month off to recover.

    I hope everyone here feels better-Gina you’ve had a rough ride, for sure, and Hamamelis you have, too. 2022 has been a pretty brutal year. The Fall Exhibition is on here-first time in a few years. I’m looking forward to seeing prize winning goats and chickens, and the kids 4H projects, and horse pulls. It’s a simple pleasure and sometimes those are the best. Think I’ll wear D’zing! in honour of the occasion.

    Feel better, everyone :)

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    • The Fall Exhibition sounds wonderful! I was a 4-H kid and I love seeing all the youngsters with their animals. I quit raising steers when I learned that my baby that I had fed and pampered for my 4-H project was going to be sent off to the stockyard to be killed and eaten. I was not a good farm girl. I cried and pitched such a fit over my 4-H steer that I was not allowed to have any more ‘personal’ animals except chickens. After that I stuck to sewing and cooking and raising plants. LOL

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      • I feel for you – that would be tough. We raised chickens and turkeys when I was young-I knew what the turkeys fate was from the beginning, so somehow that was ok. A steer, tho, – I’d struggle with that. Years ago I’d make strawberry freezer jam. My much younger brother loved it and thought I should enter it-he thought I’d win, for sure. What stopped him from entering it was this: they’d need one whole jar and he wasn’t going to part with an entire jar. Just a tablespoon or so lol. And I love chickens. We had Rhode Island Reds. Our dog used to sit by the hen house door, hoping an egg would magically roll into his mouth. He’d bury his eggs in the garden and my dad would find them when he was tilling the garden. This makes life sound very Little House on The Prairie-it wasn’t :). Parts of it was very nice and very innocent.

        I liked your 4H stories, Rickyrebarco :) And I wore Arpege to feed the chickens when I was 10 :)

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        • I love chickens, too! We had chickens when I was very young, a lovely backyard flock. They were so sweet, I would have the little pullets as pets and I would carry them into the house and my grandfather would have fits and would start yelling and then the poor chickens would get scared and poop on the floor. LOL! We didn’t have a dog, but it was a constant struggle to keep the foxes out of the henhouse. For those who have never owned chickens, yes, that is literally a thing, foxes love eggs and tasty chickens. No chickens for me now as I live in the city, but I get my eggs from a friend who has a nice free range flock on her little farm.

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    • It looks like life takes back what was put on hold 2+ years ago. I went to a store without a mask for the first time. It felt weird. I wonder for how long my immunity will last.
      I hope you’ll enjoy the Fall Exhibition (and Dzing!).

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  12. I was so happy to read that the three of you made it safely back to your home, but then to get Covid, ugh. I am glad you’ve stayed out of the hospital at least, and I know several cases where one person in a close household did not get sick and others were quite sick. I have not gotten sick from Covid. I have not had any tests to see if I may have had it, and I think I along with everyone else will get some type of it eventually. I’ve kept up with all the suggested vaccinations and boosters for my age and health profile. I think Covid somewhat motivated me to keep up general best practices in diet and exercise, for what that’s worth in prevention.

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    • We also had all the recommended vaccinations + a booster: it didn’t help. Oh, well… If we manage not to get any complications, I’ll think that we had it easy (all considered).

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  13. Fingers crossed I haven’t had C-19 yet. Nor has DH. We’ve both been very careful as we care for my 91yo mother.
    Hope it stays that was as we’re waiting to find out what cancer my DH has & what treatment he will need

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    • I’m sorry your DH (and you!) are going through serious health issues. I hope for the best possible outcome. And I agree, if anyone’s situation warrants being extra-vigilant, it’s yours. Be safe!

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  14. So sorry to hear you and your VSO are recovering from COVID. Luckily, I have not had it. I had the J&J vaccine and a booster of the same. When the omicron vaccine comes around, I’ll have to decide if I will get the mRNA version or take my chances.

    I still mask while committing and going it to grocery stores.

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    • We were wearing masks everywhere! I’m still not sure where we caught it.

      There is an updated vaccine that is supposed to work better as a booster. I think I’ll get it in a couple of months.

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  15. I had it in April 2020 and again in July 2022. Both times it lasted a week and felt like a cold/flu combo but wasn’t too severe. I’ve been much sicker from other viruses. So happy to hear you got your MIL home and hoping you have a speedy recovery!

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  16. Oh dear, am sorry you have both been struck down, and may I apologise on behalf of Europe! Very glad you got your MIL out safely and all the best with the “onboarding” and ongoing recoveries. It is a mercy it hasn’t affected your sense of smell adversely.

    I am astonished that I haven’t had Covid so far, unless I have been one of those asymptomatic people, which I suppose is possible. I have been out in the world much more than some of my friends, travelling as soon as it was legal to do so etc, but zilch. Someone suggested that because I had a very virulent strain of Asian flu in the early 90s (which he also had, and which a doctor told him was the nearest kind to Covid) I *may* have some cross-antibodies, but I don’t know if that is true.

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    • You should be very careful with your trips. It’s not fun to be sick away from home.

      I’m a little offended that Covid “got me”: we were very careful for the longest time, and usually my immune system is quite reliable. I hate that this variant got that infectious!

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  17. Hope you all feel 100% soon, dear Undina. We (me and my father) had Covid over a year ago. Mostly, we were very tired and were thankful we’d been vaccinated. My senses of taste and smell were affected for about five days. They didn’t disappear, but weren’t operating quite as they should. If I smelled a perfume, it was like I was smelling a fraction of it. Strange….

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