I got COVID before the holidays--what I did to manage it.
https://www.verywellhealth.com/multi-symptom-cold-and-flu-medications-770677
https://aspr.hhs.gov/COVID-19/Treatments/Pages/Possible-Treatment-Options-for-COVID19.aspx
https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-14257/benzonatate-oral/details
https://www.oakleafclinics.com/article.phtml/post_coronavirus_syndrome_long-covid_or_long_haulers
getting covid
Sun, Jan 22, 2023 8:41AM • 13:14
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
cough, robitussin, talk, antivirals, urgent care, called, feel, dizzy, sore throat, fever, thins, symptoms, doctor, sudafed, throat, test, caregivers, work, spray, geriatric nurse
SPEAKERS
Katherine Cocks
Katherine Cocks00:02
Hi, my name is Kathy. I've been a geriatric nurse for over 10 years. Many times when I would meet with family members of aged loved ones, they didn't always know what to do. I started this podcast knowledge for caregivers, to assist them with practical suggestions as they assist their own loved ones age with dignity and grace. It feels like a long time since I've recorded part of my podcast. And the reason is life is just crazy. But the biggest reason is right before the holidays, I got COVID. So I'm going to talk about my COVID experiences, some medications to have on hand, some devices to have on hand and how to get through COVID. And also how to work with your doctor. And pros and cons of some different treatment options that are out there. Just to let you know, I did get four shot and the bivalent, one in September and got COVID in December. I'm just saying, you know, I don't know, I didn't get super, super sick. But it did last for about a month for me as far as just the symptoms and trying to get over everything. So December 20. I started like a little more sore throat and nasal congestion than normal. And I normally have that. So I was like, is this COVID or not, I took a home test. So number one items to have in your house home test. It's a good idea to have them because you just never know is this a headache from COVID? Is this my normal migraine. So if you just feel different, let's protect people have some home tests do a home test. I know they're not 100% accurate, but it is better than having nothing. And so mine was negative I went to work. But I kind of stayed away from people because I was like, I still feel like this is a little different from my usual aches and pains and weariness that I have. So I decided to leave work early come home the next morning, I was definitely much more congested, more of a sore throat kind of had some body aches, did another home test and it was positive. One of those things on those home test is you need to wait that full 15 minutes, make sure you're following directions about swirling it for 15 seconds going through each nostril, you need to make sure you have enough of a specimen to actually show through. And I actually thought it was gonna be negative. And then at the end, there was just the smallest faint line, look at it under a very bright light. Those things are tricky, but it definitely was positive. Well, I had made an appointment with a walk in clinic that the hospital that I use, and I called them immediately because they're like, no, if you're positive, we really don't want you to come in, we're just going to do a virtual visit. Basically, I had a fever, sore throat, runny nose, but I was nauseated. And so the doctor and I talked I'm almost 59 whether to take the antivirals, and everybody knows about Paxlovid. But he said that there's been a bad taste in people's mouth. And I think it causes a little more nausea. So he put me on the other one, which is called Legevrio something like that. I will definitely have it in the show notes. But there are two out there. And it did not leave a bad taste in my mouth. Now my husband got COVID Two and a half weeks after me and he did the Paxlovid. And he really couldn't finish it. He said it was just he couldn't sleep. The taste was just so disgusting. That's one thing to keep in mind. Honestly, I don't know, I felt like I still had a bad flu. I don't feel like I got really sick, but I don't feel like I recovered any quicker. So I don't know about the antivirals, they say prevents hospitalization. He also gave me nausea medicine. So for that I was really grateful. One things I had already kept in my house was a blood pressure cuff. And one of those pulse oximeter is its pulse oximeter is one of those devices you put on your finger and you can check your oxygen level. It's very important because they found out early in COVID. Some people were still thinking they were normal, but their oxygen was really low. So I kind of kept an eye on that and kept an eye on my blood pressure. The one thing I wish I had was Chloraseptic spray because this new Omicron they're talking about, you know is a really sore throat and I just could not get some relief from that. I did have some robitussin cough drops. So I was glad I had that. And I had some vitamin C cough drops that I was just sucking on. I kind of recommend zind but I was already nauseated and zinc messes up my stomach. So I didn't take any zinc. I figure I eat enough foods with zinc in them. One of the things that I want to talk about is when you go to the pharmacy, you'll look at likerobutr robitussin or things like NyQuil or DayQuil. And they'll say they treat all the symptoms of the flu. I do not to buy medicines like that, over the counter for colds and flu, because I may not need all of those. Some of them also, at one time had tylenol to treat fever, then they have a cough suppressant. And then they have something called guaifenesin, which thins out your secretions. And then they have a decongestant, which dries them up. So I like to buy all those separate because it depends on what's going on. If I am just draining, then stuff and it's a faucet, I don't need something to thin that up. I need something to dry it up. And if I need just something to stop the cough, then that's all I want to take. So that's why I just took those Robitussin tests and cough drops and glad I had them with me. The other thing I had the fever, so I glad I had Tylenol with me. I don't tell people hey, you run a fever, just run and take Tylenol, you don't need to bring the fever down. fevers are good, they actually help fight the infection. What I tell people is if the fever makes you feel bad, then take the Tylenol and that's what I did. Fevers tend to make me really achy and I took the Tylenol. The one thing that I was really most surprised about with COVID was the dizziness. I did not expect to feel that dizzy. I'm literally holding on to furniture walking. I've had a lot of my older clients that they fall, they go to the hospital, and they end up having COVID. So I can really understand why somebody who's 80 years old feeling that Dizzy could have COVID And the thing is if you're taking care of someone with COVID Obviously you're gonna try to keep them from falling but you also gotta get some rest. And a lot of companies don't come in and help you out if somebody in the house has COVID It's just really hard for companies like the one I worked for to get enough of the PPE to protect the caregivers. The one thing I figured my throat was hurting because I was having so much sinus drainage. So I did take some Sudafed, Sudafed, is what they use to make methamphetamine. So the little bit that you take over the counter, of course, is not like that. They have to have large quantities, but it did make my blood pressure go way up. So I didn't take a whole lot of it. And I will tell you by Christmas Eve, my throat was still just, I mean, it was just on fire. And I went to urgent care. And he's like, don't you have Chloraseptic spray Well, I didn't have any chloroacetic spray and the stores were out of them. So he ordered this kind of lidocaine mixture that I gurgled and swallowed, and that helped. And then a nose spray called Iprotropium, that kind of dried up my secretions on my sinues without having to take those decongestants that raise your blood pressure. So if you have high blood pressure, it is very important to be careful on taking any of those cold medicines, make sure to always check with your doctor and do that before you get COVID so you can know what to take. And then I started feeling better, I kind of went back to work, I had some energy. And then I started feeling bad again, I just started coughing and coughing and coughing and I just couldn't seem to get rid of cough I was exhausted. So I was kind of thinking I didn't know if I was having a rebound effect or some bronchitis, which can happen. So I went back to urgent care because it's now New Year's Eve and they gave me a steroid shot. And those Tessla Pearls or Benzonate, which are a little stronger for a cough. And like the next day I like felt great for two days. Back to her feeling good. And then all of a sudden I started coughing again, this time, I just went to my primary care doctor, and he listened to me and like he I can't hear any air flowing through my lungs. So they gave me one of those albuterol treatment. So if you ever had asthma, it's like a nebulizer, it opens up your airways. And afterwards, I was like, wow, I could take a deep breath by chest, I guess I'd felt really tight. But I didn't feel like I was short of breath, but I guess I was. And so she gave me one of the handheld inhalers called albuterol. The problem with that is it really makes you feel buzzy and it just made me dizzy. So I really try not to take it but she just put me on some steroids that are by mouth because you know, the shot was great, but it only lasted two days. And stronger, more cough medicine that I could alternate with the Tesla pearls. And so between all of that we finally got the cough under control. I just kind of had to deal with the fatigue that was going on. And then just been taking the steroids and this week, which is like been a month since I first got COVID I went back to work. I actually felt like I've had energy and everything like that. And one of the things that when I did go see the fourth visit to the doctor, she said you know make sure that you're taking deep breaths and not just trying to breathe shallow because it was hard to take a deep breath and when we cough but we want to keep breathing deeply and keep expanding our lungs and I did do that when I had COVID You don't want to overdo it when you have COVID You want to be like going out and running a marathon or exercising too hard but you do want to move around walk around because just sitting still is what can possibly lead to pneumonia and those types of things. So I definitely moved around. I definitely watched a lot of binge television stuff. But I made it through. I've had my COVID now, so I guess it's a little less scary the next time we just dealt with symptoms, that's really all you can do with COVID is treat symptoms. Yeah, the antivirals are supposed to help you clear the virus faster. I don't really know. I don't know if it worked for me. I don't really know what it's supposed to feel like, or anything like that. So I know they say maybe not everybody should have antivirals. The strange thing is about two and a half weeks after I got COVID My husband got it. And everybody's like, that's past the incubation period. None of this stuff is an exact scanience. We're all doing the best we can. So as I said, I'm glad I had things on hand like guaifenesin which thins your secretions Robitussin and, and a pulse oximeter and Sudafed, even though I ended up not using that, and I went to the doctor when I needed to. If you have questions on these specific medications, I'm definitely going to list them in the show notes. It's good to be back behind this microphone talking to you, if you are a loved one do get COVID. This new variant, of course, is highly contagious, it evades prior infection and those who have had the shots. So just be careful depending on your risk level. As it continues to mutate, who knows, you know, we're just all taking it day by day on what is the best form of treatment. Those antivirals, they're kind of new. Everyone's trying them, just to see if it helps. No one really knows we're just treating symptoms, and the medical team is doing the best they can. But if you have concerns, keep in touch with your medical doctors or go to urgent care. Try not to go to the emergency room. Unless you're in respiratory distress, your oxygen is low or you've had a fall or you're just so dizzy. Because dizziness can also be caused by dehydration. I knew I wasn't dehydrated, I was drinking a ton of fluids. But it can be a reason that you get dizzy and you might need some IV fluids if you have trouble drinking itself. Thank you for going on this caregiving journey with me. And hopefully I'm going to be more consistent in 2023 and come up with some plans and some themes that I'll be doing over the year that I think will be very helpful to you. I hope you have enjoyed this podcast. If you have found it helpful, then share it. If you wish to contact me for consulting services you can reach me at www.kathysconsulting.com and Kathy's is spelled K athy s. Remember, all content is meant for informational purposes only, and not to replace the advice of healthcare professionals.