So I’m 25 days out from my first symptom of Covid, and I have been getting asked every few days what we took while we were sick.
Symptom Progression
Let me start with the back story of what our symptoms were and how we figured out we were sick.
Day 1: It started on a Friday. I just felt off and run down that day like I was fighting something.
Day 2 & 3: I thought I was having allergies. I had post nasal drip and was sneezing. I normally have allergies and the air quality had been bad, so I didn’t think much of it.
Day 4: Our family headed to Yellowstone on vacation. I continued to have post nasal drip during the day. That night I felt hot, nauseated, and had a horrible headache. At that point I thought maybe I was getting the flu.
Day 5: I bought some over the counter cold & flu meds and spent the day in Yellowstone. I was exhausted and felt miserable, but I just figured it was the normal flu and I could tough it out. By the end of the day I ached all over. I probably had a fever, but had no way to check my temperature in the cabin we were staying in.
Day 6: I woke up congested and with a bit of a headache. I had a tiny bit of a cough and post nasal drip. Still feeling pretty crummy all day, so I took it easy and spent a lot of time in the cabin resting. I wasn’t well enough to go into Yellowstone. I lost my taste and smell, and by that evening I started realizing it was probably Covid.
Day 7: I found out a family member that was staying at my house watching my pets was sick too. We decided we needed to head home from vacation early. We drove all day, and got home late that evening. Matt started sneezing and having post nasal drip this day, so we knew he was getting it.
Day 8: More of the same.
Day 9: My family member was supposed to fly home, so we tried to find an at home Covid test. They were out of stock everywhere. We were starting to feel better, but we were warned by some friends that it typically gets worse in week 2. The family member decided to stay, and we reached out to a Family Nurse Practitioner to try to get seen. It was a Saturday and Labor Day weekend. The nurse made plans to see us on Monday even though it was a holiday.
Day 10: We had been nauseated the whole time, but it was really preventing us from eating much at this point. We were weak and dehydrated.
Day 11: We were finally able to see the nurse. She got us on a ton of prescriptions. (I’ll list them in the next section.) Getting a pharmacy to fill them was a challenge (especially on a holiday). It took us two days to get them all filled.
Days 12-20: These days were all pretty similar with gradual improvement and good days and bad days. We took nausea pills to help us be able to eat, but it was still hard because food sounded gross. We had fevers and headaches off and on. We were dizzy often and sometimes had some blurry vision. We got tired very easily, and just didn’t have much stamina. We checked our oxygen levels multiple times every day. They were typically lowest when first getting up and occasionally dropped lower than ideal (low 90s), but never low enough to need to get oxygen.
Days 21-25: We finished our prescriptions on day 20, and by day 21 we definitely felt much more human. We were able to do a little bit of shopping. My family member was well enough to go home. I still can only taste and smell a little bit. I still have to rest a lot, and I have the occasional dizzy spell.
What We Took*
Supplements
We started out taking the vitamin protocol from FLCCC. This included vitamin D, vitamin C (liposomal), Quercetin, Zinc, and Melatonin. We had been taking some of these before getting sick, and we continued to take all of these throughout the duration of our sickness.
Prescriptions
We were prescribed Ivermectin (taken days 1, 5 & 9 from when the prescription was filled), Prednisone, Azithromycin, Albuterol inhaler (to be used as needed), and Zofran (for nausea).
Helpful Tips
Watch out for week 2: During the first week you feel like you have the flu while it is replicating. You might feel like you are getting better, but in week 2 the respiratory issues typically start. This is the tricky part, because often you don’t feel like you can’t breathe.
Buy an oximeter: Covid is causing what they call “happy hypoxia”. People are having their oxygen levels drop dangerously low without having any symptoms. Normally with pneumonia you feel like you can’t breathe. With Covid you can feel like you are breathing fine, when in reality you need supplemental oxygen. Most people are going to the hospital too late because they don’t know their oxygen is low. Get an oximeter and check your oxygen often if you have Covid. We got ours at Walgreen for $40.
Stay hydrated: The fever dehydrates you super fast. We needed electrolyte replacement. Dehydration can cause racing heart and passing out. Don’t ask me how I know. We ended up using Gatorade, but I’ve heard great things about Ultima which has no sugar (uses Stevia) and no artificial color. It’s powdered and can be picked up at Natural Grocers.
Start treatment early: We regret waiting so long to get medicine. Had I not been on vacation and had it not been a holiday weekend, we would have seen a doctor earlier. We are typically very natural in how we treat things, but we were happy to use pharmaceuticals for this. I would also recommend having a home Covid test on hand since they are hard to find. It would have helped us to know that we needed to start treatment earlier.
Take deep breaths: The FNP we saw taught us a breathing exercise that we found helpful. She told us to take a deep breathe in through our nose, hold, and exhale through our mouth. We did 10 sets of 10 breaths per day to support our lungs.
Helping Others
We had lots of people ask if we needed something while we were sick. To be honest, I was too exhausted and in a fog most of the time to know what to ask for. People also offered meals, but most of the time we were too nauseated to eat much. I had a friend bring us groceries, and it was so helpful. If you have a friend with Covid, dropping groceries off on their doorstep is one of the best things you can do. I also had a friend offer to pick up my prescriptions which was super sweet.
Easy Foods
While this might sound strange and might not apply to everyone, these are the things that were easiest for us to eat while we were sick:
- Ginger Ale
- Orange Juice
- Yogurt (especially Drinkable Yogurt)
- Boxed Protein Shakes (Premier can be bought in bulk at Costco)
- French Bread
- Pillsbury Biscuits (I had mine with butter and a slice of cheese for some protein)
- Albertsons Chicken Noodle soup from the deli area (my family went through a ton of this)
- Applesauce
*I am not a doctor and am not giving medical advice. I am only stating what we took and what we were prescribed by a medical professional.