I finally got COVID
It was bound to happen and it’s not fun
Last week Wednesday in the evening I started to feel sick. My throat seemed to be several sizes too small to do all the usual things like swallowing. The next morning I had scheduled a surgery to repair trigger thumb. In January 2023, I had the same procedure on my left thumb. So easy and quick. I engaged in a bit of magical thinking: I’ll just wait and see if I feel better in the morning. Maybe it’s a garden variety cold that will pass quickly.
What a night. At 3am, I hauled out an at-home test and watched both lines appear. No ambiguity there. Sometimes the at-home tests don’t show COVID early in the illness. Not so with me. My symptoms also unambiguously pointed to COVID.
Since I’m on a biologic drug — Omvoh — for the colitis, my ability to fight infections is compromised. Scary:
Omvoh may lower the ability of your immune system to fight infections and may increase your risk of infections. Your healthcare provider should check you for tuberculosis (TB) and other infections and treat them before you start Omvoh.
I wanted to get my hands on Paxlovid to give my immune system help. Even though we’re years into the pandemic, I still remember the chill of fear whenever I read accounts of patients who needed to be placed on ventilators. I really did not want to experience serious breathing difficulties. I mean, who does??
To secure Paxlovid, I needed to schedule a visit with my GP (general practitioner). Her first available appointment was in early July, too late to make the five-day from illness onset window for the drug to be effective. We called an ARC (Austin Regional Clinic) nurse to help us schedule a quick remote call with an urgent care doctor on Thursday. Next was navigating the cost: $1600. Oh wait, the drug store had not updated my insurance. The pharmacist ran the prescription through again: $25. Remember those time-remaining messages when you update your operating system? Twenty minutes, eight hours, fifteen minutes, done. Prescription drug costs are wild like that. Fortunately, my insurance was helpful in this case.
I am two days into my COVID experience, isolating at home. This is not unlike what I have essentially been doing for over a year because of the colitis. More on the perils of colitis in a future post.
My symptoms have eased somewhat. Can Paxlovid work that quickly? My throat feels better, but I am dealing with extreme fatigue, headache, and inability to focus. That last symptom may be a result of technology messing with my brain, though.
BUMMER! But you've been vaccinated and that's a good thing because since people have been vaccinated, very a few people are going into the hospital. Including a couple of folks, I know who's immune systems are quite weak right now. Hang in there, honey
Oh no, just exactly what you didn’t need. Dammit. You’re way overdue for a break in this illness saga. Between the vaccines and meds, hopefully this will be mild and short-lived.