I tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies. AMA

How were you able to get an antibody test if you weren't previously tested? Where I am they wont give you either.

coach wrote:

How were you able to get an antibody test if you weren't previously tested? Where I am they wont give you either.

The antibody test is a blood test. A pin prick, If you donate blood they'll test it.

jesseriley wrote:

How do you feel about trump?

Don't like him. Don't like Biden much either but will probably vote for him.

coach wrote:

How were you able to get an antibody test if you weren't previously tested? Where I am they wont give you either.

I'm in NYC. Here, you don't require a previous positive test. We were initially instructed not to seek out getting tested while we were sick in order to save the tests for people who could actually benefit/were at risk for complications.

Antibody tests are widely available here, it seems. They're at most doctors offices and urgent cares. The problem with them is they are not FDA regulated right now and some tests are better than others. I trust my dr and asked him about the accuracy of the test; he assured me it was one of the better ones at accuracy in the high 90s (I want to say 98%) and at worst, it could give a false negative.

IgM positive? IgG positive?

TMADDOX wrote:

IgM positive? IgG positive?

I don't see anything in my results for IGM, solely for IGG.

Also, no numbers given, only that antibodies were detected.

Can you please describe your symptoms in March? Were you socially distancing the week or two prior to getting sick?

What are your PRs?

TMADDOX wrote:

IgM positive? IgG positive?

Well, he was sick in March...

wtfbbq wrote:

Got my antibody test on Tuesday afternoon with my dr. Results from lab arrived Thursday afternoon. Confirmed my suspicions: I indeed had COVID in March.

AMA

Aren't these tests wildly inaccurate and also pick up antibodies for other coronaviruses though? So you may have just had a common cold strain at some point and it's being detected an an antibody for covid-19?

RunningNoob420 wrote:

Can you please describe your symptoms in March? Were you socially distancing the week or two prior to getting sick?

The symptoms varied throughout and were slightly different from my co-workers (we're pretty sure someone brought it into the office and spread it around.)

I believe social distancing officially started on March 16 in NYC and no, I was absolutely not distancing myself before that, still going to work, going grocery shopping, etc, especially since I had no idea it was COVID until after social distancing was enacted.

On March 11, I woke up really fatigued, I remember wondering if I had overdone it on a gym workout the day before but didn't think much of it.

March 11-13: Just fatigued, light headache.

March 14: Went for an outdoor gym workout and jogged to the park. I remember thinking I was ridiculously tired for only jogging a half mile but it was uphill.

March 15: Woke up incredibly sore from my park workout (pullups/pushups), far more sore than I should have been. I remember thinking that was odd, but still met a friend for brunch (who later also tested positive for COVID so I am guessing it was from me.)

March 16-20: VERY sore muscles in chest/back; like nothing I'd ever experienced. Short, stabbing pain in left side of lungs, but mild. Just noticeable. Tightness of chest, too. Had some light night sweats, very low fever of only 99.1º. Never higher than that. Still very fatigued. This is when I realized it might be COVID instead of allergies or a cold. At one point, I stood up too fast and kind of half-'fainted' onto my bed. This was the height of it, I would say.

March 21-27: I was mostly in bed/working from home so I wasn't moving around much. I could tell my body was fighting something, as I was really fatigued, but it was as if I couldn't 'feel' where it was fighting it. I didn't really have a dry cough, per se, more like I constantly felt I had something in my throat that I had to expel.

I barely noticed anything in my lungs until March 27.

I was finally okay enough to clean my apt (which had gotten pretty dirty since I was taking it easy for most of 2 weeks.) I was in the middle of cleaning my kitchen when I realized I was really out of breath and had to sit down. That same day, I had to go downstairs to pick up a package (making sure to sanitize everything en route.) On my way up the two flights, I had to take a break at each level and catch my breath.

The best way I could put it is that I felt as if I were at altitude and not acclimated yet. I had to get groceries the next day and had to stop to catch my breath. It took about a week or so afterwards to begin to feel normal.

I'm jogging lightly again but only at around 8:30-9 minute pace (usually I'm 7/8 min for 3 mile jogs; I mostly focus on weight lifting these days.)

I would say that this was not at all the sickest I've ever been; I've had more intense bouts with bronchitis, pleurisy, and flu. But those were usually much shorter; this felt bad for 2 weeks straight, and once I realized how out of breath I was, I realized you don't really 'feel' what's going on with you. Maybe it attacks parts of your lungs that you don't notice as much? I'm not sure, but even when I had pleurisy once, I wasn't left as out of breath.

I never lost my sense of smell, never had a high fever, no debilitating dry cough, no migraines. My coworkers did have some of those symptoms.

We've been testing all employees at the hospital where I work. We've had a few that have tested IgM positive and remained positive for several weeks now.

A Hungry, Violent Mob wrote:

Aren't these tests wildly inaccurate and also pick up antibodies for other coronaviruses though? So you may have just had a common cold strain at some point and it's being detected an an antibody for covid-19?

Yes, I addressed this in an earlier post.

Serum wrote:

coach wrote:

How were you able to get an antibody test if you weren't previously tested? Where I am they wont give you either.

The antibody test is a blood test. A pin prick, If you donate blood they'll test it.

A gave double red 2 weeks ago. The blood center in New Hyde Park had a notice up that they don't do any covid testing.

I cant even get into my Drs office. All these mixed messages. Thanks for the info, I'll have to look into this further.

coach wrote:

I cant even get into my Drs office. All these mixed messages. Thanks for the info, I'll have to look into this further.

That's a bummer. What state do you live in?

I have a few friends who simply went to their local urgent care and got tested there, no appt necessary. This is New York City, however, not sure how it is elsewhere in the nation.

WTF BBQ, wtfbbq! Thank you for posting this!! I'm beginning to think I'm not crazy and that I really did have COVID19...I posted about this in another thread a while back as an "anonymous user", but now that I feel somewhat vindicated I'm actually using my registered handle.

Your symptoms describe my experience exactly. I never had a fever that I know of, but it felt like I was acclimatizing for a week. I know exactly how that feels because I had been running around in Peru at 13,000 feet a few years ago and the feeling was exactly the same. The only difference is that the mild headache didn't go away after the first day. My chest felt tight and there was a slight ache when I filled my lungs. I had heart palpitations when shifting from being sedentary to standing up, etc., and that was odd. I wasn't sure if it was stress (it was the first week of lockdown for me), or if it was something else...I'm glad I went to the urgent care. Whether or not it was the placebo effect or whatever, the azithromycin and the strong antibiotic shot seemed to have knocked it out and I felt significantly better the next day.

As far as exposure, there was a guy who sits about 30 feet away from me at work who tested positive just before we went on lockdown. The last day he was at work, I briefly said "hi" to him but that's about all that I can think of as far as direct contact. There is a community junk food bowl which I frequent often, and I've always said that if someone wanted to kill me, they would just need to put something poisonous in that bowl. That being said, there probably was not just "one person" infected at my workplace.

The thread that I previously responded to was about how some doctors believe COVID19 is causing altitude sickness-like symptoms. I should mention that at the urgent care, they tested my oxygen level twice because the first time they tested it, it was low. The second time it was apparently normal, although I do not have the numbers. Here's the thread:

I know this is all anecdotal, but I have been trying to figure out exactly what happened to me and I believe you may have given me another piece to the puzzle. If the opportunity arises for me to get the antibody test, I certainly will.

WTFBBQ and Toadlips, your experiences sound a lot like mine.

I started feeling ‘off’ on runs 3/16. Did a tempo at a manageable pace that just seemed a bit harder than it should have. Two days later started a track workout and that same pace was pretty much max effort sprints. Called it early. Did a slow “longish” run after 2 days rest as I woke up feeling a bit better and was the end of any semblance of health.

Largely slept post run through Monday am. By then I couldn’t walk from my couch to bedroom without being out of breathe, I’d need to lean against the wall in my shower to catch my breathe part way through, etc. For a few days that week I couldn’t get a full breathe, and if I took a deep breathe I’d start coughing badly. Were also a few occasions when walking in my apartment I got super light headed and my wife had to escort me to bed or couch depending on where I was trying to get. At that point we decided any worse and I’d have to go to the ER.

By the next week I was symptom free and while I can and have been slowly running 50-60 miles per week, any increase in pace or incline is nearly impossible.

What I’m experiencing with my return to running is different than what I’ve had when “being out of shape.” Just an inability to breathe and sounding like a freight train at times. I’ve only done one or two short runs my entire life at altitude so maybe that’s what I’m actually feeling but either way it really hasn’t changed much in the 4 weeks I’ve been back to running.

Have you noticed your 8:30-9 pace feel easier as time went on? I really haven’t noticed a change. Hoping it’s not any type of permanent damage or change to the lungs and it’s just that there is still some residual inflammation or something.

For those in NYC: all open CityMDs have both the diagnostic test, if you’re currently showing symptoms, or the antibody test if you had symptoms at least 2 weeks prior.

Yeah, glad my sharing could help. I thought I was crazy/overreacting so it was nice to put a name to what I was experiencing.

Yes, I have definitely noticed an improvement. Minor things (like cleaning or going up the stairs) gave me shortness of breath.

My first jog post-COVID was only a mile or so, and I'm guessing my pace was easily over 10:00. That was maybe a month ago. Improvement went a bit slowly so I made sure to take it easy . 8:30-9:00 feels pretty relaxed now. I'm guessing I'll be back to 8:00 next week.

Now I think I am back to normal (lung function-wise), but I'm just actually a little out of shape (from no activity for around a month or so.)

wtfbbq wrote:

coach wrote:

I cant even get into my Drs office. All these mixed messages. Thanks for the info, I'll have to look into this further.

That's a bummer. What state do you live in?

I have a few friends who simply went to their local urgent care and got tested there, no appt necessary. This is New York City, however, not sure how it is elsewhere in the nation.

I live in NYC, near the Queens Center mall. My Dr is only doing "my chart" and phone call appointments. I didn't realize you can go to an urgent care and that they'd test you unless you had symptoms. A friend who had symptoms and gave it to his parents who tested positive couldn't even get an antibody test as he was never tested. Like I said. Mixed messages.