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Topic starter
2020-12-27 12:05 am
Hello everyone. I'd like to thank everyone who has emailed concerning my current medical catastrophe. Rather than reply to each email individually I though I'd just post a thread here and try to answer everyone's question in one shot.
A Little Background:
About a month ago I started experiencing some serious lower back pain. I didn't think too much about it at the time because I've been having lower back pain pretty much all summer. The difference is that the severity of the pain started becoming far worse then normal. None the less, I still felt that this was something that would pass. Perhaps sitting at the computer too much was the reason for the back pain.
But then the pain started to migrate up my back until I was starting to have some serious pain in my shoulders and lower neck. It also started wrapping around my sides. The best way to explain the pain is to say that if feels basically like muscle cramps with occasional stabs of extreme pain. At this point I was suspecting that something quite abnormal was afoot.
Up to this point I had not felt sick in any other way. But then on December 11 I came down with a fever. I measured the fever at 101, 103, 104, 106 and finally 109 F. Now to be honest, I wasn't writing these temps down, I wish I would have written them down now. The reason being that I'm not sure which temps might have been actual readings, or while might have been delusional dreams. 😆 All I remember is that after I read the 109, I just rolled over and fell asleep. Whether that was a real reading or a dream I'll never know. Strangely the next day my temperature returned to my normal 97.7 F. I read that very consistently when taking my temperature. I should also note that other than feeling like I had a fever, I never felt any symptoms of being sick. Just feverish.
I remember the date well because Dec 11, was my mother's birthday.
In any case, being the rugged hermit I am I didn't bother calling the doctor at that time. I'm one of those people who live by the wise old saying, "All things will pass". So I was kind of just waiting for this to pass.
Unfortunately it didn't pass. And by Dec 17 I have having sever lung and chest pain. No trouble breathing, no coughing, no respiratory symptoms other than my lungs hurt like hell and it was painful to take a really deep breath. So at this point I broke down and called my doctor. I had a virtual doctor's visit over Zoom (or something like that). Upon hearing of my symptoms he suggested that I get a covid test. So I was able to drive over under my own power and get the covid test on Dec 21. They said that I should see results in 3 to 7 days. That was the beginning of this week as I type this. I still haven't yet gotten the results back. So it's possible I don't actually have covid. But if I don't have covid, then exactly what do I have??? I'll supposedly find out for sure on Mon Dec, 28.
In any case, during this week the pain in all the places I've mentioned only continued to get worse all week long. The past couple days it would be justified to say that the pain reached a level best described as "crippling". In fact, today, Sat, Dec, 26, the pain was so great I was finding it next to impossible to even get out of bed. I managed to do it, but only by experiencing extreme pain. Once I was in the standing position things were a bit more tolerable.
In any case, I got on the phone with my doctor this morning via their emergency hotline and told him that if he doesn't call in some serious pain meds for me I'll send my robot out to hunt him down. 😎 He called in a prescription for pain meds immediately. 😊
I had my cousin pick up the meds for me because there's no way I could have done it. I just took a pill about an hour ago and while it's not complete relief, it's certainly much better than the crippling level it was at before taking the meds. So thank God for pain killers!
So anyway, that's where I'm currently at. My sister is desperately trying to help me from 600 miles away by calling me every 5 minutes and screaming at me to admit myself into the hospital. 😮
Aren't sisters wonderful. 🌹
I'm half-tempted to take her up on it, but there's other problems here. I don't live in an abode where you can just set the thermostat, leave, go to the hospital for a few weeks, and return. If I leave this place for any length of time the fire would go out and everything would freeze and when I came I'd be looking at a several thousand dollar repair bill for broken pipes and who knows what else?
I've been trying to explain this to my sister, but all she can say is, "Go to the hospital!, Go to the hospital!, Go to the hospital!,..." What can you expect from a sister, right?
I've been trying to calm her down explaining that I'll at least wait until Monday when I hear from my doctor again and find out the results of my covid test. If they are positive, which they surely must be, perhaps he'll suggest that I should go to the hospital. In the meantime these pain meds will help get me through to that point.
As I say, I'm not having any difficulty breathing, other than the trivial fact that my lungs hurt like hell when I breath. But I'm not gasping for breath or wheezing thus far.
So that's where I'm currently at. Not even really sure I have covid, but if not covid, then what? There's something horribly wrong here.
~~~~
Now I'll answer some of the common questions I've gotten in emails:
Are you sure you have Covid?
No. I got tested but the test results having come back yet. It could be something else. But given today's world Covid is the most likely suspect, right?
I thought you were a hermit? How in the world did you contract Covid?
It's true, I live in almost perfect isolation form other people. And of the few people I have interacted with, those interactions have been very brief and well-socially-distanced. With both of us wearing masks.
The only place I've been is to Walmart. That's no doubt where I must have picked it up. I also wear a very professional industrial respirator when I go there. I even carried disinfect in my truck and would wipe down my hands when I left the store. Apparently these precautions simply weren't enough.
My sister suggested that I might have actually collect covid on the outside of my respirator, and after taking it off my face I picked up the covid from the outside of the respirator. She's probably right as sister's usually are. 😉
Apparently all my precautions simply weren't enough. Unless I actually don't have Covid? But if not Covid, then what do I have? Cancer? 😮
I suggested this to my sister and she could hardly contain herself as she screamed back at me, "NO! YOU HAVE COVID!"
See. If you have a sister there's no reason to go take a Covid test.
Is there anyone there to help take care of you?
Yes and no.
Yes, I have two cousins who basically live next door to me (rurally speaking). They aren't here to help me in person, but they are checking on me and helping me out in any way they can. One of them picked up my pain meds today, and she also made me a huge ham sandwich because the pain meds said not to take it on an empty stomach. So she's making sure I do thing right.
I also have a cousin who has been coming over and helping me out with keeping the outdoor woodstove burning. He's a logger and sawyer by trade so he's used to doing this kind of hard labor. If I end up in the hospital he'll be the one who tries to keep my place from freezing till I recover.
So yeah, I'm in good hands. Thanks for asking. 🥂
This pain pill is definitely helping. I already feel much better. Still painful, but not crippling anymore.
So with that in mind let's see if I can still write a poem:
~~~
The Christmas Covid
T'was the night before Christmas
and all through the house
not a creature was stirring
not even a mouse
The master was sleeping
in pacified bliss
unmindful that things
were sorely amiss
The virus was lurking
from a place deep within
preparing to release
its unspeakable sin
The master woke up
with a pain in the back
that was far more profound
than any former attack
The pain was so great
he fell to his knees
and realized right then
this was a sign of disease
He slowly got up
to tend to his chores
only to find there were
multiple sores
His shoulders and back
and even his neck
informed him his body
was becoming a wreck
He took a deep breath
and felt a stab in his chest
and began a new journey
that was pained with distressed
His body became
a conglomerate of pain
as his energy dwindled
and continued to drain
Dying of thirst
he drank like a otter
till his bladder was full
with abundance of water
He rushed to the throne
with the hope he could pee
but all that come out
was a drop, two or three
His tailbone was throbbing
his left nut in pain
wishing to pee
like a tropical rain
Back into bed
in a state of despair
he surrendered his body
to gravity's snare
Despite the great pain
he fell fast asleep
and when he awoke
it seemed like a week
Off to the throne
to try peeing once more!
and lo and behold
the sound of a pour
What a relief!
The pressure is gone!
This virus is nasty
like a war in Saigon
The pain was immense
and the tolerance short
so I called up my doctor
and began to retort
"I need some relief
from this horrible pain
I can't take it no more
It'll drive me insane!"
So he wrote the prescription
and I got it today
I know it won't cure me
but what can I say?
At least I feel better
and my body's at ease
while I continue to fight
with this Christmas disease.
~~~
DroneBot Workshop Robotics Engineer
James
2020-12-27 11:20 am
@robo-pi You've been in my thoughts a lot James, ever since you announced you had Covid-19 a few days ago in the MP4 thread. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a negative result tomorrow.
It really hits home for me, in my newsletter a few days ago I mentioned that I have now lost three friends to COVID-19. The day after I sent the newsletter I lost another one. I have no desire to see that count go up, so please get whatever medical attention you require. Even if it means listening to your sister!
🙄
I'm also a bit stressed about the early symptoms you're reporting, as I have been experiencing them myself. I have lived all my life with back pain, I have a herniated disc, and at the moment I'm wearing a back brace while I write this (I wear one every day). In the last month, I too have been experiencing agonizing upper-back and neck pain, but I have been attributing that to the fact that I increased the weight of the dumbbells I use during my morning exercises.
But I've never heard of back and neck pain being related to COVID-19, and in my case, I've been extremely isolated. I have only left the house once since February 28th and that was in November when Mom and I went to get our flu shots. We went to a private clinic, and aside from the doctors and staff, we were the only ones there.
I order everything online and wear a mask and gloves when I get a delivery. The only other person who has been in our house was the Home Depot delivery guy who I tipped to help me carry in the construction materials for my sound-wall, and he was also masked and gloved. The closest I got to him was about 8-feet (the height of a piece of drywall) and he only came in as far as our foyer.
I suspect (and I'm hoping I'm correct) that you don't have COVID-19. I can relate to the difficulty in getting a diagnosis, I've been struggling with some medical issues that I can't get resolved because I can only get telephone appointments with my doctor. A blood test would probably tell the story, but I'm not willing to leave the house to get one. After I get my vaccination I'll be more willing to go.
You have a community of people here who really care about you James, and I know I speak for everyone when I say we are concerned for your health. Please rest, and please keep us updated.
Take care of yourself
Bill
"Never trust a computer you can’t throw out a window." — Steve Wozniak
codecage reacted
2020-12-27 1:46 pm
@robo-pi Get well my friend and I sure hope that test comes back negative.
It is good to hear that there are some nearby cousins that can help you cope.
As Bill said, there are a bunch of us here that relish your friendship and prose, even if from afar.
Wishing you a swift recovery, well good recovery if not swift, and Happy Holidays for the remainder of the season.
😷
Steve G./CodeCage
P.S. I wondering if we could be related, as your sister and mine seem like they could be the same person!
SteveG
huckOhio and DroneBot Workshop reacted
2020-12-27 2:58 pm
Prayers for your good health and quick recovery.
I dont have a sister, so at times I start envying people who have such sisters, sorry, but I am being honest.
And thanks for that poem- a reason why I clicked the like on your post.
Okay, so for the back pain - well, geeks have that as we spend most of our professional lives (and even otherwise) seating on chairs and elsewhere. And another thing that we are more prone to is "Spondylitis" - I hope I got that spelt right). Quite likely this ailment has you (as well) now - that is what I can think of reading these from your post -
"But then the pain started to migrate up my back until I was starting to have some serious pain in my shoulders and lower neck."
In my case, it does not come with a fever, but yes during the winters (I am from India and it is winters here), things start getting complicated with the pain spreading to my chest (rib cage to be precise) as well and at times when this gets more complicated I too have some pain inside the chest. Now that I read lungs, I think that is where the pain spreads.
I am not quite sure with the reason of the fever that you have, but I do believe that it is just ordinary fever.
Posting the following just in case it can help
Here is what I do when things start getting extreme (remember, I do not have fever coz of this spondilytis) - I inhale vapors that I create by putting Vicks Vaporub in boiling water for a while
- keep my chest and shoulder area warm - sweaters or jackets
- keep doing the exercises for the shoulder and
- use my computer as minimum as I can (still it exceeds 6 hours a day) - so I keep taking breaks in between.
I am subscribing to the thread to keep myself update and informed of your progress and recovery.
Life is exploring and learning
2020-12-28 12:21 am
I've been out of the loop for a bit, so this is the first I read about your illness
Prayers for the best
This may not be relevant, but I've had 2 bouts with things that sound sorta like what you're describing, the first was pneumonia, which for some reason caused incredible back pain without causing breathing issues, but the 2nd sounds more familiar to what your describing now that you mentioned sores. I had chicken pox as a child, which I didn't know wasn't finished with me. A few years ago (3, maybe 4) I came down with shingles, which was caused by the chicken pox I had as a child. It gave me INCREDIBLE back pain. For a few days I wasn't even able to get out of bed. But the part that sounds familiar is the sores you mentioned. It gave me a sort of a rash or sores or something on my lower back. I was stubborn, so I didn't go to the Dr, but, I was nearly incapacitated for almost 2 weeks
Good wishes my friend
2020-12-28 2:58 pm
James, my wife is a nurse treating COVID patients. She has seen a couple patients who experienced pain when breathing as their only symptom. COVID can mess with your blood's clotting factors so please be carful and watch/get checked for a pulmonary embolism. Both of these patients had blood clots. You are in our thoughts and prayers.
DroneBot Workshop reacted
Topic starter
2020-12-28 10:41 pm
Update: Good News and Bad news
The Good News:
The Covid-19 test came back negative. Yippee! 🥂
Apparently my social distancing, hand-washing, and wearing an industrial respirator in public has paid off after all. I thought it would be strange to contract Covid considering how careful I've been about taking precautions not to get it. Although I have been going to Walmart on occasion, the only public place I go, so there's always a risk of picking up there even when being very careful.
In any case, it appears that Covid is not the culprit for my present symptoms.
The Bad News:
Unfortunately I'm not feeling well at all. I'm still having extreme pain all through my abdomen, including my back chest and lungs. I'm having other problems associated with the removal of waste materials from my body. I'll spare you the details of those symptoms. 😉
I wasn't able to make another virtual appointment with my doctor today because he's apparently back-logged with patients. The lady at this office suggested that I may ether have a regular strain of the flu. Or maybe pneumonia, or maybe I'm having a heart-attack. She suggested that I should to the hospital emergency room where they have better resources to diagnose the situation.
Aww Man! I don't want to go the emergency room. Dang! If I don't have Covid-19 when I get there I probably will have it when I leave.
Apparently I'm in a real bind here. I have no clue what the problem is. And I'm having up and downs. Good moments and bad moments. Sometimes I feel like I might be feeling better, and then suddenly the symptoms return with a vengeance.
So I don't know what to do. Just wait it out and hope for the best? Or go over to the emergency room and take a chance on contracting Covid for real, on top of whatever I already have?
I think I'll give it a few more days and see if there's any sign of relief. If not I guess I'll have no choice but to go to the emergency room and let them try to figure out what's wrong with me. I really don't want to go to the emergency room if I can escape that fate.
So here's the diagnosis guesses I've been given thus far:
- I have some normal strain of the flu
That seems suspicious to me. With all my social distancing and wearing a respirator in public what's the chance I picked up a flu bug? Seems to me this could almost be ruled out.
- I have pneumonia
I guess that's possible. But this spring I purposefully got a pneumonia vaccination in anticipation that I might contract Covid at some point. I didn't want to get pneumonia on top of Covid. So it seems to me the pneumonia can be safely ruled out, or at least considered to be an unlikely suspect.
- I'm having a heart-attack
What? A two-week long heart-attack? That doesn't sound right to me. I'm must have a pretty strong heart if it can survive a two-week long heart-attack.
There must be other options.
Well, now that I come to think of it. No one else mentioned it, but I'm thinking some form of cancer would make sense. Not that I want that to be the case. But it does seem to be a more viable explanation. I think I'd rather have Covid. So in a way being tested negative for Covid might not be the preferred outcome.
Unfortunately, this may be a mystery we never find the answer to. Unless of course I do go to the emergency room. They probably would be able to narrow it down to something specific. At least I would hope so.
You guys may never know the answer to the mystery because once I go to the ER I may never post again. I've been thinking about giving my sister access to Robo Pi, so that in the event I am unable to resolve the mystery for you, maybe she could chime and and explain.
I know what's she'll say already:
"I told him to go to the hospital weeks ago! He's never listens to me! Sheesh!"
Anyway, that's the update. I'm not going over to the ER tonight. I don't feel well enough. 😆
That's my excuse and I'm stick'in to it.
DroneBot Workshop Robotics Engineer
James
2020-12-28 11:30 pm
@robo-pi I have been waiting all day to hear the results, and first I'd like to say that I'm relieved that your COVID-19 test came back negative. It was literally the first thing I thought about when I got up this morning.
But of course, that does not explain your symptoms, and I am so sorry to hear that you are in such pain.
During my thoughts about you this morning I also considered that you might have the "regular flu", and was going to ask if you had received a flu shot this year? I do agree with you that the precautions you have taken to prevent COVID-19 exposure make that possibility very low.
I also understand your reluctance to visit an emergency ward, Mom was just watching the news on TV and it was a story about our local hospital being oversaturated with patients and unable to cope. I would suspect the situation in your part of the world is similar.
The heart attack theory also doesn't make sense to me, of course, I'm not a doctor and my opinion is of no real value. My father had a heart attack, but he didn't experience a fever or any of your other symptoms. And as you took the precaution to have the pneumonia shot that also doesn't seem likely.
I also wouldn't leap to conclusions about cancer.
You guys may never know the answer to the mystery because once I go to the ER I may never post again. I've been thinking about giving my sister access to Robo Pi, so that in the event I am unable to resolve the mystery for you, maybe she could chime and and explain.
That would be tragic, I really don't want to even think about that. It would be a terrible end to an awful year, so let's think positive thoughts here.
Besides, I doubt your sister is as good a poet as you are!
Please rest, take care of yourself, and let others help you to get the treatment you need. The world wouldn't be the same without you James.
Bill
"Never trust a computer you can’t throw out a window." — Steve Wozniak
2020-12-28 11:44 pm
Whew! Good news. Shame the American health system is so bad you can't visit a doctor for fear you will contract a virus!! It is always possible one of the staff has the virus and is asymptomatic or has just acquired it I guess.
In Australia the virus has been suppressed by lock downs and other restrictions however everyone is now failing to behave in a covid safe way so should anyone shedding the virus visit our local supermarkets it will go off like a bomb. We are living in hope of an effective vaccine being available some time after March next year.
Topic starter
2020-12-29 12:18 am
Shame the American health system is so bad you can't visit a doctor for fear you will contract a virus!!
Americans are idiots! Trust me. I know. I am an American. 🤣
Yes, the virus infections are basically out of control here. And that's according to the news which is usually about two weeks behind what's actually happening on the ground. So yes, a hospital is a place to avoid at all cost if possible. If I got Covid-19 on top of whatever I already have I'm sure that wouldn't turn out too well. So I have a lot of incentive now to stay home. At least if I had Covid-19 going to the hospital wouldn't be such a threat since I'd already have it. But now, ironically, going to the hospital is a bigger threat than ever.
As you point out, it only takes one of the staff to be the broken link that brings everything down.
DroneBot Workshop Robotics Engineer
James
2020-12-29 5:23 am
All countries have their share of idiots and brilliant people. The difference is in their history and culture and current government in power which shapes the way we deal with a national crisis. Australia has the advantage of sea borders, low population and separated populated regions.
Hopefully you will get your issues sorted out and be back into playing with your projects again.
2020-12-29 2:57 pm
The Covid-19 test came back negative. Yippee!
That is good news as you say.
Reading the rest of the update, I realized - we as humans are the same all across the globe. When things start getting complex or beyond what we can rationalize, we start thinking about more bad - specially when it is related to health.
I had been reading online about the conditions you mentioned (agreed, it is never a wise thing, but I am always curious) and I found a lot of things. You prefer to stick with the Heart Attack thing but as you mention
I'm having other problems associated with the removal of waste materials from my body. I'll spare you the details of those symptoms.
You might have some digestive disorders - something like GERD as they term it.
Me, my mom and even many others have been ignoring our health and delaying visits to the Hospitals just to keep us away from the C19 thing (again a similarity I find) and it is all fascinating to me - no matter where we are from, at the end of it we are all basically the same.
Stay safe. Give access to your sister as well and if possible, please get diagnosed at least.
Life is exploring and learning
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