Published 13:56 IST, March 18th 2020
IMPORTANT: Recovering patient narrates his Coronavirus experience; A must-read
Amidst the global outbreak of the novel Coronavirus, a recovering patient took to Twitter to narrate his story of recovery from the deadly disease.
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Amidst the global outbreak of the novel Coronavirus which has claimed over 7000 lives, a COVID-19 patient who is currently in recovery took to Twitter to narrate through his convalescence from the deadly disease. Sharing his experience, the man discussed the symptoms he faced during the course of his infection over several weeks, in a bid to help other people identify the signs of a possible infection early on.
Now that I am recovering from Covid-19, I want to share my symptoms, and my experience, in case it is of help to anyone else. I've felt pretty rotten the last few days, but am finally improving.
— Chris Gough (@GoughCJ) March 16, 2020
I am only talking about my own experiences - as a patient, not a doctor. (1/n)
Patient's journey
The man shared how one of his primary symptoms early on was severe exhaustion, shivers and lack of appetite. "The cough started in the afternoon. Not a bad cough, and not productive. But just there every now and again to remind me that my lungs were also not happy," he said further.
D2: No energy. Horizontal is the position to be in.
— Chris Gough (@GoughCJ) March 16, 2020
Sweats/shivers ongoing, but not as bad as yesterday. Cough more noticeable but not a big issue.
Intermittent headache started. Whole body still aches, and feeling weak. Zero appetite. Felt a bit brighter in the eve. (5/n)
He added that over the course of the next few days, his cough and appetite started to improve; however there was a persistence of fatigue in his body. His tweet for Day 5 read, "Still pretty tired. No headaches any more. Appetite up to 1/2 or 2/3 of normal. Still no desire to leave the bed/sofa, let alone the house." He advised people that the only way to protect yourself and your loved ones was to self-isolate.
That is as far as I have made it (so far).
— Chris Gough (@GoughCJ) March 16, 2020
If you meet the criteria (temp [>37.8] or a new cough), please follow the advice and self-isolate.
Protect your patients.
Protect your colleagues.
Protect your friends and family.
Protect yourself. (10/10).
Here's his full thread:
Now that I am recovering from Covid-19, I want to share my symptoms, and my experience, in case it is of help to anyone else. I've felt pretty rotten the last few days, but am finally improving.
— Chris Gough (@GoughCJ) March 16, 2020
I am only talking about my own experiences - as a patient, not a doctor. (1/n)
I'll have a quick moan about testing, and then go through my symptoms.
— Chris Gough (@GoughCJ) March 16, 2020
Testing, testing, testing.
We must stop the ridiculous imbalance where politicians and sports stars can apparently get tested, but frontline health workers cannot. The criteria must be consistent. (2/n)
Symptoms.
— Chris Gough (@GoughCJ) March 16, 2020
D1: The day of fevers and exhaustion.
Shivers and sweats were the story of the day. That and being utterly exhausted, with whole-body ache. Random temp: 38.5. One flight of stairs then stop for a rest. No appetite at all. (3/n)
The cough started in the afternoon.
— Chris Gough (@GoughCJ) March 16, 2020
Not a bad cough, and not productive. But just there every now and again to remind me that my lungs were also not happy.
I found out my brother (who I spent the proceeding week with) is unwell with similar symptoms. (4/n)
D2: No energy. Horizontal is the position to be in.
— Chris Gough (@GoughCJ) March 16, 2020
Sweats/shivers ongoing, but not as bad as yesterday. Cough more noticeable but not a big issue.
Intermittent headache started. Whole body still aches, and feeling weak. Zero appetite. Felt a bit brighter in the eve. (5/n)
D3: Feeling worse. Headache and fatigue worse.
— Chris Gough (@GoughCJ) March 16, 2020
Cough less frequent. Appetite improving but far from normal.
Another day of frequent naps & predominantly horizontal state.
Had to help with childcare in the evening - either baby has doubled in weight or I'm half as strong (6/n)
D4: Ongoing fatigue and reduced appetite.
— Chris Gough (@GoughCJ) March 16, 2020
Cough very infrequent now. Headaches still present, but improving.
Whole body still aches. Functionally pretty useless. Would quite like to feel better.
My brother is improving. His girlfriend now has symptoms. (7/n)
D5: Still pretty tired.
— Chris Gough (@GoughCJ) March 16, 2020
No headaches any more. Appetite up to 1/2 or 2/3 of normal.
Still no desire to leave the bed/sofa, let alone the house, which is fortunate since I still have 2 days of self-isolation to go. (8/n)
D6: Feeling a little better.
— Chris Gough (@GoughCJ) March 16, 2020
Or, thought I was, but then fell asleep on the sofa for an hour. So fatigue ongoing, and lacking energy.
Still no desire to leave the house.
Hoping tomorrow will bring much more energy 🤞 (9/n)
That is as far as I have made it (so far).
— Chris Gough (@GoughCJ) March 16, 2020
If you meet the criteria (temp [>37.8] or a new cough), please follow the advice and self-isolate.
Protect your patients.
Protect your colleagues.
Protect your friends and family.
Protect yourself. (10/10).
13:56 IST, March 18th 2020