Possible doctor visit?

[Terabith]

I have just been feeling not well all week.  Very tired, headache, aching muscles, low grade fever.  Covid 19 test was negative.  Would it be dumb to get a flu swab/ strep check/ rule out UTI?  

[Jean in Newcastle]

Not dumb. 

[Terabith]

I’ve been assuming it’s viral but it feels like it’s getting worse rather than better, and I just feel increasingly awful.  Would like to take care of it if I can.  

[Innisfree]

Just in case the Covid test was a false negative, have you got a pulse oximeter?

[PeterPan]

Sorry you're sick again. Weren't you sick on and off a lot this winter?

[Terabith]

Pulse oximeter says I’m at 98-99.  I was sick a lot this winter until doctor pointed out I was substitute teaching AND biting my nails.  Stopped the nail biting and haven’t been sick since Christmas break.  I’m not VERY sick.  If it wasn’t a plague, I would ignore it.  (Tons of pollen, etc).  But I have a low grade fever and would like to go grocery shopping and do stuff.  Plus the worrying scenario is the UTI. 

Edited May 18, 2020 by Terabith
Nails not nose. Sheesh

[Jean in Newcastle]

25 minutes ago, Terabith said:

Pulse oximeter says I’m at 98-99.  I was sick a lot this winter until doctor pointed out I was substitute teaching AND biting my nose.  Stopped the nail biting and haven’t been sick since Christmas break.  I’m not VERY sick.  If it wasn’t a plague, I would ignore it.  (Tons of pollen, etc).  But I have a low grade fever and would like to go grocery shopping and do stuff.  Plus the worrying scenario is the UTI. 

The AZO UTI test kits that you can get at the pharmacy are pretty good. If you don’t want to visit the doctor first you could test and if you get a positive, go to the doctor for treatment. 

[PeterPan]

3 hours ago, Terabith said:

I have a low grade fever and would like to go grocery shopping

I'm not a doc, but if your O2 is good I would assume it's that same type of generic sickness something you were getting, not covid, and I would be extra polite right now and not go out. Stores have up signs BEGGING people not to come in if you have a fever. Not any fever. So that would just be really polite at this point.

If you need groceries, can you mobile order or send someone else? You don't have to hyper quarantine and keep everyone else home. You could drive to the park and let the dc play while you sit in the car. I just wouldn't go out while you're contagious with a fever with this. 

Do you have a slew of dumb movies you can watch to keep you busy?

[Terabith]

37 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

I'm not a doc, but if your O2 is good I would assume it's that same type of generic sickness something you were getting, not covid, and I would be extra polite right now and not go out. Stores have up signs BEGGING people not to come in if you have a fever. Not any fever. So that would just be really polite at this point.

If you need groceries, can you mobile order or send someone else? You don't have to hyper quarantine and keep everyone else home. You could drive to the park and let the dc play while you sit in the car. I just wouldn't go out while you're contagious with a fever with this. 

Do you have a slew of dumb movies you can watch to keep you busy?

Oh yeah, I didn’t mean I would personally go shopping.  I meant sending hubby.  

[Lanny]

If the Covid-19 Coronavirus  pandemic was not an issue, because you wrote that you feel increasingly awful, I would suggest that you make an appointment with an M.D.  Fever is a symptom of an infection and an infection should IMO be killed, ASAP.

However, there IS the issue of the Covid-19.    I went to the doctor early in March, had a bunch of Lab Tests, and before I could get the results of the Lab Tests and make another appointment with the doctor, the Covid-19 issue hit.  I have the Lab tests in a drawer...

And, I need to go to the Dentist to get my Teeth cleaned.

There's NO WAY I am going to a doctor or a dentist at this time, unless it is an emergency, because of Covid-19.

Here's another story: We live in Colombia where the Covid-19 restrictions are much more strict than they are in the USA.  My Stepson, last week, did something which exacerbated an issue he has in his back. I think something with a Disc.  He had 2 surgeries, miracles, during the past 5 or so years for that and apparently it flared up again.

He called the Obligatory Health Plan (or another medical provider?) and they scheduled him for a "Virtual" appointment with a doctor, over the Internet. Intellectually, I would prefer for the M.D. to be able to examine him, but, with Covid-19 there might be a risk to my Stepson and also to the M.D.  So, my Stepson is waiting for the Virtual appointment. I think they call that "Tele-Medicine" in the USA?

Tele-Medicine might be an option for you to talk with a doctor about your different symptoms?

[PeterPan]

Our doctors here are doing telehealth visits and aren't seeing people with covid in their offices so far as I know. Now office workers are stressed/scared, yes. But as far as like would I go in IF I NEEDED TO, sure. They're working hard to keep covid out. But like the others said, there are multiple options here. She can get an at home UTI test. She could do a telehealth visit and see what her doc thinks. A low grade fever is not necessarily indication she needs an antibiotic. She gets sick routinely through the year because she works in schools and seems prone to it. Stress, allergies, etc. can be making that worse. 

Are you wanting Tamiflu? You know, that's the great irony that we were having a "bad flu" season before our gift from China. So yeah, technically it could be the flu. But I can't remember, is @Terabith anti on Tamiflu? I love it, because my flu turns into pneumonia at the drop of a dime. So me, I don't care about the mental health side effects because it can keep me from pneumonia. But if a med is not on the table and it's the flu, then what is the point of testing? And yeah, body aches with low grade fever could be the flu, sure. 

[Terabith]

Actually, what I was HOPING was that it was strep and I could get an antibiotic.  I've had weird strep reactions.  I also wanted a urine culture because I've had some, "AmI or am I not trying to get a UTI" question for a couple weeks.  But, both of those things and flu were out.  I'm not morally opposed to tamiful, but this far out, I would refuse it.  I just don't want to suffer needlessly if I need something for a UTI or a strep, you know?  They're sending both of those out for a culture, but they were negative on initial check.  I had to do urgent care because primary care is only doing telehealth and can't get cultures that way.  They had impressive protocols.  It was a risk, but a reasonable one I think.  If numbers were higher in our area, I'd have made a different call.  

Given that those things were negative, I think this is a stress/ allergy reaction.  I have weird systemic reactions to stress; pollen counts are off the charts, and stress with my oldest kid is REALLY high right now.  They told me to try to rest, which usually does the trick, but not always.  I'll live.  I just wanted to make sure I wasn't an idiot for going into urgent care (where they let in one patient at a time and I was first one of the morning), but I also wanted to have a strep swab and urine culture.  (I've had strep approximately a million times, with weird presentations.)

[PeterPan]

2 minutes ago, Terabith said:

Given that those things were negative, I think this is a stress/ allergy reaction.

I'm glad you were able to get in and get checked out. You did what you needed to do to cover your bases, and that's the right thing to do. 

Do you ever watch Tasty videos? Rie who does the Make it Fancy stuff is so cute. 

 

 

[Terabith]

I haven't been, but I definitely will now!

[J-rap]

Perhaps you can arrange a virtual visit?  It doesn't sound like a UTI, but a a virtual visit might be helpful in evaluating.

About two weeks ago, my dd had pains similar to appendicitis, and had a virtual visit.  In the end, they encouraged her to come in, but they are very, very strict here about going in in person.   Maybe that has changed in the past two weeks.  

[Jean in Newcastle]

The in person doctor visit I had last week came with COVID screening (not testing) at the door.  One of the questions asked was if I had a fever and they also took my temperature.  I don't know what they would have done if I had a fever?  Sent me across the street for the actual COVID testing?  Since I didn't have a fever (and didn't go there with any COVID symptoms) I don't know.