Bah, positive COVID test

[MercyA]

So. I had cold-like symptoms starting about a week and a half ago. I had a slight fever on the 2nd and 3rd (?) days. I tested three times while I was ill and was negative each time.

I always test weekly because I teach Sunday School and we have elderly parents, and tonight it was positive.

I feel mostly fine. I coughed maybe a couple times today and have a very slightly runny nose, but I figured that was left over from my cold.

So, what do you think? New infection, may still get symptoms later? Or finally testing positive and have had COVID all along? Any guesses?

I've had five COVID vaccinations, I think, including the bivalent. This is my first positive test ever, although I'm pretty sure I had COVID back at the very beginning of it all.

If I don't develop new symptoms, I should still isolate for 5 days, right?

Edited February 5, 2023 by MercyA

[KSera]

Oh, that is confusing, isn’t it? Do you recall what days you tested at the beginning? And what day your symptoms started? If your last test was day 5 or earlier, that would increase the chances to me this is the same illness and you just didn’t test positive yet when you tested. 
 

I hope it’s left from your previous illness and you’re almost over it and will be negative soon. I’m glad you are conscientious in testing! 

[MercyA]

19 minutes ago, KSera said:

Oh, that is confusing, isn’t it? Do you recall what days you tested at the beginning? And what day your symptoms started? If your last test was day 5 or earlier, that would increase the chances to me this is the same illness and you just didn’t test positive yet when you tested. 
 

I hope it’s left from your previous illness and you’re almost over it and will be negative soon. I’m glad you are conscientious in testing! 

My symptoms started on Thursday, January 26. My best guess is that I tested on January 27 and 30 and February 1. 

Thank you! 🙂 

[KSera]

6 minutes ago, MercyA said:

My symptoms started on Thursday, January 26. My best guess is that I tested on January 27 and 30 and February 1. 

Thank you! 🙂 

That would make today day 9. Hopefully you don’t get any more symptoms and test negative in the next couple days. 

[popmom]

I’m sorry you are sick. I’m glad you shared your experience. I’m not nearly as diligent in testing as you. I felt very run down yesterday (hard to know what is due to autoimmune stuff), and this morning I woke up with a headache, runny nose, and coughing. I took some supplements, drank some bone broth and went back to bed for a couple hours. Felt relatively normal rest of the day, but I’ll test tomorrow before I go to church. 

I didn’t wear a mask day before yesterday when I went with dd to get her wedding dress fitted for alterations. 😕 

I will pray you have a mild case with a complete recovery!

Edited February 5, 2023 by popmom

[Ausmumof3]

Seems to be lots of positive tests on the forum again is the US having another wave? If RATs aren’t expensive I would test every couple of days till no symptoms and clear RAT 

[AmandaVT]

Based on my small circle of people, I would think that your cold may have been covid and you are just now testing positive. The rapid tests seem really slow at picking up whatever variant is going around right now. One of my friends tested negative for a week and then finally tested positive (she was struggling to catch her breath and knew it couldn't just be a regular cold, so she kept testing). My aunt and uncle were similar recently - tested negative twice and then tested positive after multiple days. 

So hopefully, you're on the tail end of it!

[historically accurate]

I walked around for about a week with a "cold" and then tested positive for covid. I tested negative several times before it turned positive. This was back in May. I'm trying to remember how long I tested positive - 5 days maybe?

[Ottakee]

You am struggling with all of this here too.  Had a cold, negative COVID test, fever Thursday evening (after 2 steroid injections in my knees) and COVID test was negative.    Then felt great Friday and much of Saturday until Fever last night.   COVID test negative.

so, do I have COVID, mild influenza (had flu shot), a reaction to the steroid injections plus a cold or ???

I hate this “what is it and is it contagious” game.

Staying home today just in case.

honestly I don’t want COVID but it would  be ok if it was as I am traveling next month 

[stephanier.1765]

When I had Covid (also my first time but I also suspect I had it in the early days), I had been feeling ill for several days and had tested negative twice. I had just figured I had been doing it wrong but now that it has happened to you, I have to wonder. Not to freak you out, but I tested positive for 10 days, even after I no longer felt ill. I stayed home until I tested negative but that's not a huge disruption of my life. I don't know what I would have done had I needed to go to work. I'm sorry your sick and I hope you are already over the worst of it and will test negative again soon.

[MercyA]

5 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Seems to be lots of positive tests on the forum again is the US having another wave? If RATs aren’t expensive I would test every couple of days till no symptoms and clear RAT 

Thankfully we have a good stock of tests and can still get (I think) 8 per family member per month free at CVS using our insurance. 

My county doesn't look to be having a wave, but I know lots of people have had "colds" recently and hardly anyone tests.

 

[MercyA]

@popmom and @Ottakee, I hope you both feel better soon!! 🌻

[MercyA]

6 minutes ago, stephanier.1765 said:

When I had Covid (also my first time but I also suspect I had it in the early days), I had been feeling ill for several days and had tested negative twice. I had just figured I had been doing it wrong but now that it has happened to you, I have to wonder. Not to freak you out, but I tested positive for 10 days, even after I no longer felt ill. I stayed home until I tested negative but that's not a huge disruption of my life. I don't know what I would have done had I needed to go to work. I'm sorry you're sick and I hope you are already over the worst of it and will test negative again soon.

Thank you so much, Stephanie. Thankfully I do not work and I don't have co-op until next week, so I should be able to just stay in. Yay Netflix. 😉 

[Scarlett]

8 hours ago, MercyA said:

So. I had cold-like symptoms starting about a week and a half ago. I had a slight fever on the 2nd and 3rd (?) days. I tested three times while I was ill and was negative each time.

I always test weekly because I teach Sunday School and we have elderly parents, and tonight it was positive.

I feel mostly fine. I coughed maybe a couple times today and have a very slightly runny nose, but I figured that was left over from my cold.

So, what do you think? New infection, may still get symptoms later? Or finally testing positive and have had COVID all along? Any guesses?

I've had five COVID vaccinations, I think, including the bivalent. This is my first positive test ever, although I'm pretty sure I had COVID back at the very beginning of it all.

If I don't develop new symptoms, I should still isolate for 5 days, right?

Poor thing.:( 

Dh is sick this morning.  Lots of running nose, sneezing etc.  no fever and no sore throat.  We are staying home this morning to be safe. 
 

Where do you get your tests?

edited to add—-oops no I should have kept reading.

Edited February 5, 2023 by Scarlett

[mommyoffive]

1 hour ago, MercyA said:

Thankfully we have a good stock of tests and can still get (I think) 8 per family member per month free at CVS using our insurance. 

My county doesn't look to be having a wave, but I know lots of people have had "colds" recently and hardly anyone tests.

 

I think this may be changing when the emergency ends. 

 

I am sorry that you have Covid and hope you feel better soon.  That is confusing to have tested so many times and have it negative.  

[Pippen]

8 hours ago, MercyA said:

So. I had cold-like symptoms starting about a week and a half ago. I had a slight fever on the 2nd and 3rd (?) days. I tested three times while I was ill and was negative each time.

I always test weekly because I teach Sunday School and we have elderly parents, and tonight it was positive.

I feel mostly fine. I coughed maybe a couple times today and have a very slightly runny nose, but I figured that was left over from my cold.

So, what do you think? New infection, may still get symptoms later? Or finally testing positive and have had COVID all along? Any guesses?

I've had five COVID vaccinations, I think, including the bivalent. This is my first positive test ever, although I'm pretty sure I had COVID back at the very beginning of it all.

If I don't develop new symptoms, I should still isolate for 5 days, right?

I'm similarly vaccinated and didn't get covid until right before the holidays this year. I had very brief altered taste a few days after likely exposure, but tested negative. The next symptom that made me think to test again was a runny nose a full week later, at which time I did test positive. Most people I'd heard of at the time were reporting positive tests and symptoms about 3-5 days after being exposed. My symptoms never progressed--just a mild runny nose and felt flushed for a few days. No fever, congestion, cough, etc.

[KSera]

A recent link on how tests are behaving these days—delayed positives common. 
 

Why Rapid COVID-19 Test Results Are Getting More Confusing

 

[Corraleno]

DD and I followed the alternate directions for testing, which includes swabbing the back of the throat first and then the nose, and we both tested strongly positive on the first try. I think that was day 3 of symptoms for DD (although the first two days were just sneezing and a scratchy throat), and it was basically day 1.5 for me. I had a runny nose and scratchy throat the evening before and then tested the next morning, and got a strong positive. So I wonder if swabbing the throat as well as the nose is more likely to give an accurate result?

[KSera]

39 minutes ago, Corraleno said:

So I wonder if swabbing the throat as well as the nose is more likely to give an accurate result?

That’s the idea. It appears that current variants are more likely to replicate heavily in the throat first and then the nose. It’s been a while since I’ve seen anything on this, but earlier in omicron it was common for a test to be positive from a throat swab about a day earlier than from a nasal swab. 

[kbutton]

5 hours ago, MercyA said:

Thankfully we have a good stock of tests and can still get (I think) 8 per family member per month free at CVS using our insurance. 

Do you have to have symptoms? We mask all the time with KN95 and better, so we don't test often (and no one around here masks or cares, though a few still test). I wouldn't mind having a few more on hand if the emergency order is going to kill the free ones via insurance.

12 hours ago, MercyA said:

If I don't develop new symptoms, I should still isolate for 5 days, right?

Others had good advice, but we really isolated only for 5 days. DH was expected to put on an N95 and go back to to work in the ED, and the kids were expected to mask up and go back to school. So we did, sigh.

I would still try to avoid old or vulnerable people even if you mask up and resume life after five days.

You are considerate--I am sure you will be careful enough.

[MercyA]

1 hour ago, kbutton said:

Do you have to have symptoms? We mask all the time with KN95 and better, so we don't test often (and no one around here masks or cares, though a few still test). I wouldn't mind having a few more on hand if the emergency order is going to kill the free ones via insurance.

Others had good advice, but we really isolated only for 5 days. DH was expected to put on an N95 and go back to to work in the ED, and the kids were expected to mask up and go back to school. So we did, sigh.

I would still try to avoid old or vulnerable people even if you mask up and resume life after five days.

You are considerate--I am sure you will be careful enough.

No, we don't have to have symptoms to receive 8 free tests per person per month (we do enter our insurance info). I am just ordering them online now and the CVS website says insurance coverage will end May 11.

I don't have new symptoms yet, so I am really hoping I can be done isolating in five days and then mask up. Not planning on seeing my parents, MIL, or grandma anytime soon, although thankfully everyone except my grandma is fully vaxxed. If I do get new symptoms, I'll reset the isolation clock. 

DH is negative so far, yay. 🙂 DD will test today.

[Acadie]

49 minutes ago, MercyA said:

No, we don't have to have symptoms to receive 8 free tests per person per month (we do enter our insurance info). I am just ordering them online now and the CVS website says insurance coverage will end May 11.

I don't have new symptoms yet, so I am really hoping I can be done isolating in five days and then mask up. Not planning on seeing my parents, MIL, or grandma anytime soon, although thankfully everyone except my grandma is fully vaxxed. If I do get new symptoms, I'll reset the isolation clock. 

DH is negative so far, yay. 🙂 DD will test today.

This is a great reason to stock up every month through May, in case rapid tests are no longer free. 
 

Hope you have a speedy recovery and find some shows you really like!

[Grace Hopper]

I’m sorry, Mercy! My dear relative was in the hospital a few weeks ago, caught it, and several immediate family members also got it. They had symptoms of a bad cold for maybe 5 days? The nurses told them the current strain is highly transmissible and a lot of fully vaccinated folks are catching it. 
 

Hope your case remains mild. 

[Selkie]

Dh and I had Covid about a month ago and had three days of mild cold symptoms. I tested positive right away as soon as my symptoms started, and continued testing positive for several days after I felt back to normal. I just swabbed my nose for the tests.

[MercyA]

Good news! Tested negative yesterday and DH and DD have also been testing negative. 

Looking forward to being out and about with a mask soon. 

Can't say I didn't enjoy briefly being sequestered in my room. 🙂

Thanks for all your kind words and well-wishes.

[TexasProud]

3 hours ago, MercyA said:

Good news! Tested negative yesterday and DH and DD have also been testing negative. 

Looking forward to being out and about with a mask soon. 

Can't say I didn't enjoy briefly being sequestered in my room. 🙂

Thanks for all your kind words and well-wishes.

Yeah!!  So glad you are ok when you have been so incredibly careful.  So glad.