My Symptoms - Flu or Covid-19?

I'm still here. I still have all the symptoms except the fever and blue lips. My throat is sore, I have shortness of breath, all my muscles ache, I get chills–without the fever, I have nausea, and the dry cough hasn't gone away. This could still just be a cold, but I don't know. They won't test me because I don't have a fever. They tell me to stay at home, but I need help breathing. My local hospital won't let me in because they don't know if I have the virus and they want to protect their existing patients. I understand their not wanting to expose their patients to someone who may or may not have the virus, but their logic is flawed. How can they be sure none of their existing patients already has the virus? Have all their current patients been there for at least fourteen days? It's scary to think how unprepared and ill-equipped hospitals are.

I've had the flu before, and many of its symptoms are similar to what I have now. I've also experienced shortness of breath before, but it was never associated with the flu. In general, I have trouble breathing when the air is stuffy, so I immediately open the windows and breathe comfortably. Now, when I can't breathe, I step outside, where I can feel the fresh air, but when I try to inhale, nothing goes in my lungs. I can't take in the fresh air through my mouth or my nose. This inability to breathe is the worst part of my experience. Everything else is just pain; I can tolerate it. The pressure I put on my chest to take in air makes my chest hurt badly, and it makes me feel like my heart will explode. I haven't been able to take more than a couple deep breaths each day for almost one week.

I've documented everything since my symptoms began to appear. In my last blog post, titled Social Distancing - My Experience, I shared my symptoms up to the morning of Tuesday, March 24^th. Monday night was the worst night in terms of breathing, or has been so far. On Tuesday, I felt relatively fine. All my symptoms were still there but much milder, and my temperature was still normal 98.5°F. I can now say with confidence that my appetite hasn't been the same the last few days. I usually eat well, and, by well, I mean both a good amount and relatively healthful food.

The last few days, I've been only able to take in a few spoonfuls of food. Any more, and I'll feel nauseated. So I eat a little bit every couple of hours. I still go on short walks several times a day, with and without the dogs. The weather has been nice, so the windows have been open all day, allowing the air to circulate in the cabin. I haven't talked to anyone; I've waved to the mail carrier and the neighbors from a distance.

Tuesday night, I slept well. My throat was a little sore and I had a mild headache, but no chills, no nausea, and, thankfully, I didn't experience any shortness of breath. When I got up Wednesday morning, all my muscles felt sore, though. I did some light stretches, and continued my nutritious, immune-boosting diet of fruits, soups, and herbal teas. I've been adding lots of garlic, turmeric, cumin, and black pepper to my soups, usually made with lentils, and lots of vegetables. Still no fever.

Wednesday night, I finished a proofreading job and felt too excited to sleep, so I spent some time on Twitter and went to bed late. I didn't feel sick, but my throat still felt a little sore and I coughed a lot. I don't like to take these cough drops. I usually get a different brand of cough drops, but the store was all out, so I got these ones. They taste good and are effective in soothing the throat, but they numb my throat a little, which makes inhaling even more challenging. I slept a few hours and woke up, this morning, to a sore throat, dry cough, nasal congestion, nausea, and a mild shortness of breath. All my muscles were aching, and still are right now. I gave myself a lymph massage. I'll try to take it easy the rest of the day and just focus on breathing. Maybe I'll get some reading done and walk a little. I still don't have a fever.

I'll keep documenting everything. I may have the flu, but if it is just the flu, and I truly hope it is, I can honestly say I've never had a flu this severe in my whole life.