Does anyone know someone personally who has/had Covid 19?

---- not sure what board this belongs in. Please move if necessary ---

 

Being that we are in month 7 since the first known Corona Virus case in the United States, and now that we're seeing an increase in positive tests, does anyone know anyone personally who has had the coronavirus with or without symptoms? Have any of you in WD been sick with the Corona Virus?  If so, how was the recovery from Corona?

 

Benzo Buddies is a big community. This virus brings extra concern to folks like us who are already sick (going through WD).

 

Please do not post opinions or political opinions. This is not the place for it. There are plenty of other platforms out there for opinions.

 

I'm wanting to know of personal experience, or someone you know personally who had Covid 19.

 

Me, infected in March, cold sx was mild and short lived, cns sx is beyond unbelievable even my bwd has been one of the most severe cases and I know every one else horror.

 

Right around 3 months from the initial infection and started getting back to the bwd baseline, got mutile secondary infections. Been in constant seizure, though incomplete.

 

 

I didn't want to post this on the main forum as it will trigger some individuals, but you've blocked PMs (at least mine).  A good friend (one of my weekly golfing buddies) died from COVID-related factors.  He had a heart attack while in an induced coma while fighting the virus.  He passed on Easter Eve.  I think he was 53.  Worked with NASA.  No history of heart problems to my knowledge.

 

His wife, her mother and her brother were also infected.  Two required hospitalization/ventilation.  The brother was in ICU for well over a month, and it'll take many months of rehabilitation before he can work again.  I also occasionally played golf with the brother.  Good guy.  Worked for the power company.  I hope he can recover.

 

I've never met the mother, so I only know/knew three of these four individuals.  That's three too many.

I didn't want to post this on the main forum as it will trigger some individuals, but you've blocked PMs (at least mine).  A good friend (one of my weekly golfing buddies) died from COVID-related factors.  He had a heart attack while in an induced coma while fighting the virus.  He passed on Easter Eve.  I think he was 53.  Worked with NASA.  No history of heart problems to my knowledge.

 

His wife, her mother and her brother were also infected.  Two required hospitalization/ventilation.  The brother was in ICU for well over a month, and it'll take many months of rehabilitation before he can work again.  I also occasionally played golf with the brother.  Good guy.  Worked for the power company.  I hope he can recover.

 

I've never met the mother, so I only know/knew three of these four individuals.  That's three too many.

 

 

 

Oh dear

 

Now that really has me crying, 

 

I am so very sorry

 

I am tired, ill, low and 75 years old,

 

My tears are not for me but the family you speak of

 

This is the reality of the virus, , and it baffles me the way so many gather and think it not to be feared

 

I for one am staying as safe as I can in self isolation except for walks around the block

 

I will probably do this until next spring , when hopefully the winter wave will be over

 

, and maybe I will be better recovered from the damage done by valium..

 

My heart breaks for the family,    I am so very  sorry, ,

 

Jen

 

 

I didn't want to post this on the main forum as it will trigger some individuals, but you've blocked PMs (at least mine).  A good friend (one of my weekly golfing buddies) died from COVID-related factors.  He had a heart attack while in an induced coma while fighting the virus.  He passed on Easter Eve.  I think he was 53.  Worked with NASA.  No history of heart problems to my knowledge.

 

His wife, her mother and her brother were also infected.  Two required hospitalization/ventilation.  The brother was in ICU for well over a month, and it'll take many months of rehabilitation before he can work again.  I also occasionally played golf with the brother.  Good guy.  Worked for the power company.  I hope he can recover.

 

I've never met the mother, so I only know/knew three of these four individuals.  That's three too many.

 

 

I don’t want to sound rude/ but the likelihood of this happening to a family is like so so so small. If this were a common thing, no one would be ever leaving their house. The world is not falling apart. Most people don’t even know they have it. I’m really sorry for those people. That’s awful. But we can’t create unnecessary fear here either

I have a coworker get it and recover. He's a black guy w/type 1 diabetes and was very sick for a couple weeks. He recovered fully in about a month and was cleared by the county to resume working. We work remotely so I wasn't exposed to him.

 

Also a friend of mine's Girlfriend got it and was sick for about a week, then recovered rapidly.

 

My doctor got it and is currently out while he recovers. My sister is his medical assistant and is awaiting the results of her test. They've had many people who came to their office test positive.

A business acquaintance of mine died of Covid on April 10, 2020.  He was 70 years old.

Thank you everyone for your replies.

 

Badsocref-

So sorry to hear of this, and to the others who have lost someone.

 

I don't know anyone close to me who has had it. The only one is my close friend's brother in law and his wife back in March. They got pretty sick, although they never needed hospitalization. They are back to normal life.

 

This is such crazy uncharted territory. I pray every day for the vaccine, but vaccines and studies take time and no money in the world can push the hands of the clock forward faster so we have a vaccine now. So in the meantime I prayer for an amazing treatment to nip it in the bud. A safe breathing treatment, or medication  - something to be developed soon I pray.

 

Stay safe everyone.

I didn't want to post this on the main forum as it will trigger some individuals, but you've blocked PMs (at least mine).  A good friend (one of my weekly golfing buddies) died from COVID-related factors.  He had a heart attack while in an induced coma while fighting the virus.  He passed on Easter Eve.  I think he was 53.  Worked with NASA.  No history of heart problems to my knowledge.

 

His wife, her mother and her brother were also infected.  Two required hospitalization/ventilation.  The brother was in ICU for well over a month, and it'll take many months of rehabilitation before he can work again.  I also occasionally played golf with the brother.  Good guy.  Worked for the power company.  I hope he can recover.

 

I've never met the mother, so I only know/knew three of these four individuals.  That's three too many.

 

 

I don’t want to sound rude/ but the likelihood of this happening to a family is like so so so small. If this were a common thing, no one would be ever leaving their house. The world is not falling apart. Most people don’t even know they have it. I’m really sorry for those people. That’s awful. But we can’t create unnecessary fear here either

 

I don't believe that Badsocref's post was fear mongering. While there are asymptomatic people and those with mild cases, there are over 130,000 deaths from COVID in the US alone.

A girl I went to college with had it, along with her family. They were all hospitalized but survived. It lasted around a month, which is insane long time to have something like that.

I don’t want to sound rude/ but the likelihood of this happening to a family is like so so so small. If this were a common thing, no one would be ever leaving their house. The world is not falling apart. Most people don’t even know they have it. I’m really sorry for those people. That’s awful. But we can’t create unnecessary fear here either

 

We know the people we know.  I happened to know that family.  I'm sorry that you feel that skews my sample set.  I wish it wasn't that way.  Sorry to be a downer, but the loss still hurts.

 

Not my intention to create fear. 

A cousin of mine and his wife have it. They're quarantined and luckily they're only feeling milder symptoms. They're young and i am hoping they only experience the least of what others have gone through. I pray for them everyday. Luckily the majority of my family works from home. I have to scold the other ones that don't take it as seriously, especially since now I'm in a city considered a 'hotspot'.

 

It was COVID that actually sent me down the spiral into benzos. I work for a major retailer doing maintenance, it's a stressful job as is, but in the beginning of the COVID crisis everything was absolutely bonkers at my stores. I kept thinking I had it after waking up with sore throats. The stress was so much I ended up with a panic attack that sent me to the ER, and from there the doc gave me clonazepam to keep me going. That was 3 1/2 months ago. Now here I am, still dealing with the COVID crisis, trying to survive a failed CT attempt, trying to regain my bearings and go back to work. This virus has really wrecked so many lives in so many ways, I cannot wait for a vaccine or better treatment to be discovered.

 

We all have to try and get through this with as much resolve as possible. We have the added baggage of anxiety, my prayers are with all of you.

 

 

Omg, look4peace,

 

I'm so sorry this crazy virus caused you with the most dangerous meds.

 

How are you doing now with covid and wd?

 

4 mom

Being young and not having a risk factor is not always the key for surviving it or not getting further damages from covid19.

 

2 family members had it in April.. Took them about 8-10 weeks until they could function again. One still has problems with the heart rate.

Both healthy and under 30 years old.

One family member got hit by a second kind of setback, or whatever they call it when it just all comes back after 7 weeks. He was the one with a blood group which is not able to build up antibodies, so this might contribute to that.

 

A friend also caught it and he lost the ability to taste and smell, it still has not returned and he is now about 2 months healed.

All people I mentioned were under 10 years old and in a good health condition, no underlying issues, no overweight nothing. They were among the first cases in my country when doctors noticed that also young, healthy people can get hit badly with Covid19.

 

I little kid in in kindergarten here had it, too, and since then suffers from fatigue. For 10 weeks and it still cannot walk properly.

 

The mother of a friend died because of Covid and was under 60 years old and they did not know about any health problem before Covid as well.

 

My heart goes out to everyone who has lost someone or who knows someone with a damage caused by Covid.

 

Besides this, I am in the high risk group (not because of wd, because of other sh..) and I try not to freak out. The way the crisis is handled here in Germany is okey for me, my biggest concern is the infection over aerosols in the air in small rooms - that's the reason I am still working from home and it really sucks. But everyone here is wearing masks, rooms only with all windows opened and in case of a regional outbreak the authorities immediately lock this area down again for some weeks so everything at least seems to be monitored.

I had my weeks in which I freaked out when 2 doctors called me and told me to isolate for the next 2 years (what??), but it has also made me appreciate life even more and I saw how people worked together really well in the crisis - a good experience.

However looking what's going on all over the world, my heart really is breaking when I see all the people cry about lost loved ones.

 

 

 

 

Omg, look4peace,

 

I'm so sorry this crazy virus caused you with the most dangerous meds.

 

How are you doing now with covid and wd?

 

4 mom

 

Thank you 4Mom. I look back at the whole situation and think man what if I just would've rode out the panic attack instead of jumping on benzos. But I was just so clueless about them and my doc didn't explain much, so I just followed the directions on the bottle.

 

As of now, I've learned to accept Covid as a reality and that's just in the back of my mind. I am back on clonazepam after my failed CT attempt. I've been off work for two weeks trying to get better and stabilized but it's been a challenge. Sometimes I feel as though I'm ready to go back to work, and sometimes I feel like I just want to crawl back into bed. It's a back and forth. I will have to go back next Monday, so I am doing my best to rest, de-stress and take my mind off of everything. Those withdrawals I had when I quit CT were just so traumatic.

I'm glad the covid is behind you mostly. In my opinion, benzo wd can be much more challenging for some. My life was completely up side down after only 5 days use of a very low dose of valium, leading me totally bedridden ever since then. Take it very serious about getting off plan if I were you even though it can't be as bad as some of us here. Hope you stablize soon!

I'm glad the covid is behind you mostly. In my opinion, benzo wd can be much more challenging for some. My life was completely up side down after only 5 days use of a very low dose of valium, leading me totally bedridden ever since then. Take it very serious about getting off plan if I were you even though it can't be as bad as some of us here. Hope you stablize soon!

 

Thank you 4Mom. I am stabilizing, and am making my plans to begin the tapering process sometime down the road. I am setting myself up with the County Hospital which offers psychiatric care, a crisis ER ward in case of emergencies, and specialists that will help with monitoring the tapering. I am hoping to look for someone in my major city that's a specialist in these sort of things.

 

I feel almost stable and ready for work, but then there is something holding me back. I don't know if it's the trauma from the CT withdrawal,or just the thought that I am back on these pills that hinder me from moving on, but at this point it's mostly in my head.

 

All I do to past the time is watch episodes of Monk and Psyche, two cancelled TV detective shows. They tame me, but I might just watch Matlock or Quantum Leap too, LOL. I am rambling now. 

Good you got the needed support and most importantly you are stablizing!

 

Stress free is critical too. Glad the shows relaxes you!

 

Looking forward to hearing a success story from you !

Me, infected in March, cold sx was mild and short lived, cns sx is beyond unbelievable even my bwd has been one of the most severe cases and I know every one else horror.

 

Right around 3 months from the initial infection and started getting back to the bwd baseline, got mutile secondary infections. Been in constant seizure, though incomplete.

 

4mom,

 

Thank you for your reply.

 

I'm just trying to clarify and understand. You got infected in Covid in March. The Covid symptoms were mild cold like symptoms, but it ramped up your CNS symptoms from your taper. And then you got back to baseline CNS taoer symptoms after 3 months, but you're having incomplete seizures? Am I understanding that correctly?

 

I guess we could say one silver lining is that you had Covid and now you don't have to worry about getting it. I am sorry to hear that you had to endure an increase in withdrawal symptoms. Did you take any medications for Covid prescription or over the counter that could have contributed to an increase in your symptoms? Or do you believe it was the Covid itself that caused the CNS flare up?

 

I'm looking at your timeline and it looks like you were still tapering back in March when you got Covid, and your taper just ended recently. Is that correct?

 

I hope you get to doing much better with your taper soon, Covid, all of it. Thank you for sharing.

 

Take care

 

Hi miss fortitude,

 

Your understanding is correct overall except for the following

 

3 months after the initial infection while recovering, I got the 2nd infection (about 3 wks ago)

 

I completed tapering in July 2019, been off for 1 yrs.

 

No I didn't take any thing for covid as I know it will knock me off with unpredictable outcome.

 

The 2nd infection is much more severe causing incomplete seizures and greatly intensified original sx.

 

 

 

Yep - some people are getting repeat infections of covid.  West Nile is similar - people don't develop a strong immune response to it, and can get repeat infections.

It says for most ppl who infected can be immune for 6-12 months, but for the immune system extremely wrecked by benzo wd like mine, it happened much sooner

Hi miss fortitude,

 

Your understanding is correct overall except for the following

 

3 months after the initial infection while recovering, I got the 2nd infection (about 3 wks ago)

 

I completed tapering in July 2019, been off for 1 yrs.

 

No I didn't take any thing for covid as I know it will knock me off with unpredictable outcome.

 

The 2nd infection is much more severe causing incomplete seizures and greatly intensified original sx.

 

 

 

Me, infected in March, cold sx was mild and short lived, cns sx is beyond unbelievable even my bwd has been one of the most severe cases and I know every one else horror.

 

Right around 3 months from the initial infection and started getting back to the bwd baseline, got mutile secondary infections. Been in constant seizure, though incomplete.

 

4mom

 

Thank you for your detailed replies. Again,  I am so sorry you are going through this.

 

My husband runs a company with just 2 other employees and we are fortunate enough to work from home with no issues. We were doing the work from home gig from March until June. We decided to open the office back up. This is the type of business where clients do not come in very often. One person per floor drafting at a computer. We have the beauty of going right back to working from home if need be. (I am off of work and have been for a while because I'm recovering from WD).

 

We had the office open for 3 weeks. Then the increases started happening in Covid cases. As the 3 weeks passed I started to really heal from WD and to begin to return to a somewhat normal life. Then, my husband's coworker said his kid was going to practice for sports for highschool. Apparently in my state, the governor allowed that. So these kids are supposedly social distancing, while throwing baseballs and not wearing masks. This all happening simultaneously as numbers rise in our area and some restaurants had to close back down because employees tested positive. Also with school most likely opening in the fall and the employees kids will be back at school (we don't have kids.) I'm sick of thinking about it and worrying about it.

 

I had finally had enough of worrying about getting Covid on top of withdrawal. I feel like I have done nothing but be sick and afraid (from enduring withdrawal for the last 13 months since I've been off of Ativan.) I am sick of being afraid. I am healing now. The last 4 months I've been doing well, with the last month feeling REALLY well. I want a break from illness, worry and fear. It's like being free of the horrors of withdrawal just to turn around and worry about a very contagious virus that can make a person VERY sick to say the least. We are all in this same boat.

 

It's enough. I've had enough. I've been through enough. We've all been through enough. I want to be able to enjoy my recovery ... not worrying if an employee's kid will get Covid at practice, or if they go on vacation, or if their wife got it at her job....etc etc .

 

We have a choice. We're using it. "Sorry we're closed sign" on the office door. Done. Wait for a vaccine.

I had it. Symptoms began on July 1st. Body aches and 99.5 temp. The next day I went and got a test. For the next 2 days I had no symptoms. And then the body aches came back along with loss of smell and taste. Also began experiencing chest tightness. Doctor began treating me as covid positive. 3 days later the test came back positive. By then it had been a week and I didn’t really feel sick anymore. Although I had lingering chest tightness that came and went. After a couple weeks I got chest X-rays to rule out anything concerning. Everything looks fine. It’s been a month now. My smell hasn’t fully come back although I am beginning to be able to smell certain thinks again. Still have occasional chest discomfort but nothing bad. Hopefully I’ll be all good within the next few weeks. Overall it was pretty mild. The worst part about the experience was the anxiety. We are bombarded by horror stories in the media and a huge focus on critical and fatal cases. Which made me extremely paranoid I would die or be hospitalized. Luckily I did not. And statistically most cases are not severe. Although it is still a nasty virus that should be treated with respect and caution. Don’t let it overwhelm you. Hope that might help!