When you know you have Covid and a test says otherwise, what should you do?
Is it one of the variants or is it just the cold or flu bug? Sometimes it’s hard to tell, even with a test. Have you ever wondered why that is?
I have, and millions of other people around the world have.
I’ve recently come down with something and rapid tests are negative. I went for a PCR test and that said negative, yet, here I am still sick. Why?
Regardless of your vaccination status, everyone should be concerned with false readings on Covid tests. If the tests are wrong, people can spread the virus unknowingly. To some that might not be a problem, but if the wrong person gets it, they could die.
I write this blog post to support all those vulnerable people like the immune-compromised, transplant recipients, and cancer patients, who have basically been hibernating since this whole thing began. If they get sick, it could spell disaster.
I also write this blog post for the millions of babies and children who are vulnerable, yet unprotected. When Covid first came out, the world shut down to protect the elderly. Now, with more variants popping up, nobody seems to remember that there is still a vulnerable sector: The children.
Let’s do our best to protect everyone!
EXPOSURE
If you know you’ve been around someone that just tested positive, alarm bells should ring right away. You should take yourself out of commission for a few days to watch yourself.
Recently, I was around someone who tested positive for Covid. It was a surprise actually because the person didn’t have many symptoms.
I’m sure just about everyone that is reading this can relate. By now, we all know someone who tested positive. With new variants popping up all the time, it’s very likely that you will come in contact with the virus at some point.
I just wanted to put it out there that I was double vaccinated with a booster at the time of this blog post. I’ve also got my flu shot. I consider myself fully armed against Covid if it comes my way.
Well, I believe it did come my way.
SYMPTOMS
I developed symptoms about a week after being exposed to a confirmed Covid positive case. It started with a dull headache on Tuesday night that lasted all through the night.
The next morning, I still had the headache. It wasn’t like a migraine, but more like a sicky headache from a cold. In fact, it felt more like a sinus headache more than anything.
Right away, I thought, what’s this?
I knew I had been around someone who tested positive, so I was on high alert all week. I had been testing with rapid tests every day. All negative.
I had read that if it’s Omicron, transmission happens quickly, and after 8 days if you haven’t got it, you likely won’t.
Naturally, I thought I was mostly in the clear because a week had gone by.
However, there is one caveat I didn’t consider. I had been experiencing very sore eyes three days prior. I wrote it off as allergies, but it was getting worse and worse.
I could barely see; my eyes were so blurry and sore. It was like I had a cold in my eyes. I never even thought it could be an early sign of Covid until I read others had reported it also.
I wondered could my sore eyes be Covid? Who even thinks that way?
The first day of my headache, I went to work. Sure, I had been struggling with sore eyes, and now a headache too, but I didn’t put it together until I got to the office when my nose suddenly started dripping like a faucet.
What was going on?
Luckily, I was the only one at work. I hadn’t opened the door to the public yet, and no other employees had entered the building.
My mind started putting things together, and I wondered if perhaps this could be it. I immediately called to talk to a nurse and get some general information about how I was feeling. What I didn’t expect was her reaction.
She told me, do not open that door to the public. She set up a PCR test immediately and I closed up shop and went for the test. Thankfully I didn’t expose anyone else.
Throughout the course of the day, I felt really rough. It seemed my symptoms got worse in just a few hours. I spent the afternoon and evening in bed. I felt tired and lethargic. I had no motivation to even feed myself.
I was sure I had Omicron, but at the same time, I just didn’t know. It could all be a cold. However, I know myself. I don’t get sick often, but when I do, I get it pretty bad. And usually, I get it for a good two weeks.
I felt like this was different.
It was like my body was fighting it fast. Like it knew what to do. It’s was very strange. It reminded me of the reaction I had to the booster. 24 hours after my booster, I suddenly started sneezing until my nose closed. Then I started breathing through my mouth until I started wheezing, unable to get enough air.
I tried to sleep that night, but I couldn’t. I kept getting up trying to breathe. I felt very lightheaded because I wasn’t getting enough air. It was very scary. I was going to go into the ER the next morning, but I started feeling better when I got up and didn’t need to.
By noon the symptoms were completely gone. Talk about a strange reaction.
So, fast forward to now, and this whole thing feels like that. My first night of symptoms I also had a really bad night. I was drenched in sweat all night. Never had I ever had night sweats like that, and I’m a menopausal woman. I’m used to night sweats.
But these were night sweats from hell!
Day two of my symptoms, and my dull sicky sinus headache was still there. My eye pain was still there. My runny nose was intermittent. Lethargy was still there. My throat started feeling raw, but nothing alarming.
Generally, my symptoms were more like an on and off cold which confused me and made me second guess myself. Me, a person who is generally very healthy, hasn’t had a cold in a very long time, triple vaxed with a flu shot, having these weird symptoms, with known exposure.
I was just waiting for confirmation.
But confirmation never came. My results were negative. I couldn’t believe it! I was actually very upset. Not only did I not feel well, but I felt ripped off. It wasn’t that I wanted Covid, I just wanted there to be a reason for this whole terrible thing I was going through.
Wasn’t a PCR test the Gold Standard test that we were told would pick up even a hint of the virus? I was baffled until I did some research. There is a huge percentage of false negatives happening with PCR tests, as well as with rapid tests. I did not know that.
I immediately booked a second PCR test for a couple of days later. I wanted to know for sure!
But would I ever know for sure? I started to doubt. In fact, while talking to the doctor who screened me for the second test, he informed me that a PCR test is highly accurate.
I hope so because millions of people everywhere depend on the accuracy of the tests we are given.
A PCR test is no acceptation. With Covid and its variants running around mutating into subvariants, it’s important to catch them all before they do damage.
If a person is given negative results and thinks they don’t carry the virus, they can unknowingly infect a vulnerable immunocompromised person.
So, we are 100% relying on these tests. They better be right!
KINDS OF TESTS
There are several different brands of rapid tests available. They are antigen tests, meant to pick up the virus when you’re asymptomatic.
I don’t know if I hold much faith in them, because a friend didn’t test positive on the rapid test until a couple of days after a confirmed PCR test. It was crazy.
I think there is a lot of misinformation out there about how rapid antigen tests work. Who should use them, how to use them, and when they should be used.
I’ll leave some links at the end of the article so you can check into that. I’m not a medical professional, so anything I say is just meant for discussion purposes.
I am told a PCR test is more sensitive than the rapid antigen test, and to get one if you have symptoms.
I wanted to add that some medical professionals say there should be other things factored in to determine if you have Covid, like symptoms.
Yes, PCR and rapid antigen tests will give you a negative or positive. But if you had a known exposure as well as symptoms, it’s likely Omicron and you should isolate regardless of the test result.
It’s called clinical observation. That’s why when you get the results of a PCR test, the fine print says this: (Negative results do not preclude SARS-CoV-2 infection and should not be used as the sole basis for patient management decisions. Negative results must be combined with clinical observations, patient history and epidemiological information.)
RESULTS
Aw, the results. Should we trust them? Maybe.
I can’t tell you how many people I know test negative on an antigen test, only to find out they test positive on a PCR test.
And vice versa. I know a couple of people who tested negative on a PCR test even with symptoms and then a few days later retested, and it was positive.
Then there is human error. Because there are so many people getting sick, there are a lot of tests that need to go through the lab. That means human error.
Don’t kid yourself, there is always human error.
So, my thinking is if you think your test results are wrong, go get tested again. And if it’s still negative, keep testing.
But in the end, all you can do is the right thing. What is that? If you have symptoms, take yourself out of commission until you are symptom-free.
Don’t wait for that positive test. It may never come for whatever reason. Perhaps you tested too early. Perhaps you tested too late. Perhaps you viral load will never spike because your body knows how to fight it off before it’s detectable.
Remember, tests are never 100%. Do you know how many women take pregnancy tests that are false negative? Many.
Don’t rely on just a test. Look at the situation and your symptoms and do the right thing. As I said before, if it looks and smells like Omicron or other variants, it probably is.
CONCLUSION
Finally, I just wanted to update you on the results of my second PCR test. It was negative too. Really, I am not having faith in the testing system right now. Some are falling through the cracks and I don’t know why.
I know what I experienced. I’m triple vaccinated with a flu shot, and I was around someone who tested positive. I know what I experienced wasn’t the flu. I’ve only had the flu once in my life about 20 years ago, and I had it for 3 months and almost died it was that bad. So, I rule out the flu.
I thought it might be a regular cold, but I haven’t been sick for about 5 years. I’m pretty healthy. And even when I’m sick, it’s not intermittent like I experienced. Usually, it takes me a couple of weeks to even start feeling better. It doesn’t just end after 4 days like this did. So, I rule out the common cold.
Then I thought maybe allergies. I do have a lot of allergies, and I did come in contact with sap (which I’m allergic to) a couple of weeks prior. I had mild symptoms for 1 day because of it, but then it went away. As I stated, that was 2 weeks prior to the onset of symptoms. Also, allergies do not give you fever and chills, and drenching night sweats like I had the first night of symptoms. So, I rule out allergies.
I know my body and I know what I experienced was very weird. It was so crazy. One minute I felt very ill, and a few hours later, nothing. Only for it to return again the next day. Like I said, I believe it was Omicron. I believe it just didn’t show up on tests. I believe my viral load was too low to show up. Either that, or Omicron is not being detected in fully vaccinated, and boosted people with the flu shot.
All I know is, something weird is happening. Am I the only one that experienced this or are there other people out there that don’t fit into the mould?
Like I said, if it looks like Omicron, and it smells like Omicron, it likely is Omicron, or maybe one of its variants. Don’t just go by test results, go by clinical presentation. I had all the classic symptoms of Covid 19, yet no positive test to prove it.
How about you? Let me know about your experiences in the comments.