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Hello! Around The Start Of The Month I Became Very
Question: Hello! Around the start of the month I became very sick. For the first few days I only had a sore throat and a pain in my nostrils. Then I came down with a fever, cough, slight chest discomfort, muscle/joint aches, and fatigue. I didn’t reach out for COVID-19 testing, as I am in my 20’s and had no emergency symptoms, but I did call my doctor to get a note to stay home from work. After about 2 weeks, my symptoms went away (with exemption to fatigue). For a week I felt great. Then, starting last week, I started to become winded at small things like walking up the stairs. I began to have sharp pains in my chest on the left side that sometimes went around into my back. Then yesterday, my chest started to feel tighter than it was when I was originally sick, and my cough came back worse. Today it has just progressively gotten worse, and my temp is 99.8. I don’t feel as though I am in an emergency situation, but I am concerned about my symptoms. I’m unsure about my next steps...should I try to get in with my regular doctor, although he seemed dismissive when I spoke with him on the phone when I first was sick? Or should I play the waiting game?
Brief Answer:
Either getting seen or waiting would be reasonable
Detailed Answer:
Hello, I'm Dr. Branch, thanks for using 'Ask a Doctor'. The fact that you felt great for a week suggests you have something else going on unrelated to your illness a few weeks ago. However, it is a little strange that you would get sick again so soon after apparently recovering. Your symptoms do sound like a viral illness, and of course COVID-19 would be a possibility, though it is hard to say whether you had COVID-19 to begin with, or you have it now.
If you are still feeling like you can breathe alright, I think either option would be reasonable. If I saw you in my clinic, I would probably get a chest x-ray just to make sure the lungs looked clear and there was no pneumonia or anything else. But if you feel alright, waiting would be fine as well, but if you start to get more short of breath, or having a fever with a temperature above 100.4, I would recommend getting evaluated to make sure nothing more serious (such as pneumonia) is going on.
I hope that helps, please let me know if you have any other questions about that, and I would be glad to discuss it with you further.
Either getting seen or waiting would be reasonable
Detailed Answer:
Hello, I'm Dr. Branch, thanks for using 'Ask a Doctor'. The fact that you felt great for a week suggests you have something else going on unrelated to your illness a few weeks ago. However, it is a little strange that you would get sick again so soon after apparently recovering. Your symptoms do sound like a viral illness, and of course COVID-19 would be a possibility, though it is hard to say whether you had COVID-19 to begin with, or you have it now.
If you are still feeling like you can breathe alright, I think either option would be reasonable. If I saw you in my clinic, I would probably get a chest x-ray just to make sure the lungs looked clear and there was no pneumonia or anything else. But if you feel alright, waiting would be fine as well, but if you start to get more short of breath, or having a fever with a temperature above 100.4, I would recommend getting evaluated to make sure nothing more serious (such as pneumonia) is going on.
I hope that helps, please let me know if you have any other questions about that, and I would be glad to discuss it with you further.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Kampana
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