Our Whole Family Had Covid-19. Here’s My Experience & Advice.

I am sharing here since many of my friends have asked for as many details of our time with Covid as I am willing. This seems a good way to capture these ideas for future reference. It also offers a first-person experience with Covid.

Covid hit our family hard in August, and while we all came through it with mild or moderate symptoms, it took a toll.

As much as possible, I will only explain my experience for the privacy of the rest of our family. But suffice to say that my family (my husband, older than I am; and our three kids–two young adults and one teenager) experienced similar symptoms and progression back to health.

I also want to give some advice for families when it comes to Covid. I am not an infectious disease expert or a medical professional. But here is what I can offer:

• the first-hand misery of going through Covid. (Not to be too 19th century about it).

• advice for ways to prepare for having Covid, especially in a family setting.

• plans going forward to prevent re-infection and keep myself and my family safe.

My Covid experience does not apply directly to money coaching, but friends will know that I love giving advice. If you are interested in some general money coaching articles, check out this small selection:

How to Calculate Your Net Worth and Why You Should

Paying Off Credit Cards: Getting Your Act Together

Simple Ways to Increase Your Emergency Fund

My first-hand experience with Covid-19

My Covid symptoms started in late July/early August as what seemed like a summer cold. Everyone in the family began having symptoms within a few days of each other.

I am very grateful that I opted not to see my in-town sister on a Saturday morning a few days after I started symptoms. I told her I did not want to spread my “cold” to her.

A day or two later, we realized as a family we were doomed, so to speak, when my oldest did a smell test and realized that she could not smell vinegar, bleach, and a few other strong-smelling household items.

Within a few days, we all had lost our sense of taste and smell.

Other symptoms? For me, the intense nausea and fatigue hit me hard, but I also had the typical symptoms of fever and cough. I also had trouble regulating my body temperature–whether hot or cold.

About five days after my symptoms started, my doctor ordered a Covid test, and–surprise– I was Covid positive. And so was the rest of the family.

*symptoms and length of sickness

My symptoms lasted most of August, and I still haven’t quite gotten back to my former energy level. The fatigue was probably the worst part of it for me, as well as the inability to concentrate or accomplish much during those weeks.

I still cannot smell certain things. For instance, I can smell vinegar but not bleach–that is odd. And food still tastes different.

In some ways I am still eating like a toddler. “Plain pasta, with butter, grilled cheese with the crusts cut off” isn’t my actual diet. But the things I like and do not like right now are toddler-weird. For instance, a Wendy’s Frosty sound good to me often, and I have about one a week. So I am trying to eat healthy foods and also listen to what my body wants. Perhaps there are some micronutrients in a Frosty that I need for recovery? A girl can hope.

Advice to prepare, just in case you get Covid:

*a thermometer (maybe more than one).

Early in the pandemic (in April), we gathered all all of our thermometers, so we had those on hand to check our temps regularly when needed. Once we had Covid, our fevers would come and go, and it was helpful to have relatively accurate numbers. When my health care provider checked in with me (which was often during Covid), and she always wanted to know my temperature.

Here is a basic forehead thermometer. The one I ordered from eBay well before we had Covid has not worked very well. In general, the digital under-the-tongue ones seem to be more accurate.

*a pulse oximeter.

Based on information we read in the spring (here is a summertime article), it seemed a good idea to obtain a pulse oximeter (or “pulse ox”), and I ordered one on eBay, since I could not find any local or online stores that had them in stock. Now they are more widely available. Here is one for about $20 on Amazon.

The pulse ox turned out to be a good indicator to our condition. My reading reading is normally 99. But during Covid, was in the 92-93 range for several weeks. I never really felt what I would call “short of breath,” but, I wasn’t really doing much other than walking in the backyard with dogs, and moving from bed to couch to chair, on repeat.

*medications & supplements.

The ones that helped us:

*Aleve for muscle aches and fever.

*Pepcid. More than one of our health care providers suggested Pepcid as a symptom reducer. Apparently doctors treating the first people with Covid noticed that those who already took Pepcid for digestive issues tended to have more moderate symptoms.

*Elderberry. I am not quite crunchy enough to make my own elderberry, or even take the syrup, but we have been taking this highly regarded brand of gummies for a couple of years. Sam’s Club has a large bottle of it usually available.

*a good support system.

Not being able to make food was really difficult. It is not like we wanted to eat anything, but we had to eat something. At first we had canned soup and crackers, and tried to stay hydrated.

That’s why I am so very grateful for the family members and friends who offered to drop off groceries and homemade food for us.

Nothing much sounded good to us for so long. That is why the various chicken soups and similar items helped so much when we just couldn’t cook or think about it, but needed to eat something.

After a few days of this, I actually reached out to a few more friends and asked them to bring over (bland) food. I am so glad that I did, because people want to help–and we needed the help.

Having Covid was also hard on me emotionally because of the isolation and fatigue. I am slowly getting better about reaching out to friends and connecting, because for so long I did not have the energy or the brain to do so.

*if you start having symptoms that might be Covid:

If you develop what you think is a cold, make an effort to stay home and stay away from people.

This goes double if you develop a fever or lack of appetite. You could also do a smell check periodically, as loss of smell and taste is one of the top symptoms that people get.

If you suspect you might have Covid and have some of the classic symptoms, reach out to your health care provider and ask to can be tested. A test ordered by your health care provider can sometimes provide a quicker test result.

*what to do about the rest of the family:

We happened to experience symptoms all at the same time, so we did not really need to isolate anyone in the house. However, we had planned for that, and could do so if necessary.

Even though we all had it, one medical provider did suggest to us not to congregate a lot all together so that our “viral load” wouldn’t increase. Scientists are not sure about the benefits of that, but it did seem easy enough to do, and none of us felt much like having family dinners.

We just ate whenever we got hungry, heating up the chicken soup that friends brought (see above).

*if you has the misfortune to get Covid:

• Take it easy as much as possible.
• Say yes to help, especially meals. After a few people volunteered to bring over food, I reached out to a few others to bring us some (bland) food items. I have set up innumerable new mom meal trains over the years. It can feel strange to be on the receiving end, but I am so grateful for all the food.
• Try to stay active at your level of fatigue. Since we were quarantined at home and were not supposed to leave our property, we would walk our dogs around our yard several times a day. Keeping up our strength was helpful
• Distraction is a good bet for keeping symptoms at bay. See the shows/movies/channels listed below for some suggestions.
• If your health department or healthcare provider offers it, take advantage of monitoring. For instance, after we were diagnosed, several of us used an app to record our symptoms each day, and we could speak with a provider if needed.

Protection against reinfection

The science is all over the place here. Some say three months or more. Some research suggests far less.

I had a lengthy and very helpful conversation with a person at our local health department. She told me that since I have had Covid-19, I likely have some immunity for 12 weeks or more. And if I were exposed to someone with Covid during that time, I would not have to quarantine.

The biggest risk going forward, she told me, was that those of us who have had Covid could be re-infected, but likely with very few or no symptoms. That means it would be easier for us to spread it, because we could be asymptomatic and thus not seek testing or treatment.

I am not cavalier about getting or not getting Covid again. I sincerely hope I never get it again, so I will take measures to avoid it and avoid spreading it to others. (This story about a local young mother who died from Covid, serves as extra motivation to keep others safe). And even if not very likely, re-infection is possible.

So I follow local health department and store regulations.

At the same time, for now, I remain comfortable going into stores. I have also taken this opportunity during our time of immunity to going to Mass several times a week. (Our local Catholic churches have strict policies regarding masks, distancing, and cleaning, so even without immunity it is a relatively safe environment.)

A few FAQs:

How did you get Covid?

Essentially: we will never know where we got it. We have all worn masks when out, we have social distanced, and we stay at home as much as possible. I have seen a handful of friends in person since this began in March (and none in July, when we probably were exposed to Covid).

Like virtually everyone else, I go grocery shopping less frequently and at less busy times (such as early in the morning). I also take advantage of online shopping, and curbside pickup.

The rest of the family has also been reasonably cautious. No one has attended any big gatherings. When we have seen friends, it has been outdoors and either with masks or distancing.

When we spoke with health care providers, one told me we shouldn’t play the “blame game” trying to figure out where we got it. We have all been reasonably careful, but you cannot prevent everything.

Was having Covid bad?

Yes, Covid is just as miserable as you would expect. My main symptoms: fatigue, cough, fever, loss of smell and taste, nausea, and did I say fatigue? See above for more of the specifics.

At the same time, we are immensely grateful that none of us had to be hospitalized.

What helped you during Covid?

*friends & family:

As I mentioned above, family & friends to bring groceries and food to us was a lifesaver.

*shows/movies we have found comforting.

We have found certain shows to be helpful comfort food as we recover.

*Psych.

Top of the list, for some reason: the long-running series “Psych” a detective comedy/drama show about a highly observant guy who pretends to be a psychic as he serves as a “crime consultant” to the Santa Barbara Police Department.

Psych aired for eight seasons starting in 2004, but I only discovered this summer. has been a good mix of interesting and funny but not explicit, in general, in either violence or sexual content.

[A few exceptions: after watching one of the serial killer episodes I decided to skip those going forward. But apart from skipping those, most episodes provide a funny 40-minute escape. Psych is on Amazon Prime, and Amazon’s “X-Ray” feature has fun trivia about the show that we read after each episode.

*Jane Austen movie adaptations.

Earlier this summer –pre-Covid–we watched the BBC Pride & Prejudice (the only good adaptation, in case you were wondering). We also watched the 1994 Persuasion with Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds. My Zoom-based Jane Austen book group had read both of the original books. After we finished our multi-meeting discussions, it was fun for me to watch the adaptations with the family. . We also watched the new adaptation of Emma, and I was surprised at how much I liked it.

*NO FOOD NETWORK.

Ugh. Food was so unappealing.

*HGTV.

HGTV shows were the Goldilocks “just right” type of comfort watch. There are beautiful homes & rooms; interesting and tidy transformations; and interesting but not difficult to follow dialogue.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

I did not mean to write this much about my experience with Covid. But I would like to prevent others from getting it, as well as managing if they do have the misfortune of getting Covid.

Let me know in the comments if you have any other questions about my experience, and I will try to answer them.