I started to feel a scratchy throat Sat 9th Oct evening, having travelled by train from Southampton to Prestatyn on the Thursday.
Felt a bit groggy Sun 10th, but able to mostly do what I planned, including a gentle ride (albeit I would like to have climbed the infamous Gwaenysgor “wall” on my road bike for the first time).
Mon 11th woke up feeling really groggy, wasted final morning, before travelling back south with a streaming nose, on top of sore throat and headache.
By Tues 12th, the physcial fatigue kicked in while doing nothing more than moving between rooms. Runny nose and sore throat began to subside, but sinuses and throat still felt bunged up, still waking up very late for me at ~0900.

A gentle 15min walk felt laboured on Fri 15th and shattered afterwards, including limb muscle and joint pain.
A 20min walk to grab some essential groceries Sat 16th in a light rucksack added shoulder muscle ache into the mix and shattered again.

The physical and mental fatigue from this bug is insane!

LFT on Tues and Thurs both negative.

Family in Prestatyn and my better half started getting symptoms ~24 hours after me and are all still suffering.

The desire to do anything on a bike still feels a really bad idea, despite feeling relatively great up to Sat 9th, when I did the ~6.9 mile Road To Hell climb out of Denbigh at threshold as part of a 50 mile loop.

Severe doubts about being fit for work tomorrow having done no exercise today so far as achy and tired, if I don’t go in I’ll need to contact GP for a fit note as that will be 7th day off work.

Anyone one else going through or been through similar recently, that doesn’t appear to be Covid related?

Yep. Had it for 4 weeks now. It’s becoming both tiresome and depressing. I have a ‘good’ day, where I feel a little better – then it’s back to square one…

Yes. Had it a three weeks ago. Knocked me for six for nearly a week.

Yes, I’ve been feeling shitty since last Tuesday, negative covid test too but it’s getting boring now. We went out earlier on for a steady walk just for a bit of fresh air more than exercise but I’m knackered again now and am crashed on the sofa under the duvet :/ My mam and sister are both crocked too (we haven’t seen each other for the last few weeks either.)

My other half has it, week and a half so far but just a bad cough now. She took a pcr test to make sure not covid,negative. My 2 year old boy had something at the same time but got over it quick apart from a throaty voice every now and again. I’ve just had a tickley throat feeling and the odd little cough.

Missus has just come down with something sniffly. Negative LFT. Hoping it passes quickly as she really doesn’t need this at the moment.

LFT on Tues and Thurs both negative.

which really proves nothing 🙂

Headache and scratchy throat waking up on wed morning, thursday the runny nose started and a bit of coughing, bit shattered, runny nose and sneezing on friday, knocked out sat, think I slept all of it after a couple of lemsips, feeling better today, bit low but no snot, back to work tomorrow.

If you think this is bad covid will kill you in 45 mins.

Yes, had it fir two weeks now, started with really bad sore throat then headaches and loads of mucus, still feel knackered after a 20 minute easy walk.

I wonder how all this covid thing has affected our exposure to all the other little beastly colds etc. Have we all been hiding and so have lost our resistance to them///.. Or maybe there are less of them in circulation because of it.

I’ve currently got painful sinuses and sore throat, tested negative and have zero energy, so probably, yes. Want to get better quick, I’ve got a schedule of flu jab then booster to fit in somehow.

I’m just getting better from it but it’s been horrendous. Probably as bad as COVID was for me.

Suffering here too. Started getting bad at work on Friday after sore throat and cough. Negative LF test Fri morning. Was supposed to be riding Lincoln National Champs sportive on Saturday and watching the races today. Instead I’ve spent the last two days in bed or on the sofa. Work will have to cope without me for the next couple of days at least.

Started sneezing and had a runny nose on Friday and worried that it would develop into the lurgy that is going around which would probably mean the postponement of my prostate cancer operation scheduled for this Thursday. Fortunately it hasn’t developed further and feel fine today.

Had it a fortnight, was terrible and my sinuses were horrendous. Tried to go back to work after a week, but had to come back home. Not too bad now but I can’t exercise really without my chest and throat kicking off again.

My son brought it home from school he was Ill enough we took him for a PCR test, thankfully negative

I’d a brutal cold, lasted about a month, started with a very sniffly runny nose, then developed into a cough and then into a nasty chest infection, probably should have went to the docs, but I just rode it out. got over it about 4 or 5 weeks ago, but the preceeding 4 weeks were nasty.

Yes, felt a bit tired last weekend and went for a road ride Sunday which wiped me out, ensuing headache and cough and mucus. Couldn’t contemplate a ride yet, 3 x25 min dog walks a day are more than enough at present, 10000 steps a day and nowt else for a bit longer I reckon.

Teenage son has had similar for 3 or 4 weeks and will be consulting gp tomorrow. Wife also, but she probs won’t speak to gp surgery..

I’ve had a toddler in nursery one day a week since Jan which has meant I’ve caught most viruses that he brings home… bad colds on 6 separate occasions so far this year.

February
May
July x2
September
October

A normal year is normally just one or two.

Yep. 19 months without a snuffle. Back to work for 3 days and went down with it. A week of a really nasty cough, snot, sinusitis which is largely gone now after a further week, but still an irritating cough and even more useless than normal on a bike.

First face to face meetings last wk (W&F) come Sunday 48hrs of horrendous dribbly nose, brain fog & headaches followed by 48hrs of a deep dry cough then another 72hrs of fatigue. Been dosing up like a good ‘un under instructions from the boys at Torq (https://www.torqfitness.co.uk/news/fighting-an-infection). Seem to be getting on top of it. Never had anything quite like this before..
(Negative test fo C19)

I’ll join the club!
Daughter caught a cold, probably picked up at school and passed it on to the rest of us and we can’t shake it off. It’s been three weeks now and I’ve still got a chesty cough and congestion which is getting me down. Doctors have said it’s just a cold and won’t prescribe any antibiotics so I’ve just got to try and work through it.
Definitely not Covid as we’ve all been doing Lateral Flow tests every two days as the wife is a Primary School head.

Daughter had it for a week or so – school sent her home until she’d had negative PCR test.

Eldest is shaking off Freshers Flu at the moment, staff at his uni are saying it’s the worst they can remember as nobody has really mixed for 18 months. Apparently Covid has flared up at a couple of colleges as well.

Currently down with what I hope is this cold. Kids have had it (daughter for two weeks with a nasty cough), wife got it lightly as did son (original spreader).

Of course I get proper sofa manflu. Day four. Awaiting PCR test (you’ll get the results within three days, when did it stop being a day eh).

Mine was terrible. Can’t believe they didn’t lock down again for it. 2.5 weeks off the the bike. 55 minute gentle spin on Saturday but still didn’t feel quite right this morning

With the cat AIDS and a cracked rib, BPW has been not quite as good as last time.

Still enjoyed it, though.

I thought I had the same turned out to be Covid. My wife who works for the NHS contacted her test and trace department at her trust and was told that one issue with the Delta Variant is that it doesn’t always show on a test until you have full on symptoms. So maybe worth checking again that it’s not just this cold bug and something more nasty.

It actually presented pretty similar to COVID for me, but I’ve had COVID a couple of months ago.

Boring reply but –
Lateral flow tests are for asymptomatic people
PCR is the test for people showing symptoms

Delta variant symptoms can be
blocked/runny nose
Sore throat
Headache
Achy muscles
Tired & unwell
Vomiting
Diarrhoea

Not so much the loss of taste/smell and fever. Not necessarily a cough.

Covid seems to be whipping through schools round here
Daughter 1 – diagnosed as concussion after swimming bump, turned out to be COVID on PCR.
Daughter 2 – failed Lat flow and PCR when asymptomatic, now all symptoms above.
Wife – full blown ‘flu like symptoms. Failed PCR.

Please take a PCR if you are unsure – near Southampton we’ve had results back in ~24hrs from drive though and postal (once postie has emptied his box)

Also there seem to be some false negative PCRs (not just from the one dodgy lab)…

Double vaxxed reduces risk but not completely (ask the wife 🙁)
Previous Covid does not prevent a second bout…

PS Obviously if you just have a raging cold, or proper COVID, I hope you all get well soon!

Whatever it is, try not to spread it!

PPS
Daughter 2 passed her lat flow on a weds, and PCR on the Thursday as her sister has failed.
Failed Lat flow/PCR tests on Sat (when asymptomatic) showed her lovely sister had shared it with her
So if you pass one test, maybe test again in 3 or so days?

Yep, I very much second the take another test thing. I had cold symptoms last weekend. Lateral Flow Test taken on Thursday, negative, went to a party Friday, another lateral flow negative Saturday, went out to meet some friends, and a dinner party on Sunday then went singing on Sunday, and again on Monday (Cold symptoms had all abated) then got a call that a mate of mine had tested positive, so Mrs Scape and I took another test…… both went positive within seconds. PCR confirms Covid.

Don’t trust the flow test if you have sniffles, and don’t write it off as a cold, go and get a PCR test done.

If you have symptoms, you should be getting PCR tests. LFT isn’t always sufficiently sensitive, a negative LFT doesn’t prove much.

That said, it’s only to be expected that colds and flu will be worse, we’ve not had our immunity topped up much for the past 18 months.

Currently got the bastard cold. Not covid, numerous tests.

I reckon this was always going to happen given the lack of mixing over the last 18 months not keeping stuff like the normal colds in circulation.

It is not particularly bad in its own right, but it is a stayer.

Had 3 PCR tests in the last 3 weeks, as I have had two medical procedures scheduled. All negative – so unlikely to be COVID. Due to vulnerability was double-jabbed before the majority of my age group (46), so I did wonder initially if it was milder Covid infection, but no.

Yep, sore throat Tuesday evening, got worse Wednesday, started getting a bit bunged up, barely slept Wednesday to Saturday. Gradually deteriorated Thursday, on Friday it felt like my head could explode, severe sinus pain and congestion, general lethargy. Has finally eased a fair bit today, but throat still not great.

LFT’s negative. Haven’t had a PCR as I know I caught it from someone who has regular LF and PCR tests for work, that have all been negative.

Herefordshire, by the way. Almost everyone local I’ve spoken to in the last week seems to know someone who’s got it or has had it recently. A friend in Yorkshire hasn’t heard of it up there yet though.

Can you really get it again as soon as a month or two later? I thought if double vaxxed and having had it you would have high levels of antibodies for a good while. Seems hard to find much info about reinfection though.

Main difference for me with this cold was I didn’t lose my sense of taste/smell hardly at all whereas it went completely with COVID. I guess I will get a PCR test anyway though I’m over the worst of it now.

Woke up not feeling great on Thurs 7th Oct, still went to work but by the evening I was destroyed. Spent all of Friday 8th in bed, most of the weekend, and had the next few days off work too, only returning to limited duties on Friday having spent most of the week in bed!

Feeling about 80% better now, but it knocked me for 6!

2 or 3 weeks ago I had an extremely mild cold for about a week. It barely registered although I had unmistakably picked up a virus – slightly swollen lymph nodes and that strange awareness when you swallow.

Wasn’t even blocked up but a bit of a runny nose and for the second half of the week the only symptom was constant sneezing.

I was surprised just how mild it was and first cold since pre-pandemic. I’m not sure I have ever had a cold so mild. LFT was negative.

Can you really get it again as soon as a month or two later?

About this time last year I had a friend who caught covid twice with about a month in-between. Tested positive both times and was quite ill both times, although not enough to go to hospital. He wouldn’t have had any jabs at that time though.

There is clearly different cold viruses going around, the one that lasts a week is unlikely to be the same thing that lasts a month unless there is vit D deficiency or chronic wimpitus.

re: catching Covid twice – isn’t the advice that you could test positive on a PCR for a long time after infection, so two illnesses within a month could conceivably be Covid and another cold/flu.