Cvs pcr covid test

I came in here recently in a panic about a double positive for HSV1 and HSV2. I would be entirely asymptomatic but had a GF from a few years ago that had mentioned it, halfway into the relationship. Something about her aunt or grandmother kissing her while HSV etc.
I then got in contact with my provider and asked for a quantitative analysis because there was no actual index range for the double positive test. I'm assuming it was some form of kit test or something.
When I had put in for the kit test, it would be a quanitative analysis PCR and both results came back "Not Detected".
Is this something that happens frequently? I was figuring it would just be a low index number 1 to 3 and that would be a false positive. At least that's what I read.
I do understand this is still inconsiderate to people who do actually have either HSV1 or HSV2. I'm just surprised by this on and off experience.

Has anyone ever tested positive for Covid-19 while taking PEP and has that impacted the way PEP worked?

I’m in my 4th year of my 4 year probationary period in the district I work in, and at the end of that time you have to make a portfolio for your tenure proving that you’ve developed your instruction and sought professional development, students have shown growth, and that you’ve invested in your school community.
I stepped up in every conceivable way this year. I took over as department head after the previous one went on paternity leave and didn’t want the responsibility anymore, I’m on the school leadership team, I’ve run meetings for our instructional cabinet of department heads, administrators from the district, and done helpful PDs for my colleagues, I’m one of two people who help out with technology in the entire school, I’ve been the point of contact for sales reps for software and repairs, I’ve opened up my classroom for critique in order to help my department, I’m out in the hallways every day breaking up fights and moving kids along to their next class, I’ve improved my evaluation scores across the board, I run one of the ONLY clubs at my school (volleyball in the mornings), my kids’ iReady scores have gone up, I have positive letters to file from administrators, colleagues, parents, and students, and I do all of this while waking up at 5am each morning to commute an hour and a half each way.
But because my first two years they canceled the state test and had no data, and then the kids took it for the first time in 2 years last year after 2 years out of the traditional classroom setting due to COVID and absolutely BOMBED it (shocker), AND because my school was the only one whose scores went down in the district, my tenure wasn’t approved and was extended until next year.
So it’s been really cool to know that all of my effort meant nothing because on a technicality (that being a once in a century pandemic completely exposing our garbage education system) I now have to add a few slides once I get the data from this year’s state test scores.
Happy to work in a profession that truly values and acknowledges the effort of hard working teachers. Only 3 weeks left until summer vacation and only 4 weeks until I’m teaching summer school for the 3rd year in a row.

Three weeks ago, I was the sickest I had ever been with covid (first timer; fully vaxxed with 1 booster) and seriously thought I was never gonna get better.
I suffered with majority of the common symptoms and it triggered my asthma pretty badly. I went from using my puffer once in a blue moon to multiple times a day. My anxiety levels also went through the roof and I had some rough, sleepless nights. There were nights when I couldn’t even lie down on my back or sides and had to sleep upright. Otherwise, I would feel like suffocating and would have what felt like panic attacks - absolutely horrible!
As most of these symptoms gradually improved and eventually testing negative, I started to experience new symptoms that were equally annoying if not worse. I lost my sense of taste and smell completely for a few days but regained them eventually within the following week with much relief! My lungs started to feel very heavy, painful at times, and tight where I would struggle to breathe or take deep breaths, I had coughing fits, wheezing, tickly and tight/swollen throat feeling, palpitations, pounding/rapid heart rate, on and off headaches, brain fog, dizziness, and just overall discomfort. This was when I started to really amp up my herbal remedies and supplements regimen.
Fast forward to today, I’ve managed to clear my congestion and safe to say coughing has reduced to 10% (which feels like a miracle to me as I’ve heard of cases lasting for 2-6 months). My asthma has improved significantly, I no longer have chest pains, shortness of breath, and hardly any wheezing. I have lots of energy and starting to feel like myself again.
I do still have a few minor symptoms lingering like random headaches and itchy throat, brain fog, and anxiety(!) which makes me think I may have or be developing “Long/Post Covid condition” but it might be too early still to be sure?
Nevertheless, I’m feeling really positive about my progress despite not taking paxlovid or any strong medications. I’ve always preferred natural/herbal treatments and I believe they helped me recover quicker than I thought I would considering the severity of this virus.
If you’re experiencing something similar, I highly recommend trying some of these natural/herbal remedies and supplements that worked really well for me (in no particular order):

• Wild Oregano oil capsules (my go-to antibiotic for various conditions)
• Sambucol Black Elderberry: Immune defence forte tablets and Elderberry lozenges
• Anticol lozenges (if elderberry aren’t strong enough)
• Bisolvon cough relief + Immune support (herbal)
• Fresh Ginger tea (with/without honey)
• *Chrysanthemum tea and Honeysuckle tea (most of the time mixed together for better effectiveness)
• Frozen mixed berries smoothie (with water only, no sugar)
• **Chlorophyll and Spirulina supps
• Fish oil supp
• Vit D + Calcium + Magnesium supp
• Grape seed (powerful antioxidant & immune support)
• Homemade Lemon carbonated/sparkling water
• Cacao latte (instead of coffee, no sugar)
• Probiotics (before breakfast, to counter antibiotics)
• Gazillions of water throughout the day

*These are probably my holy grail. They are popular Chinese herbs but not all Asian supermarkets have them so you have to search or ask around. They come in dried form and are inexpensive. They have amazing antiviral, anti-inflammatory, detoxifying properties and really help combat flu symptoms and respiratory issues. They also help normalise blood pressure so they have a relaxing, calming effect.
**If you’re not into taking multivitamins, you should at least take these (or either one). They are packed with various vitamins, antioxidants and minerals, and improve energy levels. They boost red blood cells, stimulate cell growth and promote healing.
I am no medical professional by any means so of course it goes without saying that if unsure you should check with your doctor before taking any of these especially if you’re on medication or have underlying health issues.
I hope some of you will find these tips helpful. Whoever’s still reading this…Hang in there, be patient and know that what you’re feeling now won’t last forever. Take it one day at a time.

Easier said than done I know, but this sub brought me equal parts comfort and anxiety since my (low risk) scare. Just want share my testing history before taking a break.

• Day 23 - finger prick rapid home self-test, waste of $ at that time tbh
  
• Day 30 - 4th gen alere determine at an LGBT clinic. The non-clinician counselor there assured me that (a) after a month this test is >95% accurate but (b) because my exposure risk was so low, I should take this as conclusive. I spent too much time online and didn’t listen.
  
• Day 42 - 4th gen vein blood draw. Doctor said he would be very very surprised if I was positive given my risk and 1 month test. MULTIPLE doctors said this was conclusive and that the difference between day 42 and 45 is negligible. Negative. Of course, still anxious.
  
• Day 63 - OraQuick. Neg. Idk why I did this one. Anxiety I guess.
  
• Day 72 - 4th gen alere determine at a clinic. Counselor said they never worry about false negative this close to day 90 in practice and I should just return to 3-6 month routine testing if sexually active. (I won’t be for awhile lol)
  

Look I’ll probably take a 3 month OraQuick out of an abundance of caution but I should’ve just listened to my providers earlier on. Whether at the Day 30 or Day 42 visit, idk. But I need to move on now before another story on this sub sends me spiraling.
Also final advice: If you target your Google search to “X and HIV” you will ALWAYS get a result showing an association. Thats not a smart way to think about symptoms! I walked around for days unmasked with COVID cuz I was so convinced it was HIV that I didn’t take a COVID test!
Edit: And if your provider says test again at X days because your exposure was super high risk, then listen to them! I’m just sharing my experience and not advocating to stop testing early. My exposure, while traumatizing, was not high risk.

Howdy all, just having a debate in my mind about the below & was curious to hear the general consensus:
Have been dealing with a really scratchy throat for the last few days, terrible migraines that seem to come in waves & a nose that is like a running tap.
I quickly did a COVID test before work & came back negative, so I’m assuming I have something flu like, though this got me wondering, has the general consensus changed as far as to say if you don’t have COVID you should suck it up and get back to work? Does anyone else ever feel this way?

To start, I’m so excited to marry my fiancé and I know in my heart this is what is most important. And he has been so supportive during the crunch time leading up to the wedding trying to take as much off my load as possible. But to say that the last couple of weeks have been challenging is putting it mildly.
First, the Saturday post-wedding event we planned (Friday wedding) we learned a few days ago is no longer possible due to circumstances out of our control (the venue had to abruptly shut down operations). We scrambled over the weekend to come up with an alternative event and felt good about averting that crisis.
Then this morning we found out that an extended family member tested positive for COVID. We were with this family member as well as many other family at another wedding this past weekend so there is the possibility we all were exposed. Me and my fiancé both got rapid tests and fortunately tested negative but have started receiving several declines now just days before our wedding. Most of these are out of extra precaution and I understand everyone has to make the decision they are comfortable with but it’s still disappointing.
I am feeling pretty devastated. We had already received a larger than anticipated number of declines (about a 75% acceptance rate) and catering numbers have already been submitted so I’m out the money for these extra declines. I’m now also faced with potentially having to reconfigure the whole layout (that I spent weeks working on) to now fit a smaller group and not have empty tables and it has to be done tonight.
I’m just so exhausted and disheartened over the whole wedding event. I want to feel excited and happy but deep down I feel sad and embarrassed that our guest count is so much lower than what was expected and I’m second guessing all the decisions we have made up to this point. I should also add that I suffer from mild to severe anxiety that has become increasingly difficult to manage throughout the wedding planning process.
Not sure if I’m looking for advice, words of wisdom, or encouragement (or just need to vent). I know we will still have an amazing day but today just kind of sucks all around.

Hey all, I apologize for this being long, but I really wanted to be descriptive and thorough about my thoughts and reflections.
Demographics

• Gender: Male
• Race/Ethnicity: White
• Residence: Southwest
• Income Bracket: Probably upper middle class
• Type of School: Catholic private school
• Hooks (Recruited Athlete, URM, First-Gen, Geographic, Legacy, etc.): None

Intended Major(s): Computer science
Academics

• GPA (UW/W): 3.97 UW, 4.45 W
• Rank (or percentile): 1/~200
• # of Honors/AP/IB/Dual Enrollment/etc.: 15 honors (2 of which are also dual enrollment), 9 APs – AP CSA (5), AP Lang (3), APUSH (1 – took this class to raise my GPA, ended up using it as a study hall because the teacher wasn’t good), AP Chem (4), AP Calc AB (5), AP Lit, AP Physics 1, AP Calc BC, AP Spanish Lang
• Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc BC, AP Lit, AP Physics 1, AP Spanish Lang, Honors Theology 4, Digital Painting and Honors Focus Research (first semester), Psychology and Dual Enrollment Honors Economics, Ethics, & Entrepreneurship (second semester)

Standardized Testing (weak spot lol)

• SAT: 1430 (690RW, 740M) (taken once, didn’t submit anywhere)
• ACT: 31 (35E, 35M, 26R, 28S) (taken three times, only submitted to MIT and Georgia Tech due to them requiring a test)

Extracurriculars/Activities (also weak spot lol)

1. “Varsity” (lol) robotics all four years – participated in FRC as a programmer and builder; senior year I was also a co-captain
2. Programming/game design – I simply enjoy programming in many languages and designing basic video games using C# in Unity
3. Violin – tbh I have no clue why I put this, I began learning at the end of my junior year as a hobby because I liked orchestral music
4. Service hours – I’ve completed over 130 service hours throughout my time in high school, including religious service, service to the poor, and service to the community
5. School house leader – attended a school leadership camp in the summer of 2021 (going into my junior year) and then served as a leader and the communications coordinator for my house during my junior year (for houses, think Harry Potter but there’s 10 of them)
6. National Math Honor Society/Mu Alpha Theta – participated in Catholic Math League and AMC math test competitions, but nothing serious (we just kinda did no practice and took the tests when the days came lol)
7. Danger of A.I. research paper – wrote a 37-page research paper discussing A.I. and its potential and interviewed a tech professional for my Honors Focus Research course
8. National Honor Society – pretty self-explanatory (only allowed to join junior or senior year, so I did this for two years); requires 5 tutoring hours each semester
9. Tutoring – basically tutored kids in math and computer science a lot, especially this one kid in cs basically every week during my junior year
10. Senior GOYA (Greek Orthodox Youth of America) community member – basically a member of my Greek Orthodox Church’s youth group and met for activities (liturgical/worship services and discussions/fun activities) a few times each month

Awards/Honors

1. Mathematics department award (sophomore year) – given to one student per grade
2. Principal’s list every semester (4.0 weighed or above) – a quarter of my grade was on this last year so doesn’t mean much imo lol
3. School scholars program – about 10% of my grade is in this, requires certain courses to be taken and a certain GPA to be maintained for a scholarship
4. Graduated summa cum laude – obtained by maintaining a 4.0 weighted and taking extra courses (such as Honors Focus Research)
5. National STEM Honor Society – member since sophomore year and also school president

Letters of Recommendation
Counselor letter (8/10) – I don’t know much of about the letter to be honest, especially since my counselor and I didn’t really meet much, but I do know she liked me and thought of me as a very bright student, so imma guess above average
AP Lang teacher (9/10 or 10/10) – I first had her for Honors Argumentation & Rhetoric sophomore year; she and I clicked well and I did very well in her AP class junior year, despite only getting a 3 on the exam (not my greatest exam day, and I also rushed a lot on the final essay); she used my essay as a sample across all her AP classes once and called me one of the best writers she has ever taught, along with recommending several students from her 22-23 classes to me for writing help
AP Calc teacher (7/10) – calc was hands down my best subject, and I’ve had this teacher for AB junior year and for BC senior year; in BC, I got the highest score on her midterm (I’m pretty sure) and definitely on her final exam in the history of her teaching (which has been going on for about 10 years); I’ve heard though that this teacher typically writes similar letters for good students with just some extra info that pertains to each student specifically, so it might not have stood out compared to the letters written by her for other students
AP CSA teacher (7/10) – similar story to the calc letter; I did really well in the class as the only sophomore, and my teacher has been my robotics coach for all four years of high school, but I know he does a similar thing to calc, where he writes similar letters for each good student but some extra specific information to the student; this might’ve blended in with my friend’s letter, as he applied to similar schools and also requested a letter from this teacher
Interviews

• All of these interviews were done through Zoom
• Princeton (8/10) – my first interview, and probably also my best; he was an older alumni who majored in history I believe, but he had an interest in A.I. and programming like I did; we clicked and I told him a lot about my robotics team and my coding projects; additionally, he loved Greece, and since I was Greek, we had that connection too; he also said he hadn’t seen a whole lot of programmers in interviews recently, and he seemed to be pleasantly surprised
• Stanford (6/10) – second interview; the dude was very nice but it kinda seemed like a “question-and-answer” interview; he seemed pretty interested in what I had to say and asked me a lot about robotics as well, but certainly wasn’t enthralled with anything
• MIT (4/10) – last interview, and not very great at that; this interview was very “question-and-answer” and she just kept asking me basic questions; she gave me the bruh face throughout and it was kinda uncomfortable, although she was very nice; to make matters worse, I replied to the email to schedule the interview like three days after I got the initial interview email, because I was on a school retreat without phones

Essays
Overall, I think my essays were pretty strong, and I think my Common App essay in particular must’ve been strong. It was a graded assignment for my AP Lit class, and I got an A on it after months of working on it (my AP Lit teacher was a strict grader). I wrote a story about a student I tutored in cs a lot and sprinkled coding metaphors throughout. As for supplementals, some of them I spent some more time on (a few weeks or even months), some of them I spent a few days on, and for like a few of them I wrote the day before they were due, but I don’t think they were that bad; I really tried to make them specific to me and engaging, although none of my supplements were reviewed by a teacher or advisor.
Decisions (indicate ED/EA/REA/SCEA/RD)
Acceptances:

• ASU Barrett (EA)

Waitlists:

• Georgia Tech (RD) -> rejected

Rejections:

• MIT (RD)
• Stanford (RD)
• Harvard (RD)
• Princeton (RD)
• Caltech (RD)
• UC Berkeley (RD)
• Carnegie Mellon (RD)

Additional Information (my thoughts and insights):
I’ll share some of my insights really quick. I definitely believe my test scores were a problem, along with my ECs: I didn’t do any summer programs, publish any papers, participate in any real competitions, etc. As for the test scores, I took the ACT three times and the second time was my best; in middle school, I developed a bad habit of spending hours on tests (a strange perfectionistic, double checking tendency) and although it thankfully mostly went away in high school (I do every school test now with no extra time), I still struggle not to get anxious during the ACT and SAT and seem to never finish on time for the reading comprehension portions. After my ACT tries, I had the chance to take the SAT once, which I did, and due to its more lenient timing, I did better than any ACT attempt, but worse on the math. Ultimately, I didn't do early action for any school except for my safety school's honors college (which is test blind) in the hopes of significantly raising my test score before regular decision, which didn't really happen.
Another issue was that my school doesn’t publish rank, so I couldn’t say where I was ranked in my application; additionally, it wasn’t until after applications were sent that I was confirmed to be ranked 1st/valedictorian.
Overall, life hasn’t been a breeze since covid hit in freshman year. I’ve went through much overthinking, a lack of motivation, and even major surgery last summer; in the end, however, I am not as distraught as you may think. I am actually quite happy to go to my state school’s honors college, especially since a lot of my friends are going to the same college. I mentally prepared myself to receive all rejections, so I wasn’t very demotivated upon getting the results, especially because I knew what a lottery these admissions could be.
Anyway, thanks to all of those who took the time to read this, and I hope y’all continue to share your insights and advice with others.

I applied for an over 21 adult dependant to join may father over 10 years ago. I received notifcation that a visa was available over covid and it was put in hold. I finally recieved an invitation to interview in 2021, however i had a freak health issue (which i can document up until this date) in which i needed a series of tests. I emailed the interview centre to reschedule but they told me i couldn’t do this - i would need to ‘no show’ and then try and rebook.
One year later i received a notice that informed me they had closed my application unless i could prove that the decision to not pursue my visa was beyond my control within the next year.
I am now 2 months from this deadline. I applied for this visa when i was 23 and i have been waiting such a long time. I am in the uk so these health investigations on the NHS have taken years (i was reluctant to move to the usa until they were finished as i wouldnt have had health insurance when i got there) my tests have found that i do have a heart condition but that it is treatable and wont be severe (which i didn’t know at the time). Again, i have the health records to show i was having on going tests and a doctor agreed to operate.
Is it feasable to contest my visa on health grounds? My health condition started with a vaccine and they wanted me to have vaccines as part of my medical hence why i couldn’t go.
I’m sad that i may have missed my chance after all this time to join my dad. Has anyone successfully reinstated a visa because they didn’t just simply file a change of a address and the visa centre missed it (i feel like that might be the only reason they would overturn)

Crazy story that started in 2018 when I was 19. My grandmother had been suffering from dementia for a good year or a year and a half. My grandfather had passed about three years prior. I was spending some time taking care of her, while my parents and aunts and uncles were out of town. She was at the point where she can still remember names some memories and occasionally seem very lucid. However, her memories tended to come and go. That weekend while hanging out with him she told me that my grandfather was not my bio grandfather and that my dad was adopted, and they had never told him before, I tried to ask more questions, but then she was confused about what I was asking about. It Bothered me for a minute but eventually I struggled after me nothing more dementia, talking. My grandmother passed from Covid in an care facility in 2021.
Fast forward to this year, I randomly decided to get a DNA test kit. When the results came back, it showed that I was not related to any of my dad uncles, aunts or cousins. My moms side showed up just fine! But the paternal side said that I had an aunt and cousin who lived elsewhere in the USA. Their profile was public so I clicked it, I was shocked to realise, after some digging that this was the daughter of my families childhood pastor. He is still alive but in pretty frail health from what I saw.
I kept the news to myself, but a few months later, me and my dad had a huge blowout argument. He was mad that I wouldn’t take a job with my uncle and that’s when I told him the news in the middle of the fight, I also showed him all the evidence. He has t spoken or contacted me in a month since then! It was an accidental slip but AITA?

27F / diagnosed with Endometriosis (had it removed January 2022) / had Covid September 2022 I take 200mg Sertraline for depression and the mini-pill
Since having Covid, my legs have been getting weaker and it gets more and more painful to walk, especially up the stairs.
I was recovering well in the months between my post/op, up until I got Covid.
I’ve tried physio, walking more and leg exercises but nothing helps. If I have to walk long distances, I have to go slow and take loads of breaks in between.
When it gets too much, my legs start shaking and I can’t walk in a straight line; one time recently when I walked longer than usual, my legs gave up, making me almost fall forward.
I’ve had blood tests to rule out anaemia, diabetes, low vitamin D, but those all came back fine.
I’m having more blood tests done in a couple of days to check for inflammatory conditions.
Wondering what else I can do/any suggestions from anyone here would be greatly appreciated.

My husband just got a positive covid test. We had to push back our 12 week scan to 14 weeks (this Friday) due to a holiday to Canada, so I'm really hoping I don't have to reschedule again.
Can I go to my scan if someone in my household has covid? If so, can he wear a mask and come or will I have to go alone?

The two upsides to this appointment are
•I have a colonoscopy scheduled for 6 weeks from now, which I only got because I mentioned blood which I figured was from an internal hemorrhoid.
•I’m going to be tested for Celiac genetic markers so I can get an accurate diagnosis (i’ve been tested but they are always negative since i don’t eat gluten anyways).
Here’s what is really getting to me, she insists that my constipation is primarily trauma based-and not even from my own CSA trauma- she believes covid to have caused trauma in me that would result in such severe issues. I get that there’s a link, of course there is, but I’m medicated, I’ve done as much therapy as possible, and I’ve worked through my shit! If it was stress and anxiety it would be previous stress that caused enough nerve damage to mess things up. Because lemme tell you the only thing I’ve got to worry about rn is the fact that I keep being brushed off my doctors.
I have tried everything under the sun and now it’s time to figure out what the hell is causing this to be so bad it’s taking my life away from me. I have gained 20lbs since Nov 2022. I have not changed anything in my diet or exercise. I eat well, I get ample exercise, I drink 3L of water a day and yet somehow I gained 20lbs. I asked her if that was just poop and she said “it’s not likely. it’s probably weight gain” I’m baffled because I had no idea that you can gain 20lbs solely in your abdomen, enough to create massive stretch marks. My abdomen is swollen, in pain, and won’t respond to anything less than 6-9 capfuls of PEG 3350. My cortisol levels are normal and within range, so it’s not that. She dismissed basically everything I had to say which was infuriating.
It’s clear my body isn’t taking in nutrients, and it’s causing many other issues as a side effect. But her suggestion? Do CBT.
She gave me the name of a pelvic floor therapist, which doesn’t matter as I cannot afford that. She also said I should see a dietitian, which I also cannot afford. She then gave me samples of Trulance, which she said is $400 /month. Yet another thing I cannot afford. At the very least I have a colonoscopy. Even though she said I’m too young to have inflammation or narrowing so it’s just to ensure that she’s not wrong.
As far as gut motility testing-she said that ‘they’ don’t do that anymore. She said I may be able to get an anorectal manometry but the waitlist is extremely long. She said that it won’t be worth while (because my issues are in my head apparently).
I feel like I’m going crazy. I’ve told doctors that I have extreme fatigue and malaise and yet-no one wants to help.
I just can’t get over the CBT part. Like explain to me how something that didn’t help my trauma or depression is gonna now make me poop again?

Is it better to do the Quick test or the PCR test?

I (19f) have a lot of trouble with feelings of guilt, often that being what sends me into a panic attack or what keeps me awake all through the night. However some things I feel I am irrationally guilty about, for example a few days ago I met my long distance boyfriend and we went into the city where he lives and works. Everything was fine and the next day everything was still good. Yesterday evening he started to feel ill and today he tested positive for COVID. I feel so bad that he got it and I didn't and I feel awful about the fact that he now feels really ill and I am okay. I have had 2 big ish panic attacks about it today even though there's nothing I can do. Any advice would be great :)