I got a POSITIVE test result online (UPDATE x 2)

[Omaha Steve]

Last edited Thu Feb 12, 2026, 02:19 AM - Edit history (2)

The doctor called in a script. I have Novel Coronavirus (SARSCoV2). I feel like crap. And I'm up-to-date on my shots. I have Diabetes 2, I'm over 65, and high BP that complicate the situation.

UPDATE: Our insurance doesn't cover Paxlovid. We paid $641.87 out of pocket!

UPDATE 2: The paperwork for my script says it saved us OVER $1,200.

OS

[Attilatheblond]

1. Wish I could deliver a kettle of my 'cures damned near anything' soup

Take care and get better!

[fargone]

3. Hope the meds tamp it down

[TBF]

2. Sorry, it sucks -

I was able to avoid it for 2 years (as an immune suppressed person I participated in a trial and got multiple vaccines). But, while having to travel for a probate proceeding in 2022, I finally caught it). I was able to get Paxlovid fairly quickly, held my blood thinner, and took it for 5 days. Primary and Hematologist both approved the plan - primary also added codeine cough syrup and antibiotic to help with symptoms. The coughing was my worse system, and blood oxygen remained pretty high.

I'm hoping you have a similar easy recovery. It can be very routine for younger and more healthy folks, but some of us have to take it more seriously. Take care.

[dickthegrouch]

4. It's still around ☹️

All the best, Steve

Keep up the masks, friends.

[Shellback Squid]

5. Hang in there, getting Paxlovic?

[Omaha Steve]

11. Yes

[Shellback Squid]

12. That's great. I had covid and it cleared up very quickly with Pax, you'll notice a little metallic taste later

[Easterncedar]

6. Oh no!

Speedy recovery, Steve. Rest up!

[livetohike]

7. Hope you feel better soon OS. Glad you had the shots

and hopefully this will resolve quicker.

[2naSalit]

8. Best wishes for...

A speedy recovery! Do take it easy and rest as much as you need to! I hope the script helps relieve your suffering!

[Vinca]

9. Try to stay positive. Since you've had your shots, it'll probably be short duration misery. Get better soon.

[JudyM]

10. Hoping you recover quickly, Steve.

[Warpy]

13. I had the original in March 2020

and it lasted 2 weeks. Since they didn't know what the hell they were doing back then, I didn't bother going for treatment. After 2 weeks the fever was gone bu so were my senses of taste and smell and I really think that was the worst part and I hope it doesn't happen to you.

If you've had the jab, the course is usually a few days instead of two weeks and complications happen less frequently. Obviously, if you're getting short of breath, it's time for the ER for some oxygen. At least they know what to do now.

[mahina]

14. Oh man! Hydrate, wishing you very good luck OS.

Thank goodness you’re vaccinated

[SergeStorms]

15. Paxlovid?

I got COVID last year, I'm basically in the same boat as you healthwise, and the Paxlovid did it's job. It never got any worse and I recovered rapidly. It's important that you catch the disease in It's early stages, though. If COVID has already set its hooks deep inside you It's worthless.

I hope you recover quickly, Steve.

[Dear_Prudence]

16. Get well soon, Omaha Steve.

Rest up, please.

[joanbarnes]

17. OH NO! Get well soon.

[Evolve Dammit]

18. Same OS. Paxlovid; felt better after 5 days and then got it again! Feel like crap, day 12.

[molly.mac.michl]

19. HOPEFULLY NO COMPLICATONS

IT WOULD BE GOOD FOR YOU TO STAY IN BED AND SLEEP TIL YOU ARE BETTER.

[LoisB]

20. Oh no. I hope the meds work quickly and efficiently. I really am sorry to hear this.

[EuterpeThelo]

21. Here is hoping you feel WAY better soon, OS!

Hope that scrip is for Paxlovid. I have underlying issues too that make me more vulnerable. Have only had the horrid virus twice and both times Paxlovid was a godsend. I just wish it had been developed in June of 2020

[Hope22]

22. I hope you can get some rest and are soon on the mend!

Take care!💗🙏🏼

[StarryNite]

23. I'm so sorry.

It's another disease that we will never be rid of. Ugh

[pdxflyboy]

24. Hey Omaha Steve!

I'm sending you some healing vibes. Please get better real fast. I had Covid in Oct 2022, and then again in Sept 2024. I was up to date on my vaccinations, but it still was miserable.

[Nigrum Cattus]

25. I just checked GoodRX and WOW !

check these prices
this is a life saving medicine
really amazing how greedy big pharma has become
https://www.goodrx.com/paxlovid

[love_katz]

41. Ye gods!

In my area the price for Paxlovid is $1'460.00 with a coupon!!!

[MayReasonRule]

45. Luigi The Plumber Has Entered The Chat

[SheltieLover]

26. Healing vibes on the way to you!

Pls take good care.

[SheltieLover]

27. Do you have Medicare?

[Omaha Steve]

49. Yes

What's up?

[SheltieLover]

50. Surprised paxlovid wasn't covered

I hope you are feeling better!

[FemDemERA]

28. Wishing you a speedy recovery

With no long covid effects!

[Clouds Passing]

29. Well wishes for your speedy recovery Steve 💚

Drug prices

[wendyb-NC]

30. Get better quick

Sorry, that you got Covid. I'm shocked that the needed antiviral isn't covered by insurance. That doesn't make sense, especially with other medical diagnosis.

Take good care of yourself and get well soon.

[choie]

31. Oh feel better!

[pansypoo53219]

32. insurance is a joke.

chicken soup. even ramen will do. my great-aunt had a warm vaporizer she used for decades.

[barbtries]

33. oh that sucks.

Hope you're feeling better soon!

If you get the flu, there's a new antiviral that can help you and there's a $50 mfr coupon. I mean $50 is what it costs.
I was thinking it was for covid, but no. Anyone on medicare should be able to get paxlovid at a reasonable cost. sigh.

fucking krasnov and rfk jr are trying to kill us. Get healthy if only to show them!

https://www.xofluza.com/

[3Hotdogs]

34. Check with your physician. Pax and bp do not go together.

[Omaha Steve]

36. That's not all

I have to discontinue my Trazadone while I'm on it. My BP is low enough to take it.

[3Hotdogs]

48. Just make sure you keep well. You are valued here.

A high point on my time on D.U. was a positive response from Omaha Steve.

[Omaha Steve]

63. That made me feel better

[TexasBushwhacker]

53. Can't take statins with it either

Unless you have some Depends on hand.

[maccafan]

35. Get well wishes!

All of us at DU send our get well wishes! Take care of yourself! Also, insurance companies rule the world!!!

[Golden Raisin]

37. Sending best wishes for a speedy and comprehensive recovery.

[JMCKUSICK]

38. I'm sorry Steve, I hope you feel better real soon.

How can paxlovid not be covered when it's the recognized first treatment against COVID?

Have you tried appealing?

[Omaha Steve]

64. See update #2

Apparently it was covered.

[Playingmantis]

39. I had covid late last year..

Paxlovid helped clear it up but DAMN i did a lot of coughing and nose blowing for a long time afterwards.
I am stunned at the price! But the drug companies say, "Either your money or your life!"
But dont worry. Lord Trump will lower the prices 500, 600 and even 1000 percent!
Yes, you will make money off this! According to Lord Schitzenpants!

[LittleGirl]

40. When I had covid in June

Medicare wouldn’t pay for paxlovid unless I coughed up 1,000 dollars.

I told them no way! No thanks.

[Billsdaughter]

42. Steve you're worth the $641and change

and thank goodness you had the money.

Get back to bed and kick this thing's ass while you sleep.

Here's to your recovery.

[Mosby]

43. Last time i got covid I took paxlovid

Don't think it helped any, but I was recently vaccinated.

[debm55]

44. Omaha Steve. rest and and take care of yourself, Love, Debbie.

[applegrove]

46. Wishing you a speedy recovery.

[KitFox]

47. Oh dang! It's a beast for sure! The Pax will really reduce your worst symptoms. I had escaped having it until a few

months ago it hit me hard with that razor sore throat, weird dry cough snd and a booming headache. After a couple of days with Paxlovid I was better but lost senses of taste and smell for several weeks. Glad you were vaccinated. I think that helped me recover better and so hope it will for you!! My husband’s doctors sometimes challenged the insurance non coverage and was successful so you might try that. His respiratory doc told us that the insurance companies don’t expect challenges so it’s worth a try. Hope you can get lots of restorative sleep and can report back to us soon that you are on the mend. Take special care.

[Skittles]

51. do you have Medicare

I thought Paxlovid was covered under Part D

[Omaha Steve]

52. apparently it doesn't

[Skittles]

56. jeez, WTF

what a RIP

[NoRethugFriends]

54. Are you sure that's not the price with insurance

I thought it was much higher without insurance.

[Omaha Steve]

59. I'm calling the insurance company tomorrow

[NoRethugFriends]

60. The price withot insurance is about $1500

You definitely used your insurance. Everyone, no matter what insurance, is facing the same thing.

[chouchou]

55. $681.47 Whoa! I'm always wondering what the actual cost to make the medicine.

I mean, close to 7 hundred is a pretty decent i7 one terabyte Laptop.

[lynintenn]

57. I have had covid twice

both times I took paxlovid. Medicare paid for it both times. For months I had no taste .Speedy recovery.

[lostincalifornia]

58. From my understanding the U.S. government's patient assistance program enables Medicare recipients to receive Paxlovid

at no cost until December 31, 2025.

That being said you should try to appeal it anyway.

I believe the cost without insurance for Paxlovid can run in excess of one thousand dollars.

Sorry what you are going through, and it angers me to no end the STUPIDITY and lack of COMPASSION that too many people exercised when they refused to vote for VP Harris.

A lot of good people are being hurt by this insidious administration.

[Tempus Fugit]

61. It really blows to have Covid... a stark reminder that it's still wreaking havoc 6 years out.

Really hope you get better. I'm still not over the last covid outbreak that I got caught into 2024. Really hope you pull through!

[nilram]

62. #1 thing: Rest. Rest, rest, rest.

(Most of my notes and links are on a machine that's temporarily crashed, so this is from memory and some web searches.)

Rest, of course while you feel the active infection. But then at least six weeks more. Covid can hit most any system in the body, and especially the circulatory system. People who try to exercise their way out of it are at risk for "long covid."

Re Paxlovid (ouch), check out the PAXCESS Patient Support Program. Says it's possible to get it for free until 2026. I got this info from https://www.paxlovid.com/paxcess (May not matter since you already bought it.)

You may get your PAXLOVID prescription for free† through the USG PAP operated by Pfizer. Please reach out to 1-877-219-7225 to see what options may be available for you. You can also discuss with your healthcare professional or pharmacist.

† Eligible government insured and uninsured patients can access PAXLOVID for free through December 31, 2026. The US Government Patient Assistance Program (USG PAP) operated by Pfizer is an independent program with separate eligibility requirements offered by the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is not owned by Pfizer. Terms and conditions apply.

If you can use that program to get another 5-day course, or some friends have some laying around, I'd take it for longer, even if a couple days. Some health care systems around the world are starting out with a 10-day course. Could reduce the rebound effect and give you more time to clear it out.

Beyond those two things, the top #3 thing is to use a Netti Pot. Costco, CVS, lots of places have them. I've seen studies (published on PubMed, fwiw) that show that physically clearing gunk out of your sinuses reduces your body's viral load, for both Covid and other sinus infections. When I had Covid, it was an incredible feeling to blow a huge amount of gunk out after that first Netti, and it helped reduce my sore throat, iirc. Certainly helped me breathe.

IMO, rest is a must, a Netti Pot is a must. So glad you got Paxlovid. We need Omaha Steve to feel better soon!


I had Covid in September 2024 (just as I was selling my house, haha; had to isolate in a hotel room). I have a set of medications I need and I added the medications and supplements below to the mix, after considering them against my conditions. I'm laying them out here as a list of things to consider. Some can help with recovery, some can help reduce the incidence of long covid. If something's not suitable, your body is still going to do the best it can.

Here's a two papers discussing a study using Metformin to reduce the incidence of long Covid. Patients who followed their protocol had a long covid rate of 6.3%, those who got placebo had an rate of 10.4%. When I had Covid, my doctor took the time to read the article and prescribed it. Their metformin protocol was titrating it over 6 days: 500 mg on day 1, 500 mg twice daily on days 2–5, then 500 mg in the morning and 1000 mg in the evening up to day 14.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(23)00355-9/fulltext
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(23)00299-2/fulltext (Not double-blind study, a quadruple-blind study comparing metformin with ivermectin and fluvoxamine. Not surprisingly, only metformin was helpful.)

Well known that Covid can cause blood clots. Folks recommend taking a baby aspirin. I already take two (per doctors orders), so when I had it, and for several weeks after, I took three. (At different times of the day.) I was paranoid and felt like crap, probably one is fine. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34754983/

Covid virus uses the ACE2 receptor to infect mammals, and to travel around the body. I'm remembering that I also took Berberine as an ACE2 inhibitor. It's a supplement you can get at a health food store and has other anti-viral properties.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7320912/

Nattokinase, another supplement, is thought to help clear the Covid spike protein from a person's body. Also used this, from a health food store. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10663976/