Posted on 04/10/2020 1:17:29 AM PDT by cba123
FORT WORTH, Texas — While physicians, government leaders, and even President Donald Trump turn to the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine in the fight against COVID-19, one Tarrant County woman believed to have contracted the disease in late February says the drug saved her life.
Heavy research now surrounds hydroxychloroquine after some physicians saw success in treating COVID-19 patients with it.
President Trump even said in a news conference earlier this week that 29 million doses have been added to the National Strategic Stockpile, which is a repository of medical supplies used to respond to medical emergencies.
Governor Greg Abbott said Monday that the drug was being used to treat about 30 infected patients residing at the Resort at Texas City, a nursing home in the city where an outbreak occurred.
However, there is not enough proof or data to support the drug's widespread use as a treatment. There are also side effects that could possibly cause long-term vision loss and heart issues.
The drug is primarily used to treat lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and malaria. It is getting attention due to a laboratory study that found it could block COVID-19 from hijacking cells and then replicating within the body.
Cami McCraw forgot she had a bottle of the drug in her house and had no idea it would aid in her fight against COVID-19.
"I was so much better after one day of taking it," McCraw said. "For me, it was worth it."
(Please see link for full article)
(Excerpt) Read more at wfaa.com ...
WFAA first introduced viewers and readers to the KATZ Radio host when she was denied a COVID-19 test by Tarrant County Public Health after being hospitalized with symptoms.
McCraw was formerly with WBAP and other stations in West Texas.
She was even a camera operator at KXAS-TV in the late 80s and early 90s.
Around February 27, McCraw told WFAA that she started having gastrointestinal issues and early symptoms of having the virus.
On March 11, McCraw said she started feeling sick after a scheduled doctor appointment. Five hours later she was in the ER.
McCraw was sent home after her ER visit but was back almost two days later when symptoms worsened. She tested negative for strep and the flu.
She spent the next six days at the hospital before being sent home to be quarantined with her family.
"I was running a 103.6 fever and had an average fever of 101 for 10 days," McCraw said.
McCraw said she had a viral form of pneumonia and also needed oxygen too.
She also said she had aches all the way down to her fingertips. She was given a number of antibiotics, including azithromycin that didn't seem to have an impact.
"It was like having the worst flu, like on steroids," McCraw said. "Worse than anything I'd ever had."
McCraw was denied a test by Tarrant County likely because her symptoms weren't severe enough and due to the fact that testing was scarce last month.
Either way, her physician sent her home and treated her as if she had COVID-19.
He suggested she start taking hydroxychloroquine.
"He wrote me a prescription, but I remembered I had a bottle of it already in my house," McCraw said.
McCraw said she was previously prescribed hydroxychloroquine to help with fibromyalgia but when it wasn't effective, she shelved it.
After taking one dose, McCraw said her health turned around.
"I mean the fever started going down and my appetite came back. I still felt achy and had other issues like being sick to my stomach, but it was unbelievable in just one day," McCraw said.
"I was scared. I was scared of going home with a fever that high. I mean, I was sick for a couple of weeks and then you're talking about feeling better in 24-hours."
Within a few days, McCraw was back to being a DJ on KATZ Radio with her co-host John Roberts.
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Long article.
Please feel free to read the entire original article, at the WFAA website
Another instance where HCQ doesn’t make the headline. If they could bury the drug they would.
An off patent drug that is inexpensive.
What will the Pharmaceutical companies do with all those new designer drugs at about $1100 a pop?
About $0.25 (US$)/200mg tab
Anecdotal [/sarc]
If true that she was sent home despite everything going on... that’s not good.
This side effect is exceedingly rare and only occurs after years of being on HCQ!
I'm so tired of all the histrionics.
Does anyone know why the African countries have such a low incidence of COVID-19?
Very low average population density, among other factors. Pretty hard for the virus to spread when the next village is 20 miles away and there’s little traffic between them.
I don’t know what’s going on over in Tarrant County. While many don’t like what Dallas County government is doing (Tarrant borders Dallas), at least they seem to have a more or less unified direction and at least a vague plan. Tarrant seems to not really have much of a clue and is just reacting.
Shhhhh. No more anecdotal reports.
We are to await Mr Fauci’s wonderful vaccine.
Full of misinformation about the side effects of the drug.
I personally expect there may be a role played by exactly the sorts of drugs, referred to here.
Except they are prescribed, or taken, for malaria.
Though they also protect people from the flu (and other similar diseases).
Such as COVID-19.
Just my theory...
Why do doctors continue to prescribe antibiotics for viral infections? Antibiotics work for bacterial infections, not viruses.
bkmk
I’ve friends in the malarial zones of the Americas and a couple in Africa - the native populations there are rarely afflicted by malaria. All the ones that were generally died off hundreds to thousands of years ago. Malarial meds are issued to non-natives and those of recent non-native extraction.
I would have to take malarial meds to go visit my friend in Honduras, for example, but he doesn’t have to take any.
Azithromycin is issued as an antibiotic, but like most of the other macrolide antibiotics, it has known, generally weak but unexplained antiviral action.
As for a more general reason, in some cases they issue them to deal with opportunistic secondary bacterial infections, but in many cases they have patients who whine and complain if they didn’t get something and so the doctors issue said prescriptions to shut them up.
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