Coronavirus prep

Thanks for all the dentist replies. I felt cheated out of the full cleaning; you know how when you're done your teeth always feel so good? It wasn't happening this time. But I'm glad to read some places aren't doing the polishing so I know mine isn't the only one. I've always had the utmost faith in my dentist so I was feeling a bit disheartened.

On another note, I am so sick of hearing/reading people's disbelief that this is anything to worry about. A post I read this a.m., on another forum, said 'sickness and death are a part of life'. Well yeh, but I'm not jumping off a cliff anytime soon either. Grrrr. There are simply too many people out and about who still feel that way. And it seems people aren't going to learn until they're personally affected.

ReenieHJ wrote: »

Thanks for all the dentist replies. I felt cheated out of the full cleaning; you know how when you're done your teeth always feel so good? It wasn't happening this time. But I'm glad to read some places aren't doing the polishing so I know mine isn't the only one. I've always had the utmost faith in my dentist so I was feeling a bit disheartened.

On another note, I am so sick of hearing/reading people's disbelief that this is anything to worry about. A post I read this a.m., on another forum, said 'sickness and death are a part of life'. Well yeh, but I'm not jumping off a cliff anytime soon either. Grrrr. There are simply too many people out and about who still feel that way. And it seems people aren't going to learn until they're personally affected.

It's annoying...but at the same time I do kind of understand that mentality and thinking. It's really an invisible enemy and most people I know don't know anyone who even knows anyone who has been affected...so it doesn't feel real. I would say most of the naysayers that I know either personally or from other social media interactions have not been impacted by the virus...but they've been heavily impacted by the shutdown and restrictions with job loss and unemployment running out and unable to pay their bills and mortgages or rent...for these people, these things are for more real and clearly not invisible. Then of course, you do have the people that just want to whine and complain and open everything back up full on...but at the same time refuse to do simple, rational things like social distancing, wearing a mask when you can't social distance, and avoid large gatherings. Those are the one's that sicken me the most. At least the people I know personally who are kinda meh about this are still doing their part in regards to masking up and social distancing.

In regards to sickness and death being a part of life...well, I feel that at least in NM we have gone from flatten the curve and buy some time to learn and figure some things out to "save everyone". To me, that is simply not realistic. It is a pandemic and people are going to die and are dying and you absolutely cannot save everyone or quarantine this thing to zero.

I was listening to a Dr. the other day and he was talking about the price of our response and that the initial response was practical and necessary, but continued stringent lockdown measures would likely cause far more overall damage than the virus. He compared it to an iceberg where C19 and the hospitalizations and deaths were the part above the water that everyone is focused on, while losing focus of the huge mass of ice under the water that is increase mental health issues, increased substance abuse, increased rates of suicide, increased domestic violence and child abuse, people lacking needed healthcare because they either won't go to the hospital or can't because procedures are shut down, mass unemployment, devastated economies, etc. I didn't agree with everything he said...but I agreed with most of it. He certainly wasn't advocating for just opening everything up full on...but yes, starting to open things back up, including schools. He heavily advocated for social distancing, wearing masks where you couldn't social distance, avoiding large crowds, washing hands, and at risk people taking additional precautions.

kimny72 wrote: »

ReenieHJ wrote: »

Thanks for all the dentist replies. I felt cheated out of the full cleaning; you know how when you're done your teeth always feel so good? It wasn't happening this time. But I'm glad to read some places aren't doing the polishing so I know mine isn't the only one. I've always had the utmost faith in my dentist so I was feeling a bit disheartened.

On another note, I am so sick of hearing/reading people's disbelief that this is anything to worry about. A post I read this a.m., on another forum, said 'sickness and death are a part of life'. Well yeh, but I'm not jumping off a cliff anytime soon either. Grrrr. There are simply too many people out and about who still feel that way. And it seems people aren't going to learn until they're personally affected.

The thing that's crazy is there seems to be some evidence that even those who get mild cases can have unexpected long term damage, like lung scarring, thickened blood, reduced kidney function. This idea some people have that it's no big deal if healthy people get it is premature. Especially in the US where insurance companies could consider a positive covid test as a pre-existing condition.

There are several "syndromes" related to viruses that are essentially unexplained life-long health issues that set in after someone successfully fights off the virus (like post-polio syndrome). One theory about Chronic Fatigue is that it is a post-virus syndrome of some kind. There are already cases in other countries where tracing and follow up are rigorous of younger people who had mild covid cases still struggling with fatigue months later and turning up to have lung scarring.

So ummmm, that's my uplifting post for the day I wish dealing with the hard truth was the rule here in the US though, I think we'd be in a better spot if everyone was aware and dealing appropriately.

From someone who got sick in 8th grade and essentially never got better, I agree 100% What started out as possibly mono (although I tested positive for it the next year) turned into weeks out of school, specialist after specialist, neuro and immune problems I still battle 20+ years later (between the ages of 14 and 17 I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue, fibro, auto immune thyroid issues, ADHD, asthma, and others... things I did not have issues with at all prior to whatever virus attacked my body and my brain.)

I was strong and healthy, until I wasn’t. I went from easy A’s to struggling to make C’s. I couldn’t sleep at night, at all, for nearly 6 months, but couldn’t stay awake during the day. My near photographic memory was gone, replaced with fog and blur. It was awful. I have misty gotten used to it, but I still remember what life was like before hand and long to be “normal” but know it likely will never happen.

I don’t doubt that this could carry long term effects for some people while for others they come through unscathed.

moonangel12 wrote: »

kimny72 wrote: »

ReenieHJ wrote: »

Thanks for all the dentist replies. I felt cheated out of the full cleaning; you know how when you're done your teeth always feel so good? It wasn't happening this time. But I'm glad to read some places aren't doing the polishing so I know mine isn't the only one. I've always had the utmost faith in my dentist so I was feeling a bit disheartened.

On another note, I am so sick of hearing/reading people's disbelief that this is anything to worry about. A post I read this a.m., on another forum, said 'sickness and death are a part of life'. Well yeh, but I'm not jumping off a cliff anytime soon either. Grrrr. There are simply too many people out and about who still feel that way. And it seems people aren't going to learn until they're personally affected.

The thing that's crazy is there seems to be some evidence that even those who get mild cases can have unexpected long term damage, like lung scarring, thickened blood, reduced kidney function. This idea some people have that it's no big deal if healthy people get it is premature. Especially in the US where insurance companies could consider a positive covid test as a pre-existing condition.

There are several "syndromes" related to viruses that are essentially unexplained life-long health issues that set in after someone successfully fights off the virus (like post-polio syndrome). One theory about Chronic Fatigue is that it is a post-virus syndrome of some kind. There are already cases in other countries where tracing and follow up are rigorous of younger people who had mild covid cases still struggling with fatigue months later and turning up to have lung scarring.

So ummmm, that's my uplifting post for the day I wish dealing with the hard truth was the rule here in the US though, I think we'd be in a better spot if everyone was aware and dealing appropriately.

From someone who got sick in 8th grade and essentially never got better, I agree 100% What started out as possibly mono (although I tested positive for it the next year) turned into weeks out of school, specialist after specialist, neuro and immune problems I still battle 20+ years later (between the ages of 14 and 17 I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue, fibro, auto immune thyroid issues, ADHD, asthma, and others... things I did not have issues with at all prior to whatever virus attacked my body and my brain.)

I was strong and healthy, until I wasn’t. I went from easy A’s to struggling to make C’s. I couldn’t sleep at night, at all, for nearly 6 months, but couldn’t stay awake during the day. My near photographic memory was gone, replaced with fog and blur. It was awful. I have misty gotten used to it, but I still remember what life was like before hand and long to be “normal” but know it likely will never happen.

I don’t doubt that this could carry long term effects for some people while for others they come through unscathed.

Hey, me too! Except I was in college when I got mono. It took ten years but eventually I was diagnosed with “lupus-like syndrome,” which is a bucket category for autoimmune disease, not quite like any other. Apparently mono triggers it for a subset of people. In my case the primary symptom is vasculitis.

Pro tip, just in case anyone reading this is struggling to get a diagnosis for years of seemingly unrelated conditions. Ask for a sed rate test. It’s inexpensive and although it isn’t specific enough for a diagnosis, if it’s abnormal it will force the doctors to admit that it’s not all in your head.

rheddmobile wrote: »

moonangel12 wrote: »

kimny72 wrote: »

ReenieHJ wrote: »

Thanks for all the dentist replies. I felt cheated out of the full cleaning; you know how when you're done your teeth always feel so good? It wasn't happening this time. But I'm glad to read some places aren't doing the polishing so I know mine isn't the only one. I've always had the utmost faith in my dentist so I was feeling a bit disheartened.

On another note, I am so sick of hearing/reading people's disbelief that this is anything to worry about. A post I read this a.m., on another forum, said 'sickness and death are a part of life'. Well yeh, but I'm not jumping off a cliff anytime soon either. Grrrr. There are simply too many people out and about who still feel that way. And it seems people aren't going to learn until they're personally affected.

The thing that's crazy is there seems to be some evidence that even those who get mild cases can have unexpected long term damage, like lung scarring, thickened blood, reduced kidney function. This idea some people have that it's no big deal if healthy people get it is premature. Especially in the US where insurance companies could consider a positive covid test as a pre-existing condition.

There are several "syndromes" related to viruses that are essentially unexplained life-long health issues that set in after someone successfully fights off the virus (like post-polio syndrome). One theory about Chronic Fatigue is that it is a post-virus syndrome of some kind. There are already cases in other countries where tracing and follow up are rigorous of younger people who had mild covid cases still struggling with fatigue months later and turning up to have lung scarring.

So ummmm, that's my uplifting post for the day I wish dealing with the hard truth was the rule here in the US though, I think we'd be in a better spot if everyone was aware and dealing appropriately.

From someone who got sick in 8th grade and essentially never got better, I agree 100% What started out as possibly mono (although I tested positive for it the next year) turned into weeks out of school, specialist after specialist, neuro and immune problems I still battle 20+ years later (between the ages of 14 and 17 I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue, fibro, auto immune thyroid issues, ADHD, asthma, and others... things I did not have issues with at all prior to whatever virus attacked my body and my brain.)

I was strong and healthy, until I wasn’t. I went from easy A’s to struggling to make C’s. I couldn’t sleep at night, at all, for nearly 6 months, but couldn’t stay awake during the day. My near photographic memory was gone, replaced with fog and blur. It was awful. I have misty gotten used to it, but I still remember what life was like before hand and long to be “normal” but know it likely will never happen.

I don’t doubt that this could carry long term effects for some people while for others they come through unscathed.

Hey, me too! Except I was in college when I got mono. It took ten years but eventually I was diagnosed with “lupus-like syndrome,” which is a bucket category for autoimmune disease, not quite like any other. Apparently mono triggers it for a subset of people. In my case the primary symptom is vasculitis.

Pro tip, just in case anyone reading this is struggling to get a diagnosis for years of seemingly unrelated conditions. Ask for a sed rate test. It’s inexpensive and although it isn’t specific enough for a diagnosis, if it’s abnormal it will force the doctors to admit that it’s not all in your head.

Interesting! I have been tested for lupus SO MANY TIMES! I will definitely look into the testing. I am sure my parents had to go to bat for me, because in so many ways I looked perfectly “fine” to the medical professionals... and so many times tests come back normal so there must not be anything wrong (my thyroid is tricky because it fluctuates up and down so it all depends on when the blood is drawn, and normally it is hovering at the high and low ends of normal, but the shifting is what throws me off. I could go from a jittery, shaky mess for anywhere from a day to weeks, then crash into fatigue and exhaustion).

Anyway... don’t want to derail the thread but wanted to share, and it’s nice to hear from someone else who has BTDT (not that I wish it one anyone).

ETA: there is a secondary danger that I never anticipated, but after so many years with a glitchy body of random, chronic symptoms I tend to ignore things... to a fault. In 2018 I almost had colon cancer... doctor said I had an angel on my shoulder to catch it when we did, it likely would have been full on cancer within the year. At 33 years old. (Her PA was dismissive of symptoms due to my age, thankfully I persisted long enough for her to consent to a colonoscopy... and I made that fact known to the doctor).

I just went out for a run (Dyer County, TN), which sucked, heat index was somewhere around 106F. So with the mask mandate in my county, I took a buff around my neck and pulled it up when I was within 6 feet of others, as is the law. There was some jerk who parked his truck at the park right next to the path. This isn't a parking spot, but they let people just put their vehicles anywhere at this park, so he put it in the grass between a bench and the path, literally right next to the paved walking/running path. And he was sitting in his truck with the window down smoking. Since we are exempt from the mask mandate in private vehicles, he had a loophole that allowed him to be there blowing smoke in my face as I ran past while I was required to wear a mask. Nobody else I ran past on the path even had a mask to use to cover their mouth and nose. But when cops who have publicly said they won't enforce the mask mandate, what should I expect?