Coronavirus prep

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?

I guess I'll start with the positive. The Federal Govt. is now onboard with masks and are creating a strategy to fight Covid-19 according to the press conference yesterday. 7 months overdue, but a start.

The bad news is I'm hearing many, many people I know talk about testing like it's some conspiracy. Stories of second and 3rd hand of people that didn't go to a test site, yet tested positive. All I can think of is there was an administrative error somewhere and now the nut jobs are latching onto that as it's all a conspiracy. People dying daily. People that have said it's all a "hoax" on FB dying.

The irrational ways people that once thought it was all a hoax stuns me. It's like they are more concerned with finding any opening to prove that their actions/thoughts/comments on social media or to their friends were right and less concerned that people all around them are dying.

A friend of mine (a woman I graduated with from high school) went to a friends house yesterday. The friend was upset and had forgotten to cancel. The friend's granddaughter just died of Covid-19. She wasn't a young girl, she was 40 (she just told us that this morning). This is an area of the US that completely thought it was all a media hoax. It's just a horrible, horrible disease. Now I don't know if the woman had preexisting conditions but any loss of younger life is unimaginable. And I can guarantee that woman's parents and grandparents don't care right now if there's been an administrative error in one or two test sites in the US that lead to a false positive.

@Theoldguy1 -- Nearly all of these stories are anecdotal. It's not that I don't think some mistakes have been made, but when it took 5 months to start emphasizing testing at the scale that we needed it 7 months ago, it's not surprising to me, at all, it's a major cluster fart. Administrative mistakes will be made. Remember, there was no Federal coordination for many, many months -- it was all on the states and local authorities and private business.

The Feds have pitched in now but it's all catch up at this stage and dysfunctional at best. I also think there's a very deliberate movement (a political one) in the US right now to spread misinformation to make it seem as if Covid-19 is way overblown. It's not.

Local health dept is now discouraging people from getting tested unless they “feel sick” or have been exposed to someone with Covid bc testing is backlogged.

Fine, but what is “feeling sick”? The more I read (too much, probably) the more people I see testing positive with vague symptoms (so not the “big three” cough/fever/shortness of breath). At this point I would assume I had Covid if I had fever, cough, shortness of breath. What I would have questions about (and therefore want a test) would be something like sore throat, sinus pressure, etc...the stuff you can easily attribute to allergies or a cold.

So this seems to me like it would discourage the asymptomatic/presymptomatic/mildly symptomatic people from getting tested—so the people who would likely continue about their normal business and come into contact with others.

Which leads me to another problem I’m seeing with reopening, esp for schools. What is “sick”? At what point do you trigger an automatic Covid test/quarantine? I’ve had my son sent home from preschool bc he had green snot. The kid has snot from Aug through January. And again from March onward. So do I. Sometimes there’s a brief break bt spring allergies and summer grass pollen. Sometimes not. We’re allergic to SW TN. I had to bring him to the dr and actually say the reason I’m there is “he has green boogers” after having a faucet of snot for months. No other symptoms. Surprise, dr diagnosed allergies.

So what will happen this year? If snot and/or sore throat/sinus issues are a red flag, I’m never going to leave the house. I’ve had sinus pressure and post nasal drip for about 5 weeks, with intermittent sore throat from post nasal drip (we had spring this year, so I had a 3 week break bt spring and summer allergies!). Since I have no fever, a history of ever widening environmental allergies (every year since I moved to this allergen-ridden place it seems like there’s a new demon weed that causes me problems, so I have a solid 4-6 weeks in the dead of winter when I don’t have at least a mild sinus headache and post nasal drip), and no other symptoms have appeared, despite my obsessive temperature/pulse ox checking, so I’m assuming this is the usual allergies.

But...can’t be sure. My kids have snot too. I’ve kept them home for two weeks...but when can you ever be even reasonably sure it’s not Covid and just a cold/allergies? I’m not sure where I’m going with this, just musing that opening schools and offices is fraught with difficulties when testing is not readily available (or backlogged so much it takes a week or more to get your results).

I want to be responsible, and it’s somewhat easy for me to be overly cautious (homeschooling, no outside job), but do I lock us down for 2 weeks at every runny nose or scratchy throat?

Covid 19 is bigger than just some flu that a small number die from and everybody else just "recovers." This crap lingers. I'm young and fit and I worry about the long term effects for those who don't die, even healthy young people...

Back in the early days of this thing I had about a week where I was getting hot flashes (without actual fever), randomly waking up in the middle of the night gasping for air, had a constant low grade headache (when I literally never get them) and everything tasted like dirt (wrecked my appetite). At the time, they wouldn't test without a fever, so I was not eligible to test.

It really wasn't that bad of a sickness for me personally. I'd say it was a very, very mild case. It was just stressful because of the whole pandemic and wondering if I had it or not, and whether it was gonna take one of those scary turns for the worse. But it didn't.

Not much suffering at the time, but the lingering after effects have worsened over time. I was good for awhile, but then a few weeks out, lung symptoms started ramping up. It's 4+ months later and I've just been prescribed 2 inhalers because now I have a chronic cough, and pain from chest cartilage inflammation. Gotta get my lungs calmed down - inhalers will hopefully only be temporary. My doctor thinks I probably had covid, but it's been so long that an antibody test likely wouldn't show it anymore.

I'm a healthy, fit life-long runner and mountain biker and I've still been able to exercise throughout all of this, but my pace has been slowed way down, my endurance is lower, and I take more rest days now. Sometimes it feels like part of my lungs are missing. And the random shortness of breath is so bizarre and new to me. But happily, the inhalers seem to be helping! Just grateful I can still get my fitness on. If I couldn't, it would be the end of me. Physical activity is my therapy. It's the joy in my life.

I feel terrible for all those re-habbing from covid. Many have it way worse than me. Ugh. Stay safe everybody. ❤