Covid 19 #26: Now is the Winter of Our Discontent

[DireWolfSpirit]

Both "80 something's" parents have had both shots and report side effects as "total nothing burgers" lol

[RhaenysBee]

12 minutes ago, Leap said:

Sorry to hear that you have it! For me, the mental aspect of it absolutely sucked, especially with my symptoms (shortness of breath) hanging around sporadically for months. It seems so daft in hindsight how paranoid I was, but it's so hard to take yourself out of it in the moment. I found that hot drinks and inclement weather exacerbated the inability to breathe, while laying on my side really helped (and still does help) the physical symptoms, while binge-watching and telling my friends about how much it sucked helped me mentally. I was doing silly stuff like singing songs out loud to see how much I could say without getting out of breath, and every hour checking to see if I could hold my breath for a minute, and checking my heart rate just like you.

So I just wanted to reach out about how normal all that panicky and nervous stuff is. And that although the next week or so might be pretty shit, natural immunity is conversely pretty dope. Get well soon! 

Thanks this really helps and means a lot. Really, thank you from the bottom of my heart. <3 

[S John]

14 minutes ago, Chataya de Fleury said:

Also, from having had pneumonia a few times - be sure to consciously take five DEEP breaths every hour you are awake. 

And if you can find one, get a pulse oximeter. I’ve had one for a while as W’s plane has oxygen but one must check oneself every 15 minutes to make sure that one’s levels are safe when over 11,000 feet (the Turbo Mooney can get to 28,000 feet, from what I remember, but then an oxygen mask is required and not just a nasal cannula, and also it’s supposed to feel very uncomfortable on the interior organs as gases expand). 

And keep in mind the pulse oximeter works best if you aren’t wearing nail polish. I was going under for my sinus surgery and the doctor was looking at my pulse oximeter and said “shit” and I’m like “sorry about the gel nail polish” and then I was out. 

Years ago I did flight safety training at an Air Force Base. They put you in a chamber and suck the oxygen out so you know your personal ‘symptoms’ of hypoxia in case of a slow depressurization. Once you figure it out you have to mask yourself and flip your oxygen switches. Apparently the signs vary from person to person. My lips go numb. That was the first unusual thing I noticed. They tell you all kinds of fun stories about instances where the whole crew is hypoxic and the plane flies itself until it runs out of fuel and crashes.

Have I ever mentioned I hate flying? 

[A True Kaniggit]

5 minutes ago, S John said:

Years ago I did flight safety training at an Air Force Base. They put you in a chamber and suck the oxygen out so you know your personal ‘symptoms’ of hypoxia in case of a slow depressurization. Once you figure it out you have to mask yourself and flip your oxygen switches. Apparently the signs vary from person to person. My lips go numb. That was the first unusual thing I noticed. They tell you all kinds of fun stories about instances where the whole crew is hypoxic and the plane flies itself until it runs out of fuel and crashes.

Have I ever mentioned I hate flying? 

Did you get to do the gas chamber training too? Good times. 
 

So it looks like the downward trend of U.S. Covid cases/deaths has leveled off. Damn. 

[Zorral]

Even if your case is considered 'mild,' Bee -- it still feels pretty rotten.  I'm sorry.

 

[RhaenysBee]

8 hours ago, Chataya de Fleury said:

Also, from having had pneumonia a few times - be sure to consciously take five DEEP breaths every hour you are awake. 

And if you can find one, get a pulse oximeter. I’ve had one for a while as W’s plane has oxygen but one must check oneself every 15 minutes to make sure that one’s levels are safe when over 11,000 feet (the Turbo Mooney can get to 28,000 feet, from what I remember, but then an oxygen mask is required and not just a nasal cannula, and also it’s supposed to feel very uncomfortable on the interior organs as gases expand). 

And keep in mind the pulse oximeter works best if you aren’t wearing nail polish. I was going under for my sinus surgery and the doctor was looking at my pulse oximeter and said “shit” and I’m like “sorry about the gel nail polish” and then I was out. 

I have had pneumonia once, what I experience now is nothing similar. I had pretty high fever and a strong cough then. 

What I feel now is how you are while under severe stress or in a panic attack. Just overall extremely shaky, my stomach is in a knot, my movements are slower, less focused. I feel a little lightheaded. I can breathe fine. The way you breathe when you’re very stressed. And I have diarrhea and a weird feeling in my stomach. I don’t know how much of this is severe anxiety and how much is actual covid. 

meanwhile my sister is going off in text messages about how much she hates me for “killing her” and how it’s so unfair that I’m practically already fine and she’s going to die and how I can be happy about it and she hopes that my conscious will never rest for having killed her. And she can’t breathe and her chest is stinging but she want call the emergency because she’d rather die in her flat than in hospital. I don’t know how much of this is standard hysteria and how much is actual covid symptom. She finds a way to tell me that I killed her every single hour and how much she hates me for being “fine” while she’s going to die. I have no idea what I could or should do about this. 

 

[rotting sea cow]

OMG, @RhaenysBee

Certainly, your sister attitude doesn't help.  It seems you don't need to worry too much about yourself. Try to rest, drink liquids and get some vitamins if you can.  Most people don't get it worse than you have had.

Regarding your sister, hard to evaluate how much is anxiety and how much is real, but if  she is having breathing problems, she should get examined. Definitively. A lot can be done if treated early and avoid any more permanent damage. Both of you are young and young people recover. Keep calm!

[Xray the Enforcer]

2 hours ago, RhaenysBee said:

I have no idea what I could or should do about this. 

 

Block her. Yes I know you live with her. If she wants to say that kind of absurd overdramatic shit, she should have to do it to your face.

[Filippa Eilhart]

sending good vibes, @RhaenysBee. I'm sorry your sister is being ridiculous.

[RhaenysBee]

28 minutes ago, Xray the Enforcer said:

Block her. Yes I know you live with her. If she wants to say that kind of absurd overdramatic shit, she should have to do it to your face.

She went to her own flat to isolate on Saturday and she’s there currently. She’s alone and she’s scared of course. But if she were here I’m sure she’d have no problem saying it to my face while she throws plates at me or something.  

1 hour ago, rotting sea cow said:

OMG, @RhaenysBee

Certainly, your sister attitude doesn't help.  It seems you don't need to worry too much about yourself. Try to rest, drink liquids and get some vitamins if you can.  Most people don't get it worse than you have had.

Regarding your sister, hard to evaluate how much is anxiety and how much is real, but if  she is having breathing problems, she should get examined. Definitively. A lot can be done if treated early and avoid any more permanent damage. Both of you are young and young people recover. Keep calm!

Well thank you and yes keeping calm is what everybody should be doing, yet it’s the most difficult to accomplish at this point. 

4 minutes ago, Filippa Eilhart said:

sending good vibes, @RhaenysBee. I'm sorry your sister is being ridiculous.

Thank you. That’s kinda her general nature enhanced by fear of covid. Still it’s too much and the worst is that it’s not helping her at all. 

[Xray the Enforcer]

1 minute ago, RhaenysBee said:

She went to her own flat to isolate on Saturday and she’s there currently. 

Even better! If she would like to unload her fears on someone else, that is her prerogative. But she does not deserve unfettered access to you just because you're family. 

[RhaenysBee]

2 minutes ago, Xray the Enforcer said:

Even better! If she would like to unload her fears on someone else, that is her prerogative. But she does not deserve unfettered access to you just because you're family. 

Yes, I know that on principle it’s just difficult to put it into practice because I’m also worried about her. But I really need to distance myself from it because it’s not helping my recovery to be in the middle of her emotional breakdown. And it’s not helping her either.
 

Anyway, I lost a ton of weight already so I’ll have to concentrate on eating a lot this afternoon. 

[Fragile Bird]

1 hour ago, RhaenysBee said:

Yes, I know that on principle it’s just difficult to put it into practice because I’m also worried about her. But I really need to distance myself from it because it’s not helping my recovery to be in the middle of her emotional breakdown. And it’s not helping her either.
 

Anyway, I lost a ton of weight already so I’ll have to concentrate on eating a lot this afternoon. 

I have been meaning to comment to tell you to take care of yourself and not over worry but I understand your anxiety. Remember, I started that thread in the spring when I thought I had Covid, but back in the spring there weren’t enough tests and you couldn’t get one unless you travelled or were in contact with someone confirmed to have Covid, or you were having breathing problems. I was very, very stressed, especially when I had back pain and was worried I had pneumonia. And omg my stomach issues.

But looking back it is best to try not to over worry. Take deep breaths. Distract your mind if you can. Read a good book. Do you have a coloring book, as is the fashion now, or do you knit or crochet? You can still monitor your temperature. Write it down every hour, that may help with the urge to be compulsive.

And your sister. Can you get your mom or your dad to call her or text her regularly? Does she have a close girlfriend who would be willing to help? Hourly texts that she is going to die would aggravate an angel, but perhaps if she had more people to unload on, her stress will go down too. Blocking her is a tempting idea, she is being really unreasonable, but I think that’s extreme, and done as a last resort. Can you ignore her texts for hours at a time? If things take a real turn for the worse, she can use the phone to call you or your parents, right?

You are worrying and internalizing your worry, she seems to be dumping her worrying on you, but to be fair that could be on top of internalizing her worry just like you. I have friends who I grew up with, four sisters who have fought over the years and some of them have had very long memories of those fights. Some of those wounds took decades to get over, let only heal, they haven’t healed. Covid is hard enough without the idea of life-long scars.

My thoughts are with you, get better, stay strong, you have friends here who love you!

[Mlle. Zabzie]

@RhaenysBee if it helps there is a group of internet strangers sending you virtual hugs and good wishes.  Please keep taking care of yourself and please keep us posted. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

Got my second jab about an hour ago. So far the side effects are same as the first, which is lightheadedness bordering on a mild high, but otherwise nothing. The shot itself was again mostly painless.  

[IheartIheartTesla]

So the US at this time is not planning on sharing vaccines with Mexico, and concurrently, I believe the relief bill will not have undocumented folks being provided the vaccine as well. I see these two points as being potentially in conflict for immunity purposes, so I hope some sense prevails and we address one of the two issues.

[RhaenysBee]

4 hours ago, Fragile Bird said:

I have been meaning to comment to tell you to take care of yourself and not over worry but I understand your anxiety. Remember, I started that thread in the spring when I thought I had Covid, but back in the spring there weren’t enough tests and you couldn’t get one unless you travelled or were in contact with someone confirmed to have Covid, or you were having breathing problems. I was very, very stressed, especially when I had back pain and was worried I had pneumonia. And omg my stomach issues.

But looking back it is best to try not to over worry. Take deep breaths. Distract your mind if you can. Read a good book. Do you have a coloring book, as is the fashion now, or do you knit or crochet? You can still monitor your temperature. Write it down every hour, that may help with the urge to be compulsive.

And your sister. Can you get your mom or your dad to call her or text her regularly? Does she have a close girlfriend who would be willing to help? Hourly texts that she is going to die would aggravate an angel, but perhaps if she had more people to unload on, her stress will go down too. Blocking her is a tempting idea, she is being really unreasonable, but I think that’s extreme, and done as a last resort. Can you ignore her texts for hours at a time? If things take a real turn for the worse, she can use the phone to call you or your parents, right?

You are worrying and internalizing your worry, she seems to be dumping her worrying on you, but to be fair that could be on top of internalizing her worry just like you. I have friends who I grew up with, four sisters who have fought over the years and some of them have had very long memories of those fights. Some of those wounds took decades to get over, let only heal, they haven’t healed. Covid is hard enough without the idea of life-long scars.

My thoughts are with you, get better, stay strong, you have friends here who love you!

Well I can attest to the stress. Like I find myself breaking down in a couple sobs every other hour. And what irks me the most is that my covid is quite atypical. I don’t cough, I don’t have fever, my sore throat is gone, but I have stomach issues, it feels like I don’t really process food it just passes right through me. I feel light headed and I’m very shaky. And I don’t know if that’s all the stress or legit symptoms. 

As for distraction, all are very very short lived. And in those five minutes I get lost in something and I’m not painfully conscious every cell in my body, I feel all right. But I’m just plain terrified of how I will feel tomorrow or the day after. And I know that the anxiety isn’t helping but it’s soooooo hard and nearly impossible to put it out of my mind. I’m so afraid of what it’s doing to me while at the same time I would rather have lasting damage than die. (I know it’s an absurd thought and I know I have no reason to jump to that conclusion, but that’s how fear works I guess)

sister has the typical cough and shortness of breath symptoms. She has relaxed a little and it turns out one of her teachers has covid now as well. I think that makes her feel less alone and isolated. That someone she looks up to is also fighting through the same thing. I wouldn’t block her ever, of course. And mum and dad are really doing all they can to keep her in check. I hope she’ll get through it safely and soon. 

Thank you for sharing your experiences. There’s no way of putting into words how much it means and how much comfort it brings. I really would go crazy without you all. And it says something nice about the world that you all are so sweet and supportive even though you never actually met me and I never did anything for you. But I hope an opportunity will present itself in life that will allow me to give back all the care and support you all give me, because really, it’s such a huge part in staying sane. Thank you. 

1 hour ago, Mlle. Zabzie said:

@RhaenysBee if it helps there is a group of internet strangers sending you virtual hugs and good wishes.  Please keep taking care of yourself and please keep us posted. 

Thank you, it helps. Thank you so much. 

[Mlle. Zabzie]

2 minutes ago, RhaenysBee said:

Well I can attest to the stress. Like I find myself breaking down in a couple sobs every other hour. And what irks me the most is that my covid is quite atypical. I don’t cough, I don’t have fever, my sore throat is gone, but I have stomach issues, it feels like I don’t really process food it just passes right through me. I feel light headed and I’m very shaky. And I don’t know if that’s all the stress or legit symptoms. 

As for distraction, all are very very short lived. And in those five minutes I get lost in something and I’m not painfully conscious every cell in my body, I feel all right. But I’m just plain terrified of how I will feel tomorrow or the day after. And I know that the anxiety isn’t helping but it’s soooooo hard and nearly impossible to put it out of my mind. I’m so afraid of what it’s doing to me while at the same time I would rather have lasting damage than die. (I know it’s an absurd thought and I know I have no reason to jump to that conclusion, but that’s how fear works I guess)

sister has the typical cough and shortness of breath symptoms. She has relaxed a little and it turns out one of her teachers has covid now as well. I think that makes her feel less alone and isolated. That someone she looks up to is also fighting through the same thing. I wouldn’t block her ever, of course. And mum and dad are really doing all they can to keep her in check. I hope she’ll get through it safely and soon. 

Thank you for sharing your experiences. There’s no way of putting into words how much it means and how much comfort it brings. I really would go crazy without you all. And it says something nice about the world that you all are so sweet and supportive even though you never actually met me and I never did anything for you. But I hope an opportunity will present itself in life that will allow me to give back all the care and support you all give me, because really, it’s such a huge part in staying sane. Thank you. 

Thank you, it helps. Thank you so much. 

Seriously, all the good vibes and healing thoughts.  

I’ve said this before, and I will say it again:  Aside from the US Politics Thread (where a certain amount of snark is de rigeur - it’s maybe performance art?) this is one of the nicest and most supportive communities I’ve ever had the honor to be a part of.  It’s all the more astounding because many of us haven’t met each other in person.  One day, the the mid-future, I hope we can all get together at a con or something again.  

[Raja]

31 minutes ago, IheartIheartTesla said:

I believe the relief bill will not have undocumented folks being provided the vaccine as well.

Not *too* surprising, tbh! Undocumented immigrants have been left out of most US health policy at a federal level. It's been left to cities and states to pick up the slack there; I think it's mostly NYC and LA that have *okay-ish* health programs for undocumented immigrants. I'm curious as to what the vaccination plan for undocumented immigrants is in those cities.

37 minutes ago, RhaenysBee said:

And what irks me the most is that my covid is quite atypical. I don’t cough, I don’t have fever, my sore throat is gone, but I have stomach issues,

If it will cause you to be less irked, my covid was exactly the same. I had a fever for 1-2 days, but it was almost exclusively stomach issues after that for a further few days/ a week. I ate nothing for a 2-3 days and only drank orange juice. Roughly 10-11 days after my symptoms started, I recovered, everything gradually got better and I was completely fine 12-14 days after my symptoms started.  Those are all legit symptoms. Good luck and I'm sorry about all the stress you're going through. 

As an aside, at least from a clinician's standpoint with the patients I've seen, it is quite remarkable how consistent timelines have been for people that have COVID 19, at least at the acute level/ those that have respiratory issues; days 1-6 is fevers, cold, shivers, losing appetite, day 6-10 is usually shortness of breath that gets worse, and it's usually after day 10-11 that people split into two further lanes; those who recover and those who end up getting a full blown inflammatory response that ends up with them requiring oxygen and organ support and end up developing complications like clots in the lung ( obvious caveats here that this does not apply to everyone and long covid has it's own timelines)

 

[Fragile Bird]

1 hour ago, IheartIheartTesla said:

So the US at this time is not planning on sharing vaccines with Mexico, and concurrently, I believe the relief bill will not have undocumented folks being provided the vaccine as well. I see these two points as being potentially in conflict for immunity purposes, so I hope some sense prevails and we address one of the two issues.

I posted the other day about a clinic at a university in Texas that refused 14 people even though they had confirmed appointments to receive the vaccine, because "vaccines were only for US citizens and legal residents". This is apparently not true and the university had to reach out and apologize to everyone who was turned away, saying the clinic workers were misinterpreting instructions. I thought that it wasn't just Texas, it's all of the US, because the federal government is providing the vaccine, not the state.

In fact, the Governor of Nebraska (I think it was that state) said undocumented workers in meat-packing plants would not get the vaccine. The plants are centers of transmission! He had to walk back his statements because he was not allowed to take that position, but the jerk then said "they'll be last in line behind American citizens and legal immigrants". I don't think he has the authority to do that either, if the vaccine is for everyone.