I’ll be happy if I feel better by March, and I will be upset if I still have lingering issues into may. Figure that’s a lenient enough expectation that I won’t be disappointed. although there’s always the chance I could be one of these poor “long haul” cases that’s dealing with it for like a year. Though I think my symptoms are already more mild than what theirs usually are
Australia is in this pattern at the moment where if one case pops up the other states lock them out, WA had one case and put the whole city of Perth into a 5-day lockdown. It's effective but I feel that with contact tracing as good as it is the need for the other states to shut the border is massive overkill.
I don't think I ever updated this thread with my vaccine trials and tribulations. I was able to get the first dose on 1/9. And it fucked me up. Bad. I have only had the flu a couple times in my life that I remember, and this was probably the worst. Vomit, diarrhea, chills, body aches, fatigue. Yada yada yada. It knocked me on my ass for a good 72 hours. I'm not a doctor, but I'm taking this as an indicator that if I ever did catch covid I would be part of the 1% who croak. I received my second dose Saturday. While not as bad as the first, it still fucked me up pretty good. I suggest going ahead and getting ahead of it and hitting the dayquil before you get your dose just in case. It really did help with my symptoms the second time around. All in all, my city seems to be doing a good job of getting it out, but it is still messy and annoying. I hit the timing just right on Saturday, but if I had gone when they first opened I would have had a two hour wait. Their info also said that while they might run out of first doses occasionally, they would never run out of second doses as those were a different allotment of vaccine. Cut to today when they ran out of second doses. People can still go get their first dose, but if you need your second, you're waiting for who knows how long. I understand the thought of getting as many people as possible the first dose before doling out the second, but that seems to run counter to their messaging where they want people to get two full doses. There has to be pretty big fuckup along the way somewhere because they should have an accurate count of who exactly is eligible at any given time for a second dose. Anyway, I hope that wherever y'all are you can get a shot in your arm as soon as possible.
Damn, it sounds like the cure hit you harder than the actual disease hit me. After you got over the effects from the initial dose did you have lingering residual effects (Like muscle fatigue) or did it just go away like a normal cold/flu?
I would happily take that 3 days in exchange for the shit I went through. Today is the first day I woke up feeling "normal," 12 days after the first symptoms. Around lunch time I took my son on a short hike, maybe half a mile, around the ranch, and I've been winded and felt like shit ever since. I have a doctor appointment tomorrow to make sure my lungs aren't fucked up permanently and I'm gonna ask them when I'm eligible for the shot, then try to get it asap. I wanna make extra special sure I can't get this again. I can only imagine the hell people go through when they are hospitalized and dying from this -- the feeling of being awake, not being able to catch your breath or even feel like you're taking a deep breath, and not being able to do shit about it, is horrifying.
It went away quickly almost like it was never there. I'm super glad it didn't mimic any of that long-haul shit. It's scary to contemplate. My fear of catching it at school was a little overblown (I had myself convinced I would catch it by November), but my general outlook towards life has improved considerably over the past few weeks. The mental weight that was lifted has been noticeable.
Sorry to hear it... if you're recovering that quickly from it, then hopefully you're not going to have any of the associated long term effects.
@Gravy , I'm glad you were able to get the vaccine. Definitely seems like the full blown virus would have been bad for you. I totally get the weight being lifted from you; I would have been a nervous wreck stuck in a closed room all day with germ sponges. Just fyi about the dayquil thing, for anybody looking forward to their dose... the official info from Oregon health officials say to have tylenol ready for pain relief if you experience side effects from the vaccine but to NOT take it before as it can lower effectiveness of the vaccine.
Glad you’re doing better, @Gravy. My parents are due to get the vaccine this week. They’re both 65 so it will be nice to see them as I haven’t since around Christmas. Even then, they still have to come to me because if I cross the border into Connecticut, my daughter’s school requires everyone in the household to provide proof of a negative test before she can return. The kid cannot keep a secret whatsoever and I’m pretty strict about making sure we follow state rules regarding travel. I think about how seriously I take the rules and how we never leave the house except for groceries, and then I see people on TV partying at the Super Bowl, and I get enraged. I haven’t felt an ongoing bitterness like this probably ever.
I am also getting pretty bitter. I leave the house once a week. And it’s to get groceries. I’ve canceled three vacations now. My Facebook feed is full of people getting on planes and skiing. Or going to a beach vacation. These fucks are the reason this shot has taken a year. I can’t tell if I’m jealous or angry. I’ve seen my parents twice in the last sox months. Both times because we were able to quarantine for 14 days through some miracle. My parents got the first vaccine last week. I’m super excited. I really want us to be able to get together again. But I won’t risk getting them sick.
I was in a clubhouse chat room the other night where influencers, marketers, and other "creatives" as one might call them were planning vacations together and meet ups. I get that Japan hasn't been hit that hard, but it's exactly these kind of people who are gonna spread disease no matter what. They have to get their travel in for the posts and shit.
Yep. Your body's inflammatory response is important for mounting an effective immune response. Any anti-inflammatories you take (ibuprofen, Tylenol) are mildly counterproductive, so you should take it if you need it, but not before then. I've been incredibly lucky this past year. I've gotten to do some epic hiking despite the pandemic, my job didn't even blip, and I could safely celebrate Christmas with a couple family members. We actually spent much less time exposed after moving than if we stayed put, since we moved out of a dense apartment complex, with a city neighborhood that we walked the dog in, and grocery stores packed to the gills, in a state that was particularly hard-hit. But I'm watching coworkers get on planes to Mexican resorts, or seeing people casually going to bars, or posting their huge holiday gatherings, and it really makes me angry. My sister-in-law's parents went to their house to see their new granddaughter claiming they had a negative COVID test and had quarantined, only to let it slip that they had a Christmas party two days before, which included working people and a nursing student who works at a hospital. These people have no morals. So fucking selfish. You're literally putting your daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter's lives in danger.
I'm one of the folks who has done a fair bit of travelling over the past year. I've bounced back and forth between my place in DC and my parent's house in SC whenever the case counts in one place got higher than the other. I got sent to PR, TX, and LA for work, then to downtown DC. I still go to the gym at 5 a.m. (it would be 4 a.m., but they shortened the hours), the supermarket every 4-5 days and to my gf's house 3-4 nights a week. It's bizarre how this is the new normal: there's not much else to do safely except go for hikes when it's not cold and the trails aren't so fucking crowded. I feel guilty, especially about being home for Christmas when so many people couldn't safely do that. I recognize that I've been crazy lucky to have not gotten it a dozen times over the past year, mask and distancing aside. The vaccine is one countermeasure of many, and I have real concerns that people will start to disregard the other countermeasures once they've gotten the vaccine, to our collective detriment. All of the bitterness, anger, and...well, trauma, I suppose is going to take a while to unravel. My folks are struggling with the dozens of deaths in their social circle this past year, and even my friends in their 30's and 40's have had some casualties. It's hard not to seek a scapegoat, especially as this transcends the administration that cocked up the response. We're seeing case counts back off of the Christmas peak, and I am thanking God for this 3 month break from working COVID. I do not look forward to answering that call again, and would rather muck shit from Hurricane Ballsack for 600 hours than see the rage, frustration and pain on my junior staff's face when she's lost 3 family members to COVID and one of our senior leadership tries to blow it off ("We'll all get it eventually" or "it has a 99% survival rate" or "it's not that much worse than the flu") and we can't seem to get to any solutions. That kind of rage isn't going anywhere, and it's frightening to think of where it leads, not to mention how hard it is to witness.
It can absolutely be both. My mom lives in Hawaii. Not only does she work at a hospital, but she also has underlying conditions. She hasn't been able to hold her grandkids for over a year. Meanwhile, my worthless coworker took a vacation down there and it was all he could talk about when he got back. It's infuriating because it's unfair that so many of us have put our lives on hold so others can be fucking selfish.
Canada has finally started to lock down the return to Canada to the point that you are escorted to hotels with security, given a test, and then have to wait under guard, at your own expense ($2k) for the results to come back. There are some people who are totally outraged about this, and my thinking is "thank the morons who couldn't do the right thing". https://vancouversun.com/news/snowbirds-trapped-in-arizona-want-exemption-from-2000-quarantine That's the price you pay for living with inconsiderate, disrespectful people.
Unfortunately that's just the way life is. It's generally about 5-8% of the population that mess everything up for the rest of us. A percentage of the price we pay for items in the store is marked up due to theft. Increased insurance because of uninsured motorists, people driving without privileges, and DUI. The list goes on and on. Some people are just assholes and will continue to be assholes no matter what.
We have just given up on trusting anyone to tell the truth about their activities, especially if they want something. It's the new 'white lie.' For example my mother in law has not slowed her roll one bit. She told my husband she was quarantining and then accidentally texted him instead of her brother, stating that she was at the country club with friends. This country club is in a different state than the one she resides. Just one example of a multitude. It's sad for us. We would love to share time with others and let them meet the new baby in our new house. But we have not lost sight of our primary responsibility: keep the baby safe. We considered a quarantine period before allowing a visit but dishonesty puts a bad taste in our mouth. We aren't messing around.
Honestly, the whole pandemic, and this behavior specifically, has fundamentally changed some of my relationships with family and friends. If you're treating these kinds of things as "white lies," I think you're - no exaggeration - a shitty person. You're putting someone's life in danger without giving them the opportunity to make a choice.
No disagreements here. It has definitely altered some relationships forever. I'm not sure if there is an expression that states it more succinctly, but what's the idea.... that if you think someone will be mad about a fact, you should definitely tell them. I abide by this strongly in my marriage and think that you should abide by it in any close relationship you hope to keep. It's an honesty thing. Even if YOU don't think it's a big deal, but suspect the other party might, they need to be informed. Whether that be a tiny scratch on the bumper of the car that you borrowed, you spent a lot at the bar, you have been traveling and socializing during covid. I also do not appreciate being robbed of a choice, or being told things to alter my own behavior. Some people do not have a problem with lying, and that's a major divergence on compatibility for me.