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[COVID-19] -20, -21, -22, -23...

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    GnizmoGnizmo Registered User regular
    rndmhero wrote: »
    The difficulty in explaining said symptoms, and the subsequent monumentally difficult task of getting a physician to take them seriously, is part of the reason I don't want to even roll the dice.

    Like, every story about Long COVID comes back with people saying "Are you sure you're not just tired?", "That happens with every virus!", "It's only anxiety", or "You're faking it".

    Hearing those things from your doctor is just stone cold devastating. It makes you realize you'll never get help, and no one cares.

    Some doctors are definitely shitty and dismissive.

    But for a lot of these symptoms, there's unfortunately very little they can do right now. There's no "test" for long COVID outside of some niche research scenarios, and there's no real treatment for "feeling shitty." Even if your PCP 100% believes you, there's often not much they can do with that information. There's a ton of research ongoing, but in the meantime we're going to have millions of people with chronic illness and very few medical options.

    There is a world of difference between "There isn't much we can do," and "There is nothing wrong with you so bye!" Knowing what you are going through is a thing has a lot of power. It is a whole human thing they really need to teach in medical school. Just being willing to say it is probably long covid and here is what we know currently is huge. Especially when you realize they are reaching out for medical help. The alternative is just telling them not to ever bother seeking help.

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    burboburbo Registered User regular
    Yeah, with any kind of "I'm tired all the time. I feel like shit all the time. My brain doesn't work as well as it used to" kind of chronic illness, your options are to go to a Western Dr., who will say "Well, we out tests don't show anything, so I'm pretty sure you're faking it and need to get more sleep", or a naturopath, who will listen to you, but may end up prescribing the color purple, certain audio tones, or 100 breaths a day (actual prescriptions my partner got!)

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    Phoenix-DPhoenix-D Registered User regular
    Also "we can't treat or cure this" isn't the same as "there's nothing we can do". Managing symptoms is a thing!

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    zepherinzepherin Russian warship, go fuck yourself Registered User regular
    Phoenix-D wrote: »
    Also "we can't treat or cure this" isn't the same as "there's nothing we can do". Managing symptoms is a thing!
    A lot of medicine, is we can’t cure the condition, but we can repair some or all of the damage.

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    PaladinPaladin Registered User regular
    There are specialized long COVID clinics

    Marty: The future, it's where you're going?
    Doc: That's right, twenty five years into the future. I've always dreamed on seeing the future, looking beyond my years, seeing the progress of mankind. I'll also be able to see who wins the next twenty-five world series.
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    TetraNitroCubaneTetraNitroCubane The Djinnerator At the bottom of a bottleRegistered User regular
    There was a recent Twitter thread from noted virologist Trevor Bedford on the fitness and spread of BA.4, BA.5, BA.2.12.1. The real takeaway was at the end of the thread after examining how those variants have emerged.




    There is a notable drop in neutralization titer against BA.4 and BA.5 viruses in boosted individuals and individuals with BA.1 breakthrough infections (figure from Qian Wang, David Ho and colleagues.
    Thus, we expect at least some portion of the BA.4 / BA.5 epidemics to be driven by increased vaccine breakthrough and increased reinfection relative to current BA.2 circulation.

    It looks like we should anticipate a non-zero increase in breakthroughs on the horizon.

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    JragghenJragghen Registered User regular
    My sister has long covid but it's not just the tiredness stuff. While most of her smell has returned, ability to smell some specific stuff has not.

    Most notably gas. She left the pilot light on once without realizing it which is mildly terrifying.

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    monikermoniker Registered User regular
    Jragghen wrote: »
    My sister has long covid but it's not just the tiredness stuff. While most of her smell has returned, ability to smell some specific stuff has not.

    Most notably gas. She left the pilot light on once without realizing it which is mildly terrifying.

    At least that's a relatively easily fixable problem since the smell of gas is an arbitrary additive and can be altered.

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    evilmrhenryevilmrhenry Registered User regular
    Jragghen wrote: »
    My sister has long covid but it's not just the tiredness stuff. While most of her smell has returned, ability to smell some specific stuff has not.

    Most notably gas. She left the pilot light on once without realizing it which is mildly terrifying.

    FYI, natural gas detectors exist, and cost around $30.

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    urahonkyurahonky Registered User regular
    Jragghen wrote: »
    My sister has long covid but it's not just the tiredness stuff. While most of her smell has returned, ability to smell some specific stuff has not.

    Most notably gas. She left the pilot light on once without realizing it which is mildly terrifying.

    Yeah as someone who loses his sense of smell constantly this was always my biggest fear. Had to move to a place that didn't use gas.

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    ShivahnShivahn Unaware of her barrel shifter privilege Western coastal temptressRegistered User, Moderator mod
    burbo wrote: »
    Especially when so many of the effects are of the "I just feel shitty" variety which are also very common symptoms in the downfall of civilization era we live in.

    My wife and I maybe got omicron (likely) but the symptoms were limited to "walking to the car: exhausting, don't do it." Then those never left.

    But also is us just being so tired all the time even real? We were tired before. Is this worse? It seems worse, behaviorally speaking, but like, that's such a fuzzy thing. And we're not even sure we had it! The test came back negative! (we have somewhat strong reason to suspect that was a false negative, though).

    And also how much of the problem is just that one of our cats now refuses to settle down as much at night.

    I can't imagine how you'd ever get really good data on something like that.

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    urahonkyurahonky Registered User regular
    Yeah plus it's like... The end of the Trump presidency, start of the Biden presidency, shootings, economy crashing, riots, arguing about masks with your aunt on Facebook to no avail...

    It's just mentally and physically exhausting. I know I'm tired of it and hit a deep depression for a while which makes you feel like dog shit.

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    urahonkyurahonky Registered User regular
    Also of note that my wife (who is an office manager for a physicians office) is going to have to close her practice for a few days this week. 2 of the 3 providers tested positive for COVID and the third is out on vacation for the rest of the week.

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    webguy20webguy20 I spend too much time on the Internet Registered User regular
    edited May 2022
    Shivahn wrote: »
    burbo wrote: »
    Especially when so many of the effects are of the "I just feel shitty" variety which are also very common symptoms in the downfall of civilization era we live in.

    My wife and I maybe got omicron (likely) but the symptoms were limited to "walking to the car: exhausting, don't do it." Then those never left.

    But also is us just being so tired all the time even real? We were tired before. Is this worse? It seems worse, behaviorally speaking, but like, that's such a fuzzy thing. And we're not even sure we had it! The test came back negative! (we have somewhat strong reason to suspect that was a false negative, though).

    And also how much of the problem is just that one of our cats now refuses to settle down as much at night.

    I can't imagine how you'd ever get really good data on something like that.

    As someone who might have had Covid around Christmas, and then was constantly exhausted and would get winded walking to the bathroom, get checked for blood clots!

    webguy20 on
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    Origin ID: Discgolfer27
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    CorvusCorvus . VancouverRegistered User regular
    :so_raven:
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    SteevLSteevL What can I do for you? Registered User regular
    I tested positive for covid-19 yesterday after getting home from work. It started with a sore throat on Wednesday which just sort of lingered the whole day. I took a covid test on Wednesday night and it came back negative. On Thursday I had the same sore throat, and my colleagues noticed that my voice had begun dropping an octave. I was getting the shivers. I had a fever of 100 when I got home. I took another covid test and it came back positive in less than 3 minutes. My wife, who had similar symptoms on Monday but got a negative test at the time, decided to take another test and it came back positive almost instantly.

    We went to the Maryland Deathfest this past weekend, so that's the likely where we got it. We met up with friends we hadn't seen in 5 years. I drove them to another venue. The next morning, one of them woke up with covid, so she was likely very contagious during the drive.

    Anyway, I went to bed and had some nasty body aches and weird fever dreams, but eventually woke up and couldn't fall back to sleep. The aches are gone Neither of us have lost our sense of smell or taste. We're going to just take it easy for the next few days.

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    honoverehonovere Registered User regular
    There was a recent Twitter thread from noted virologist Trevor Bedford on the fitness and spread of BA.4, BA.5, BA.2.12.1. The real takeaway was at the end of the thread after examining how those variants have emerged.




    There is a notable drop in neutralization titer against BA.4 and BA.5 viruses in boosted individuals and individuals with BA.1 breakthrough infections (figure from Qian Wang, David Ho and colleagues.
    Thus, we expect at least some portion of the BA.4 / BA.5 epidemics to be driven by increased vaccine breakthrough and increased reinfection relative to current BA.2 circulation.

    It looks like we should anticipate a non-zero increase in breakthroughs on the horizon.

    Ba.5 wave is already hitting Portugal. So we're probably all in for a summer wave instead of only a new autumn and winter wave

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    MillMill Registered User regular
    Corvus wrote: »

    Figures that we might have a vaccine for that age group after I move out of my current residence that has a 3.5 year old. On the other hand, given how Murphy's law works. The little bugger will probably contract covid right before he gets the shot or during the period where the effects of the shot haven't come into full effect. So probably just as well.

    I mean, the daycare has constantly had days where they are closed or people are told they can't come until they get a negative test result from on of the more accurate tests. Also if a kid gets sick with common symptoms, they'll tell the parents that the kid needs to be tested and if they provided a documented negative result, they can't bring their kid in unless enough time passes. What this means, is that my roommates kid has been test 12 times. I want to say like almost half of those are a result of someone in that kid's class testing positive to covid. So I've concluded that it's not a matter of if their kids contracts covid, but a matter of when. Granted, if the vaccine works well enough, maybe it will be a never.

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    lonelyahavalonelyahava Call me Ahava ~~She/Her~~ Move to New ZealandRegistered User regular
    BA.4 and BA.5 have popped up in the community with no trace back to the border.

    Yay.

    Hubby is down for the count with a bad cough, but still not Covid.

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    MorganVMorganV Registered User regular
    edited June 2022
    OH FOR FUCK'S SAKE!

    In the First Amendment thread, the DeSantis going after Disney was covered extensively. And I posted there recently because he's doing it again to a baseball team. You either play DeSantis's game, or he will use the full weight of his office to punish you.

    Why is this important?

    https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/34031972/special-olympics-drops-covid-19-vaccine-mandate-florida-plans-millions-fines
    "Special Olympics drops COVID-19 vaccine mandate after Florida plans millions in fines"
    The Special Olympics has lifted its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for the 2022 USA Games after Florida moved to fine the organization $27.5 million for violating a state law against such rules.

    It's not enough to be punished for speaking out (fairly impotently) against Florida's LGBT record. It's not enough to be punished for speaking out against guns.

    Trying to have some Covid protections gets the Florida government threatening to fine you EIGHT FUCKING FIGURES.

    EDIT - Also should be noted that while I can't find when the Special Olympics instituted the policy, DeSantis waited until three days before the event, to issue them this notice, not giving them time to cancel or postpone. As someone on a Twitter comment said, some of the participants were already enroute before the letter was sent. So it's not quite as simple for the Special Olympics to cancel. Because Florida is the fucking worst.

    My only question is, why the fuck would any sane business run an event or open an office in Florida?

    MorganV on
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    rahkeesh2000rahkeesh2000 Registered User regular
    The guy was mocking the republican-led legislature as he veto'd their own budget increases. We're well past just owning the 'libs now, it's just about being an asshole to everyone.

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    Undead ScottsmanUndead Scottsman Registered User regular
    There's going to be a brief period in 2024 when he and Trump will be at each others throats, so we have that to look forward to at least.

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    AphostileAphostile San Francisco, CARegistered User regular
    SteevL wrote: »
    I tested positive for covid-19 yesterday after getting home from work. It started with a sore throat on Wednesday which just sort of lingered the whole day. I took a covid test on Wednesday night and it came back negative. On Thursday I had the same sore throat, and my colleagues noticed that my voice had begun dropping an octave. I was getting the shivers. I had a fever of 100 when I got home. I took another covid test and it came back positive in less than 3 minutes. My wife, who had similar symptoms on Monday but got a negative test at the time, decided to take another test and it came back positive almost instantly.

    We went to the Maryland Deathfest this past weekend, so that's the likely where we got it. We met up with friends we hadn't seen in 5 years. I drove them to another venue. The next morning, one of them woke up with covid, so she was likely very contagious during the drive.

    Anyway, I went to bed and had some nasty body aches and weird fever dreams, but eventually woke up and couldn't fall back to sleep. The aches are gone Neither of us have lost our sense of smell or taste. We're going to just take it easy for the next few days.

    After 2.5 years it's hit both my wife and I as well.

    Nothing big like Deathfest, just a trip to the beach this holiday weekend. Could've been anywhere I suppose, cases are rising fast in the Bay Area.

    What's strange is that my symptoms developed similarly to yours, but I kept testing negative. Not sure if faulty tests or just false negatives somehow, could also be user error. Tested positive on Tuesday after feeling sore throaty Sunday, achey and shivery Monday, then coughing and gross Tuesday. Tuesday was the first positive test.

    Feeling better, but pretty brain foggy. Going to do nothing this weekend but curl up in a blanket.

    Nothing. Matters.
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    LabelLabel Registered User regular
    Fascists gonna fascism. Don't matter that Florida is sunny, they're still fascist.

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    durandal4532durandal4532 Registered User regular
    Christ. Just went out using public transit for the first time in a while and maybe 1-2 other people in masks. I can't believe how optimistic I was that two years without catching a flu or cold would convince people that just generally using a mask in crowded indoor spaces was a reasonable idea.

    Take a moment to donate what you can to Critical Resistance and Black Lives Matter.
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    Undead ScottsmanUndead Scottsman Registered User regular
    Yeah, it kills me that we got introduced to this incredibly useful and life saving technique and any chance at a more permanent adoption just got slaughtered because it got turned into a partisan issue.

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    StarZapperStarZapper Vermont, Bizzaro world.Registered User regular
    edited June 2022
    Yeah, it kills me that we got introduced to this incredibly useful and life saving technique and any chance at a more permanent adoption just got slaughtered because it got turned into a partisan issue.

    Eh I wouldn't say that it's all partisan, necessarily. It certainly started out that way, but I live in a super liberal area and there's still almost nobody wearing masks. At this point it's just pandemic fatigue, and most people discounting covid as being over more than anything.

    StarZapper on
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    PaladinPaladin Registered User regular
    I've been through a lot of masks, and I found one with really stretchy earloops that's pretty comfortable. I'm masquerading as a business to buy them in bulk at $11 a box

    Marty: The future, it's where you're going?
    Doc: That's right, twenty five years into the future. I've always dreamed on seeing the future, looking beyond my years, seeing the progress of mankind. I'll also be able to see who wins the next twenty-five world series.
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    rahkeesh2000rahkeesh2000 Registered User regular
    edited June 2022
    Well there was also the chance we could develop the custom of masking when you know you're sick with anything contagious, like in much of East Asia. But learning to think about others clearly isn't something that will happen here.

    rahkeesh2000 on
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    DevoutlyApatheticDevoutlyApathetic Registered User regular
    Well there was also the chance we could develop the custom of masking when you know you're sick with anything contagious, like in much of East Asia. But learning to think about others clearly isn't something that will happen here.

    It's only natural that we'd be horrible about caring for others, we claim to be a christian country.

    Nod. Get treat. PSN: Quippish
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    Undead ScottsmanUndead Scottsman Registered User regular
    StarZapper wrote: »
    Yeah, it kills me that we got introduced to this incredibly useful and life saving technique and any chance at a more permanent adoption just got slaughtered because it got turned into a partisan issue.

    Eh I wouldn't say that it's all partisan, necessarily. It certainly started out that way, but I live in a super liberal area and there's still almost nobody wearing masks. At this point it's just pandemic fatigue, and most people discounting covid as being over more than anything.

    By partisan issue, I mean that anti-masking became a major policy point for one of the two major political parties in the country and thus bred an environment where the government was apprehensive about continuing with mitigation efforts. These things unfortunately don't exist in a vacuum; it's hard to get people to do something if there's a million examples of other people not doing it. It greatly increases the fatigue effect that you mention.

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    DarkPrimusDarkPrimus Registered User regular
    Monkeypox doesn’t spread as easily as common illnesses like COVID-19 or the flu. People can only catch #monkeypox if they have close contact with someone who is infected. Know what to look for. https://bit.ly/3Gt4SaT

    Not a fan of this wording from the CDC. While technically correct to say that COVID is more common than monkeypox, talking about it with the flu in the same breath is manufacturing the appearance of it being no longer a pandemic situation, just an everyday thing we have to live with from now on.

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    urahonkyurahonky Registered User regular
    I mean I guess? I'd consider COVID-19 common as fuck right now. And makes it easier for people to understand how contagious it is.

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    XaquinXaquin Right behind you!Registered User regular
    DarkPrimus wrote: »
    Monkeypox doesn’t spread as easily as common illnesses like COVID-19 or the flu. People can only catch #monkeypox if they have close contact with someone who is infected. Know what to look for. https://bit.ly/3Gt4SaT

    Not a fan of this wording from the CDC. While technically correct to say that COVID is more common than monkeypox, talking about it with the flu in the same breath is manufacturing the appearance of it being no longer a pandemic situation, just an everyday thing we have to live with from now on.

    to be fair, it is both =/

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    kimekime Queen of Blades Registered User regular
    Yup, seems like everyone has given up on stopping Covid. It was just too hard to care. sigh

    Battle.net ID: kime#1822
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    IncenjucarIncenjucar VChatter Seattle, WARegistered User regular
    The CDC sold out ages ago. We should take anything they have to say with enough sodium to stop a heart unless it's actual numbers, and even then we should be a bit wary.

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    HamHamJHamHamJ Registered User regular
    kime wrote: »
    Yup, seems like everyone has given up on stopping Covid. It was just too hard to care. sigh

    Once it went global and then vaccines didn't provide actual immunity I think "stopping" (which I would interpret to mean eradication) Covid was off the table. You can just look at the failure of China's "zero Covid" strategy.

    While racing light mechs, your Urbanmech comes in second place, but only because it ran out of ammo.
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    kimekime Queen of Blades Registered User regular
    HamHamJ wrote: »
    kime wrote: »
    Yup, seems like everyone has given up on stopping Covid. It was just too hard to care. sigh

    Once it went global and then vaccines didn't provide actual immunity I think "stopping" (which I would interpret to mean eradication) Covid was off the table. You can just look at the failure of China's "zero Covid" strategy.

    For a contagious disease in a society with constant worldwide travel, trying to point to a small part of the world and going "see, they tried and didn't succeed, so it was physically impossible to ever eradicate Covid!" is silly. "lol that person didn't pee in the pool, but they're still swimming in pee water, that proves it's impossible to have a pee-free pool!" (I hate analogies but I couldn't resist this one because it amused me)

    If, instead, you meant something like "it was never politically possible" then yeah, I'd agree. The people and countries of the world are not kind enough to rally together.

    Battle.net ID: kime#1822
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    MarathonMarathon Registered User regular
    No, I think that based on the fact that this was a novel virus that spread through the air and that carriers are infectious for long periods while they are asymptomatic, “stopping”/eradicating the virus was never going to be possible.

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    Phoenix-DPhoenix-D Registered User regular
    Marathon wrote: »
    No, I think that based on the fact that this was a novel virus that spread through the air and that carriers are infectious for long periods while they are asymptomatic, “stopping”/eradicating the virus was never going to be possible.

    Asymptomatic spread makes it difficult, but it absolutely could have been stopped with enough support early. TBH even up to Delta we could have done it if we had a lot more vaccine production. Omicron makes that harder.

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