😵‍💫Crazy COVID story 😷🤧

[LifeIsThePitts]

So My friend who was infected a couple weeks ago for the first time with COVID saw his Dr and was prescribed paxlovid, one of 2 main antiviral treatment that is given to COVID infected people. He recovered, tested negative and returned to work last weekend.

He text me last night...started feeling like he had a sinus infection. Retested and is COVID positive again within 3 weeks.

His family has had it already and so far he's hasn't infected the rest of his household...but he isolating again and on a second round of antivirals.

This virus scares me.

Like chicken pox is a virus that stays dormant in your body and can reactivate decades later in the form of shingles. My sister broke out with shingles right before her ruptured Achilles tendon surgery...she believes that the stress of the injury activated it. Next year I'll turn 50 and the shingles 2 jab vaccine is recommended for everyone at that age. I'll be in line 💉 for that one too.

Viruses are charlatans, shape shifters and opportunistic buggers. I can't wait for the new booster to become available. I really don't want to gamble with getting this for as long as I can avoid it.

I'm a professional at avoidance tendencies...so this is right up my alley 🤣

[MindfulMoment]

COVID is a weird one because some people get it and get deathly ill. others get it and have a cold. It’s hard to know which one you’ll be. I try not to think about it lol. We’ll call that avoidance I had the first round when it first came on 2020, it was bad bad. I have never been so sick, lost my smell and taste for 18 months. I still have weird lingering things my doctor says isn’t related but I know it is. Then I had it twice more in the coming years. Neither of those was as bad but still quite unpleasant for sure. Each time was different and strange. I chose not to get vaccinated personally. But I have already started my cold weather regimen to boost immunity and support my body in case I catch it again. I had so much anxiety during that time when it was all happening. I was convinced I would die if I caught. When I did, I knew I had it. My husband and I both woke up and were so so sick all of a sudden. Then last year I got the flu and honestly it was just as bad. This year I’m just gonna try to spend a lot of time outside in the sunshine and fresh air. Last year I still couldn’t leave the house. Hoping that helps.

[LifeIsThePitts in reply to MindfulMoment]

Exactly! I have a coworker that has had it 3 times...the first 2, not too bad, one vaccinated and one not. The 3rd she almost died... and she had the booster for that one.

You just don't know...

[EarthSitter1 in reply to LifeIsThePitts]

Despite having all the Covid vaccines offered I’ve had Covid 4 times in 11months! It’s ridiculous, each time has been different symptoms and different levels of severity. I was terrified of getting it originally as I’m severely asthmatic and having had it so many times it still worries me 😕

[LifeIsThePitts in reply to EarthSitter1]

Holy 😦 cow! 4 times in less than a year!?😳I'm still terrified 😵‍💫of getting it. I have a bunch of physical health issues that definitely make my mental health issues worse and vice versa. It's a common theme on a age old delimma.

Hubby and I've been boosted at every new stage of vaccination. I work in a high risk environment where I'm exposed to unmasked people, in a smoke and vape filled workspace, from all over the world every week. My 500+ coworkers are just as risky to be around. I still wear a mask 😷 everyday at my job. It's the only reason I'm still "NOVID".

Long covid terrifies me. I have horror stories about coworkers that survived near death hospitalization. One went into hospital Christmas Eve 2020 and BERELY survived after 5 months of ICU, induced comas, and long term care facilities before he was able to come home. Yes he lived, but he will never be independent again. He will never return to work or Life as he remembers it. That's just one.... I've lost count of how many of my coworkers and acquaintances died because of COVID-19 infections.

[EarthSitter1 in reply to LifeIsThePitts]

Omg! No wonder you’re worried about it!. I’m disabled and mainly house bound but my husband teaches and as far as the UK government are concerned Covid is no longer a problem and if they contract it- as long as they are not too ill they cannot use it as an excuse not to work, my husband had to use holiday last time he had it ,as he’s refused to go in ,as his conscience won’t let him- what if he passed it on to a colleague who was also a caregiver and it caused someone to bet terribly Ill. It’s disgusting how the government no longer cares 😕

[Hidden]

Ugh that sucks. I get it. I had the flu a few months ago and I was traumatized by it-literally.

Shingles is scary and these viruses are strangely intelligent 😳. Be strong!

[LifeIsThePitts in reply to Hidden]

I had the flu Superbowl '18... complete with viral Pink eye!! It's the sickest I've been since I had pneumonia in 11th grade highschool. Flu is no joke either....

Viruses only ambition is to reproduce and mutate....as long as there are hosts to infect, the cycle won't ever end. The common cold is a Corona virus just like COVID-19... just has different properties. But in millions of years, there's no getting rid of the common cold.

[Hidden in reply to LifeIsThePitts]

Omg the flu sucks soooo bad. It rolled over the whole family in a timely fashion.

And you're right. Damn covid and colds and viruses. I'm always scared I'll get something. Always on guard with my hand sanitizer and lysol.

[CL3V3R-G1RL]

Omg Im afraid of getting COVID because my immune system I feel isn't that great plus I have asthma. I'm a caregiver to my mom.

I caught the flu this year and I was so scared it was COVID. My whole body ached and I had a fever of 104°F. My partner took me to the urgent care for after hours patients. They made me wait in the car and they came out in full gear and did the test on me. Then came out to tell me it was Flu type A. They asked me if I got my flu shot and I said yeah. They told me with flu shots they try to guess what strain will be popular. Most of the time it's type B. However I had the unfortunate luck of getting type A. Prescribed Tamiflu and over the counter meds. Fever went away by the 3rd day and I was good again.

A couple months after that I get the stomach bug that had been going around. Lucky for me it lasted for about 1 day. Threw up once and spent the rest of my time in the bathroom. Now I know what my mom went through when she had to drink that stuff for her colonoscopy. I swear I think I had gum coming out of me they don't make anymore. But I was good again though it took me a whole week to have another BM.

Right now I'm sick but with hay fever 🤧

[LifeIsThePitts in reply to CL3V3R-G1RL]

Yes. I fear getting covid too. Long covid is a set of problems I can't afford. Keeping my current health issues and mental health stability in check is challenging enough.

I've been sick 3 times since the pandemic started. Most recently at the beginning of Aug. I thought it was COVID for sure...but nope! I can't believe 🤯 it, actually. I credit that to still wearing a mask 😷 at work. I replied above about my workplace conditions being WAYYY less than ideal for exposure to illness and disease. Continues to weak my anxiety during every shift to this day.

[punkster]

Testing positive for Covid again after taking Paxlovid is well documented. That's why I didn't take Paxlovid when I had Covid last December. Maybe I should have. My case was mild, but I had crushing fatigue for three months after my infection. To make things worse, no one believed me about my fatigue. They treated me like nothing was wrong, when I was struggling to just get through the day. Anyway, I don't want to get it again so I have started masking up when I am in high risk situations. I don't care what anyone thinks because they have not lived through my experience with the disease. Covid was what kicked my anxiety into high gear. I have finally learned to accept that it is not going to go away and that I should go back to life, using protection if I have to. I still have days when my anxiety kicks in, but they are few and far between.

[LifeIsThePitts in reply to punkster]

Yeah...I have heard of this happening, too. My friend has underlying health conditions that require biologic meds, which can suppress his immune system response, to maintain his disorder from becoming intolerable to live with on a daily basis.

I suspect his system wasn't able to fully clear the virus and it made a resurgence after he tested negative.

This is another HUGE issue with this particular corona virus. It can stay active for extended amounts of time in immunocompromised patients and continually mutate in the host, infecting and reinfecting people around them as time goes on. I read about a patient that tested COVID positive for something crazy like 4-5 MONTHS cuz their immune system couldn't defeat it. These conditions for a virus is like Disney Land for a kid with limitless cotton candy and NO parental restrictions....and remains one of the biggest concerns for scientists and medical professionals continuing to wage war against this public health threat.

Just cuz we as a society are DONE with everything COVID.... doesn't mean COVID-19 is done with us. We're living in a false sense of security based on an uneducated and misinformed society. Virus 1...Us 0.

I'm sorry you had to experience the shunning of your physical condition post COVID. I'm scared to death of having this outcome. I fight daily to maintain a workable daily routine based on a health forward lifestyle. But my mental health remains a giant albatross tethered to my back. I cannot afford the crushing fatigue of long covid. It very difficult for me to remove myself from my bed... it's my safety net, retreat and comfort zone...but it also keeps me isolated and withdrawn from living. Any new fatigue causing "issues" could render me in complete debilitation...I cannot afford that in any way.