Shielding chat continues - thread 2

[AuntieSocia1]

Shiny new thread for anyone shielding.

You can vent/moan/cry/chat/lurk whatever you need.

16/08 is a further 9 weeks to the original 12 (which expires mid-June) and 21 weeks total

When do Scottish schools go back? I’m wondering if there is an agenda here to have shielding lifted nationwide before the start of anyone’s autumn term (pretty much irrespective of what happens, given that they’ve already made a level 1 loosening whilst we’re at level 4)

I'm wondering if England will follow in extending

Has anyone in England had their shielding extended someone told me her neighbor's was extended to the end of July but mine was only extended by 2 weeks to 30th June.
My daughter's school isn't opening at the moment as they have too many key worker children.... my son's school is only opening for year 10 on the 15th plus KW children. So far that's a bit of a relief but they will go back to normal before I do I'm sure of it

My letter wasn't sent til 17 April, so I'm I'm shielding til mid July already. I've not heard anything different yet (I'm in England).

@NervousinYorkshire
Same for my dh , around the 17th July.

I've spent half the afternoon crying. 16th of August seems so far away. It's just never ending.

Just spoke to the doctor (I now have been diagnosed with hashimotos!)
She said no update but suspects each person will be risk assessed. Gave an example of if you're a lone worker in a field, you could go back to work and just avoid say supermarkets but if you work in a office of 500 people back to back, it's higher risk type thing

Oh @Is2020OverYet. Bless you! It’s so so hard. I feel your pain.
I haven’t replied to anything for a couple of days, but I have been reading and sending positive vibes where they’re needed.
Asthma is awful, can’t walk up stairs without coughing til I’m almost sick. Pred has kicked in and am averaging 3 hours sleep. Feel wired and crying at everything. Cried at the BBC Sewing Bee thing last night because I liked the lady that got sent home 🙄.
Individual risk assessments seems very sensible and would be a huge step forward, but as they couldn’t even coordinate a generic letter to everyone, I’m confused as to how they’d organise such a massive task.

My 12 weeks runs our 9th July.

16th August :-( I knew it was coming but oh my goodness this has not been a good week for me. I've been so positive/had a routine but I just don't think I can do it anymore, I've hardly got up in the last few days and both physically and mentally I feel a bit done. I hope you are all doing as well as can be.

I'm WFH now so TBH shielding isn't really affecting me massively. When I was furloughed what helped the days pass quicker was (obviously depending on your physical limitations) it might sound patronising so ignore if it does
Doing a specific cleaning task like sorting a wardrobe or changing the bedding and plan the ones I wanted to do for the next day
Planning meals and cooking
Naps!
Starting a box set (I watched 8 seasons of Chicago fire)
Pampering stuff like painting nails/bath/face masks
Setting time aside to catch up with people on messenger/ring family etc
YouTube gentle stretch videos/Pilates

I got fed up of waiting for work to contact me and got hold of a number from my supervisor. Apparently the laptops for work had been put on a freeze! Waiting until June 15th now and they're also having big meetings about shielding then as well.

Got my postponed Dexa scan appointment for June 11th now. Not at the big hospital thankfully.

Also going out tomorrow! Not getting out the car, mind you. Just going with oh to get my prescription, pick up a new kettle from Argos and looking at a new build house, with a view to moving after all this. Lovely 3 storey, 4 beds, multiple toilets (most important factor) and it's shiny and new! GP over the road, where the diabetic eye tests take place, chemist nearby, Costco in walking distance, and bus stop for work route 10 minutes away.

I think my MH is starting (just a little) to crumble around the edges. I'm staying up later as I'm not sleeping well, and not getting up until 10. I'm developing a 'WTF am I getting up for' attitude. So got my resistance bands out, I've been baking low carb and meal planning like mad. Up to the end of June now with Morrisons slots booked every Friday until 25th. Experimenting with food with mixed results. Tried to make keto dumplings that dissolved into the lovely chicken chorizo stew and ruined it 

. @MarieVanGoethem It's a bloody pisstake with the congestion charge! In fact anything bureaucratical to do with disability is a shitshow. ('Scuse language). My DLA to PIP claim was refused and I read through the report and it was shocking, but had no energy to go through with a tribunal.

Still feeling forgotten and lonely.

Have they said when England will announce when ours is extended to yet?
I've just seen Wales and expect something similar.

Well I think I’ve sprained my ankle!

Outdoors is so overrated sometimes

@Babysharkdoodoodood
What a complete PITA re: your work laptop. Am glad your DXA is sorted though; & hope your trip out tomorrow goes well (Possible New House sounds vvv exciting).
I feel sick any time I get a DWP envelope because am convinced it’ll be about moving from DLA (lifetime award) to PIP & think it’ll absolutely break me. Am so sorry it went badly for you.

I've been annoyed by the scottish governments page about shielding tonight...it says that 'almost 3/4 of the shielding group are 55 or over' and I'm like 'so what is that meant to justify it/make the idea of shielding more palatable to the public?' It's not as if 55 is even old anyway?! So much wrong with this whole situation.

Hello, everyone. Thanks for the shout out at the weekend. I’ve been reading but not commenting - mostly just tired. Sleeping badly. Up late often, then missing a chunk of the morning. I was thinking I need to start going out to walk, reasonably okay to do here as we’re near the edge of town. Then the nurse was here this morning for my blood test and mentioned the busyness of town is more or less ‘back to normal’ and I feel quite worried about that. I’ll give myself a good talking to and go out anyway. I just need to break the cycle. I’m sorry it’s all so hard for many of you. I hope things improve for all of you soon. I’m completely unable to do a name check so I won’t even try. Although I often forget user names, I tend to remember the stories you tell so you’re all in my thoughts.

So shielding to be continued? Has the Scottish govt said anything more this week? If so, I missed it. I’ve certainly had no letter about it. I must ask my brother if he knows - he works for an MSP so can sometimes find things out.

The shit show from WM government is upsetting me too. And the situation in the USA. It’s just so awful. I know I’m not alone in finding this stressful.

@UnholyStramash nothing from the Scottish government yet but with Wales extending today I guess it's only a matter of time. Are you Scottish too? I'm guessing so from your username! :-)

Good guess, kirstinm.

I'm starting to think by August everything will be pretty much back to normal in terms of things being open and people back at work but us shielded will still be stuck in. I think I'm the only one out of the parents of children in ds's class that's shielded. I mainly get ignored on the WhatsApp group and no one even commented when I posted I was shielded. Lone parent too so it majorly sucks. I've muted the group as it makes me feel lonely and has changed how I feel about those I thought were friends albeit not close friends.

@Bercows I'm sorry you've been left to feel that way
I wish there was more clarity on shielding when I was shielded the second time I was told the letters were the same but everyone shielding were being supported until 30/06 but then I've heard some people will be shielded for longer my GP says they know no more than we do which seems barmy to me
I'm surprised at Wales because like a PP I'm expecting things to be close to normal by mid August.
I'm WFH as well and after coming back from Furloughed it has made a difference.
I've had friends who've made a huge difference and I appreciate that makes a difference to my mental state.

@Bercows I’m so sorry. That’s horrid for you. Definitely mute the group. We’ve got enough to worry about without adding small minded people to the list. I’ve muted a group that, I thought, were good friends. As soon as I dropped the shielding word, all communication towards me seemed to switch off. It’s like it spooked them. One of them has messaged me separately, once, and nothing since. I can’t give it head space. My head is full. Whereas a group I’m in who I didn’t think I was as close to have been incredible and so supportive. If nothing else, this whole thing has shown me exactly who my true friends are.

Just checking in with you all, nothing much has changed here. No information, food box deteriorating in quality every week ( don't ask me to be grateful)...dented tins and mouldy fruit, general lack of understanding increasing and more people out and about. We've been going for a walk but are now realising that three months of abnormality has made us very anxious about the outside world.

I'm not posting much either, but I think of you all often.

The Groundhog Day nature of this means I struggle to find things to say. I mean, there's always politics, but not on this thread

Hope your ankle is better iVampire! I've been running very early - it's such a tonic. (I'm lucky I live somewhere quiet).

I'm on yet another course of doxycycline for yet another chest infection. Interesting chat with my GP. She is 'firmly convinced' we've had it, and said that one of the common symptoms the virus causes is inflammation of the airways. As I'm asthmatic anyway, it's likely I'm not able to clear my lungs effectively, hence repeated infections. (Sorry for tmi).

She did say they may be able to offer me the Roche test next week, which is very exciting!

Or that's what passes for exciting these days.

Still dreading the summer holidays. What am I going to do with the kids??

Hope everyone had a good sleep.

@DragonTrainedByLucy

Furlough has been amazing, I really appreciate the scheme, although I am now being told other people are doing my job which is stressing me out (I was originally furloughed when I got signed off with possibly COVID, I had WFH before that).

I couldn't have managed either, particularly with the price of food rising so much over the last couple of months. It's really hit me hard.

I would think we work together but I know I am the only one shielding in my place so I suspect we don't (although I totally understand why people don't share medical conditions widely in my workplace now too!)

Your situation seems to be like mine except it's my son who is shielding and I took unpaid leave for 3 months to shield with him as I'm his personal carer so didnt want to take the risk of catching the virus as I most certainly would have given it to him. Initially, I was told that the employer would employ someone else for 3 months that I was on leave but after a recent call to the employer I have been told they hadnt employed anyone else and other staff are having to pick up on work due to me shielding with my family. But the way I was told this was quite accusatory as though I had chosen to leave just for the hell of it and not because I have a child with a life limiting issue. Apparently, there is other staff members whose family received a shielding letter but I'm the only one who decided to shield "properly." I was told I dont qualify for furlough as I'm not the person the government has told to shield hence why I took unpaid leave. My 3 months unpaid leave is due to ginoshe end of this month and at this point I'm wondering if I should just resign as I'm not happy with the current guidelines and feel that there is still a real danger out there of catching the virus. The job is a key worker so I'm afraid of catching the virus and passing it onto my DS.