How different would your life be if Covid hadn’t come along?

[Username721]

Just curious really!

Work? Relationships? Did the pandemic bring any long term life changes for you?

I hope you don't mind me saying this but are you sure it's long covid and not something else? The reason I'm commenting is because you mentioned cognitive unravelling. I experienced this due to menopause.

I've recently started taking zinc and magnesium supplements as well as multivitamin and a separate vitamin D tablet. Which really has helped with my overall wellbeing. Not as much as I'd liked mind, but I have seen an improvement.

Apologies if you've already tried these things. I'm not attempting to minimise your health problems.

A strange mix, some things very sad, but there have been major changes. Before the pandemic I was a maths tutor working face to face with my students. I never thought it would happen, but I have moved completely online. Everyone prefers it and I now tutor students all over the country.

It's destroyed my husbands mental health, his Mum was diagnosed with stage 4 Cancer in April 2020 and went downhill for 9 months, she never held my baby who was born in May and never got to complete her bucket list.

I think he also suffered from PND a little.

His job also changed so his career progression stagnated, he had to take a pay cut and he has struggled with working from home as he thrived in the office. Also all his best friends at work moved jobs but his confidence is so shot he daren't apply anywhere else (plus any move would probably require remote working)

On top of all that the unscrupulous bastards in charge of the country used the disaster as an opportunity to feather their own nests (and that of their friends which I'm sure will pay out later) and allow the burn out of the NHS (and I see so little criticism and backbone from the opposition that I'm starting to feel totally disillusioned that anything will ever change)

I fucking hate the pandemic.

Not much would be that different. There are a Few people I might never have met.

I would still be employed, DD1 wouldn’t have been allocated a D for A-level by the poxy algorithm and she would be in the Uni she wanted. Fortunately her school kicked up a fuss and it was upgraded, but not until most courses were full.

@Casilero Covid and Long Covid have a very distinctive constellation of symptoms. Particularly if you were infected at the very beginning of the pandemic, and spent months gravely ill when it was near impossible to access medical care, before it was formally recognised, before it even had a name, and long before vaccinations were available.

We would have twice the income. Gradually building up our business again but it'll be a long time til we get back to where we were even with my separate income from another job I took on. Mortgage has almost crippled us as it was based on our previous earnings. hanging on by the skin of our teeth. Can't downsize as can't get a new mortgage on self assessment.

Basically been like starting again in our early 40s it's been tough.

My parents wouldn't be dead. TBH Dad might be - because he did have other conditions and I wasn't sure how long we'd have him, but Covid definitely sped things up. Mum, however, had no real underlying conditions and I had expected her to be with us a few years more. Even though Dad was ill, without Covid I would have been able to visit him and he wouldn't have died alone in hospital - as indeed they both did. It's shit.

I would still be in a job which although ostensibly making use of my qualifications was far beneath my capabilities and working in a very bitchy environment.

Instead my DH is wfh and I was forced to train in a new role, in a new company. I've just been promoted and will be wfh by March.

On the flip side, I missed so much precious time with my mum who shielded for over a year as CEV and suffered a vaccine injury (yes, someone has to but its rubbish luck when it happens to a loved one)

The stress and adversity I was under as a front line worker will stay with me for a long time yet.

Ah OK. I'm not a doctor. Nor do I know anyone with it. It was just a suggestion as I think certainly some of the vitamins I'm taking are recommended for post viral fatigue syndrome. There's probably others and it may or may not help either the posters or others with ongoing health issues. I got covid myself in November 2020 which was just before I went on HRT so it made me think the two mght not be related because obviously in my case they weren't.

My mental health was improving but still needing a lot of work. The pandemic (well, more the lockdowns), set me back years in my recovery.
By now, I could have been volunteering and maybe looking at getting a little job.

We’re way better off financially, pandemic payments (not UK) that we’re not income thresholded. We remortgaged (30 years fixed) down to 2.2%. We both work from home full time and will never be going back to office in these roles. My quality of life is way higher. I got into running again, have a lot more time generally.

I'd probably still be working for the NHS!

My husband would still be alive, my daughter most likely wouldn't have developed tourette's and all of my kids would have made it through university with much less stress.

We would get to leave the house much more often. We would still be able to travel with relative ease as long as we avoided peak flu season and heavy travel days.
our Household is one that had to retreat somewhat from public life once things opened back up and people stopped masking. thankfully we are homebodies by nature, but not to this extent. I miss restaurants and the theatre.

We had to pay £360,000 for our first home, instead of £280,000.

My FIL and DA would still be alive. My DF would not have committed suicide. My DP would not have been made redundant. My DM would not be agoraphobic or anorexic.

I would of still had my dad, taken at 69 after fighting leukaemia since may 2020 and having bone marrow transplant in July 21 to being told it was a success and then getting covid aug 21 with no immune system to fight it. He got it from the hospital as was still going back for tests, he passed sept 2021. I also worked all through covid looking after residents that had caught covid, I am a health care assistant, and watching them pass away as well.
I still cry most days about my dad and still think of the residents we lost

I would have been married a year longer and potentially have a different baby to the one I have now!
Wouldn’t be so burnt out from work (NHS).
Would still have wall between kitchen diner as it was only working more hours but having more days in a row off that meant I was sat in my house more in those beautiful spring days and saw how amazing the light was in each side morning/evening and wanted to even it out.

@scoobydoo1971 Big love to you, and deep respect for your courage and compassion.

It's heartbreaking to see posts such as got a new dog / moved partner in / had a pay rise with my parents died alone.

I know they are totally different scenarios and you aren't being mean. I just mean as you read it post after post it's more shocking.

I'd probably still be doing the same old boring job. I only say that as I met a pilot on a dating app, he had been furloughed so wasnt flying at the time so had time for dating, he reignited my love of travel. So I took the plunge last year and changed industry, never looked back.

Had the pilot not been furloughed, I doubt I would have gone on a date with him so wouldn't have had my love of travel reignited.

my work place has changed
it was far better before, 3 years ago!

My dd would have passed her A levels instead of falling apart and self-harming.

My uncle would be alive.

I wouldn't have a new kitchen??

No, and everything returned to normal very quickly altho I'm still treating Covid 19 patients.