To think COVID will kill me

[Worthless90s]

Hi all, I know this sounds majorly dramatic but I just need some advice on how likely I am to die from COVID. I am around 26 and i weigh around 16 stone. It’s only just dawned on me how heavy I am, I had my DD in 2018 and then I had gallstones and lost loads of weight than I got pregnant with my DS who was born premature in January 2020.

I had COVID and a premature baby to deal with and I didn’t think about what my weight was and whether I would be “at risk” I’ve kept to all the guidelines as was on maternity for the majority of 2020 so my children remained at home and then when I returned to work I am WFH home full time.

It’s only just dawned on me when I weighed myself how much weight I am carrying (both labours were c section so tummy looks wrecked anyway) and now I am worried what if I catch COVID and die from it. I’ve been suffering with a bit of mortality anxiety for a while since having had what is classed as 3 major surgeries within 2 years.

My children go to a childminder 3 days and my mum for one day as I work for a HA and my partner is in development so they are out of the house for 4 days a week and then I have one day off to look after them.

I have taken exercise since I realised and I am trying a new diet but I am worried it won’t change anything and I will still succumb to it if I caught it.

I am just wondering whether I would actually be at risk of dying from it with the condition I am in now or not. Please try and be friendly I know I shouldn’t have let myself get to this size. I’ve been battling with 2 very difficult pregnancies and one illness that nearly wiped me out anyway

When I say I had COVID I meant 2020 was a year of COVID and that same year I was in and out of hospital with a premature baby*

Pretty low risk of dying I'd think.

alama.org.uk/covid-19-medical-risk-assessment/

Your weight does put you at increased risk yes. But overall that risk is still tiny especially in your age group

I'm late 30s and weigh nearly 19 stone. I'm literally 39.9 BMI, which is 0.1 away from being considered clinically vulnerable for covid and qualifying for an early vaccine. I asked my doctor to employ some common sense and put me on the vaccine list and she said no. The computer wouldn't let her as I technically don't qualify even if it is by a tiny smidge.

So hopefully this puts your situation in context - if they won't even consider me at high risk then you're not doing too badly as you weigh significantly less!!

I did look up my risk factor and found the difference between being a normal BMI and a BMI of 40, and it was a very small difference. Perhaps you can do the same to help you contextualise the risk. People here love a good bit of fat bashing, they can't wait to dig the knife in to the lazy slobs who are using all their taxes wasting NHS resources.....in reality as you're so young it really won't be a big deal. Mumsnet is not the kindest place to ask about anything to do with weight. It's a bit like asking Piers Morgan for kind and gentle insight!!

At your age, your presumably robust immune system should compensate for your comorbidity.

That said, I've seen patients with no significant risk factors die from covid, so there are no guarantees. Keep trying to lose some weight, take supplemental vitamin D and try not to worry about it excessively.

Thank you that assessment is helpful. My risk level was 44. I don’t know how accurate that is but at least it’s give me an idea

I'm 30,bmi of 32 - had a very mild case of Covid last year.
Even if you are in a risk group your individual chance of severe cases are lowish, but higher compared to someone low risk. You will most likely be fine.
If you don't already, take some vitamin D, and make some healthy changes to your diet/exercise.

At your age it is likely that if you caught the virus you will be fine. Yes weight is an increased risk but it doesn’t mean that every overweight person that gets covid will get seriously ill. People with no underlying issues and a healthy weight can get seriously ill. I know people who are considerably large that got the virus and they were fine.

To add, I’m slightly bigger than you. For my height my bmi is 35. I know I need to lose weight and I am trying.

Please don’t fret op. I get your concern but you sound pretty healthy just need to lose some weight when you are ready (just like me!)

To add again, bmi is rubbish. So not sure how accurate this whole being obese is. Dp is 5 foot 9 and weighs between 11.5-12 stone. He is borderline overweight despite looking very slim, 30 inch waist and in size small men’s clothes he is edging into the overweight bmi category. A few years ago when I was a healthy size 10 my bmi deemed me well in the overweight catergory which I was slim!

@MrsHusky- I’m a 26 year old full time working mum with a lot of stress & have had 2 years of difficult health with hard pregnancies. The second c section I nearly died so leave the thread if you’ve got nothing nice to say.

You're only 26 so it's changeable. I've found, at 25, that weight loss is 90% diet.

Yes you are at higher risk of dying when obese. Sorry. But it's not permanent!

Not very helpful from @MrsHusky there. I can understand why you're concerned but you're still very young and should have a very efficient immune system. Your BMI isn't the only thing at play here. Well done on trying to get healthier, keep going!

It's extremely unlikely.

Do all you can to prevent getting it hands/face/space/ventilation. & DH too. Minimise the time the kids are in nursery where/when you can & be careful not to stand & chat at handover.

Sterilise supermarket trolly handles etc.

Take a decent dose of vitamin c. Eat healthily (plenty of protein & nutrients) and keep exercising. Try to get some decent sleep - don't be the only one getting up to the kids, don't stay up late carving out some time for yourself etc.

But try not to worry yourself sick. The number of women of your age dying from Covid is really really tiny (thankfully).

Take good care of yourself & enjoy your kids. It's a lovely stage of life (for most anyway).

Life is full of risk - we could die in childbirth, we could get cancer, a car could hit us as we crossed the road, we could be hit by lightning, get meningitis etc etc. I don’t say this to worry you or to be cruel.
Pre-Covid we didn’t think about theses risks too much. We look before we cross the road - it’s automatic, we mitigate our risks.
With Covid the risk is shoved in our face all day every day.
This is no way to live. It makes people miserable. Life is for living - not worrying about what will get is next.
You are young, you have a beautiful child. Show her how to live life in a joyful way. Embracing opportunities and with kindness to others - not living in fear of an illness that with you risk factors is highly unlikely to kill you.

Ya know, mrshusky, please never consider a career as a councillor. Op, you’re young, you may be carrying a bit of extra weight, but even if you did get COVID, the chances of you dying from it are very slim. Let’s face it, it couldn’t kill Boris and he’s mid 50’s, overweight and, I think, a smoker.

[quote Worthless90s]@MrsHusky- I’m a 26 year old full time working mum with a lot of stress & have had 2 years of difficult health with hard pregnancies. The second c section I nearly died so leave the thread if you’ve got nothing nice to say.[/quote]
Don't worry about people like that, I've reported the post as it's just trolling. Unfortunately that's always a part of Mumsnet, people with empathy lobotomies love to be goady for fun.

You've clearly had some very difficult healthcare experiences and it's no wonder you're more focused on health issues lately. You are very unlikely to die from covid and your fears are unfounded but perhaps you might benefit from some counselling? I recently had some health anxiety counselling from my GP and I learned a lot of techniques to confront worry and really sort out whether they were worth my fears or not, I recommend it.

@CorianderBee

You're only 26 so it's changeable. I've found, at 25, that weight loss is 90% diet.

Yes you are at higher risk of dying when obese. Sorry. But it's not permanent!

It's worth clarifying that the increased risk for her age is very VERY small though. I don't think it's helpful to be so blunt about it without putting it into the appropriate context.

Your odds are very low and it sounds like you are doing the right thing by trying to lose weight. Good luck with it.

I'm overweight but I hope this isn't a hint that overweight people should get the Covid vaccine first.

I don't think that's fair to everyone else.

@DayBath I didn't say she would die. I answered her question that if obese she is at greater risk of death/complications.

I'm overweight, 60 years old with a life limiting health condition. I got covid at work and had zero symptoms or after effects. Didn't know I had it. Found out through a random test.

Apologies, sorry. It was very harsh, i shouldn't have posted what i did. I'm having a bit of a shit afternoon and i shouldn't have aimed my exasperation at the situation at you.

Just be kind to yourself, and please try not to worry yourself too much on your chances of it killing you, its all additional worry that you dont need on top of what you're dealing with day to day.

I'll go and give myself a good talking to, and maybe pour my own glass of wine. sorry!

Your age puts you at incredibly low risk. From all the people I know who have had covid (including most of my family up to the age of 67) everyone had a very mild illness, apart from my dh who is incredibly fit and much healthier than the rest of us (tee total, great diet). He was pretty unwell, very low oxygen for days, and still feels awful 3 weeks later. I was worried for several days that he might end up being hospitalised. The rest of us are in the worst shape of our lives thanks to lockdown, drinking too much, and basically living on cake.

The risk is tiny. While it's great you're tackling your weight, I would say don't be tempted to do this by too restricted eating. You may see quicker weight loss, but could negate this by not getting enough nutrients to keep your immunity high. Focus on healthy food and slow steady weight loss.

My bmi is 37 and I'm asthmatic. I've had COVID and whilst it made me feel pretty dreadful I wasn't ill enough to be hospitalised. Didn't even need to speak to my GP.

Try not to dwell on it op because statistically you would be incredibly unlikely to die.