To be utterly fed up of covid

[SingMeToSIeep]

I've just tested positive for the seventh fucking time. Last time was mid September. I've had it five times this year.

I've had to cancel a hospital appointment that had been rescheduled from the last time I had it and a dentist's appointment that I'm desperate for. Also a long planned day out yesterday. Plus I feel like utter shite. Again.

Just want a moan and some sympathy really. Bastard covid.

@Venetiaparties The trouble is; if you’ve had real flu it isn’t just 5-7 days. People dismiss flu against covid as though it’s nothing in comparison. I caught covid before being fully vaxxed and it was a couple of days of sniffles. I’ve had flu twice and I was poorly for nearly a fortnight. I literally couldn’t get out of bed. Absolutely no energy, shaking, weakness, every breath hurt my chest, every joint ached, alternate sweating and shivering and experienced side effects for weeks afterwards, despite being young and fit at the time. Was never called Long Flu though.

My DH has had two hospital appointments in the last two months. He also received a standard letter telling him to test beforehand but he wasn’t even asked whether he had complied or for evidence of a negative test when he attended and masks were apparently not required when he asked. Don’t forget, in the good old days pre covid and home testing, the standard letter usually said, “if you feel unwell, please do not attend etc etc”
I’m aware the OP has to test diligently because of their vulnerability, but I strongly suspect a large percentage of attendees don’t bother as there’s now a cost implication and despite this, covid is no longer running rampant in hospitals - certainly not in our large one.

The trouble is; if you’ve had real flu it isn’t just 5-7 days

This is very true. I’ve only had “real” flu once. I lost a stone in weight and was still feeling the effects months later. My first bout of covid was worse, but not by much.

I’d follow that up with your GP @SingMeToSIeep. I tested positive on Friday, phone call Saturday and antivirals delivered round 11:30am today. Hope you are feeling much better soon 🌸. This bout is definitely the worst one for me.

I have just this morning received an article from Thailand (Friend is a public health physician there) that is talking about a new strain of SARS. The concern appears to be that it is resistant to the current vaccines. This has only just come out today. I guess we will have to see what information they can get from the Chinese...
Let me find the link.

www.thailandmedical.news/news/breaking-chinese-researchers-warn-that-new-sars-cov-2-recombinant-variant-xbb-is-the-most-immune-evasive-strain-that-is-comparable-to-the-sars-cov-1-s

@Newusernameaug that's not right; lateral flow tests in symptomatic individuals have a specificity of 99.97%

Hospital staff still have to test. And it’s not a cold it’s SARS.

If only some of us could.
Did you the part where op cannot take her medication if she has Covid?

As of January, they are withdrawing 4 of the 5 antivirals. The only one they are keeping is one that is not suitable for kidney patients.
Unfortunately, I have blood cancer and kidney disease so ill be fucked if I catch it.
I'm saving up to go private and have evushield but it will take me at least a year to save.

I watched an interesting video on these different variants of Omicron a couple of weeks ago, including the XBB so-called 'nightmare' variant. Worth looking at it, puts things in perspective. By the Whiteboard Doctor channel on YT:

Triple vaccinated here, my headache lasted 18 hours...so big difference to your five days.

Which other illness does anyone get 5 times in a year?

What's the risk of taking the meds you need while you have covid?

Well, quite.

Despite being immunosuppressed in the past I got a cold maybe twice each winter and I had the flu quite badly many years ago when I had just started on my medication. I did get ill, but not with the same thing repeatedly.

We don’t know, because we don’t test for other illnesses as diligently as we do for covid.

Fingers crossed, I very, very rarely get a cold but I have friends and family that seem to spend every winter recovering from one only to start another within weeks. Maybe the point made earlier about genetics playing a more significant part than we acknowledge could be very valid. Might explain why vaccine status doesn’t always reflect severity of symptoms?

The people who voted YABU seem to have an unreasonable hostility to the idea that Covid actually exists and affects people.
I hope you don’t regret posting.

Can't believe that someone posts on here about being unwell for the 7th time this year, clearly feeling crap, and the response is 'Why are you testing?' or ´Stop testing'.

I'm sorry you are feeling rubbish again, OP. I'm not surprised you are fed up. I'm two weeks into my first infection and can't imagine doing this every couple of months. Wishing you well x

There's a lot of research into other respiratory viruses. Galanti and Shaman of Columbia University established we get infected by the other coronaviruses once every nine months on average. University of Amsterdam found similar. We get infected by influenza an average of once every seven years. There is no other virus that infects humans five times in a year. Not a one.

So sorry you're poorly with it again OP. Seven times and being CEV sounds horrendous. Get well soon 💐

Thanks again for all the lovely well wishes. I've slept most of today which hopefully will do me good. I've woken up absolutely ravenous (another feature of covid whenever I have it) - food consumed while ill is calorie free, right? eyes up Xmas stollen

Fair point - but I would qualify that by saying ‘that infects some humans five times a year, not the vast majority’ Reporting of this group is always going to be disproportionate because those not infected/mildly infected/not testing are not going to be included in figures collated, so again, we don’t actually know.

A bit like flu. We don’t actually know how many are infected at any one time, it’s a best guesstimate. After all, we’ve always been told to keep away from GP surgeries as there’s nothing they can do and the best treatment is plenty of fluids, paracetamol and bed rest. I never reported my two bouts as I’m sure most others don’t. To be honest, I was so unwell, I couldn’t have even got myself to a surgery! Consequently, and because we don’t test, I suspect deaths from flu in the elderly are far higher than are ever recorded too.

It’s not a bit like the flu. Honestly stop making that faux comparison.

I’ve had the flu twice in my lifetime. People have had covid multiple times in a year.

Covid increases the risk of strokes and heart attacks even in mild cases up to a year after infection. The flu does not do that FFS.

Covid is a SARS virus. The flu is a different family of viruses. The only comparison is the respiratory symptoms but covid doesn’t just do that. And the flu doesn’t give a high proportion of people long covid.

Anyone who compares covid to the flu has a less than basic understanding of the virus and subscribes to the Boris Johnson school of epidemiology.

I work for the nhs on wards and with Covid. I had two original and a booster last winter and now just had another. I’ve had it once in summer. Probably counts as mildly. So where does this work in your theory?

My dad and parents in law boosted never had it….. my friend group all (but one) had it once had it but again all vaccinated. All but the one mild doses easily gotten over. All living lives out and about. We can all cite anecdotal evidence it means nothing.

Feel better soon. Some will never understand the risk to the vulnerable or seem to understand that we can of course learn to live with covid but don’t have to deny how serious it can actually be.

I would be raging if I'd had four vaccines and had Covid twice!