Shielders, when do you think you'll feel happy to venture out into the world?

[SistemaAddict]

I'm shielded until late July. My GP told me that I should continue to shield after then until the pandemic is over.
So many are talking about things getting back to normal but i just can't imagine it and have started to feel slightly anxious about being back in the outside world. I've been in for 10 weeks already and with no end in sight I don't even know how I feel about the whole situation.
How are you feeling about things being back to normal whenever that might be?

Anyone?

I think you should do as your Dr has suggested.

I'm currently on the clinically vulnerable list but media suggests this may change to shielding (type 1 diabetes). I will still be staying in even if it doesn't.

I'm type 1 and have been at work throughout the pandemic as a key worker so I def won't be shielding.

I think you have to get out there now, just be careful. One small step at a time, you can't be a prisoner forever

Also I think getting out there actually helps. It's easier to feel scared when you're trapped inside.

I feel more anxious when I’ve been out, amongst people, collecting my meds or in a shop, during the 2 week incubation period, after which I relax.
I wish my GP would issue meds in bulk, rather than monthly.

@Giggorata

Can your gp not send your prescription to a pharmacy who can then deliver?

@jellybeanz1212 we are advised to shield until the 30th June so definitely not time to get out there!

We’re anticipating we can’t leave the house for several months and have been told to keep going. It’s fucking scary OP. I don’t know how we’ll go to the chemist again etc. I think at the moment whilst the UKs locked down its ok, but when the country goes back to normal it’ll be harder as we’re still stuck. Places will be busier and social distancing will stop. I’m some ways it would be safer to be out now whilst everyone is still being cautious. I feel sad I won’t have the experience of seeing the queues and floor markers.
I also miss getting a takeaway but we’ve decided it’s not worth the risk.

I will continue shielding until end of June as per guidelines.

Then I will review the situation myself, given that the other guinea pigs will have been out of their cages for some time by then.

But, like "the elderly" are not an homogenous group, neither are "the clinically extremely vulnerable".

We're all shielding for different reasons/conditions and some of us will be less at risk than others.

I won't be going shopping though.

I'll start with just going for a daily walk while social distancing, and take it from there.

I don't think for anyone, that "normal" will look like it did pre-Covid.

@Bercows : have you joined any Facebook shielders support groups?
You may find them helpful, if not, as many, many shielding folk share your concerns (as do many non shielders!).
Good luck.

Are there any particular Facebook shielding groups you recommend?

We're already breaking the rules a little. We go out for the occasional walk and DH has started back at work, although in an isolated environment, but I'm not distancing from him. These breaches seem like small stakes compared to the idea of the children returning to school in September. I lurch backward and forwards on this one. Sometimes I feel like throwing caution to the wind and other times I'm mapping out the best way to teach them at home. God knows how you are meant to make an informed decision when there is so much power play, so many unknowns and some outright misinformation around the coronavirus floating around making policy at the moment but it beats me.

I don't feel like a prisoner and don't mind being at home although the three dc are driving me mad most days and I have no opportunity for a break except when I'm asleep. That's hard but otherwise we've all been coping well. I think it will be harder when lockdown is fully lifted and we still have to be at home. I don't really miss the shops but miss seeing my mum. I don't have friends so there's none to miss and dcs are not at school until at least September.

I'd love to go for a walk or bike ride though but according to the neighbours it's really busy on the canals and local footpaths.

@CherryStoneTree : Sorry I can't do linky thing, but, "NHS self shielding/isolation support group" I found quite useful, particularly if you need to rant.

I don't rant............much.😊

jellybeanz I'm a keyworker too. But been working from home as per the guidelines. I have friends in the NHS who have been moved from patient facing roles too. Have your workplace not done a risk assessment?

OP, it an odd new reality. Like the pp said, I think it really does depend on your own condition as to how you assess your risk. My neighbours have a shielded daughter but are still working and even had a get together with friends in the garden the other day .

I tell myself that when the R value is right down it will make a huge difference to how we individually perceive the risk. Ultimately, if guidance changes and work insist I come back, I won't have a choice as a single parent with mortgage etc to pay.

I will wait until there is updated guidance for the shielded.
I think there will be two things, first a revised list of high risk conditions, and secondly an update on the details of what we should / should not do.
I would then like a discussion with a doctor about my particular health conditions.
At the start of this I thought I would be staying at home until there was a vaccine. Now I feel like I want to understand what my own real risk level is. I'm 62 and have already lost the last two years to health problems that are now largely under control, I feel I want to live a life again.
It seems unlikely now that there will be a vaccine in September and more realistically it will be another year.

"Smart shielding" has to be the way to go, surely?

I'd like some smart boffin somewhere (preferably one NOT associated with D Cummings!), to devise an algorithm that we could work through, anonymously inputting all our medical stuff, age, weight etc etc, and at the end it advises on the best course of action for you, personally.

So, score 1-10: "You can go out once daily for exercise, strictly maintaining social distancing".
Score 11-20 : "You should remain shielding for the foreseeable future".
Score 21-30 :"Have you made a will!"🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Apologies to those who don't share my black sense of humour.

PS. I was serious about the algorithm idea though.

DH had the letter, I'm shielding with him because I don't want to make his life even worse by having to keep apart from me in the house, We've been out once, at 5.30am on Mayday, a 1/4 mile walk to see the bluebells, and I've walked 50yds down the road to the post box. But no intention of going shopping, or anywhere where we may encounter people.

It's going to get more and more difficult. Our gas boiler annual service was cancelled - we really need to get that done before winter. I'm supposed to have annual eyesight checks. Maintenance on the house to be done - it's not critical to health or safety, but it's important to keep the house in good condition. All the things which can be postponed if you're locked down for 3 months start to become necessary if the lockdown extends to a year or more.

JustSew is right - we need the information to understand our own personal risk level.

My GP has their own pharmacy, AdalindMeisner, and according to their website, don't deliver out in the wilds of the smaller villages unless you're on the government shielded list, which I’m not.
However, my heart condition is apparently exacerbated by the virus, plus is activated by any fever, so I’m taking my own precautions.
I agree about a further revision of the shielded list, JustSew.

That would be amazing WingedHarpy. I should probably stop mainlining digestive biscuits in case I nudge my numbers

We have been shielding as a family for 11 weeks now as we have two ‘extremely clinically vulnerable’ toddlers. I am dearly hoping it isn’t extended past the end of June!

I don’t want to go shopping or to playgroups other anything I am just desperate to get them out for a walk or even a drive in the car!

I'm not shielding, but am vulnerable and incredibly cautious (started self-isolating 2 weeks before lockdown actually started).

In terms of information to help make decisions, I'm keeping a close eye on the number of cases for our local authority and the neighbouring ones. I've got a spreadsheet where I'm tracking the daily total and how it's changing. I find it useful to judge how many cases are out there near me, but also whether the rate of infections is increasing, decreasing or holding steady. Link:
coronavirus.data.gov.uk/#category=ltlas&map=rate

We are shielding. DH is the shielder, but it's easier for all of us to shield together rather than risk DH or have him confined to one room in the house.

I go out once a week to the bakery at the end of our street to collect our regular order. And that's it.

I work in a school and have been working from home. I've been told not to come back while DH is shielding but I worry my contract won't be renewed in July. We don't need the money but I do love my job, my colleagues and the workplace.

Given DH gets pneumonia most winters when a cold goes rogue, I believe he really is at risk from Covid, but aside from that he had a normal life before this. A good job. Cycles regularly. Coached a local football team.

I do feel like we are starting to get forgotten about in the rush to get everyone else back to normal.

I am a type one diabetic and in the vulnerable group. I have not been shielding but have been extremely vigilant around social distancing. I haven’t been out of the house apart from my garden since lockdown. I have been reading about how the virus causes sticky blood in some of those infected. Thicker blood is a problem for diabetics and is why there is a higher risk of heart disease and stroke for those living with diabetes. I was interested to read that the thicker blood for some of those infected with the virus is causing multiple clots, potentially throughout the body and that this makes dialysis treatment for those whose kidneys need support more difficult. It is good to be informed but this knowledge has made me re-evaluate my risk level upwards.

I haven’t Seen anything in the media about type one diabetics being moved to the shielded group and would be interested if anyone has a link.

Going forward I think everyone will need to make a personal risk decision regarding their own family situation. This will be much more difficult once lockdown has lifted for those who are left feeling the need to continue shielding.