Anyone had delta, but unvaccinated?

[BrokenArrows]

I've posted before about my extreme anxiety to get the vaccine. Every time I think 'ok, I'm going to get it' I panic a few hours later and think I'll be messing up my menstrual cycle forever (I will start a separate thread about that), and stress out about the potential for getting a blood clot (slim I know, and not my biggest worry until I start thinking about the people who have died from a clot). I also worry about the dozen or so women that I follow on social media who have lost movement in their limbs, or are living with spasms and tingly limbs and fingers as a result of nerve damage. The side effects are a constant worry. As is actually catching covid. I've managed to dodge it so far, but I've got a young child in nursery and another in school. He's had a few children in his class come down with covid, but so far he's managed to dodge it. I'm a bit stressed this evening though to know that his friend's dad has tested positive for it, but the child in his class will still be attending. I'm petrified of the vaccine, and of covid itself. My husband (also unvaxxed) is insistent that no healthy person actually dies o covid (I think this is a ridiculous statement btw, but last time I mentioned an article I read about a young fit and healthy doctor who died 9 weeks after contracting it and spending that time in ICU he got really angry with me and threw it in my face yelling at me calling me ignorant and that he's read many peer reviewed journals on the subject blah blah blah. My point I was trying to make to him was that many seemingly healthy people die, and perhaps they had undetected underlying health conditions. Maybe I do as well? He certainly does, but I'll give him credit that he has an amazing immune system and mine is not the greatest. A simple cold for me last 2 weeks on average which is quite frustrating.

Ramble over. What I basically want to know is - if you (or anyone you know) is unvaccinated (and willing to admit it), and you've caught covid in the past 6 months, how did you feel with it? On deaths door? In the ICU? Just a cough? Completely asymptomatic? I feel like we just hear about the unvaxxed people dying, but not how many have recovered, which I'm almost certain is more than those dying!

@perfectSmiles3

4 out of 5 of us had it a month ago and now our fifth family member came down with it. All unvaccinated. Four of us are grown-ups (with two teenagers) and a 9 yr old.

I have to admit that myself and the children were in pretty good nick already leading up to covid, as we've been taking a lot of good quality vitamins and supplements for the past nearly two years having done some investigations into our healths previously.

My DH is slightly overweight and, during all that time, was happily watching us from the sidelines as we changed our lives around, but wouldn't do much about his own lifestyle.

Well, he ended up being the only one with a bad case of the delta variant of covid. I was personally over and done with it in 5 days (headache to begin with, 3 days of temperature and two days of coughing). The two youngest barely noticed being ill and our eldest (17yrs) was similar to me, but she's still coughing after 6 days.

I'd say, start building your immune system now, eat well (cut out sugar, reduce carbs and dairy), sleep well (!!!) and exercise a little (well, as much as you can looking after small children) and you'll be absolutely fine!!!

"You'll be absolutely fine" perfectSmiles? You have absolutely no basis for saying that other than your own experience.

According to the stories from the ICU nurses above, that's not guaranteed. I have healthy friends myself who are suffering with long covid (having gotten over the initial infection easily enough) and it's no joke. I would take the vaccine every single time. Just like I did for MMR, Dyptheria, Polio, Chicken Pox and all the rest of the very reliable vaccines.

Also tangential to the covid issue your husband sounds like a dick. Throwing things at your partner and shouting at them for a difference in opinion isn't normal.

Nobody can promise you’ll be absolutely fine.
Friend’s 21 yr old daughter (fit & healthy) caught it before her turn to be vaccinated, hospitalised for 15 days, 3 days were touch & go (in an induced coma) 1 month after leaving hospital had a heat attack caused by blood clots. Is now on medication for blood clotting for who knows how long. She is 21.
You mention vaccine nerve damage in your first post.
Most people are unaware that any virus can cause these things to happen to your body. 6 years ago I had a normal cold which went on to cause a condition called transverse myelitis - I have irreversible nerve damage in both feet & legs and some parts of my torso. Given my experience with what a common cold virus can do to your body the choice to take the vaccine was really a no brainer for me.

My three year old caught covid in September she was all over us and started coughing all over us from day 8. None of us ( me and hubby and 2 other DC all unvaccinated ) caught it from her. I did a gazillions lateral flows 3 pcrs and 2 antibodies all negative so most likely didn’t catch it or we were asymptomatic. Thank God for that.

People will definitely be able to give anecdotes of unvaccinated people who have been fine after coronavirus, that's a given. They'll equally be able to give you anecdotes of people who met the queen/won the lottery/survived metastatic cancer.

Statistically, it is far safer for you to be vaccinated than it is to be unvaccinated, and this will only increase with age and comorbidities.

@BrokenArrows I don’t think posting on here is good for your health anxiety. I would go and speak to a medical professional to give you the FACTS. All this is doing is fuelling your anxiety. The fact that you follow people on social media who have had reactions to the vaccine says it all to me.

I find this thread unhelpful. These stories are not going to reassure you, they’re just feeding it.

god forbid, anyone would come on MN and write about their own not necessarily overly negative (e.g. ending in hospitalisation or god forbid death) experience with covid will be shot down almost immediately and hit with counter arguments!!

OP, this is not the platform for your question. Mumnetters in general feed off scaremongering. Yes, a person can be absolutely fine if they make the necessary changes over the right amount of time and give their bodies the best fighting chance against this virus.

@whenwillthemadnessend thanks - covid has taught me that people’s understanding of science and maths is woeful.

Please no one follow the dietary advice of the other poster. Men often get worse bouts of covid. Genetics plays a role and as the DW and DH aren’t genetically related their experiences of covid aren’t likely to be the same. Cutting out food groups without any intelligent thought is appalling advice growing children and will lead to restrictive poor diets for any person that result in other health issues in the long term like osteoporosis, high cholesterol CHD and cancers.

Vaccine, mask, Balanced diet and go snd have fun!!

2 close friends (in 40s) had Covid before vaccine available. Both not especially unwell with it. Both have since developed long Covid which has absolutely devastated their lives. Next door neighbour but one died - previously healthy - again pre vaccine. I know many many people who’ve caught Covid after being vaccinated and all have recovered quickly (me included). Just look at the balance of risk and it’s obvious what the right decision is.

Surely you just look at the death rates now and the vaccinated rates, and that gives you a clue whether the vaccines are working. Might not prevent you getting it but helps moderate the severity for most people

[quote bumbleymummy]“ We have a 93% vaccination rate and the lowest death rate in the EU.”

Not according to this

www.statista.com/statistics/1111779/coronavirus-death-rate-europe-by-country/[/quote]
I was going by this, the headline does so lowest but the article says one of the lowest death rates in Europe.
www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/ireland-in-lead-with-vaccination-coverage-and-lowest-death-rate-in-eu-1.4736775

@Fruitygal

I worked in ICU previously and I have lots of friends that still do. 4 people I know have died from covid - all aged between 32 and 41- none took regular medications 3 of them were very fit sporty individuals all died before vaccines were available. Vaccinate yourself.

You’ve had vaccines as a child and you’ve given birth twice so you’ve had many medications and probably taken contraception pills that are a far far higher risk of blood clots than the vaccine.

Currently in icu 64% of patients are under 60 and 12% are under 40. Only 8% have undying health conditions. Over 85% are unvaccinated mostly because they are of the same opinion as your husband. ICNARC data ( Google it)

If you wear a seatbelt why wouldn’t you have a vaccine? Chance of a road accident is minimal but you’d never dream of not strapping your child in.

Genetics and viral load will be the deciding factor on your immune system and will decide your fate if you are unvaccinated. Men make up the a majority of those who end up in icu why ? Do they take more risks? Is it genetics? We believe men are more likely to carry genes types that give severe symptoms. Surviving the disease and getting out of hospital does not mean returning to perfect health - many have horrific long term fatigue and breathing issues etc; avoid going in in the first place.

If you buy a lottery ticket you believe that you could win it. Despite the chance being slim. Likewise most people get flu like symptoms with a few days in bed and you would be unlucky if you got super sick but would you like to gamble on being the 1/10 who gets sick or the 1/100 who is in hospital is the 1/1000 who without any vaccine ricks up in ICU.

I assume your husband didn’t do science past 16 but I’d vaccinate myself and know plenty of women who’s other halves have no idea about the fact they and their older kids are secretly vaccinated.

Useful read, I've just had my third vaccine and still worried about catching it as I am vulnerable. I want the dice loaded in my favour

@Fruitygal - since when is sugar a food group??!?!? So you say, cutting out sugar is bad advice for growing children?!? and which other food group did I advise to CUT OUT?!? None.

And your super clever maths and science based remark of men generally getting worse experiences with covid is the best you can do?

My dad caught it whilst unvaccinated and it wasn’t great. Got sick on a Monday and had to be admitted on Friday. Was in hospital for one day, on oxygen, then recovering at home and feeling pretty unwell for another two weeks.

He’s made an almost complete recovery but still struggles with tiredness and shortness of breath at times. It’s not something I’d want to risk.

This is a healthy, slim man in his late 40s who works in construction and was physically active for 10h a day beforehand.

My cousin was a massive conspiracy theorist complete with a tin hat and refused the vaccine, he died after 3 weeks in icu. he was in his 30s.

@perfectSmiles3 - dear me smiles has a snarl when people call out her poor advice or is it because she’s Hangry?

Eating a good diet with all food groups and the occasional treat will give the best chance of a health life but covid is a virus and does not care if you ate a kale nourish bowl sprinkled with Himalayan pink salt with kefir and warm water concoction!

Please vaccinate, test, mask where mixing en masse and then go snd have lots of fun -

Cutting out ALL sugar means glucose, sucrose, fructose etc which is found in about 90% of fruit snd ALL carbs (a whole food group) which break down into sugar so this is pasta, rice, potatoes and bread,so that’s two food groups. Pretty hungry kids if you take away all their sugar (glucose energy from carbs). Dairy containing calcium is essential for everyone to ensure good bone growth and maintaining good bone health. Even if you are allergic to cows milk you then need dairy alternative which is fortified not organic in fairly large amounts.

(Btw honey and agave syrup are sugar too - not just table sugar)

Not vaccinated, we had Covid we think last summer (long story but only one of us did a Covid test, which was positive, but we all had the same symptoms) - admittedly this was pre Delta but we were all ok ish, only unwell for 5-7 days max. For me it was similar to cases of flu I had in the past - that bone aching tiredness in particular. I lost my sense of smell for a few months, it's still not 100% and I get lots of sinus problems now which I'd not had for about 20 years.

Several double vaccinated colleagues recently had Covid (we all WFH, different parts of the country so contracted separately) and were quite unwell, one is still suffering after a month. And a former colleagues (double vaxxed).spouse died. That said I know of others who have been unvaccinated and also suffered long term symptoms, been in ICU etc.

The fatalist in me thinks well if your time is up, then vaccinated or not, the outcome will be the same. I'm trying to keep myself generally healthy, lose weight and exercise more but that's not specifically because of Covid but also to give myself the best chance against other illnesses, conditions etc.

We had delta in may/June and I had only had one vaccine at the time, it was about three weeks after my first dose one our kids brought it home from school, i booked my
Vaccine the second i got a text from gp offering me it, thank god I did as I was very poorly, completely floored by it and I’m extremely fit and active and not overweight (run everyday weight train etc etc) I won’t have had much immunity from that first dose but the little I had I am grateful for, have never felt so ill, get the vaccine, yes likely young fit people are fine but the point is you don’t know until you get covid how you will react….. on paper I shouldn’t have been that ill but I was.

The fatalist in me thinks well if your time is up, then vaccinated or not, the outcome will be the same.

The fatalist in you is wrong.
Here's the article I linked to upthread - ICU is full of the unvaccinated

This is all anecdotal but that seems to be what you're looking for. In our family and friendship group 16 people have had Covid. One (unvaccinated because pre-vaccines) was in ICU. One (vaccinated) was hospitalised overnight then sent home. One (unvaccinated because pre-vaccine) died. Two left with long Covid (one vaccinated and one non-vaccinated). Two (very fit and double vaccinated) very ill at home. One unvaccinated member of their family with Covid felt fine. Three (vaccinated) felt as though they had a cold. Two (unvaccinated) lost sense of taste and it hasn't returned. One (double vaccinated with underlying health condition) felt tired and headaches.Two (underlying health conditions and unvaccinated) felt very ill but recovered well.

A few of our friends came back from overseas with it early on. None were very ill.
Obviously no one can guarantee anything, but most healthy people recover fine.
Being vaccinated improves those odds further, but even UV, the odds are still in your favour.

I'm not vaccinated. It does concern me, but not enough to get vaxxed. As it is, I know more people sick from the vaccine than from Covid, but that's because I live in Australia where everyone is vaccinated but hardly anyone has covid, which has skews the odds.

It's Russian roulette if your not vaccinated in terms of how ill you will get.
Fine if your prepared to take that chance your body. Nobody can tell you how it will effect you as everyone is different.

I was very unwell with covid, steroids by day 3 hypoxic (lower oxygen levels in my blood) and assessed in hospital this was a moderate case prior to my first jab. It's taken me months to recover (I had fevers every day for 5 months) and still only 75-85% back. 34 fit healthy and active lifestyle. My DH on the other hand had cold symptoms. I have been left with long covid a risk factor of developing it is being female and over 30......

Your husband is abusive if he's literally throwing articles at your face and angrily calling you ignorant for having different concerns than him. That's not ok

Grayskelly where in Australia do you live?
Do you not work?

It's clear from reading your post that you have a lot of anxiety around catching covid and getting the vaccine.

It sounds like you're looking for absolute confirmation from unvaccinated strangers that their experience of catching Covid is mild to reassure you that your decision to remain unvaccinated is the right one... If there is one thing we know about covid it is that you don't know the hand you will be dealt if you do get it.

So basing your decision of whether to get vaccinated on the experience of strangers on a chat forum is the biggest risk you're currently taking.

You need to speak to your GP or other medical professionals, go along to vaccine information sessions, read up the facts on the vaccines (not social media stories) and decide if it's for you or not.

I work at the hospital and see those that have been hospitalised with Covid, their experience is not mild, they never believe it would happen to them, not all have underlying health. Not trying to scare you but simply provide balance to all the 'it's nothing but a cold' comments.

No one knows how ill they will be if they do get it so it's really a question of whether you are comfortable taking that gamble.

I am double jabbed, no issues with menstruation post vaccine and recently found out I'm pregnant conceiving in the first month of trying. I've had no issues at all and know that if I should get covid I have given myself the best chance I have of fighting it off and protecting my baby.

To get vaccinated or not is a personal choice, no one, including your husband can make that decision for you.

Living your life in fear, googling worst case scenarios and looking for reassurance on here won't make a difference to if you catch covid or not and can't tell you how ill you will be if you do get it.

Covid isn't going to go away anytime soon, so you need to decide if you can live as you are fully understanding the risks of catching it or weigh up the pros and cons of getting vaccinated.

The decision is your responsibility and no one else's.