How long are you immune for?

[Pelo22]

Thinking out loud - I currently have covid and am miserable
Shielded for ages. Still wearing a mask food shopping and avoiding going out
6 vaccines and people being it's just a cold now and we have to live with it made me think I was being over cautious
Decided to socialise Christmas Day and got covid 

Off work sick, feel fucking awful and had to make a load of phone calls to sort out anti virals which have brought their own lovely side effects

Just.. what am I meant to do? Risk covid, being off work sick and chasing anti virals every time I go out? Or do you stay immune for months?
I can cope living with it if was just cold symptoms but I got anti virals within 16hrs and still unable to work or do anything

If the variant changes then you not be at all I’m afraid. I know of a child who tested positive with a new infection 14 days after the first infection. Bare in mind she had isolated for the required number of days and it’s a 5 day incubation period there was only a small window of time in which she was reinfected.

Ugh
Annoyingly I was with people for 2.5hrs Christmas Day and that was it

its so hard but unless you start to mix you will not build up any resistance to not only covid but all other standard illnesses

I think you need to live your life and build up your immunity. You may get it again you might not. I've had it once & had next to no symptoms. Someone else I know has just tested positive for the 3rd time but isn't particularly sick. You can't put things on hold just incase. Standard flu can be worse than Covid...you can't predict anything it's the luck of the draw unfortunately.

I can't build up immunity - I'm immunocompromised for life hence the antivirals

Which antiviral did you have? I had Molnupiravir with no side effects at all. It helped a lot too.

I'm pretty hopeful that there are still some good treatments - antivirals and antibodies treatments that are being developed but we're just not hearing about.

As long as the government can be bothered to fund them of course....

I've been on & off active on Evusheld groups on Facebook and Twitter; Evusheld available privately now but expensive and probably needed every 6 months (?) and I know evusheld 2 is being developed by AstraZeneca. Other stuff too. Trying to dampen my hopes about one drug (a re purposed anti ringworm medication???) that is likely to become a nasal drug that people can use a a preventative.

It's frustrating that the government are concentrating on treatment and not prevention even though would be cheaper in the long run.

My Dh is a kidney transplant patient and immunocompromised so that's why I'm invested.

Paxlovid. Vile taste in mouth and bad upset stomach with it
Mostly exhausted, breathless and a chesty cough but I'm guessing that's the covid not the anti virals
I've also had to do my regular injection to try and keep my immune system up which gives me a fever and bone pain so I'm not sure what's what at the minute

I tested positive for the first time yesterday, we haven’t avoided anything or worn masks since about April and have lived life normally since last lockdown.

Felt a bit shit with muscle aches and shivers, headache last night. DH has had it for a few days more so I thought I might get it. He’s feeling fine now and I’m feeling much better today, just a runny nose and a bit of sneezing.

We are not vaccinated. Seems different in everyone. Hopefully the antivirals will work quickly for you. I think it’s quite important for your immune system and also your mental health to try to live normally.

There has to be a balance that you’re comfortable with. Covid is a new virus but viruses have always been a risk to those who are immunocompromised.

How did you play it before covid was about? How did you deal with flu, chest infections, shingles etc doing the rounds? Do you feel that covid is more of a threat to you than pre existing illnesses?

I am immunocompromised and had covid very badly (hospitailsed, ill for 3 months) after two doses of vaccine.
Fast forward to september after 5 doses and I got it again. Very, very mild, I've had worse colds as the saying goes.
I turned down the offer of antivirals as I wanted to find out just how much protection 5 vaccines plus covid gave me. I've since had a booster.
I'm no longer worried about covid and it's liberating.
I am however more worried about some of the other horrible viruses around atm because I can end up with pneumonia. I don't limit what I do unless there is an important event looming. So if I'm travelling on holiday I would avoid pubs / restaurants in the week before.
Both times I got covid and also DH were after a meal out at a busy restaurant.

Sorry, to be clear I think for me the combination of covid and vaccine has definitley given me some immunity. My covid infections were a year apart and in no way comparable as regards severity.

Flu - vaccinated, had once and not prone to it
Chest infections and tonsillitis are normal for me and it's fairly easy to get antibiotics and usually get better quickly. I have rescue antibiotics at home for tonsillitis and UTIs

Yes I feel it's more of a risk as more people are out and about with covid than shingles etc
I'm severely neutropenic but will be for life so it's balancing stuff really. Only diagnosed 5 or so years ago so it is still quite new to me
Effectively my body is acting as if I'm on chemo all the time

As well I'm worried about what repeated covid infection does, and I have autoimmune conditions so long covid etc risk

That's good news, I'm hoping I might be similar
Honestly I'm wiped. Managed to sit in a bath and then slept for 4hrs so I dread to think without the antivirals how I would have been
They didn't ask any symptoms etc, just gave them to me

When I was offered anti virals I had quite a good discussion with the doctor. He stressed that all the antivirals were not without risk and side effects of their own.
When I had covid the first time I didn't become seriously unwell until about day 7 and that was Delta. This time I was offered the AVs on day 2 so I couldn't tell which way it would go. The doctor agreed with my feeling that I wanted to test whether my prior infection and multiple vaccines had helped. Obviously this time was also Omicron so milder.

Prepare for that fatigue to persist for a while after other symptoms have gone. If you have auto immune disease like I do you will be familiar with fatigue. Covid fatigue is on a different level.

That sounds miserable. I've opted not to have any vaccines.
I had COVID last Christmas and again in June. June was a sniffle for two days and I only tested because I'd spent a week camping and a few there had it. I've been to a gig per week since June and not caught it again. So for me I've had six months between bouts so far.

@Buzzinwithbez Only those with the privilege of having good health can be so cavalier.
I have to take drugs that wipe out my immune system. If I didn't I would be crippled and have zero quality of life. That means that a virus which gives you a two day sniffle put me in hospital with my life in danger.

It's possible you don't have any immunity from the vaccines, I've had 5 and then got covid but I already knew that I had no protection as my rheum tested me. I had to have iv antivirals as I take morphine and it pretty much stopped it in it's tracks.

The antiviral I had - Sotrovimab had info to say it gave immunity for 4 weeks and they said I'd have to have more anti vitals if I get it again.

It might be worth speaking with your consultant to see if they will check how you've reacted to the vaccines/covid

I'm on paxlovid because apparently the others aren't used any more? I've got a consultant appointment fairly soon so I'll speak to him then as he's really good
Feeling breathless and faint today

I had them last month. So they're still being used here -SW. do you have a pulse ox? Feel better soon

I don't, no
Was going to order one but they were all showing as delivery in 5 days!

I was advised to shield due to not having my spleen, although I chose not to following advice from my GP, but had all vaccines/boosters when offered. I first had Covid last January, which was three months after a booster, and barely noticed it. I had a further booster in May and then tested positive again in September and that time it affected me more. It took about three weeks before I actually started to feel better.

My also spleen-less son also had it in January, he didn’t bother with his Spring booster and didn’t catch it in September despite drinking from my water bottle at a football match and spending three hours in the car with me the night before I tested positive (by that point I’d been ill for four days but had two negative tests in that time so thought I’d just got a bad cough). He tested too in case he was asymptomatic as did my husband and other son but none of them caught it from me.

I'm sorry. That sounds incredibly difficult.
My answer was in relation to the question of how long by the op and mentioned that I've had two infections six months apart, plus gone a further six months infection free.
I hope the op feel better soon. It looks like they had a lot of more specific info, plus done suggestions to find out how their immune system responded to vax/ infection

I've had covid nine times and the closest together infections have been early December and now.

I've had six jabs and am immunosuppressed, however.

Ouch. Same with the vaccines here

I'm being referred to the covid at home team and having bloods tomorrow