#57 | POSTED BY AMERICANUNITY AT 2024-03-19 03:19 PM | FLAG:
Long Covid is the one that freaks me out now.
A little personal take - Eberly, might want to take note, including that I'm being fair on all sides to this.
I'm not a huge fan of the vaccines, but I am still a fan - I strongly suspect the spike protein itself is highly inflammatory, whether the rest of the virus is included or not - but it's hard to say if it's that, something different about the adjuvants, or what other factor - all I can say anecdotally is first shot (all Moderna)- nothing. Second shot - 103 degree fever, chills, worst body aches ever. I mean like there are joints in your feet I never thought of a day before in my life, until standing on them hurt that night lol. Gone after 48 hours. First booster almost a year later - 2 weeks after I had hives all over my body and a huge autoimmune flare up. As in, I have psoriasis, but not bad. Scalp gets a little flaky in winter. But this - on my arms, scalp, hands. Signs of psoriatic arthritis as joints all over were painful and inflamed. Ended up on a couple courses of prednisone and constant antihistamines for weeks.
I'm still glad it's out though. I've worked long term care a couple decades by now. Close to one in five residents at my facility died in the first wave. It was one of the most awful and heartbreaking things I've ever seen. And many of those who didn't die struggled for months afterwards. Fatigue, altered cognition, respiratory distress.
Nothing like that has happened since the vaccines. Nothing close.
And Covid itself, particularly the long covid bit is unpredictable. I'm in extremely good shape for my mid 40's, still weight lift, snowboard, mountain bike, SCUBA - you get the picture. The first time I got it, the November before vaccines were released it affected me the way I kind of expected - that is to say, couldn't smell anything for 4 days, and then smell returned and fine. A little over a year ago last fall got it again - and had a light cold for a week. Except for two months afterwards also extreme fatigue, shortness of breath I could only describe as like being at altitude - lungs were clear, breathing was fine, it just didn't do anything. Just air hunger, gasping for breath from mild exertion, etc, and the whole time resting pulse minimally ten bpm higher than normal and when I tried to out-exercise it, rocketing up to 185 from something small like trying to pedal slowly up a hill. It was frightening and unexpected, I thought I had the fitness to justify my arrogance. Covid does not care.
And yeah - it's weird that was after several vaccines - but go back to the previous line - I've never had to go through anything like the first wave with our patients since the vaccine either. And thank God, because I think I'd have to change careers if I did.
