My doctor called in a prescription for #Paxlovid, which I'll start taking as soon as I spouse gets home from the pharmacy. The person I caught #COVID from on Thursday morning started taking Pax that afternoon and was already feeling significantly better by yesterday. So I'm hopeful.

So far, 11yo (exposed when I was) and spouse are fine.

#covid19
#CovidIsNotOver
#COVIDisAirborne
#WeAreStillInAPandemic
#LongCovid
#MaskUp
#MaskUpSaveLives
#MaskUpMastodon
#MaskUpForOthers
#IndividualismKills

#covid update:

#Paxlovid is working. I'm not dizzy all the time, the way I was the first time around (Feb '23). Currently on Day 3.5 since symptoms onset & I feel less exhausted than I did yesterday.
Also, Pax leaves just as yucky a taste in your mouth as advertised. Except it doesn't actually leave a taste; the ritonavir in Pax activates the mouth's bitter taste receptors. Ritonavir was originally used in HIV meds, and the bitter taste was a known side effect.

It's yucky. I've had worse.

1/

Note: Apparently, some of y'all out there are refusing to take Pax because of the taste. THAT'S FOOLISH, PEOPLE. Having a bitter taste in your mouth is immeasurably worth avoiding a worse and longer bout of COVID. And the shorter your bout, the less likely you'll be to spread it to others.

Imagine you could've prevented your kid, partner, parents, coworker from getting #LongCovid if only you had put up with a bitter taste in your mouth for 5 or 6 days.

SUCK IT UP AND TAKE THE MEDS, PEOPLE.
2/

I think the bitter taste is actually good news: if nothing else, it's proof I haven't lost my sense of taste. Beyond having a slightly stuffy nose, I haven't lost my sense of smell. That tells me I'm avoiding brain damage. Yet another good reason to keep taking the Pax.

So #MaskUp, y'all--especially in crowded public spaces.
#VaxUp & get your boosters.
If you feel the slightest bit sick--stuffy nose, scratchy or sore throat, pounding headache, diarrhea--STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM PEOPLE.

3/

I wouldn't have COVID right now if they had just told me I shouldn't come to their house because they had a scratchy throat.

Stopping COVID starts with YOU.

4/4

#covid update

Currently Day 4.5. All symptoms are improving (thanks, #Paxlovid), but I haven't kicked this low fever yet. I'm tired of quarantine. I want to hug my family and cuddle my cats. Especially this ridiculous orangey who trills at me and tries to kick my legs every time I come out of the bedroom to go to the bathroom. She doesn't understand why I don't pick her up. And I want to help my kid prep for the start of 6th grade next week. 😔

This sucks.

#CatsOfMastodon
#catstodon
#cats

#covid #CovidQuarantine Day 5

I miss hugging my family and cuddling my cats. This is literally the longest I have ever gone without physical contact with another human. Even with shows and movies to distract me, my anxiety level has risen a little every day -- and it's not just COVID worry. I can see why long periods of solitary confinement make people lose their minds.

#CovidIsolation sucks.

@courtcan
I'm sorry the experience sucks, but also thank you for taking the disease seriously. I hope you recover fully and soon so that you can get back to your family (including cats). They probably miss you too.

@tawtovo Thank you. I appreciate that encouragement. 😊🙏🖖

My 11yo is dejected, my husband is stressed, and the orangey yowls piteously at me every time I step out to go to the bathroom. We're all feeling it. But as I just told someone else, I feel that I ethically don't have the right not to at least *try* to break the chain of transmission. No one is going to catch this from me if I can at all help it.

@courtcan
I appreciate that priority. I caught Covid one summer and ate outside in 100+ degree whether to avoid spreading it to my disabled wife, and it worked! Unpleasant while it lasted (2-3 weeks), but worth it since it worked.

If you get good-fitting N95 masks, you can safely hug your family while wearing one. That's what I did.

@tawtovo I'm so glad you were able to keep your wife safe. It's definitely worth the sacrifice to protect the ones we love!

We wear the N95 masks, but I'm still skittish about them getting close to me. Maybe I'm not absolutely crawling with germs, but I *feel* like I'm crawling with germs. Especially since I haven't had energy to do more than just sponge off. 🦨😩 😆