Some thoughts from a guy who's tracked more than 2,500 studies on #COVID19's chronic impact:
- I naively thought this would be a short-term project and that once the long-term risks were clear, people would take COVID seriously.
- I didn't expect risks of Long COVID to accumulate with each infection as they do. I thought LC might decline over time.
- It's depressing to see how quickly we knew of COVID's chronic harm--early studies were published in 2020/21, and we ignored them.
1/3
- I thought we might learn of COVID's impact on cancer risks more quickly, but this takes a lot of time and study to understand.
- I had no idea when I started of the breadth of harm COVID might cause. My spreadsheet has tabs for cardiovascular, brain/neuro, cancer, immune, pregnancy, and other. I could've had tabs for pulmonary, fatigue, cognitive issues, psych issues, and reproductive system risks and filled those with dozens of studies. (They are all in the "other" category.)
2/3
- I never thought I'd need a tab for pediatric studies, but there are several dozen of those that have been published. (Studies of COVID in kids are scattered in other tabs.)
- Reading this many studies makes it easier to be COVID cautious, but it's still not easy. I see my friends doing things I want to do and going places I want to go. They don't understand the risks they're accepting, but it sure looks like fun to pretend everything is normal.
Spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12VbMkvqUF9eSggJsdsFEjKs5x0ABxQJi5tvfzJIDd3U/edit?usp=sharing
Back in the 1800s, English people used to send their babies to baby farms. Not having to nurse helped the mother recover faster, so she could return to her usual chores, and besides it wasn't acceptable for the husband to ask for sex until the baby was weaned. So let's wean it right away, so much more convenient!
And 'baby farming' was a way poorer women, in the country, could make money doing feminine work. So it was fine.
The babies almost all died. There was no formula, and giving them bread-in-water was much cheaper than hiring wet-nurses.
Babies with their mothers died sometimes, but baby farms had a sky-high death rate.
Everyone knew. Everyone pretended they didn't know. It would be so inconvenient to keep babies at home. They just said, "How tragic."
That cured me of believing people when they talk about "protecting children".
@3TomatoesShort @LoganFive @augieray well, I know about the risks. But I can't keep constantly reading about them (also my therapist advised against it), because I can't really avoid them. I have to send the kids to school (no home schooling options in Germany). They will get infected there.
It's like reading about horrible traffic accidents all day while your kids need to learn how to navigate traffic and ride their bikes anyway. Parents need to compartmentalize in order to keep sane.
@augieray
I have been left in chronic pain by covid. The pain is in my throat an ear 24/7, and sometimes it makes me dizzy and causes sounds to echo in a way that gives me nausea. Doctors don't know what it wrecked but it is broken and has been for almost 4 years. They refuse to see it as covid damage while refusing to mask near me.
It is constant reminder of how we were left behind.
It, and people just going on holidays and always asking (bewildered) why we don't do what they do.
@GinevraCat @augieray
At least is has kept me masking and informed.
My right ear is better (after awful steroid medication woth tons of side effects) but the left has stayed...so there has been improvement. It is better than nothing. (^_^)*
@hiisikoloart @augieray I had no problems with earaches or vertigo until I had an ear infection in my early twenties. I still get them now. A weird vertigo virus when I was in my mid thirties took me out for weeks - no symptoms other than vertigo, and it took a really long time to stop altogether. To this day, decades later, I still get vertigo when I'm too tired or worn out.
These experiences primed me against the "viruses strengthen your immune system better than vaccines"!
@GinevraCat @augieray
Only thing that has helped this war was the steroids I took for over a month (really strong doze) and it only helped to the right one. I had really bad thyrondonditis (inflammation of thyroid) from covid so it started from there. Now I have growing thyroid cells (I think it's called goiter or something in english? Like the thyroid just grows until it has to be cut out) triggered by this shabang.
Maybe one day it eases. But it has been almost 4 years now. ):
@GinevraCat
Unfortunately the doctors have kind of given up on trying to fix my ear and throat. All I got was up on my thyroid meds (which I need to confirm and start doing) and need to get new ultra next year to see how it's growing.
I got other stuff going on too, and get a lot of bullshit from them for wearing a mask.
Chronic migraines aren't helping (smoker neighbour, it is a whole saga) but I should get help for those next month maybe. (New meds)
Augie Ray
Logan Five Thousand
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Francis Mangion (M)
acm