Covid notes: so far so good knock on wood

[darkemeralds]

After two years of practically-paranoid risk avoidance with Covid, I came down with a fever and a woozy head a couple of days ago.

The only place I've gone in months, besides for a walk in the uncrowded streets of my neighborhood, is to my isolated mother's house and to pick up groceries outside the store, and an occasional masked dip into the neighborhood cafe for a takeout latte and scone.

But then there's my sister, who lives in a motorhome in my driveway and uses my shower and laundry--I don't control her contacts--and the folks who clean my house, though they're masked and vaxed and I leave while they work and run a window fan...

Well, you can really spiral with this endless anxiety and stress, looking for ways to perfect your precautious and blame yourself.

I did a rapid antigen test yesterday and it came out negative. Did another one today, also negative. So the low-grade fever and wooziness, which have passed, could've been an allergy thing, or a microdosing thing--psilocybin has made me woozy more than once--or a purely psychosomatic manifestation of this endless stress, but it apparently wasn't the 'rona.

Nevertheless, I'm gonna persist in my near-paranoid (but not perfectly paranoid) risk avoidance.

Comments

[dine]

your avoidance practices seem pretty sound and reasonable to me! I'm very glad it wasn't the 'rona, but it was totally understandable how your brain would go there first.

[darkemeralds]

It's endless. I'm finally really starting to feel the slog of it all.

[cathexys]

this endless stress

THIS!!! I feel like we're all waiting...and the more careful we are, the more it stresses us. And I think that's where a lot of the anger comes in. Not just the justifiable things of unnecessarily taking up beds, endangering others etc, but the weird jealousy of not only folks going out and doing stuff but NOT BEING STRESSED....

OK, maybe that's just me. But I like resent my students forcing me into class and NOT CARING!

Glad it seemed to not have been covid...

[darkemeralds]

I live where masking and vaccination are pretty widespread, and I'm not constrained to do my work in person, so there's some sense of reciprocity in protecting myself and others while they do the same.

I'm so sorry you have to go into the classroom. It's so frustrating to see the insouciance of those who think they're invincible, immortal, immune.

[cookiemom6067]

Good thoughts! (Or as good as they can be...)

[tehomet]

It's good to hear that you're being so careful. I wish everyone in the position to be, was too. And I'm glad your wooziness and fever passed. It's such a worry, all the time. That alone is dangerous to our health.

[darkemeralds]

I agree 100%! So does my doctor, in fact. He says do everything you reasonably can, but for heaven's sake don't fret and worry. The stress will lower your immunity.

So I do my best, and I'm grateful to be among those who can mostly stay home and out of harm's way.

[lyr]

I'm glad to hear you don't have covid!

[darkemeralds]

Thanks! Me too!

[rainkatt]

I'm glad you don't have it! And being smart about what you do and where you go.

As someone who has immune issues, I figure I'll be doing the risk avoidance dance forever. Fortunately, I have hermit tendencies and SL is perfectly willing to go out for groceries, etc. (mostly pick up). But I have issues that must be dealt with, like the impacted wisdom tooth that was just evicted. Everyone was gowned, masked, and wearing eye protection, so it was the best I could hope for. And SL is careful about masking and limiting contact; it's something I'm willing to live with, because he was losing his mind being cooped up at home, and being designated errand runner seems to help.

[darkemeralds]

The constant risk assessment over the past two years has been stressful, even for those of us like you and me who are usually happy to stay home.

I hope your wisdom tooth extraction went okay. That's kind of a painful deal! My dentist was one of the only places I went the first year--I trust dentists more than almost anyone to practice extreme precautions, because they've been doing it since the early 90s and aids.

I'm glad you have SL to help carry the load.

[rainkatt]

Given my scaredy-cat reactions to dental work, it was probably one of the best experiences I've had. There was a consult a month ago, and I chose the level of pain management (although I think how zonked I got on the halcion surprised them). I have Tramadol for pain, which has been a pleasant surprise. (We went over my entire history of negative reactions to drugs and he chose that, based on what I said.) The tooth was buried deep, but this has gone on since October, so it had to come out. I have a stunning bruise on my jaw which doesn't really hurt, and I feel this is going to be a long healing journey (I lack a sufficiency of white cells), but even factoring in the 50-mile drive home afterward (I was mostly out of it), I'm actually pleased with the whole thing so far. I kind of figure I'll need extra antibiotics, but I knew that going in.

[darkemeralds]

That sounds really trying! I'm glad you got the pain management you need.

My last extraction, I insisted on the laughing gas and something like a Valium, but I refused the opioids for afterwards. Instead, I stopped at the cannabis dispensary on the way home, before the novocaine wore off, and got a bottle of high-potency tincture.

When it didn't seem to be kicking in (I might've not quite been aware enough to listen to the salesperson about allowing 90 minutes), I took some more. Then a bit more. LOL Whoo-wee! I got so high it was ridiculous. Now I know. But it did wonders for the pain!