the December issue of MFO

David_Snowball

Hi, guys.

We'll launch this evening. My son, on break from grad school and working at a high end restaurant, contracted first a sinus infection then Covid. Being a good soul, he felt obliged to share. In consequence I've been mostly out-of-service all week save for a late night run to the ER with him a couple days ago. I'm mostly functional give-or-take the left side of my head, and we've got a compact but solid issue near launch.

For what that's worth, David

catch22

You and yours come first for health. The commentary takes the back seat for as long as is necessary.
The best to successful recovery for all at your house, from us at this house.
Catch

sma3

Take care of yourself David.

I got Covid for first time last month ( and gave it to friends visiting from Australia. not a big deal they said as they had had it three times!) because of my civic duty to attend and speak at our annual town meeting

Paxlovid really seemed to help in 24 hours, although I was only in bed for a day. Would recommend it!

I know people who are still getting brain fog and taking weeks to recover so pace yourself.

Hope you feel better soon!

yogibearbull

@sma3 (Dr) knows the best. But if you take Paxlovid, be ready for the worst mouth-taste. But it would be only for 5 days.

Sven

Take good care of yourself and your family. December’s MFO commentary can wait until you are well and rested.

We have been very fortunate to have NOT caught any respiratory bugs so far. Our college kids have few mild cases but not COVID. Still taking the hygiene and precautions in our visit to stores and travel. Holiday visit are tough with visitors from elsewhere, and rapid COVID test can do so much.

catch22

We've noted here before, that the Paxlovid nasty taste may be somewhat offset with the use of the 'hot cinnamon' type of hard candy.

yogibearbull

@catch22, I tried Red Hot Cinnamon candy,
https://www.amazon.com/Wonka-hots-Hard-candy-Spicy-cinnamon/dp/B01KOKCV8Y/ref=asc_df_B01KOKCV8Y/

It took about a couple of days to find it locally. Then, it was a disappointment. The "hot" sensation was very fleeting, gone after a few seconds, and then only very sugary aftertaste left. Its list of ingredients was also disappointing - not even a hint of real cinnamon or real capsaicin:
"SUGAR, CORN SYRUP, ACACIA (GUM ARABIC), ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, CONFECTIONERS GLAZE (SHELLAC), CARNAUBA WAX, WHITE MINERAL OIL, RED 40, CORNSTARCH, SUNFLOWER LECITHIN."

So, I just went with my normal favorite candy.

rforno

Eclipse mints, winterfrost, are my go-tos, fwiw saying. An ex turned me onto them years ago and they've been a staple in the office and in the car for nearly 2 decades .. plus it's a handy tin.

(Sorbitol, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Magnesium Stearate, Acesulfame K, Sucralose, Lactic Acid, Calcium Lactate, Blue 2 Lake.)

Observant1

Take care David.
I wish you and your son a quick and full recovery.
If the December issue of MFO is delayed, so be it.

BaluBalu

David,

Wishing you and your son a speedy and full recovery.

WABAC

Take care of yourselves first.

Old_Joe

For heaven's sake think of yourself, your son, and Chip first, David. Thanks to the caliber of the posters MFO can run quite a while on auto-pilot.

Crash

Sad that you're ill, Dr. David. Let the work just wait until you're feeling better, healed. when this is behind you, then you can really look forward to enjoying Christmas. For that reason, I've scheduled getting my vocal chords circumcised rather early, prior to Christmas. Wanna be back to normal by the time the festivities are underway.

TheShadow

Take care and get well soon!

David_Snowball

Thanks to all. I'm vertical and working. Still can't quite get the left side of my head online, but my doctor - who is ... umm, young and healthy himself - isn't concerned. "Ten days to two weeks to resolve. Check in after that if you still can't ..." (sigh)

hank

Sounds potentially promising! Thanks for letting us know. Take care there.

racqueteer

Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) you can have covid and not know it! I had to postpone a surgery after taking the routine admittance test and never developed any symptoms whatsoever. Not complaining, but talk about weird!

sma3

I was fortunate that the dirty penny taste was minimal.

We always thought of you as a Right Brain Guy David!

I think your doctor is correct. Most definitions of "long Covid " use symptoms after a month. I have not seen a lot of data on Omicron and the newer strains frequency of Long Covid but it is probably less than Delta.

davidrmoran

Not that this thread is an organ recital (boomer geezer term for elderchat about health), but everyone who has had covid, old or not, should know that it seriously predisposes toward clotting problems.

Not always, not invariably, not invariably major, but I myself had a full-tilt saddle PE (plus dot clots in all five lung lobes; high mortality) 70 days after an omicron episode summer '22, and 10w is reported to be the sweet spot for post-covid DVT if they are going to happen.

So something to keep an eye out for (sudden-onset dyspnea, busted feeling, etc.). for the the months after covid.

Just fyi and fwiw.

rforno

Not to be a bear. but long-covid can hit you months after you're back to normal. I was clear for 8 months and then got laid up much of 2021 with various issues .... thankfully most of them got better, but I continue having odd energy/fatigue issues that I still plan my activities around, plus am always prepared for the sudden crash.

Hope you get better soon!

Old_Joe

Hearing stuff like this is why my wife and I haven't been to a restaurant since the start of Covid, and why we still mask when shopping in an area with other people close to us.

It totally sucks.

rforno

Old_Joe said:

Hearing stuff like this is why my wife and I haven't been to a restaurant since the start of Covid, and why we still mask when shopping in an area with other people close to us.

It totally sucks.

I'm ok doing dinners-out at our local fave places and running errands when I'm in-and-out and/or moving constantly thru the store but still am leery of prolonged mass-indoorsing sans mask. To wit: Last Sat night was my first outing in a large public indoor gathering w/o a mask -- NPR's Kennedy Center Christmas Jazz concert. I brought one with me just in case anyone around us was coughing .... but I was impressed that the airflow in the hall was *really* good, so I didn't worry as much. (Last year, I did wear a mask.)

I still mask up on those few occasions when I meet with large student (or prospective student) groups, where I snarkily say "I don't know where y'all have been..."

Call me paranoid, but 2021's long-covid issues really scarred me ... among other things it made me know what 'losing one's mind' might feel like, which wasn't good as I was trying to finish a book manuscript.

Baseball_Fan

Glad to hear all are doing ok and are and have recovered from their Covid challenges. It's real for sure not just the flu. Bigger picture this thread is a good reminder to proactively take care of your health

Don't smoke, only a little alcohol not on school nights, good sleep hygiene, meat of any kind only once a day, no excessive sweets junk food. Big it comes in a man made box or wrapper don't eat it, more vegetables

Get off your ass and lose that 15 lbs. Take a walk or bike ride or swim. Toss a few dumbbells around a couple times a week. Get some fresh air, breathe deeply.

Know your BP, insulin levels, cholesterol, weight BMI numbers. Freaking do something about it to improve them

Here's to good health to you and yours

Baseball fan

Devo

+1

Old_Joe

Well said.

Sven

Get off your ass and lose that 15 lbs. Take a walk or bike ride or swim. Toss a few dumbbells around a couple times a week. Get some fresh air, breathe deeply.

Have been doing for quite awhile. Goal is watch your diet, especially during the holidays. We are mostly vegetarian and it works for us.

Mark

Check it out:

The Blue Zones

sma3

From what I have read your chance of long covid does not decrease by a lot after the first episode. The exact frequency is unclear. I have a doctor friend who has brain fog and no smell after a "cold" that he didn't even test for Covid. He onl discovered that he had had it when he got his covid ( not covid vaccine induced) antibodies tested and was positive, indicating he had had a real infection, explaining his brain fog.

Long Covid is real and in some people real bad.

Old_Joe

Pretty much the same experience here. A good friend, also also a retired doctor, started letting down his guard about a year ago. Started going back to the SF Symphony, and eating out with others.

Now he has Long Covid, with loss of taste.

My wife and I had season tickets to the SF Symphony for almost thirty years, but haven't been to any entertainment venue since the start of all this. Really miss the Symphony, the SF Jazz Center, and a jazz restaurant that we went to for over 20 years. Almost all of the jazz groups that appeared at that restaurant no longer appear there either. This whole thing is a real bummer.

Sven

@Old_Joe, it has been very hard for our family socially as well. Through careful practice (mask and hygiene), our college kids manage not to get inflected, while many of their colleagues were not as fortunate. We return to work since then but stay cautious. We have not enjoy entertainment the same level we had. So far, we have had our COVID, flu and RSV vaccines this year.

WABAC

Sven said:

@Old_Joe, it has been very hard for our family socially as well. Through careful practice (mask and hygiene), our college kids manage not to get inflicted, while many of their colleagues were not as fortunate. We return to work since then but stay cautious. We have not enjoy entertainment the same level we had. So far, we have had our COVID, flu and RSV vaccines this year.

I think I'll make an appointment for some vaccinations today.