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sithelephant t1_ivuzsr1 wrote

Aged 11, I got mono. Like some percent of people who get it, I got a syndrome that basically precisely matches the symptoms of longcovid. (the set of longcovid patients that don't recover in 6 months and remain ill).

I have never been able to work, and am hoping for a cure by retirement age, which is looking increasingly unlikely.

I have cost the UK of the order of a million pounds (counting expected benefit for my remaining years, lost tax revenue, lost carer tax revenue and extra pension spend, and interest).

Post-acute viral diseases (longcovid, ME/CFS, ...) are comedically neglected in medical research and have had little work done on them in the last decades.

For covid, if you look at the life-years lost to death, and compare with the life-years lost to disability (counting as half a year per year for being unable to work), for about under age 45-50, longcovid dominates. And this assumes a cure tomorrow.

We have no idea of a mechanism for longcovid - there are many debated ones, and no idea what a drug to reverse that cause would do, even if it worked. A newly developed drug is likely twenty years out if we have no understanding of the mechanism right now.

(Clearly, some are out of the workplace due to non-covid related illnesses, for example healthcare delays due to the collapsing healthcare system)

https://resources.depaul.edu/newsroom/news/press-releases/Pages/mecfs_mono_2021.aspx

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fleurgirl123 t1_ivv6m1f wrote

MS is now possibly considered a post-acute viral illness. Parkinsons surged after the 1917 flu as well.

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WateryTartLivinaLake t1_ivv84o8 wrote

I have had the same condition as u/sithelephant, and was able to work (barely, I had to sacrifice every other aspects of normal living, family, relationship, hobbies) for most of my life until my condition slowly worsened to the point where I had to stop working two years ago. I am now in the process of being diagnosed with what is likely MS. I am almost completely incapacitated and my quality of life has always been less-than, but is now extremely poor. I shudder to think what we are setting ourselves up for by letting this novel virus rip unfettered through our society, especially schools. I believe China knows the insidious, immune system-crippling nature of the virus, and that is why they are continuing to protect their own with extreme zero COVID protocol. The potential long-term effects we are inviting on working class people and our already insufficient healthcare infrastructure are unthinkable.

ETA:This article is a good read and outlines the possibility of what we are in for:

https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2022/11/07/COVID-Reinfections-And-Immunity/

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Bekiala t1_ivvbbip wrote

Ugh. I have just recently quit wearing a mask. I think I'm going back to it.

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WateryTartLivinaLake t1_ivvbl05 wrote

People like me and unbeknownst future people like me would really appreciate it.šŸ¤—

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ArrrGaming t1_ivvhgqs wrote

Long COVID has always sounded miserable enough that we (my family and I) have never stopped wearing masks, social distancing, etc. I read that someone lost their ability to read due to what is being described as "brain fog".

I hope they discover a way to help you during our lifetimes, just like I hope they figure out long COVID.

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HardlyDecent t1_ivw6wy6 wrote

Haven't heard about the loss of reading ability, but for a couple weeks after COVID I would regularly lose pretty common words and spoken sentences would just dissolve into pauses.

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MilfagardVonBangin t1_ivxhch0 wrote

This just gave me a jolt. Iā€™ve been doing this for the last several months and I noticed it not long after I had Covid. I also get a lot of headaches now too which I thought might be Covid related but the losing words thing never occurred to me.

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HardlyDecent t1_ivxqpb2 wrote

Oh, damn. I've had nearly constant headaches too, but that's been happening since COVID started at least (I assume that is heat/stress related).

Just for discussion purposes, my headaches feel like mild to moderate hangover level, sometimes one-sided, and acetaminophen/NSAIDS do almost nothing. And they come on with no apparent cause. Yours?

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MilfagardVonBangin t1_ivxwxey wrote

Mine are like the stress headaches Iā€™d get behind the eyes when I wasnā€™t studying for upcoming exams. I get them mostly morning and evening time.

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tmuffinsnkitties t1_iw6ipaj wrote

Oh god. Im never sure if i do this more now due tto post covid or ADHD

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lovestobitch- t1_ivy6g47 wrote

Yes go over to the sub r/covidlonghaulers. I was 4 or 5 months and it sucked. Donā€™t want it again.

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sithelephant t1_ivvgnpt wrote

For added fun, vaccines do almost nothing to reduce the risk of longcovid. In some studies it's 50%, others find no benefit. (There is significant benefit against prompt severe outcomes, so get vaccinated)

Combine that with vaccination meaning the excuse was given to allow infections to roll through the population, and you've got nearly perfect conditions for a mass disabling event.

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StraightConfidence t1_ivx26dx wrote

And as an added bonus, there won't be enough medical staff to care for you. It's going to be even more of a complete shit show than it already is.

I don't want to be super conspiracy-ish, but yeah, I do think China knows more about long Covid than we do. I remember at the "beginning" of the pandemic they were already feverishly building hospitals, then there were all those harsh lockdowns. It makes you wonder.

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psychicsword t1_ivwxy9y wrote

Wasn't there an article recently that Alzheimer's increased in lab mice after swabbing their nose or something like that? I remember the headline suggesting that viral infections after picking your nose is the cause of the disease.

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MeowMeowImACowww t1_ivxkadw wrote

It's about introducing more microorganisms to your nose and also damaging the tissue when you pick up your nose, but I'm not sure about the strength of evidence.

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__google t1_ivyscda wrote

ā€œA syndromeā€ ok sure Jan.

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sithelephant t1_ivz51af wrote

I hope you get a similar syndrome that utterly destroys your life, and every hope and dream you once had as it has mine.

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__google t1_ivzim1v wrote

What syndrome destroyed your life tho? You canā€™t name it?

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ProcyonHabilis t1_ivzy6qh wrote

Literally the 5th word in his post, my guy

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__google t1_iw0arkr wrote

Mono does stay in your body forever but it doesnā€™t mean you will have mono forever. Even when the virus is active again, it doesnā€™t make you sick

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ProcyonHabilis t1_iw0cqcf wrote

He linked you a university press release, man. Come on, use that brain.

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