|
Post by daylilydude on Aug 20, 2022 11:00:40 GMT -5
I saw this on another forum and thought it might be interesting to hear about some of the changes our members made or not made.
|
|
|
Post by paulf on Aug 20, 2022 12:05:17 GMT -5
Our daily life has not changed. For several years we mostly stay home, work in the yard and garden and only visit our children and grandchildren. As the shots became available, we got them. When we went to stores for shopping if masks were necessary we put them on. Our favorite restaurants stayed open. Other people struggled and some suffered but we had no problems and stayed Covid free. Being retired with plenty to do around the house there is no need for much change in lifestyle.
When the next vaccine is available I will get it. My wife is not so sure since all her shots gave her a bad reaction. Maybe by then she will have forgotten a couple days of misery.
|
|
|
Post by spike on Aug 20, 2022 14:52:19 GMT -5
Nothing really changed for us. I guess the biggest change was wearing masks in public which really didn't bother us. Well I wear glasses and had some fogging up issues lol Nothing in our day to day life changed whatsoever.
The only real sad thing was that our youngest son and hubs were going to go spend some time in New Zealand with our son's friend that lives there. Covid had locked New Zealand down and now that hubs lungs only work at 60% he is concerned about that long of a flight.
|
|
|
Post by bestofour on Aug 20, 2022 15:31:40 GMT -5
I can freeze meat now. It's weird I know, but before Covid and the impending threat of shortages, I couldn't eat meat that I had frozen. No problem eating at your house or at restaurants where I'm sure meat was frozen, but I couldn't bring myself to thaw out meat and eat it. Now I can. Don't judge me.
|
|
|
Post by meandtk on Aug 20, 2022 17:37:04 GMT -5
I trust the govt even less than before.
Having lost some folks, I value relationships more than before.
Having my wife to nurse me through my sickness and carry a heavier load through my recovery, I love her more than ever before.
|
|
|
Post by hairymooseknuckles on Aug 20, 2022 17:39:32 GMT -5
Well…Yes and No. I can’t blame it all on pandemic, but life sure has changed for me. I won’t bore you with details, but 10 years ago, I was a totally different person. Nothing that a few bionic parts and about 25 or 30 years of youth wouldn’t cure. You remember when Rocky told Apollo they couldn’t do the things they used to do because it’s like they were turning into normal people? That’s exactly how I feel.
|
|
|
Post by spike on Aug 20, 2022 18:26:49 GMT -5
it’s like they were turning into normal people? That’s exactly how I feel. How horrible and terrifying! I never want to be a "normal" person!
|
|
|
Post by ladymarmalade on Aug 20, 2022 18:37:13 GMT -5
Interesting question.
I'm a major introvert by nature, and I spent a great deal of my adult life trying to break out of that and try to be a little more like my extroverted husband. I feel like Covid sucked away any measure of progress there because other than going to work, I really really just prefer to stay home in my safe little bubble by myself. I try to grocery shop at times when other people won't be there. I dread church and having to interact with other people and possibly meet new people. And it honestly has nothing to do with covid or other contagious diseases. Quarantine was a dream come true for this introvert and I think I liked it too much.
I also haven't been to Wal-Mart in two years. I used to shop there a fair amount, but the last time I went it was at the height of the pandemic when they limited people in the store and had aisles marked as one-way only and the whole thing just really creeped me out. So anything I can buy at WM I now order from Amazon. I don't miss it.
|
|
|
Post by octave1 on Aug 20, 2022 22:34:22 GMT -5
The pandemic did not change me but it definitely changed my lifestyle. I had to give up a little gig and venture into some other kind of activity, which was actually quite successful although short lived. I still shop with a mask on, and I think I will continue to wear it indefinitely since I did not catch a single cold in 2 years. I don't get close to people and no longer shake hands. I stayed home a lot and got many things done. The pandemic was a major blow, and I wish many things did not have to change, but we are still here and adapt.
|
|
|
Post by pepperhead212 on Aug 20, 2022 22:37:26 GMT -5
I really didn't change much, though the first year, as with many, I didn't go anywhere for several months. In the very beginning, I stocked up on a number of things, but I already had so much stuff in my house you would think I was a survivalist or something! I organized everything in my basement pantry in smaller tubs, and inventoried it, and found that I had about 42 lbs of just dried legumes (not even including what is on that shelf in my kitchen!), and then there are the flours and grains. However, ww flour is something I buy occasionally, because it doesn't keep as long as rye, and dark rye I would buy at the Amish market, where I wasn't going for a long time! So I got a large bucket of each of them on Amazon, and started grinding it, using my Nutigrain mill, which I hadn't been using much, since I got my Vitamix - I would just use that for any small amount of flour I wanted from grains or legumes, but not the large amounts of ww and rye flour weren't feasible. Otherwise, not a lot of change in my cooking, and I didn't really grow more, but gave away less, because I wasn't seeing anyone! So I did can and freeze more.
I didn't start shopping a bunch more until September, when Shoprite had a deal, trying to get some shoppers back in, and I got 29 containers of Dynamo (and I forget the other of that brand), for 99¢ each! They had that a little before the pandemic started, and I stocked up, so I wasn't even close to running low! I was stocked up on TP, PT, and other essentials, so I wasn't going short on anything. But I could see how those that couldn't do this, would be having problems.
|
|
|
Post by brownrexx on Aug 21, 2022 14:10:17 GMT -5
Covid put a big dent in out eating out habit. We quit going to restaurants or even convenience stores. We never did much in person shopping except for groceries but I started ordering more things online and I am continuing to do that.
We are content in our home so the lock downs did not bother us much other than the shock of seeing the government rule our personal lives in this way.
|
|
|
Post by pepperhead212 on Aug 21, 2022 14:22:06 GMT -5
That's another thing that never changed with me - I never went to restaurants! Last time I went to one was in late March '2019 when my Sister passed away, and we had a get-together, at her favorite Chinese place. Traveling would usually be the only reason I'd be eating out somewhere, and that was gone with the pandemic.
|
|
|
Post by Hensaplenty on Aug 21, 2022 17:38:31 GMT -5
Like meandtk, trust is broken with many in leadership. I couldn't smile at people during the mask days, and that bothered me. It's like humanity lost a connectedness with one another that was so sad to see. The way people avoided one another.... I was teaching during the pandemic, and the fear it conjured up with students was not good at all. I am a homebody, so while spending more time at home was no big deal for my family, it was devastating for some. One change that continues for me today is that I still order my groceries for pick-up which is something I thought I would NEVER do!
|
|
|
Post by ladymarmalade on Aug 21, 2022 17:41:47 GMT -5
I've had the opposite effect re:restaurants. During the height of the pandemic when the restaurants were really struggling, we tried really hard to patronize the ones that we could. Mostly getting takeout, but when masking relaxed we started eating out. Now I'm afraid I'm one of *those* people. I spend 8-10 hours every day in a restaurant, I don't want to go home and cook, so we're eating a LOT more takeout and easy meals that involve as little cooking as possible. Some day my work load will ease up a little, but since it's just DH and I at home now full time, we're both content to scrounge or just make a salad, or a fritatta from our own eggs. It's ironic that the time we finally get to having chickens is the time in life that I don't really want to cook much.
|
|
|
Post by ladymarmalade on Aug 21, 2022 17:43:19 GMT -5
Like meandtk, trust is broken with many in leadership. I couldn't smile at people during the mask days, and that bothered me. It's like humanity lost a connectedness with one another that was so sad to see. The way people avoided one another.... I was teaching during the pandemic, and the fear it conjured up with students was not good at all. I am a homebody, so while spending more time at home was no big deal for my family, it was devastating for some. One change that continues for me today is that I still order my groceries for pick-up which is something I thought I would NEVER do! Yes! Grocery pickup! I have always enjoyed grocery shopping, and I never thought I would do pick-up. But it's been such a godsend for me because I can pick it up on my way home from work and not have to devote any time to the actual process of shopping.
|
|
|
Post by mgulfcoastguy on Aug 24, 2022 11:46:51 GMT -5
I was one of 3 grandchildren born within 2 weeks then Covid took Sandra away. Isolation and fear has driven my mom a bit nuts. I haven't been to the gym in 2 years and my monthly trips to French Quarter have been limited to 1 or 2. On the positive sides my sisters, a niece, and a nephew started gardening. The same niece and nephew booted their spouses due to infidelity and eventually found new and better spouses. After I was vaccinated I actually took the two longest trips that I have made in 20 years, one to the nieces wedding. Several other things I guess but I'll stop for now.
|
|
|
Post by Laura_in_FL on Aug 24, 2022 17:13:06 GMT -5
My opinion is probably going to be unpopular, but here goes. I have lost a great deal of faith in the government, the media, pharmaceutical companies, and the healthcare system. There are still good doctors out there. But so many doctors are now employees of big medical companies and healthcare systems who just follow protocol either unquestioningly or out of fear of losing their jobs. We did isolate when the "two weeks to slow the spread" call went out in March of 2020, and we continued to isolate when that two weeks stretched into a couple of months, because pretty much everything was shut down. The kids were home from school and DH worked at home (we were very lucky that he had a job that allows this), we got our groceries mostly by pickup and other stuff we ordered online. Other than shopping for groceries and other necessities for ourselves and our in-laws, we never went anywhere. But we were happy to live in Florida where things started to gradually reopen in May, and we took advantage of it. Yes, COVID was very, very bad (especially the original strain) and it was/is dangerous for people over 65 and people with serious comorbidities. But it was pretty apparent by May or June of 2020 that it was not going to kill many healthy young and middle-aged people. And even the original strain of COVID never posed much risk to children and teens except for those with very serious pre-existing medical conditions. The actual data showed that COVID killed fewer children per year than the flu did in a typical pre-pandemic year. More importantly, it was apparent after a couple of months of shutdowns that NO AMOUNT amount of school closures, shutdowns, or other restrictions were going to make COVID quit spreading and COVID was never going to go away. Closures and shutdowns (after the initial few weeks of shutdowns that were attempted in order to slow the spread to give the healthcare system time to gear up) served only to spread economic ruin and misery and did not actually save lives. I base this on the fact that states that reopened sooner and more fully had per-capita COVID death rates similar to comparable states (states similar in population, population density, diversity, and age) that put in place much more stringent and long-lasting restrictions. The time distribution of the deaths and hospitalizations was different, but the end result was essentially the same. What did make a lot of difference in fatalities was how COVID was handled in nursing homes and other elder care facilities. States that banned hospitals from discharging COVID+ patients to nursing homes and immediately segregated COVID+ nursing home residents into separate nursing homes (or at least separate wings with separate staff) had far lower nursing home fatality rates. OTOH, states that discharged COVID+ patients into nursing homes to try to reduce hospital capacity had much higher fatality rates. It was entirely predictable that discharging COVID+ patients into nursing homes - which are full of people who are most at risk of severe COVID - would just create more COVID hospitalizations and fatalities. But several states did it anyway, and some of them (New York for one) tried to cover up just how many elderly people died as a result. We should have taken great efforts to protect the elderly, especially the frail elderly, and those people with pre-existing conditions that made them susceptible. Beyond that, we should have let the disease run through the young and healthy. Within a few months we would have ended up where we are now, but much sooner: COVID is basically as serious as the flu. People at risk can choose to get vaccinated and be extra-careful, and the rest of us can get on with our lives. Instead of a long shutdowns followed by trillions in COVID aid to try to pick up the pieces of our shattered economy, we should have been putting resources into developing better treatments for those who do get it; likely some of those treatments would also help with the flu and other viruses. Instead, we were bombarded with two years of propaganda to keep us terrified and compliant with masks, vaccine mandates, and economy-wrecking shutdowns and restrictions. Most of the measures that were put into place to slow the spread actually made people more likely to get sick, especially as they stretched into months and even years in some places. Staying locked up indoors vs. getting outside to work and exercise leads to vitamin D deficiency and weaker cardiovascular systems. Ordering food in (usually junk food) combined with the reduced activity level lead to more obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Closing doctors' offices to all but but emergency care lead to missing heart and cancer screenings, and missing the development of new conditions (diabetes, high blood pressure, etc.) that needed to be treated. People suffered for months or years due to delays in elective surgeries, which included treatments to resolve serious and painful conditions - forget getting a knee or hip replacements, hysterectomy, cataract surgery, etc. Social isolation increased drug and alcohol use, suicide (especially in teenage girls), spousal abuse, child abuse, depression, anxiety, and caused people with pre-existing mental illnesses to miss therapy and follow-up. People died alone because no one was allowed to visit them in the hospital or nursing home. People were not able to have weddings, and weren't able to say goodbye to their loved ones or get comfort from their friends and family since funerals weren't allowed. How much of an impact have the restrictions really had on people? There has been about a 40% increase in excess mortality among adults 18-64 years of age in 2021 - and the majority of those excess deaths were NOT COVID-related. Sources: www.aier.org/article/all-cause-mortality-in-the-united-states-during-2021/ourworldindata.org/grapher/excess-mortality-p-scores-projected-baseline-by-age?country=~USA - note the big spike in the 15-64 age group in the second half of 2021 - a time period during which COVID deaths for that age group were dropping. thenewamerican.com/report-excess-deaths-up-40-percent-among-americans-18-49/ - here's an important quote from that article: But the even bigger crime is that millions of people worldwide have died unnecessarily because we eschewed cheap and readily available therapeutics in favor of a massive vaccine program. More on that in the next post.
|
|
|
Post by Laura_in_FL on Aug 24, 2022 18:28:19 GMT -5
So, here we go down the rabbit hole: Here's an interesting article from a year ago - I bet you can find more like it: www.news18.com/news/india/coronavirus-news-live-updates-as-schools-reopen-centre-covid-19-vaccination-school-staff-brazil-booster-shots-india-kerala-delhi-mumbai-4128287.html The article states: So, what is the "UP COVID Control Model" that worked so well? Well, the article also mentions vaccination, but fails to mention that at the time of this article, only about 10% of the population of Uttar Pradesh had been vaccinated, which is far too low a percentage of the population for vaccination to have made much of an impact on spread. Uttar Pradesh also had one of the lowest vaccination rates in India at that time; states with far higher vaccination rates were faring much worse at controlling COVID. Presumably it was something else they were doing that was making the difference. What was it? It was aggressive testing, contact tracing and treatment. Funny, you can read that entire article, and a whole lot more like it, and you will not see any description AT ALL of what the treatment protocols were. Weird, huh? Here's another article from the World Health Organization on the topic: www.who.int/india/news/feature-stories/detail/uttar-pradesh-going-the-last-mile-to-stop-covid-19You can see how aggressive the testing and contract tracing was - they went house to house, even in remote rural areas. Wow! Here's a quote from the article: So, what is in those medicine kits? Well, that is hard to find. You'll have to dig through article after article in the Western media who attribute all of the success to testing and contact tracing and mention the medicine kits without telling you what's in them. Then you'll find article after article that will tell you what was in them, but will try to "fact-check" you into believing that the contents of the medical kits can't possibly be the reason for Uttar Pradesh's success, and will remind you that authorities including the CDC, FDA, and WHO have said that there is no evidence that the drug in these kits works, and it can cause dangerous side effects. If you keep digging, you will eventually find articles like this: indianexpress.com/article/cities/lucknow/uttar-pradesh-government-says-ivermectin-helped-to-keep-deaths-low-7311786/Oh, so the kits contained ivermectin and doxycycline (an antibiotic). That's the reason for the blackout on their contents. Big Pharma can't make billions off vaccines and expensive treatments when there is a cheap off-patent drug that works. (((And as to the "Ivermectin is unsafe" argument, that is ridiculous propaganda. Literally BILLIONS of doses of ivermectin were given to human beings for parasites and malaria worldwide before the pandemic. Ivermectin is available over the counter in many countries, including Mexico. It has a better safety profile than the Tylenol that is probably in your medicine cabinet right now. It was regarded as a miracle drug and its inventor received a Nobel prize for Medicine in 2015. The WHO lauded it as an indispensable wonder drug...until it became inconvenient during the COVID pandemic.))) Hospitals were paid for every patient hospitalized for COVID, extra if they were put on a respirator, and another extra bonus if they died. Why in God's name wasn't the government paying a bonus for each patient who lived? Possibly because if not enough people die of COVID, the fear can't be maintained. I can't think of any other explanation for the CDC recommending a protocol of NO COVID treatment until someone is having so much trouble breathing that they have to go to the hospital. Then the CDC's recommended hospital protocol (which had to be followed for the hospital to get paid!) was to put the patient on Remedesivir and wait. If the patient got worse, put them on a ventilator and wait to see if they live or die. Now I am not saying that hospitals were deliberately killing people, but all of the financial incentives were for the hospital to follow the protocol and get paid - there was no incentive to try alternative or additional treatments in an effort to save the patient and possibly risk reimbursement for not following protocol. Doctors had to do what the hospital said or get fired, and in some states they risked losing their medical license for prescribing HCQ or Ivermectin off-label. (Remember that 25% or more of ALL prescriptions in this country are for off-label uses. Doctors' rights to use drugs off-label were always respected - until COVID.) Yes, I sound like a conspiracy nut. I never have been before. But so far the evidence has led me to this point. Again, I don't think the hospitals or doctors are evil, but they are afraid of the people who are running health policy. COVID was definitely used as a tool to advance the power of government here and in other countries and to chip away at our civil liberties. Really, think back to ten or even five years ago: would you have ever imagined quietly OBEYING orders to shut down your business, lose your job, keep your kids home from school, shut down your church, and lock yourself in your home for a year or more? To accept being coerced to take a vaccine or lose your job or your right to go out in public? To be afraid to voice a contrary opinion about the management of the pandemic for fear of being kicked off of social media - which is the only social outlet you have left since you're stuck in your home? But we (as a society) meekly accepted all of those things. And the government can't possibly terrify us into compliance with vaccine mandates, shutdowns, or invasive apps to track our movements and contacts if there is a CHEAP and EFFECTIVE therapeutic and prophylactic. The COVID terror was also incredibly effective in causing states to make changes to their election laws in 2020 to allow ballot drop off boxes, to allow unrestricted mail in voting, to relax photo ID and/or signature requirements, and in some states to allow mail-in ballots to be postmarked by Election Day (instead of received before Election Day), and to restrict observers from being close enough to actually see what's going on during the vote counts. The sad reality is that COVID was used as a big step toward a one-world government (in fact, if not in name) where our only "rights" are the ones the ones in power choose to let us have. So yes, the biggest impact COVID has had on me is that it has made me deeply distrustful of so many institutions. Otherwise I am living my life just as I did pre-pandemic, and I refuse to be cowed by it any more.
|
|
|
Post by brownrexx on Aug 24, 2022 21:04:53 GMT -5
My opinion is probably going to be unpopular, but here goes. It is not unpopular with me because I agree with almost everything that you said except for the part about the Ivermectin and HCQ. I do not mistrust scientists and some of the conclusions mentioned come from hindsight. In the beginning no one knew what to expect or what would work. I still believe in the integrity of scientists and doctors who worked tirelessly to find treatments or cared for the sick. Now mistrust of the government is another matter. We are not supposed to discuss politics so I will just say that people kept saying that Covid had become political but in actuality I think that this pandemic has shown us the huge difference between those who wish to totally be taken care of by the government and who will allow government to have total control of their lives and those who still believe in civil liberties and free choice.
|
|
|
Post by Laura_in_FL on Aug 25, 2022 10:12:10 GMT -5
I will leave folks with this link: c19early.com/This is an ongoing meta-analysis of all significant COVID treatment studies worldwide, covering all types of treatments - there are a bunch there that I had not even heard of! You can look along the left side of the page and click on a treatment and it will take you to a page for that treatment. That page will list the studies done on that treatment and provide an analysis of their results. There is a link to each study and throughout the site many other outside sources are linked, so you can verify that the studies actually do say what is being said here. The key message: Early treatment works. Late treatment is a less likely to succeed in saving your life. Many of the early treatments are very low risk. (This is why I think the lack of early treatment protocols in this country is criminal.) There are a whole lot of early treatment options out there, and some of them are available over-the-counter. Buried a little over halfway down the opening page of the C19early website is a table of studies comparing outcomes of patients who received some early treatment versus patients who received no early treatment, which shows: However, as the website says, there is no treatment, whether OTC or by prescription, that works 100% of the time. Early treatment will greatly improve your odds of surviving a bout of COVID, but there is no guarantee. Some of the over the counter treatments for which there are studies: Curcurmin Famotidine (Pepcid) Iota carrageenan (only when formulated as a nasal spray; may also be helpful for mitigating colds) Lactoferrin Melatonin Nigella sativa Nitric oxide (can buy as supplement or get from dietary sources) Quercetin Vitamin A Vitamin C Vitamin D Zinc Their efficacy varies, and some are synergistic when used together. For example, quercetin and zinc, because quercetin is a zinc ionophore, which helps the zinc get into your cells. As always, check with your doctor or pharmacist for medication interactions or medical conditions that contra-indicate a particular supplement or treatment. And you can overdose on some of these things, so taking more is not necessarily better!
|
|
|
Post by spike on Aug 25, 2022 10:48:52 GMT -5
Laura_in_FL, I too agree with 99.999% of everything you said. When it comes to my health and well being, I have never trusted the government or big pharma.
|
|
|
Post by mgulfcoastguy on Aug 25, 2022 12:28:53 GMT -5
Both of my sisters and their husbands came down with covid just before the vaccine was available. The younger and her husband were immediately prescribed ivermectin from a pharmacy by their doctor. Despite comorbidities both were essentially well in a week. Their daughter kept throwing up the ivermectin was sicker despite an age of 29 and excellent health and took 10 days. She also developed migraines. My older sister and her husband were prescribed nothing. They took 2 weeks to clear the virus but my sister had some trouble walking and memory fog for weeks afterwards. Later family members were told by doctors that they would be fired and have their license revoked if they prescribed ivermectin.
|
|
|
Post by brownrexx on Aug 25, 2022 12:55:22 GMT -5
I just can't get on board with this Ivermectin thing. Early on it was tried and seemed to show promise but many reliable institutions have now conducted double blind studies of Ivermectin and concluded that it is not effective for Covid-19.
Here is just one with 490 patients and reported by the Journal of the AMA. I tend to believe this more than anecdotal evidence or meta analysis which is analysis of data by a computer. Doctors are prohibited from prescribing Ivermectin because the American Medical Association has determined that it does not work for Covid no matter what public opinion says.
Everyone I know who has gotten Covid lately has only had mild symptoms that they describe as like a cold or sinus infection however all of them have had the vaccine. The only people I know who have had bad cases and ongoing symptoms have not been vaccinated.
I have not gotten Covid yet but I am still happy that I got he vaccine and I do not consider that it is just a money maker for Big Pharma. I believe that it helps. My life has been immeasurably improved by several drugs that were produced by Big Pharma. I have had high blood pressure since I was 40 and would probably be dead by now if not for Big Pharma.
|
|
|
Post by octave1 on Aug 25, 2022 12:57:43 GMT -5
Laura_in_FL , I appreciate your posts, although I am not in total agreement with everything you say. What transpires in your analysis is that the major problem is healthcare for profit.
But for the fact that " Hospitals were paid for every patient hospitalized for COVID, extra if they were put on a respirator, and another extra bonus if they died", and "[...] all of the financial incentives were for the hospital to follow the protocol and get paid - there was no incentive to try alternative or additional treatments in an effort to save the patient and possibly risk reimbursement for not following protocoll", the situation might have not escalated to the extent that we saw. To my knowledge, this did not happen in any other country. One can blame the government as much as one wants, but as long as there are people, institutions and corporations allowed to capitalize on illnesses and misfortune, nothing will get better, and the next pandemic will see even more casualties.
|
|
|
Post by spike on Aug 25, 2022 12:59:37 GMT -5
We also both got the vaccine. NOT because we trust big pharma but we do trust our doctor. Plus since I am prone to bronchitis and pneumonia I figured better safe than sorry. Plus happy that hubs got it also since we now know his lungs only work at 60%
|
|
|
Post by meandtk on Aug 26, 2022 19:04:15 GMT -5
Laura_in_FL, An interesting development in my sickness was the turnaround I experienced once I got my hands on some hcq. Struggling with long covid led me to take it again in 3 rounds from Oct 2021-July 2022. Since July I’ve gone on high dosages ginger and turmeric with good results. I only wish I had stamina. I’m trying to exercise some now, since my heart isn’t racing much anymore. It surely is weak, however. Covid showed some long term issues I had ignored and forced me to address them. My eating habits have certainly changed.
|
|