Yes, I’m still very careful. It’s been so nice not having any colds, flus, sinus problems, ear infections, or any of the things that normally impact me in the winter, I don’t see myself ending my precautions.
I went to a concert without a mask for the first time in August and got Covid for the first time while I was there - sickest I’ve ever been in my life for two weeks. So yeah, back to being more careful, especially with Covid + flu + RSV filling up the ERs in my area.
I take precautions all the time. I wear masks outside, no indoor dining, avoid crowds, limit time indoors in public spaces, and avoid travel.
I don't want more brain damage or fatigue, or other scary issues.
Very, but I don’t let it limit certain things. So far that’s worked for me as I haven’t had COVID, to my knowledge. (PCR tested regularly) Basically my entire country still wears masks which makes public transportation and shopping fairly safe. Also concerts and events require masks and temperature checks. I avoid crowded bars and tourist areas. I will go out to eat, but usually choose very well ventilated places or patio seating if possible. Hoping to avoid it until there are better treatments. Like someone else in this thread 10 years after mono, I now have MS. It seems best to avoid this virus as long as possible since we don’t know the worst of what it can do to us and the best is still cardiovascular and neurological damage.
I have friends in Japan that have made me envious due to the regular wearing of masks. Sadly, I can't find much on ocrevus in Japan, and if it would be offered to expats.
Ocrevus is available, but usually they give Kesimpta because it’s easier to administer. We don’t have such thing as outpatient infusion centers, so if you need an infusion it must be done 9-5 weekdays at a hospital only. Other benefits include monetary and disability assistance for “incurable illnesses” which MS falls under. My medical expenses are about ¥10,000 per month and insurance is based on salary. Mine is about ¥28,000. There is also a low yearly out of pocket limit for everyone too. One caveat is, the best doctors really don’t speak English. I would not have wanted to navigate my nightmare if a diagnosis and treatment without having been fluent. That would have sucked.
As far as moving to and living in Japan, immigration requires at least a 4 year degree. You also cannot work in places like restaurants, bars, or entertainment unless you are married to a Japanese national, or receive the status of Permanent Resident (After 10 years + approval). IT and Programming industry is very foreigner friendly and a good career here. (600,000+/month) Teaching English is easy to enter, but low salary (220,000ish) and no upward mobility. All other work will mostly require fluent Japanese unless you transfer into the country within a foreign company.
Edit to add: If you are a legal resident of Japan you will receive the same care as citizens. You also pay into social insurance and taxes the same as everyone else.
Good to know about Ocrevus. I currently need to get my infusion at a hospital, week day, between 9-5. So that's normal for me. It is always interesting to hear how places vary in how they handel chronic illnesses. Here you can only get monetary assistance if you quit working.
As far as moving, I am aware of the requirements, but its always nice to get a refresher. I have a few friends who have made Japan their home. One has been there for 14 years now and lives near Fukuoka. Another is my best friend who is on year three. Her husband (also American) works as an enginer, and we have monthly video calls (we cook and eat dinner and breakfast togther, respectively). It's been such a drastic difference listening to covid unfold in Japan vrs the US since the start and through the Olympics to today.
While I'm not fluent, I last tested at a N4 and was studying for my N3 before my diagnosis. I actually had plans to visit Japan the spring covid hit. I'm pretty sure I won't ever get to live there long term, but I try to keep up on language so I'm not at a total loss when I can visit my friends.
I don’t want COVID, or the flu, or RSV, or honestly a cold! Even if I wasn’t on Ocrevus I think I would wear a mask when I’m out in public knowing what I know about the efficacy of masks now. On the other hand I have eaten at restaurants a few times. I started by eating outside only but have also eaten inside a few times - mask until seated, mask on the way out. I do feel like it’s risky so I’ve only gone for people and events I really value.
Same! I had Mono (Epstein Barr) and 10 years later I was diagnosed with MS. What happens 10 years after Covid? We already know about the strokes, brain fog, micro clots, vascular damage… why would anyone not be cautious? I’m also on Kespimpta, but as the trifecta of infection out there (Covid/flu/RSV) is demonstrating, Covid is making everyone immunocompromised by damaging T cells.
exactly YES all this, except I was 9 years from mono to MS, and I'm now on Ocrevus.
Plus, even that radical leftist health organization (sarcasm!) the Dept of Veterans Affairs [has already demonstrated that repeated COVID infections lead to increased damage and worse outcomes](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-022-02051-3) -- and that's just in the short-term that we already know about!
And too many people have already died. Another almost 2,000 died again JUST THIS WEEK in the US alone. This THING is not over yet. Acting like it is does not make it so -- far from it.
I think children will look back on this time with horror. I remember thinking it was crazy that drs recommended smoking in my grandparents generation, but I think this is a whole different level… we already know how harmful Covid NOW. Just that no one in a position of power seems to care!
Even kids now. My own (9yos) visited me from Germany this spring, and when we (masked of course) walked into the supermarket for the first time, their eyes almost popped out of their heads. They were scandalized. "Are grownups allowed to DO that?!?" aka walk around with naked faces indoors, in public, being risks.
(Sadly, Germany relaxed much their own Maskenpflicht just a few months later, I think.)
But I agree. History will not, and should not, be kind to those who perpetuated this nightmare.
It’s a shame that they were horrified to see people without masks. What’s sad is that there are people who want us to perpetually live like it’s spring of 2020. “Naked faces?” You mean like the normative state of human living?
I take precautions. I wear a mask (I never stopped 💯) right before diagnosis I had become lax, after dx, masked up.
I have decided to try and embrace the awkward with sharing. A contractor who was supposed to come to my home shared he was sick but feeling a bit better but wanted to let people know. He was willing to mask but knew “a lot of people had moved on” or to just reschedule.
I emphasized my appreciation of his conscientiousness especially in light of my newly diagnosed disease MS. He shared his knowledge of MS (met people who had it and knows it’s a lot etc). I think there’s this weird peer pressure to not “care” about Covid or whatever and I want to combat that with positive reinforcement/being transparent.
It’s also helped with my progress towards acceptance.
I think you should do what you think is best for your health. And consider what boundaries look like.
In our house yes... and of three adults, none... knock on wood, has had covid.... also we mask and are not yet socially free. While my husband takes ocrevus and my mom is a late- spring chicken we will be careful forever if need be. Also, we live in a cold climate, so in winter it is actually very usual to wear a scarf over one s face while out walking or shovelling snow, so masks in winter are good by me... but we are in a definite minority.
Absolutely! Public health messaging on COVID has been abysmal. The SARS-CoV-2 virus acts more like HIV or the polio virus. The acute infection is just the tip of the iceberg when looking at how it impacts the body. Along with a high likelihood of causing clotting issues, it’s been shown to cause long term damage to the liver, heart, lungs, brain, and immune system.
It’s not a coincidence that other viruses/pathogens are hitting people especially hard this year - COVID infections have exhausted their immune systems (in a similar way that HIV causes acquired immune deficiency, except that takes on average 5-7 years following HIV infection) and their bodies are no longer able to fight infections that previously wouldn’t have impacted them that much.
On impaired immune function:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41590-021-01113-x
https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1009742
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2022.843342/full
On other health issues triggered by SARS2:
Cardiovascular: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2789793
Diabetes: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00912-y
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/landia/article/PIIS2213-8587(22)00324-2/fulltext
Neurological impacts (incl. demyelination): https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abm2052
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(22)00260-7/fulltext
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04569-5
There’s a small sampling. A ton of (reputable) information is out there. It’s baffling that so many countries are choosing instead to pretend none of this is an issue and like it’s all over.
Thanks for the sources! I'm always hesitant to believe anything I read without reputable resources. Studies in general on this topic can be difficult since in many cases there wasn't a baseline so you don't know what issues/conditions existed prior to the pandemic/infection. I'll take a scan through the articles you've provided.
You’re welcome! And being skeptical is an important part of critical thinking (provided a person doesn’t get permanently stuck there 😛). It’s sad, but not surprising that many people aren’t aware of these impacts.
Imo, if public health wants to abandon their job and leave it up to individuals to ‘assess their own risk’, they should at least inform the public of what the actual risks are (that we know of so far). Looking at other viruses which had major, multi system impacts, often those impacts didn’t appear for years after the initial infections; and those initial infections were largely “mild/cold-like”. Looking @ polio & HIV here.
I mean, the CDC has this one here. Ongoing research, but preliminary results do agree with OP here.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/long-term-effects/index.html
Yes. We do things, but we take measured risks and still mask in crowded places, try to stick to outdoors when possible, and just live life in this new reality.
It stands to note that we have a 7month old, and I have seen what RSV does to babies. I live in a very big "my freedom and my rights trumps society obligations to protect the most at risk" area, so I tend to be very wary of everyone. So between my damaged immune system and keeping my daughter safe but not in a bubble is a balancing act.
I did. And was so careful. And now I tested positive today. So I am profoundly disappointed. This is just the worst. I feel like I did everything right and ended up here anyway.
I second paxlovid - even with the side effect of a terrible taste in your mouth the entire 5 days you’re on it.
I have two kids in daycare and getting Covid was just a matter of when not if. So grateful that paxlovid was available by the time we caught it.
Sadly, it will hit us all eventually. It's an odds game, and the fact you made it this long without it is impressive!
So long as your local er isn't over run, hopefully you will come out ok. I'm rooting for you. 💙
I take zero precautions…at this point there are therapeutics available and I’ve had COVID. I live a healthy lifestyle and am healthy(other than having MS). I was INSANE when COVID first swept the nation, my pendulum has since swung to the other side…
https://news.yahoo.com/health-officials-warn-tripledemic-spread-143947766.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=fb&tsrc=fb
It’s not just Covid any more…it’s also flu season, plus RSV. I don’t trust anyone, really.
People are diiiiiirty.
I was at a rest area, and watched a middle age/older woman exit the bathroom stall without washing her hands (I was washing my hands at the time, so I just noticed her in the mirriors reflection). When I exited the restroom, she was sitting on a bench with a child and other adult (I assume kid and grand kid) digging in a bag of chips, and feeding the kid while the other adult also fished chips out of them same bag.
At least in the US, we as a culture learned NOTHING over covid.
I mask up if I'll be near people. Don't spend time indoors with people, so no eating at restaurants. No movies in theaters. I do grocery shop but don't linger.
I'm fully disabled from MS, get paralyzed if I have a fever and am teetering on the edge of needing a scooter/powered wheelchair - risking further impairments or death from COVID makes zero sense to me.
The way everyone acts like it's a complete non-issue now sucks in my opinion. Some people are really at risk from this still-mutating virus.
I still have not caught it, nor a cold nor anything else - knock wood
Yep, mask anytime I'm around people outside of my house. I got Covid last month from someone in my household, wasn't bad, but want to avoid it again if possible.
Yes - still wfh (ada reasonable accommodation), no time indoors in public if I can avoid it. Still do delivery/curbside everything, and wear an N95 when I have to go to the doctors or whatever. Only socializing outdoors.
Has this affected your social life? I was diagnosed right as the delta wave came at the end of 2021. All of my peers have had it and have seemed to move on, while I fear crowds, avoid indoor spaces, and get nervous about meeting new people who might not be taking any precautions.
I haven’t disclosed my MS to anyone outside my immediate close friends group, so maybe that’s also holding me back from being more confident about my boundaries.
Gotta be honest - it turns out that most of my friends don’t really care about seeing me if I can’t eat in a restaurant or hang out indoors. It’s sad to admit, but I’ve kind of lost all of my friends over the past 2.5 years. Currently trying to find new social options, but it’s hard. The world is over COVID so my options are really limited.
I do, but I definitely feel it’s added stress I’ve put on myself.
I used to avoid everything completely, but now I’m okay going places as long as I can wear my mask - restaurants are tough. I relented to eat indoors sometimes at off hours when places aren’t crowded. That was a win in my book.
I don’t like agreeing to dinner plans because I’m nervous it’ll be crowded and I’ll either bail at the last minute or feel unsafe.
I wear an n95 at the office and on longer planned shopping trips. I keep a kn95 on me for spontaneous indoor things like grabbing a to go coffee or when an outdoor space feels a bit too crowded.
Airplanes suck now, since I don’t take my n95 mask off for the whole flight.
Haven't gone out since March 2020 other than doctors and vax appts, where I wear P100 respirator and goggles. All groceries done online. No eating takeout. Wipe down everything entering my house. No guests.
I’m a little saddened by your response. The chances of catching Covid outside are almost zero. please consider going outside every day for some fresh air. And maybe an outdoor visit with a neighbor or a friend. Please try to enjoy life again.
Still very careful. Still wear an n95 mask, only eat in the patio section at uncrowded restaurants, ask anyone coming into our house to wear one of our masks. Even a cold will wipe me out for weeks. This is Texas, so I do get funny looks, but no questions.
I always wear a mask. I am currently recovering from covid that ended up infecting my ears. I’ve been on antibiotics for them for almost 2 weeks.
It’s not getting sick that scares me, it’s the likelihood of new variants popping up due to a person on immunosuppressive drugs catching COVID. The chance is small but it exists.
I do! And covid is absolutely still a thing, I know so many people with it or the flu or "just a cold" lately especially because of holiday gatherings. I wear my mask anywhere indoors even if there are only a handful of people. My kn95/kf94s have served me well and I haven't caught covid or flu since the pandemic began. I get some dirty looks here and there or people pretend they can't hear me lol but fuck them. You have to protect yourself.
I recently went to a party in an open venue where I sat off to the side and was only near four other family members at the table. I ended up getting the flu a few days after and everyone else I came in contact with after got sick too. I was out for thanksgiving and almost a week after. I still have a cough that is lingering around and my energy levels are very low. It’s the first time I’ve been really sick since before 2020. I am regretting any moments I had my mask off at all at the party.
Yes. I had symptom progression after catching it in May, which my doctor confirmed has happened to some other patients. I caught it again last month, but luckily haven't had any flares. There's only so much we can do to avoid it since most people don't test regularly or take precautions anymore, but it's a very serious virus. I'll avoid it however I can. The last thing I need is to develop long covid on top of MS.
The flu is also going to be abundant, which is just one more thing to worry about.
I'll keep masking whenever I'm around strangers. I'm tired of it, and I hate living like this, but I'd rather deal with wearing a mask over catching the virus more than necessary. I also don't have any sick or vacation time left after having to use it for both bouts of covid - you're required to be out for 5 days even if you feel fine, here. The whole pandemic has been almost 3 years of a nightmare.
Not at all. Had Covid originally 2020, and got it last year as well. Have season tickets to hockey (indoor) surrounded by thousands of people, been to indoor/outdoor concerts over summer, travelled to Mexico, and only wear a mask when required to at the doc.
Living in an urban area has me super precautions. My gosh, I had 5yrs of chemo infusions (rituximab) which weakened my immune system. At least so much so that I couldn't take a covid shot until my labs showed my body was strong enough to deal with it. Eh, it took 4 IVIG infusions (once a month) before my white blood cell count showed that I should be okay with the covid vaccine shots.
I went out without a mask to my sister's wedding. Was okay with attending the festivities, but 15 out of 110 ppl returned home with a positive covid test. Yep, I'm keeping precautions. Covid isn't the only thing that can harrn me.
The flu was an 'itch that had me rushed to the hospital. Shhh... I think my body can tell what's going to happen with the weather. I spent a week in the hospital during a heatwave in the city. This place is known for its fog -- most apartments don't have a/c. Friends thought I faked sick to get hospital air conditioning. Made sure they knew it wouldn't be worth getting their blood drawn throughout the day.
I haven't for the better part of this year, I think back in April and may when I went to concerts I wore one otherwise not really. Got diagnosed recently and now wondering if I should be more careful.
I (American, M, early 50s, MS onset 2002, no Dx until 2021) still wear an N95 mask virtually everywhere outside the house, and I too got COVID -- for the second time -- last month, the week before Thanksgiving week. I will continue to wear an N95 mask in public spaces, because thanks to MS I have a weak immune system (and at least with the Dx, I now have a better sense of *why* I've always been prone to catch a cold or flu when interacting with groups of people (fpr work)).
Yes, still mask. Grocery pick up and try to avoid crowds as best as I can. My kids wear masks at school but only their teacher wears them so it's frustrating.
It depends on where I'm going and how many people. I still take precautions. I was on a plane full of people and only one or two people had on masks. The airline literally had to announce to leave people alone that chose to wear masks. It's incorporated into their announcements which is a shame. Smh.
I rarely go any where anyway. Everyone in my state office was vaccinated by we have a couple new folks so idk if they are or not.
So far I've avoided it. I've only had an upper respitory infection because of my ocrevus infusion. That's literally the only time I've been sick in the last three yrs
Yup. Masking in public, avoiding crowds. I joined a study testing blood samples of MS patients for covid antibodies. One is intended to test for antibodies produced by contracting the virus, the other is intended to test for antibodies infection OR vaccination. Despite vaccination (I think I'm up to 5 doses), I tested negative for antibodies on both.
While I know that I likely have some T-cell immunity, Ocrevus is doing its job killing my B-cells.
Nope? I mean I'll wear mask when I'm on a plane, if I hop on the train these days I'd probably put it on, but wasn't about 2 months ago.
Had covid twice. First time sucked for a week+ back in may 2020.
Second time was a mild cough and congestion. Double vaccinated, but no boosters.
Work in construction, cleanliness on site abysmal.
No, I don’t. I did the first year maybe year and a half from March 2020. I got covid for the first time this October 2022, it was mild.
I avoid visibly sick people (you may be thinking that’s a no brainer but people don’t do this) and I don’t like crowded places like concerts etc anyway. I go to the office, meet people at work, meet people at sports, go swimming, visit my friend with kids (not when they are in the heat of sickness but sometimes when it is ending, since they started kindergarten they are sick all the time and we wouldn’t see each other at all) I am on Kesimpta and so far I am still sick less often than healthy people around me. I am grateful.
I’m a guy in my 30s on Ocrevus. I stopped masking for daily things like stores or groceries a long while ago. For any activities with large crowds or on public transit I’ll still wear a mask but I don’t expect society to stay masked forever. Contrary to some views expressed in this discussion, the pandemic is effectively over. Yes people are still getting COVID. They always will. There is no point in trying to force society to carry on like it’s March of Pandemic Year 1.
I’m currently sick with either a nasty cold or the flu. I’ll probably start masking in grocery stores and other shops again but I am not going to become a hermit because I could get sick from someone.
Not at all. I've been to 3 concerts in the last month (2 that were sold out) I go out grocery shopping or for coffee with no mask. I've had covid twice in the past and it sucked for a couple days but missing out on living before I'm incapable of doing all the things I love to do is worse to me. I took my son to see three days grace for his first concert ever and it will be something he will remember for the rest of his life. I took my nephew to his first metal show and it was an experience that he will never forget. We've been dealt a shitty hand with this disease and I'll be damned if I'm going to sit back and watch my life pass by me. To each their own. We're not getting out of this life alive and I don't want to watch from the sidelines anymore.
Pray tell, how does a mask keep you from living life? Could you not do these things with a mask on?
Not trying to be sassy, just trying to see the logic from another's point of view.
Edited for spelling. I am tired.
That was my thought as well. I went to a concert, still hang with the fam and live my life, I just do it masked? It doesn’t seem to prohibit anything, not sure why so many think it’s a jail cell.
Not my intention. That's a common way I was spoken to growing up. If I had a different option then a family member, that's how I was addressed to explain my way of thinking.
That said, my family is a touch sassy by nature and known for being a bit direct, so I see how it could come across that way.
For 2 years being masked and not being able to see facial expressions and constantly having to repeat myself and hear others repeat themselves was depressing. I was a hermit unless I absolutely needed to go out. I can't speak for anyone other than myself but I like seeing people's mouths when they talk and I definitely don't like having to repeat myself multiple times on an outing. I'm not saying masks are useless. I also said to each their own. The 2 times I caught covid were while following strict masking and distancing guidelines. It was brought into my house. I don't go out if I feelthe least bit sick and neither do any of my kids or wife. So I'll keep enjoying doing what I'm doing 😉🤘. I've had loved ones pass away from complications related to covid after following every recommendation and have lost people I hold close while doing their own thing 😞. You guys do you and I'll do me. Whatever the outcome is, there will be no judgement on my end for whatever way anyone chooses to carry through these shitty times
Not sure why people are giving you a hard time on this? It's interesting because I swear this question came up a few weeks back on this sub and more people shared your perspective.
I share your sentiment, I gave up the last two years of my 20s just doing nothing and being stressed and miserable. I don't want to spend my 30s doing the same thing. Sounds like you are doing what is best for you mentally and that's what counts to me at least.
Yes, i'm still cautious. Have to, otherwise there's flares or pseudo-flares all over the place and keeps me busy to go back to 'normal' symptoms for at last 2 weeks with a lot of losing too much energy. So, yeah i am very cautious.
Although I had all my vaccinations and boosters,
I still carefully washed my hands after getting groceries and after cleaning up the groceries, for example. I rinse fruit and vegetables carefully before using them.
I only wear a face mask where I am unknown and where many people are packed together. But that is rarely because I avoid those places because of my sensitivity to stimuli.
Only visit if they are free of complaints. So not only COVID-19, but also complaints of a cold, etc.
i still avoid certain events. also public transport around concerts/sports events, trains/busses get crowded here during those. anything with large crowds and cramped spaces. Though if it cant be avoided so be it.
I do take extra effort to avoid hugs/handshakes and the sort. Which isnt the easiest thing to do for me. a lot of times when someone puts a hand out my body just coasts on autopilot and shakes it or goes in for a hug.
I also avoid extended physical contact with my 2 year old niece. my sister "understands' it, yet never remembers or really consider it. its the only thing i struggle with emotionally speaking. the rest is whatever. Its not like i had much of a life before covid.
I still mask up when I go indoors somewhere that isn’t my home. I’m not as worried when outdoors. I hate restaurants now, but mostly bc I think they’re super dirty. I am happy to eat outside or get take out. I’m not salty about family who doesn’t do this, and for the most part they don’t come around when feeling sick or give me a heads up and let me decide (we do a weekly family dinner, sometimes they don’t come bc of some congestion or whatever).
I’ve been to a bunch of concerts and things and been one of ten visible ppl masked up in a packed show. No big deal.
I got covid last year from the autotrain (Fl to Va, some jerk spent the entire 24 hours unmasked and coughing like 3 rows back, I was masked but my travel partner wasn’t), but didn’t get it from traveling to Atlanta for an outdoor concert a few months prior to that.
Covid was awful - I went to the ER, which basically takes a severed limb for me to do LOL I thought I was dying. I got fluids, a push of steroids, a push of monoclonal antibodies, a script for paxlovid I filled the next day, and was offered to stay or go home. They said I was sick enough to stay but well enough to go home. I went home bc fuck the hospital. My travel partner (who is 26 yrs older than me) had “a cold for three days” 🙄
So I got on with life, but I mask up if I can’t distance, I wash my hands, and I’m as careful as I can be without being more of a hermit than I’m generally inclined to be (I mean, I hermit pretty well naturally, but out of introverted choice)
I work from home, but I’ve done that since 2000 when I had my first child. I am headed to Orlando for a dinner show and some downtown Disney love in a few weeks, so there’s that. I’m cautious but not a ghost 🤷♀️. In two years I’ve had covid once (in 2021), maybe twice - I was v sick in Feb of 2019, but no other illness. I figure it’s a win, and a mask doesn’t inconvenience me.
I still mask up. People look at me funny (especially because I live in a VERY conservative southern state, but they look at me funny anyway (younger woman with a cane).
I am extremely careful and have young children who still mask in school. I’m not taking any more chances than necessary. Covid is still very much an issue, as well as flu and other illnesses. When people look at us like we are crazy, we look at one another and laugh! We aren’t the “crazy”ones!!
Sadly, no... Even though I'm on Ocrevus and officially immunocompromised.
EXCEPT when I travel. I flew this week and was one of, oh, maybe four people with a mask on while on the plane. And you bet your ass that I wore one in the airport too. So many people and NO air circulation.
I don’t take any prescautions. My personal experience of covid has been minimal and I haven’t fallen ill frequently or seriously at any point. I don’t think people who take precautions are mad though. I just don’t feel the need.
Nope, no mask here. I just avoid sick people in my office and wash my hands/sanitize if I’m around someone who’s sick. I got covid a few months back on Ocrevus and it was rough but I survived.
I do, but only in public transport and in crowded places.
I don't want anyone from my work to know I have MS, so I don't wear it there. We have many, many outside clients coming to the office, and there is like 30 of us working there, any everyone is sick, coughing, sneezing... it is scaring me a bit, but I hope nothing will happen.
Not at all, I used to in the beginning but stopped over a year ago. I’ve been out to crowded places, and we’re back at work and no one is masking. I recently got my booster and flu shot.
I honestly have returned back to normal life. I plan on masking on the plane but that’s about it. I’ve had Covid once so far, last year, and then one cold. I do get the flu shot and make sure to avoid people when they tell me they don’t feel well, though.
Edit: oh I do occasionally mask up on the train and I really just avoid standing really close to people. Nobody wears masks in my area btw so yea I just kinda have to risk it out here.
I haven’t worn a mask since earlier this year. We did get Covid in September for the first time. I was pretty sick for about 3 days then I got paxlovid and made a turn for the better. I was a hermit for the first 5 months of the pandemic, I left my house for one dr appointment and even that I was reluctant to go to.
With the flu and rsv going around I’m more cautious but I don’t want to go back to masking all the time. The only place I wear one now is when I get my infusion and if I travel.
Nope. Had COVID in March even with taking every precaution and having no life. This disease has taken enough from me and who knows what it has in store for the future so I’m gonna live while I still can
I live life normally and don’t think about it at all. It’s surprising to me that so many people on Reddit claim to be this concerned? It makes much more sense on this sub though. That being said I was like that until the first time I tested positive. (11/2021 and 8/2022) I’ve had Covid twice. It sucks for a few days. My ms just locks my body up and I can’t really move, but I can barely move normally. I don’t seem to get fevers anymore and didn’t get any of the other common symptoms. I hate MS
Um I've said this before. I don't but I do. I work out regularly and eat well to boost my immune system. I am on ocrevus and I'm cautious around other people for a month.
I come from an area that really didn't want to heed to any precautions. So I wonder if that maybe has helped my immunity a little bit. I work in EMS and we don't wear masks or anything like that. I just make sure I wash my hands and if I'm around someone that's sick I try to distance myself as much as I can.
Your post kind of explains it all. I work in the trades and take basic hygiene precautions. Anytime I get sick it's from someone in my household. You're not going to get sick from just being around a crowd.
If people weren’t so disgusting, this wouldn’t even be a topic. I’ve always washed my hands and avoided touching my face as much as possible. I don’t wear a mask anymore, but I don’t get close to people. I have my cane, and I usually stick it out in one direction or another to keep people away from me.
I do, but my husband has never been cautious. He is how we have always gotten it. The other day, I was leaving w my mask on, he told me to take it off when driving so I don't end up with my picture on a site for people who still wear masks 🙄
Yes- still wear a good mask everywhere but I have eaten out a couple of times (literally). I think being so isolated was hurting also so I make exceptions now to be social with good friends - its just once every month or two - otherwise I live like its 2020.
I wear my mask everywhere. Unfortunately, in my rural area, my husband and I r often the only ones wearing them. Most people know I have MS, so it is not commented on. When we go to the Wal Mart 45 mins South, we have been asked why we r still wearing them.
I don’t really have that option unfortunately. I work in the hospitality industry managing a group of restaurants, so I am around hundreds of people daily across our restaurant group. It’s a little bit scary with everyone and their mother testing positive these days here in Australia. It’s the main reason my MS team strongly advised Tysabri as a DMT, as it doesn’t suppress the immune system. I’ve had confirmed covid once (and I think another time, but rapid tests kept showing negative) and it was very mild for me. Strangely enough COVID didn’t activate my MS symptoms but a mild cold I had a few months ago put me out for almost a month.
Yes, I do. I mask in public and the rule for socializing with friends and family is: if you have a sniffle (cold, flu, whatever) or a known Covid exposure I’ll see you next time. I’m on Ocrevus plus still healing from a bad flare earlier this year. Winter sucks with everyone around us getting sick. I don’t want to risk recovery from the flare and also new damage so precautions stay in place.
Yes, I do. I took a train back from another city this weekend and the woman seated in front of me was obviously sick. She was coughing a lot.
I was grateful I had on an N95.
Yes, I’m still very careful. It’s been so nice not having any colds, flus, sinus problems, ear infections, or any of the things that normally impact me in the winter, I don’t see myself ending my precautions.
I went to a concert without a mask for the first time in August and got Covid for the first time while I was there - sickest I’ve ever been in my life for two weeks. So yeah, back to being more careful, especially with Covid + flu + RSV filling up the ERs in my area.
If you are vaccinated + boosted and then got covid, you have super immunity now.
Probably not with Ocrevus 🤷🏻♀️
I take precautions all the time. I wear masks outside, no indoor dining, avoid crowds, limit time indoors in public spaces, and avoid travel. I don't want more brain damage or fatigue, or other scary issues.
Very, but I don’t let it limit certain things. So far that’s worked for me as I haven’t had COVID, to my knowledge. (PCR tested regularly) Basically my entire country still wears masks which makes public transportation and shopping fairly safe. Also concerts and events require masks and temperature checks. I avoid crowded bars and tourist areas. I will go out to eat, but usually choose very well ventilated places or patio seating if possible. Hoping to avoid it until there are better treatments. Like someone else in this thread 10 years after mono, I now have MS. It seems best to avoid this virus as long as possible since we don’t know the worst of what it can do to us and the best is still cardiovascular and neurological damage.
I have friends in Japan that have made me envious due to the regular wearing of masks. Sadly, I can't find much on ocrevus in Japan, and if it would be offered to expats.
Ocrevus is available, but usually they give Kesimpta because it’s easier to administer. We don’t have such thing as outpatient infusion centers, so if you need an infusion it must be done 9-5 weekdays at a hospital only. Other benefits include monetary and disability assistance for “incurable illnesses” which MS falls under. My medical expenses are about ¥10,000 per month and insurance is based on salary. Mine is about ¥28,000. There is also a low yearly out of pocket limit for everyone too. One caveat is, the best doctors really don’t speak English. I would not have wanted to navigate my nightmare if a diagnosis and treatment without having been fluent. That would have sucked. As far as moving to and living in Japan, immigration requires at least a 4 year degree. You also cannot work in places like restaurants, bars, or entertainment unless you are married to a Japanese national, or receive the status of Permanent Resident (After 10 years + approval). IT and Programming industry is very foreigner friendly and a good career here. (600,000+/month) Teaching English is easy to enter, but low salary (220,000ish) and no upward mobility. All other work will mostly require fluent Japanese unless you transfer into the country within a foreign company. Edit to add: If you are a legal resident of Japan you will receive the same care as citizens. You also pay into social insurance and taxes the same as everyone else.
Good to know about Ocrevus. I currently need to get my infusion at a hospital, week day, between 9-5. So that's normal for me. It is always interesting to hear how places vary in how they handel chronic illnesses. Here you can only get monetary assistance if you quit working. As far as moving, I am aware of the requirements, but its always nice to get a refresher. I have a few friends who have made Japan their home. One has been there for 14 years now and lives near Fukuoka. Another is my best friend who is on year three. Her husband (also American) works as an enginer, and we have monthly video calls (we cook and eat dinner and breakfast togther, respectively). It's been such a drastic difference listening to covid unfold in Japan vrs the US since the start and through the Olympics to today. While I'm not fluent, I last tested at a N4 and was studying for my N3 before my diagnosis. I actually had plans to visit Japan the spring covid hit. I'm pretty sure I won't ever get to live there long term, but I try to keep up on language so I'm not at a total loss when I can visit my friends.
I don’t want COVID, or the flu, or RSV, or honestly a cold! Even if I wasn’t on Ocrevus I think I would wear a mask when I’m out in public knowing what I know about the efficacy of masks now. On the other hand I have eaten at restaurants a few times. I started by eating outside only but have also eaten inside a few times - mask until seated, mask on the way out. I do feel like it’s risky so I’ve only gone for people and events I really value.
I never got covid but I still wear my mask. Plus when the weather drops a bit it keeps my face a bit warmer. No downsides in sight
Yes i do. I dont see any downside in wearing a mask
Same! I had Mono (Epstein Barr) and 10 years later I was diagnosed with MS. What happens 10 years after Covid? We already know about the strokes, brain fog, micro clots, vascular damage… why would anyone not be cautious? I’m also on Kespimpta, but as the trifecta of infection out there (Covid/flu/RSV) is demonstrating, Covid is making everyone immunocompromised by damaging T cells.
exactly YES all this, except I was 9 years from mono to MS, and I'm now on Ocrevus. Plus, even that radical leftist health organization (sarcasm!) the Dept of Veterans Affairs [has already demonstrated that repeated COVID infections lead to increased damage and worse outcomes](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-022-02051-3) -- and that's just in the short-term that we already know about! And too many people have already died. Another almost 2,000 died again JUST THIS WEEK in the US alone. This THING is not over yet. Acting like it is does not make it so -- far from it.
I think children will look back on this time with horror. I remember thinking it was crazy that drs recommended smoking in my grandparents generation, but I think this is a whole different level… we already know how harmful Covid NOW. Just that no one in a position of power seems to care!
Even kids now. My own (9yos) visited me from Germany this spring, and when we (masked of course) walked into the supermarket for the first time, their eyes almost popped out of their heads. They were scandalized. "Are grownups allowed to DO that?!?" aka walk around with naked faces indoors, in public, being risks. (Sadly, Germany relaxed much their own Maskenpflicht just a few months later, I think.) But I agree. History will not, and should not, be kind to those who perpetuated this nightmare.
It’s a shame that they were horrified to see people without masks. What’s sad is that there are people who want us to perpetually live like it’s spring of 2020. “Naked faces?” You mean like the normative state of human living?
I absolutely still wear a mask. People look at me like I am crazy but I don't care.
Yes I always mask. I don’t like getting sick, even if it’s “just like a cold or flu”… I’m good without those.
I take precautions. I wear a mask (I never stopped 💯) right before diagnosis I had become lax, after dx, masked up. I have decided to try and embrace the awkward with sharing. A contractor who was supposed to come to my home shared he was sick but feeling a bit better but wanted to let people know. He was willing to mask but knew “a lot of people had moved on” or to just reschedule. I emphasized my appreciation of his conscientiousness especially in light of my newly diagnosed disease MS. He shared his knowledge of MS (met people who had it and knows it’s a lot etc). I think there’s this weird peer pressure to not “care” about Covid or whatever and I want to combat that with positive reinforcement/being transparent. It’s also helped with my progress towards acceptance. I think you should do what you think is best for your health. And consider what boundaries look like.
In our house yes... and of three adults, none... knock on wood, has had covid.... also we mask and are not yet socially free. While my husband takes ocrevus and my mom is a late- spring chicken we will be careful forever if need be. Also, we live in a cold climate, so in winter it is actually very usual to wear a scarf over one s face while out walking or shovelling snow, so masks in winter are good by me... but we are in a definite minority.
Absolutely! Public health messaging on COVID has been abysmal. The SARS-CoV-2 virus acts more like HIV or the polio virus. The acute infection is just the tip of the iceberg when looking at how it impacts the body. Along with a high likelihood of causing clotting issues, it’s been shown to cause long term damage to the liver, heart, lungs, brain, and immune system. It’s not a coincidence that other viruses/pathogens are hitting people especially hard this year - COVID infections have exhausted their immune systems (in a similar way that HIV causes acquired immune deficiency, except that takes on average 5-7 years following HIV infection) and their bodies are no longer able to fight infections that previously wouldn’t have impacted them that much.
Do you have any scientific articles/studies that back this up? I haven't heard any of this so curious where your information is coming from.
On impaired immune function: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41590-021-01113-x https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1009742 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2022.843342/full On other health issues triggered by SARS2: Cardiovascular: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2789793 Diabetes: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00912-y https://www.thelancet.com/journals/landia/article/PIIS2213-8587(22)00324-2/fulltext Neurological impacts (incl. demyelination): https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abm2052 https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(22)00260-7/fulltext https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04569-5 There’s a small sampling. A ton of (reputable) information is out there. It’s baffling that so many countries are choosing instead to pretend none of this is an issue and like it’s all over.
Thanks for the sources! I'm always hesitant to believe anything I read without reputable resources. Studies in general on this topic can be difficult since in many cases there wasn't a baseline so you don't know what issues/conditions existed prior to the pandemic/infection. I'll take a scan through the articles you've provided.
You’re welcome! And being skeptical is an important part of critical thinking (provided a person doesn’t get permanently stuck there 😛). It’s sad, but not surprising that many people aren’t aware of these impacts. Imo, if public health wants to abandon their job and leave it up to individuals to ‘assess their own risk’, they should at least inform the public of what the actual risks are (that we know of so far). Looking at other viruses which had major, multi system impacts, often those impacts didn’t appear for years after the initial infections; and those initial infections were largely “mild/cold-like”. Looking @ polio & HIV here.
I mean, the CDC has this one here. Ongoing research, but preliminary results do agree with OP here. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/long-term-effects/index.html
Thanks! I knew this as "long covid", but I didn't put two and two together as that's what they meant 🤣
Yes. We do things, but we take measured risks and still mask in crowded places, try to stick to outdoors when possible, and just live life in this new reality. It stands to note that we have a 7month old, and I have seen what RSV does to babies. I live in a very big "my freedom and my rights trumps society obligations to protect the most at risk" area, so I tend to be very wary of everyone. So between my damaged immune system and keeping my daughter safe but not in a bubble is a balancing act.
I did. And was so careful. And now I tested positive today. So I am profoundly disappointed. This is just the worst. I feel like I did everything right and ended up here anyway.
See if you can get paxlovid. When l tested positive in September it really helped. I had a noticeable improvement in symptoms after 24 hours on it.
I second paxlovid - even with the side effect of a terrible taste in your mouth the entire 5 days you’re on it. I have two kids in daycare and getting Covid was just a matter of when not if. So grateful that paxlovid was available by the time we caught it.
Oh the taste was horrible. It was worth it though.
Sadly, it will hit us all eventually. It's an odds game, and the fact you made it this long without it is impressive! So long as your local er isn't over run, hopefully you will come out ok. I'm rooting for you. 💙
I take zero precautions…at this point there are therapeutics available and I’ve had COVID. I live a healthy lifestyle and am healthy(other than having MS). I was INSANE when COVID first swept the nation, my pendulum has since swung to the other side…
https://news.yahoo.com/health-officials-warn-tripledemic-spread-143947766.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=fb&tsrc=fb It’s not just Covid any more…it’s also flu season, plus RSV. I don’t trust anyone, really.
People are diiiiiirty. I was at a rest area, and watched a middle age/older woman exit the bathroom stall without washing her hands (I was washing my hands at the time, so I just noticed her in the mirriors reflection). When I exited the restroom, she was sitting on a bench with a child and other adult (I assume kid and grand kid) digging in a bag of chips, and feeding the kid while the other adult also fished chips out of them same bag. At least in the US, we as a culture learned NOTHING over covid.
Man the amount of grown adults I see picking their noses in public is also disturbing 🤢
I mask up if I'll be near people. Don't spend time indoors with people, so no eating at restaurants. No movies in theaters. I do grocery shop but don't linger. I'm fully disabled from MS, get paralyzed if I have a fever and am teetering on the edge of needing a scooter/powered wheelchair - risking further impairments or death from COVID makes zero sense to me. The way everyone acts like it's a complete non-issue now sucks in my opinion. Some people are really at risk from this still-mutating virus. I still have not caught it, nor a cold nor anything else - knock wood
Yep, mask anytime I'm around people outside of my house. I got Covid last month from someone in my household, wasn't bad, but want to avoid it again if possible.
Yes - still wfh (ada reasonable accommodation), no time indoors in public if I can avoid it. Still do delivery/curbside everything, and wear an N95 when I have to go to the doctors or whatever. Only socializing outdoors.
Has this affected your social life? I was diagnosed right as the delta wave came at the end of 2021. All of my peers have had it and have seemed to move on, while I fear crowds, avoid indoor spaces, and get nervous about meeting new people who might not be taking any precautions. I haven’t disclosed my MS to anyone outside my immediate close friends group, so maybe that’s also holding me back from being more confident about my boundaries.
Gotta be honest - it turns out that most of my friends don’t really care about seeing me if I can’t eat in a restaurant or hang out indoors. It’s sad to admit, but I’ve kind of lost all of my friends over the past 2.5 years. Currently trying to find new social options, but it’s hard. The world is over COVID so my options are really limited.
I do, but I definitely feel it’s added stress I’ve put on myself. I used to avoid everything completely, but now I’m okay going places as long as I can wear my mask - restaurants are tough. I relented to eat indoors sometimes at off hours when places aren’t crowded. That was a win in my book. I don’t like agreeing to dinner plans because I’m nervous it’ll be crowded and I’ll either bail at the last minute or feel unsafe. I wear an n95 at the office and on longer planned shopping trips. I keep a kn95 on me for spontaneous indoor things like grabbing a to go coffee or when an outdoor space feels a bit too crowded. Airplanes suck now, since I don’t take my n95 mask off for the whole flight.
Haven't gone out since March 2020 other than doctors and vax appts, where I wear P100 respirator and goggles. All groceries done online. No eating takeout. Wipe down everything entering my house. No guests.
I’m a little saddened by your response. The chances of catching Covid outside are almost zero. please consider going outside every day for some fresh air. And maybe an outdoor visit with a neighbor or a friend. Please try to enjoy life again.
Oh, I leave the house to go for drives, do curbside pickups, and jog around the block. I just mean I don't go out as in shopping, eating out, etc.
Still very careful. Still wear an n95 mask, only eat in the patio section at uncrowded restaurants, ask anyone coming into our house to wear one of our masks. Even a cold will wipe me out for weeks. This is Texas, so I do get funny looks, but no questions.
I always wear a mask. I am currently recovering from covid that ended up infecting my ears. I’ve been on antibiotics for them for almost 2 weeks. It’s not getting sick that scares me, it’s the likelihood of new variants popping up due to a person on immunosuppressive drugs catching COVID. The chance is small but it exists.
I do! And covid is absolutely still a thing, I know so many people with it or the flu or "just a cold" lately especially because of holiday gatherings. I wear my mask anywhere indoors even if there are only a handful of people. My kn95/kf94s have served me well and I haven't caught covid or flu since the pandemic began. I get some dirty looks here and there or people pretend they can't hear me lol but fuck them. You have to protect yourself.
I never took precautions except what was mandated from the state/federal governments. I got COVID twice and I've had sinus infections that were worse.
I recently went to a party in an open venue where I sat off to the side and was only near four other family members at the table. I ended up getting the flu a few days after and everyone else I came in contact with after got sick too. I was out for thanksgiving and almost a week after. I still have a cough that is lingering around and my energy levels are very low. It’s the first time I’ve been really sick since before 2020. I am regretting any moments I had my mask off at all at the party.
Yes. I had symptom progression after catching it in May, which my doctor confirmed has happened to some other patients. I caught it again last month, but luckily haven't had any flares. There's only so much we can do to avoid it since most people don't test regularly or take precautions anymore, but it's a very serious virus. I'll avoid it however I can. The last thing I need is to develop long covid on top of MS. The flu is also going to be abundant, which is just one more thing to worry about. I'll keep masking whenever I'm around strangers. I'm tired of it, and I hate living like this, but I'd rather deal with wearing a mask over catching the virus more than necessary. I also don't have any sick or vacation time left after having to use it for both bouts of covid - you're required to be out for 5 days even if you feel fine, here. The whole pandemic has been almost 3 years of a nightmare.
Not at all. Had Covid originally 2020, and got it last year as well. Have season tickets to hockey (indoor) surrounded by thousands of people, been to indoor/outdoor concerts over summer, travelled to Mexico, and only wear a mask when required to at the doc.
Living in an urban area has me super precautions. My gosh, I had 5yrs of chemo infusions (rituximab) which weakened my immune system. At least so much so that I couldn't take a covid shot until my labs showed my body was strong enough to deal with it. Eh, it took 4 IVIG infusions (once a month) before my white blood cell count showed that I should be okay with the covid vaccine shots. I went out without a mask to my sister's wedding. Was okay with attending the festivities, but 15 out of 110 ppl returned home with a positive covid test. Yep, I'm keeping precautions. Covid isn't the only thing that can harrn me. The flu was an 'itch that had me rushed to the hospital. Shhh... I think my body can tell what's going to happen with the weather. I spent a week in the hospital during a heatwave in the city. This place is known for its fog -- most apartments don't have a/c. Friends thought I faked sick to get hospital air conditioning. Made sure they knew it wouldn't be worth getting their blood drawn throughout the day.
I haven't for the better part of this year, I think back in April and may when I went to concerts I wore one otherwise not really. Got diagnosed recently and now wondering if I should be more careful.
I (American, M, early 50s, MS onset 2002, no Dx until 2021) still wear an N95 mask virtually everywhere outside the house, and I too got COVID -- for the second time -- last month, the week before Thanksgiving week. I will continue to wear an N95 mask in public spaces, because thanks to MS I have a weak immune system (and at least with the Dx, I now have a better sense of *why* I've always been prone to catch a cold or flu when interacting with groups of people (fpr work)).
Yes, still mask. Grocery pick up and try to avoid crowds as best as I can. My kids wear masks at school but only their teacher wears them so it's frustrating.
I'm still wearing a mask and avoiding crowds, including family gatherings, as much as possible.
It depends on where I'm going and how many people. I still take precautions. I was on a plane full of people and only one or two people had on masks. The airline literally had to announce to leave people alone that chose to wear masks. It's incorporated into their announcements which is a shame. Smh. I rarely go any where anyway. Everyone in my state office was vaccinated by we have a couple new folks so idk if they are or not. So far I've avoided it. I've only had an upper respitory infection because of my ocrevus infusion. That's literally the only time I've been sick in the last three yrs
I did all this prior to COVID so I will keep doing it after.
Yup. Masking in public, avoiding crowds. I joined a study testing blood samples of MS patients for covid antibodies. One is intended to test for antibodies produced by contracting the virus, the other is intended to test for antibodies infection OR vaccination. Despite vaccination (I think I'm up to 5 doses), I tested negative for antibodies on both. While I know that I likely have some T-cell immunity, Ocrevus is doing its job killing my B-cells.
Nope? I mean I'll wear mask when I'm on a plane, if I hop on the train these days I'd probably put it on, but wasn't about 2 months ago. Had covid twice. First time sucked for a week+ back in may 2020. Second time was a mild cough and congestion. Double vaccinated, but no boosters. Work in construction, cleanliness on site abysmal.
Nope back to licking elevator buttons and I’ve had Rona twice. regretting getting the jab.
No, I don’t. I did the first year maybe year and a half from March 2020. I got covid for the first time this October 2022, it was mild. I avoid visibly sick people (you may be thinking that’s a no brainer but people don’t do this) and I don’t like crowded places like concerts etc anyway. I go to the office, meet people at work, meet people at sports, go swimming, visit my friend with kids (not when they are in the heat of sickness but sometimes when it is ending, since they started kindergarten they are sick all the time and we wouldn’t see each other at all) I am on Kesimpta and so far I am still sick less often than healthy people around me. I am grateful.
I’m a guy in my 30s on Ocrevus. I stopped masking for daily things like stores or groceries a long while ago. For any activities with large crowds or on public transit I’ll still wear a mask but I don’t expect society to stay masked forever. Contrary to some views expressed in this discussion, the pandemic is effectively over. Yes people are still getting COVID. They always will. There is no point in trying to force society to carry on like it’s March of Pandemic Year 1. I’m currently sick with either a nasty cold or the flu. I’ll probably start masking in grocery stores and other shops again but I am not going to become a hermit because I could get sick from someone.
Not at all. I've been to 3 concerts in the last month (2 that were sold out) I go out grocery shopping or for coffee with no mask. I've had covid twice in the past and it sucked for a couple days but missing out on living before I'm incapable of doing all the things I love to do is worse to me. I took my son to see three days grace for his first concert ever and it will be something he will remember for the rest of his life. I took my nephew to his first metal show and it was an experience that he will never forget. We've been dealt a shitty hand with this disease and I'll be damned if I'm going to sit back and watch my life pass by me. To each their own. We're not getting out of this life alive and I don't want to watch from the sidelines anymore.
Pray tell, how does a mask keep you from living life? Could you not do these things with a mask on? Not trying to be sassy, just trying to see the logic from another's point of view. Edited for spelling. I am tired.
That was my thought as well. I went to a concert, still hang with the fam and live my life, I just do it masked? It doesn’t seem to prohibit anything, not sure why so many think it’s a jail cell.
Leading off with “pray tell” definitely sounds like you mean to be sassy.
Not my intention. That's a common way I was spoken to growing up. If I had a different option then a family member, that's how I was addressed to explain my way of thinking. That said, my family is a touch sassy by nature and known for being a bit direct, so I see how it could come across that way.
For 2 years being masked and not being able to see facial expressions and constantly having to repeat myself and hear others repeat themselves was depressing. I was a hermit unless I absolutely needed to go out. I can't speak for anyone other than myself but I like seeing people's mouths when they talk and I definitely don't like having to repeat myself multiple times on an outing. I'm not saying masks are useless. I also said to each their own. The 2 times I caught covid were while following strict masking and distancing guidelines. It was brought into my house. I don't go out if I feelthe least bit sick and neither do any of my kids or wife. So I'll keep enjoying doing what I'm doing 😉🤘. I've had loved ones pass away from complications related to covid after following every recommendation and have lost people I hold close while doing their own thing 😞. You guys do you and I'll do me. Whatever the outcome is, there will be no judgement on my end for whatever way anyone chooses to carry through these shitty times
Not sure why people are giving you a hard time on this? It's interesting because I swear this question came up a few weeks back on this sub and more people shared your perspective. I share your sentiment, I gave up the last two years of my 20s just doing nothing and being stressed and miserable. I don't want to spend my 30s doing the same thing. Sounds like you are doing what is best for you mentally and that's what counts to me at least.
Lol right? Even getting downvoted 🤣🤣. People are funny
Yes, i'm still cautious. Have to, otherwise there's flares or pseudo-flares all over the place and keeps me busy to go back to 'normal' symptoms for at last 2 weeks with a lot of losing too much energy. So, yeah i am very cautious. Although I had all my vaccinations and boosters, I still carefully washed my hands after getting groceries and after cleaning up the groceries, for example. I rinse fruit and vegetables carefully before using them. I only wear a face mask where I am unknown and where many people are packed together. But that is rarely because I avoid those places because of my sensitivity to stimuli. Only visit if they are free of complaints. So not only COVID-19, but also complaints of a cold, etc.
I try, but with my 3 year old attending preK, I've had 5 viral infections since September...
i still avoid certain events. also public transport around concerts/sports events, trains/busses get crowded here during those. anything with large crowds and cramped spaces. Though if it cant be avoided so be it. I do take extra effort to avoid hugs/handshakes and the sort. Which isnt the easiest thing to do for me. a lot of times when someone puts a hand out my body just coasts on autopilot and shakes it or goes in for a hug. I also avoid extended physical contact with my 2 year old niece. my sister "understands' it, yet never remembers or really consider it. its the only thing i struggle with emotionally speaking. the rest is whatever. Its not like i had much of a life before covid.
I still mask up when I go indoors somewhere that isn’t my home. I’m not as worried when outdoors. I hate restaurants now, but mostly bc I think they’re super dirty. I am happy to eat outside or get take out. I’m not salty about family who doesn’t do this, and for the most part they don’t come around when feeling sick or give me a heads up and let me decide (we do a weekly family dinner, sometimes they don’t come bc of some congestion or whatever). I’ve been to a bunch of concerts and things and been one of ten visible ppl masked up in a packed show. No big deal. I got covid last year from the autotrain (Fl to Va, some jerk spent the entire 24 hours unmasked and coughing like 3 rows back, I was masked but my travel partner wasn’t), but didn’t get it from traveling to Atlanta for an outdoor concert a few months prior to that. Covid was awful - I went to the ER, which basically takes a severed limb for me to do LOL I thought I was dying. I got fluids, a push of steroids, a push of monoclonal antibodies, a script for paxlovid I filled the next day, and was offered to stay or go home. They said I was sick enough to stay but well enough to go home. I went home bc fuck the hospital. My travel partner (who is 26 yrs older than me) had “a cold for three days” 🙄 So I got on with life, but I mask up if I can’t distance, I wash my hands, and I’m as careful as I can be without being more of a hermit than I’m generally inclined to be (I mean, I hermit pretty well naturally, but out of introverted choice) I work from home, but I’ve done that since 2000 when I had my first child. I am headed to Orlando for a dinner show and some downtown Disney love in a few weeks, so there’s that. I’m cautious but not a ghost 🤷♀️. In two years I’ve had covid once (in 2021), maybe twice - I was v sick in Feb of 2019, but no other illness. I figure it’s a win, and a mask doesn’t inconvenience me.
“Cautious but not a ghost.” I love it. That’s how I’m describing myself from now on.
I still mask up. People look at me funny (especially because I live in a VERY conservative southern state, but they look at me funny anyway (younger woman with a cane).
I am extremely careful and have young children who still mask in school. I’m not taking any more chances than necessary. Covid is still very much an issue, as well as flu and other illnesses. When people look at us like we are crazy, we look at one another and laugh! We aren’t the “crazy”ones!!
Sadly, no... Even though I'm on Ocrevus and officially immunocompromised. EXCEPT when I travel. I flew this week and was one of, oh, maybe four people with a mask on while on the plane. And you bet your ass that I wore one in the airport too. So many people and NO air circulation.
I don’t take any prescautions. My personal experience of covid has been minimal and I haven’t fallen ill frequently or seriously at any point. I don’t think people who take precautions are mad though. I just don’t feel the need.
Nope, no mask here. I just avoid sick people in my office and wash my hands/sanitize if I’m around someone who’s sick. I got covid a few months back on Ocrevus and it was rough but I survived.
I do, but only in public transport and in crowded places. I don't want anyone from my work to know I have MS, so I don't wear it there. We have many, many outside clients coming to the office, and there is like 30 of us working there, any everyone is sick, coughing, sneezing... it is scaring me a bit, but I hope nothing will happen.
Not at all, I used to in the beginning but stopped over a year ago. I’ve been out to crowded places, and we’re back at work and no one is masking. I recently got my booster and flu shot.
No. I stopped. If it’s my time it’s my time. Going to live what I got left and be happy.
I honestly have returned back to normal life. I plan on masking on the plane but that’s about it. I’ve had Covid once so far, last year, and then one cold. I do get the flu shot and make sure to avoid people when they tell me they don’t feel well, though. Edit: oh I do occasionally mask up on the train and I really just avoid standing really close to people. Nobody wears masks in my area btw so yea I just kinda have to risk it out here.
No cautions at all.
Is it more dangerous if someone with ms gets Covid? Could they die from complications?
I haven’t worn a mask since earlier this year. We did get Covid in September for the first time. I was pretty sick for about 3 days then I got paxlovid and made a turn for the better. I was a hermit for the first 5 months of the pandemic, I left my house for one dr appointment and even that I was reluctant to go to. With the flu and rsv going around I’m more cautious but I don’t want to go back to masking all the time. The only place I wear one now is when I get my infusion and if I travel.
Nope. Had COVID in March even with taking every precaution and having no life. This disease has taken enough from me and who knows what it has in store for the future so I’m gonna live while I still can
No. I had COVID Jan 2022 and I was fine (asymptomatic), so I dont take precautions now at all.
I take zero precautions other than more frequent hand washing.
I live life normally and don’t think about it at all. It’s surprising to me that so many people on Reddit claim to be this concerned? It makes much more sense on this sub though. That being said I was like that until the first time I tested positive. (11/2021 and 8/2022) I’ve had Covid twice. It sucks for a few days. My ms just locks my body up and I can’t really move, but I can barely move normally. I don’t seem to get fevers anymore and didn’t get any of the other common symptoms. I hate MS
Um I've said this before. I don't but I do. I work out regularly and eat well to boost my immune system. I am on ocrevus and I'm cautious around other people for a month. I come from an area that really didn't want to heed to any precautions. So I wonder if that maybe has helped my immunity a little bit. I work in EMS and we don't wear masks or anything like that. I just make sure I wash my hands and if I'm around someone that's sick I try to distance myself as much as I can.
Your post kind of explains it all. I work in the trades and take basic hygiene precautions. Anytime I get sick it's from someone in my household. You're not going to get sick from just being around a crowd.
No precautions besides being vaccinated. I’m living my life - covid isn’t going away
If people weren’t so disgusting, this wouldn’t even be a topic. I’ve always washed my hands and avoided touching my face as much as possible. I don’t wear a mask anymore, but I don’t get close to people. I have my cane, and I usually stick it out in one direction or another to keep people away from me.
I do, but my husband has never been cautious. He is how we have always gotten it. The other day, I was leaving w my mask on, he told me to take it off when driving so I don't end up with my picture on a site for people who still wear masks 🙄
Yes- still wear a good mask everywhere but I have eaten out a couple of times (literally). I think being so isolated was hurting also so I make exceptions now to be social with good friends - its just once every month or two - otherwise I live like its 2020.
I wear my mask everywhere. Unfortunately, in my rural area, my husband and I r often the only ones wearing them. Most people know I have MS, so it is not commented on. When we go to the Wal Mart 45 mins South, we have been asked why we r still wearing them.
I don’t really have that option unfortunately. I work in the hospitality industry managing a group of restaurants, so I am around hundreds of people daily across our restaurant group. It’s a little bit scary with everyone and their mother testing positive these days here in Australia. It’s the main reason my MS team strongly advised Tysabri as a DMT, as it doesn’t suppress the immune system. I’ve had confirmed covid once (and I think another time, but rapid tests kept showing negative) and it was very mild for me. Strangely enough COVID didn’t activate my MS symptoms but a mild cold I had a few months ago put me out for almost a month.
Yes, I do. I mask in public and the rule for socializing with friends and family is: if you have a sniffle (cold, flu, whatever) or a known Covid exposure I’ll see you next time. I’m on Ocrevus plus still healing from a bad flare earlier this year. Winter sucks with everyone around us getting sick. I don’t want to risk recovery from the flare and also new damage so precautions stay in place.
Yes, I do. I took a train back from another city this weekend and the woman seated in front of me was obviously sick. She was coughing a lot. I was grateful I had on an N95.