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waysidewhelp
@waysidewhelp
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Former BSL-2/3 Preclinical Researcher, now surviving #LONGCOVID, #MCAS, #EDS, & 20 yrs of #MECFS. Artist, Bio Major, & Dino/Bird Nerd. N95 Respirator Fanboy!😷
Get FREE N95’s in the US 👇
Joined May 2023
Hey, it me. 🥺. I just turned 33 when Long Covid finally got me, had been working at the best-paying, most fulfilling job (cancer research) I’d ever had, & we were saving up for our first home. That’s all gone. I can barely walk now.
Imagine: You’re in your mid-30s, doing mid-30s things. One day, you get sick. You almost die, & it doesn’t go away. You’re now disabled. Other people report dying & becoming disabled by the same illness, while still others accuse the sick of lying. It’s chaos for a time.
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@Amnesiac2326 This is a violation of the American Medical Association’s code of ethics. Report them w/ their license numbers to the medical review board in your/their area of practice. Assuming you got this care in the US. Sorry this happened to you & thanks for alerting others.
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Since a lot of responses mention that N95 respirators are too much $$$ to keep on hand (VALID!):. Here’s CDC’s Page to find a LOCAL HEALTH CLINIC that’s been give FEDERAL FUNDING to give out FREE N95’s to their communities here:.👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇.
For people who do not wear a mask to prevent their own COVID-19 infection or the spread of the virus which is known to cause potentially serious long-term health issues: why don’t you wear a mask? What is your plan to protect yourself and others?.
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Where did the @CommunityNotes that was correcting Dr. Jha’s disinformation on this post go? Why was it removed?.
There's a lot of bad information out there about how covid damages the immune system. It really doesn’t. But you know what does?. Measles. And thanks to the antivaxers. We are seeing measles outbreaks again. Encourage people to get their kids vaccinated. It’s really important.
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@ravenscimaven Just wait until you read up on the CD4+/CD8+ exhaustion/depletion ability the chronic SARS-CoV-2 infection is capable of! 😱. This is from a Jan2020 SARS-CoV-2 infection in an HIV negative patient (me - it me)
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@emilyesfraser Don’t forget: Some ppl don’t get the rash ever… b/c of immune deficiency (lymphopenia - of which C19 infection can cause)… but could still be infectious. So that’s cool. 🙃.
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You’re headed to the cinema for the summer’s BIGGEST BLOCKBUSTER MOVIE - JURASSIC PARK #42!!! Free with your tickets you get to pick from 1 of 3 collectable N95 designs - they make you look like you have a TOOTHY DINOSAUR GRIN when you put them on!!!.
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@SalvMattera Oh? . They have a cardiologist who acknowledges Long Covid is a thing?. I’m surprised. I can’t even get my referral approved for their LC clinic. I don’t “meet criteria” (but they wont say why) after 3x infections. Hope they help you. 🙏.
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Ya’ll without LONG COVID need to be aware of how you will be treated if you try to get care once you start developing more severe symptoms. You wont be believed. At all. I’ve had 3 cardiac events as seen on both ECG’s & holter monitor (2 caught on Ziopatch). STILL had to beg.
@ashawolves @sjh_canada We’re not believed. Even when our ECG’s are abnormal. They wont even follow the standards of care to take troponin levels. And going to a hospital with low CD4+ counts? Opportunistic infection heaven. It’s safer to stay home. Many are blissfully unaware of the situation. 💔.
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@ravenscimaven Hope this doesn’t count as me “releasing spoilers” for you as you read thru research. But yeah, this BSL-3 pathogen is a doozy - & thanks to lies-of-omission from public health sources - most people are unaware that they may now have low CD4’s :(.
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@ProCuris01 I have used that one recently! It works!. “Please amend my after visit notes to accurately reflect what I requested & your reasoning for denial of my request”. Got one to stop lying by omission. Per HIPAA the charting needs to be accurate & the client can ask for this.
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@ravenscimaven Oh yah, EBV is another baddie that SARS-CoV-2 hangs out with. I have had EBV related ME/CFS since 14 (20 yrs now) - EBV sucks!!!.
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Please do not minimize Measles. There are MANY good reasons they worked so hard to try to eradicate it. Death is not the worst outcome. Prolonged suffering can be much worse & far reaching in effect.
Measles can also be active in your CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM & BRAIN. It can cause acute personality changes. During prodrome symptoms. Ask me how I know.
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@kate__said @nursejenii Hope you submit an invoice for your educational consultation in with those papers too! 🫡.
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@christen_rexing You may be able to take photos of magnified subjects thru the scope by lining up a camera lense with one of the eye pieces just-right! Please share his discoveries (with his consent!) with us as he makes them!!! ❤️🔬🦠🧫❤️.
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My “Likely Measles” symptoms in case anyone gets anything similar w/o a rash & wants to warn others so they can get tested & get access to Post-Exposure Treatment within 4-6 days of exposure.👇👇👇.
Fever/Chills, Sore throat (better with warm food/liquid), sneezing, coughing, minor runny nose, minor sinus pain, minor watery eyes, muscle aches, L eardrum burst open, R ear blocked/painful. 11 days after exposure to person who was sick w/ attenuated strain after their MMR vax.
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Fever/Chills, Sore throat (better with warm food/liquid), sneezing, coughing, minor runny nose, minor sinus pain, minor watery eyes, muscle aches, L eardrum burst open, R ear blocked/painful. 11 days after exposure to person who was sick w/ attenuated strain after their MMR vax.
So I’ve likely got Measles due to a confirmed exposure. No rash (yet) as it is not wild-type & I am immune compromised & may not develop it. I have called every single place in SF & no one knows where I can get a RT-PCR or serum IgM to test for Measles. PCP not returning call.
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@ravenscimaven You may want to consider getting your CD4:CD8 lymphocyte levels checked if you’re having issues with fungus that isn’t responding to treatment. :(.
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@ashishkjha Dr.… please. Stop. This isn’t transient Lymphopenia. It literally enters CD4+’s. Please read some research.
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@healingfromlc I believe this virus may be the catalyst for a massive paradigm-shift in medicine (eventually, hopefully) where pathogens are assumed to persist unless clinical evidence is established otherwise. We’ve been quite foolish to assume the opposite for the length of time we have.
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I swear, if I survive this, if I make it thru:. I’m going to Med School, getting my MD, & I am gonna start a Chronic Infection Sub-Specialty Residency Program. The first in the US, if I have to be. It’s time. Enough is enough. We all deserve better. We always have.
Proposal:.New Sub-Speciality of Internal Medicine. Chronic Infection (CI). We currently have: .🦠Infectious Disease (ID) who, IMO focus mostly (but not exclusively) on ID diagnosis & treatment of the ACUTE disease states of Pts. 🦠HIV Specialists who diagnose & treat HIV+ Pts.
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Laura is not the only one this has happened to. This happened to me too. We’re not wrong - we’re just early. Figure out how to help us - & in helping us you will know how to help others who will develop this next.
@jacksojj88 @dbdugger @EnemyInAState @fitterhappierAJ Thank you! I was tested for HIV *multiple times* after Covid in early 2020. It was physically impossible for me to have acquired HIV since I was last tested, but they didn’t believe me due to my symptoms + labs. Once they ruled it out, the curiosity ended. Without a positive.
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@AmandaB55744931 Hi Amanda:.Is she able to tolerate fluids by mouth? If so, consider trying an Oral Rehydrating Solution (ORS - Sugar, Salt, Potassium powder packets in a special ratio that forces thru osmosis to rehydrate a person) - in the US we have a brand called “liquid IV” that I have had.
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@NBoydGibbins Odd! All of my out of range labs have been declared normal, too! 🤔. Must be yet another symptom of SARS-2 that magically makes abnormal labs *look* normal to medical practitioners? Only explanation that fits!.
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@jakescottMD As a patient in the Stanford Medicine system who now has heart failure due to my chronic SARS2 infection being untreated & my symptoms ignored for over a year. Thanks! 👍. Oh, also these are my CD4+’s, HIV-.
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@mryoung151 Annnnnd this infographic is likely only considering the rate of spread in a population with a “normal” amount of CD4+ Helper T-Cells…. …Not the population we have now, of which many are suffering from silent lymphopenia/immune insult from repeated C19 infections….
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I just tried on a @3M N95 Aura Respirator for the first time…. Oh baby… Daddy likes. 🥴. So comfy. 😷. (been using the 3M medical “cup” style N95’s & Amazon-bought KN95’s previously)
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@ravenscimaven @JoeBiden Do you have new-onset Hearing Loss since your SARS-CoV-2 infection too?. I lost left-sided hearing suddenly in July ‘23. Was able to get some back w/ quick treatment. Now slow, steady (mostly high/med range) HL in both sides (bilateral). Accessibility is needed! 🙏🙏🙏.
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I’ll be donating my medical cadaver to Long Covid Research if/when that time comes. I’ve made my Husband aware & we’re redrafting my advance directive this weekend. We don’t play.
Autopsies are key to understanding the pathophysiology of novel diseases by enabling deep phenotyping of body tissues. Protocol and methods of RECOVER-pathology, a study which investigates tissues and biospecimens of people who died in #LongCovid.
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For those criticizing me for daring to suggest that Pts are capable of learning & teaching themselves basic➡️moderate medical/scientific literacy in order to communicate better in a MUTUALLY respectful partnership w/ their Doctor. Lol. Lmao even. You’re part of the problem!.
Doctors tell me not to “google my symptoms”. Bitch please, I’m using Google Scholar to read cutting-edge, peer-reviewed, published research on conditions you only have 1 barely-remembered outdated med school lecture on. We are not the same.
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@RubberDucky333 FYI… she forgot to mention that it has an affinity for CD4+ Helper T-Cells just like HIV too. 😉. (I’m HIV-, SARS-CoV-2+)
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@POTUS Ok - I am asking: We need help. We need to fast track the development of repurposed or novel antivirals that are proven effective in stopping SARS-CoV-2 replication inside the human body. Please pass legislation that encourages this w/ funding. Please.
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ED MD said “I don’t know” tonight - when I asked what else could treat my acute Pericarditis & Pericardial Effusion that would not react adversely w/ my Mast Cell Activation Syndrome. I THANKED him for being HONEST. Then he said he’d ask Cardiology!. 👏THIS IS HOW IT’S DONE👏.
When I was a young doctor I had an attending tell me:."You never tell a patient 'I don't know.'".I strongly disagree. Telling a patient you don't know shows honesty and humility. Then you can tell them you will do research on the matter, or get a second opinion, etc.
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@ravenscimaven It IS a beast - but at least we have antivirals for it approved by the FDA (well… for acute EBV or acute reactivation). I managed to snag a trial of Acyclovir (renal-sparing dose) for latent/chronic EBV & seeing vast improvement of the ME/CFS symptoms that predated my LONG.
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@LizHighleyman Ok but consider: the average person can physically put on a N95 & slow the spread. The average person might have difficulty finding out which research orgs are trustworthy/worthwhile to make a financial donation to, IF they can afford it.
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I am not sorry for saying something about how I was feeling - not sorry for reaching out. That’s not weakness, not something to be sorry for. It’s good to reach out when in crisis instead of choosing a permanent end. I am sorry for causing any distress to others. 🙏.
Managed to get a foam neck collar to immobilize my cervical spine during sleep. I was able to sleep last night finally. Very thankful. 🙏. Mood is improving today. Complete lack of sleep on top of everything else I am dealing with daily just “broke” me yesterday. Sorry. 😔.
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I wish hotels would mandate MERV-13 or HEPA filtration between occupants in hotel rooms/suites/meeting rooms, etc. & have filtration running in lobbies/bathrooms/etc. Filters could be pushed in on housekeeping carts & ran during cleaning (while the staff wears N95 respirators).
@urbanmel Yup! Which is why when I have to get a hotel room I lug a MERV-13 filtration device in, turn it on, leave for a bit (grab groceries or go to a park to birdwatch) & let it run for a bit. Never know if the previous occupant was ill with respiratory germs (or the cleaning staff)!.
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I am isolating as best I can now that I know what this likely is - Measles is one of the most infectious airborne viruses even with 2-way respirator use. My eardrum burst open this morning. I don’t want to give this to anyone else lol. 😂.
So I’ve likely got Measles due to a confirmed exposure. No rash (yet) as it is not wild-type & I am immune compromised & may not develop it. I have called every single place in SF & no one knows where I can get a RT-PCR or serum IgM to test for Measles. PCP not returning call.
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Why I share my DIY mod techniques:. Many ppl who are low income don’t have access to diff types of respirators to find what fits best “out of the package”. If they can get cheap KN95’s & mod them safely/cheaply to pass a fit test & be comfy enough to wear consistently?. WIN!!!.
THIS is how I have to modify my KN95’s to pass a fit test on myself. Unmodified KN95’s do not pass fit testing on me. 3M silicone tape (skin safe) stapled across the nose bridge & head straps instead of ear loops (holds tight & zero “earritation”).👇👇👇
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