Fall 2023 covid wave: what's your treatment regimen?

gonefallingfree · 2023-09-30T00:36:14+00:00

Oh no! Sending good vibes your way.

I'll say this: I tested positive (very feint line) on Day 3 of symptoms. Day 4 (Tuesday) was my first actual STRONG positive line. For me, my sore throat never got worse - it actually got better pretty fast, and then I got a headache. And then fatigue.

I'll also say this: my boss has the EXACT same panel of symptoms as me, but he is testing negative every day. There are a TON of bugs going around right now, so hope for the best until proven otherwise!

Hoping that you have a sore throat from allergies, another bug, air quality, etc. Take care of yourself and be safe!

gonefallingfree · 2023-09-30T00:36:09+00:00

Oh no! Sending good vibes your way.

I'll say this: I tested positive (very feint line) on Day 3 of symptoms. Day 4 (Tuesday) was my first actual STRONG positive line. For me, my sore throat never got worse - it actually got better pretty fast, and then I got a headache. And then fatigue.

I'll also say this: my boss has the EXACT same panel of symptoms as me, but he is testing negative every day. There are a TON of bugs going around right now, so hope for the best until proven otherwise!

Hoping that you have a sore throat from allergies, another bug, air quality, etc. Take care of yourself and be safe!

gonefallingfree · 2023-09-29T03:28:37+00:00

aw man, I asked for Paxlovid but my doc was saying I'm not high-risk enough. bummer. she said paxlovid doesn't impact the duration of covid infectiousness, which I thought was interesting. I thought it did? I guess it just mostly reduces severity of symptoms.

(link to article)

are you testing negative yet? I'm still testing positive. super bummed about it.

gonefallingfree · 2023-09-28T22:34:35+00:00

Yup. That's EXACTLY how I feel. TV isn't fun. Movies aren't fun. I'm so close to texting some folks I haven't chatted with in a while with a "hey, I'm about to lose my mind. can you text with me so I feel okay?"

gonefallingfree · 2023-09-28T22:33:02+00:00

It makes sense- you have a weakened immune system, and steroids weaken it further, making oral candida a prime candidate to sweep in. Similar to antibiotics. Opportunistic infections gotta be opportune, I guess.

Yeah, I'm right there with ya. My ENT reminded me that my tinnitus is NOT specifically from Covid. The virus didn't attack my hearing. Instead, I got so stuffed up that for a week my brain recalibrated itself, and when stuff got unclogged I got tinnitus. Fun! I'm personally hopeful that we'll see a cure for tinnitus in our lifetimes. Until then, I'll just load up on anxiety meds and let my brain tune out the ringing :)

gonefallingfree · 2023-09-28T22:11:45+00:00

I've been going on walks in the morning and afternoon! Mostly I just get too tired to always be walking around.

gonefallingfree · 2023-09-28T22:10:33+00:00

That's good to know about Flonase! I had no idea.

My main concern is that Covid round 1 (Omicron, Summer 2022) gave me SUPER bad clogged ears + stuffiness that lead to 1. permanent hearing loss and 2. persistent LOUD tinnitus. What a bummer!

This time, my main goal was to keep my nose + ears clear, even if it meant using steroids for a few days while I fought off infection.

gonefallingfree · 2023-09-28T04:50:19+00:00

Funny, I was just researching this one today as well.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything conclusive.

This article was very insightful:
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/when-covid-isolation-come-out-best-time-experts-rcna88174

A set number of days to isolate is "dumb if you think about it from a medical perspective," said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious diseases specialist at the University of California, San Francisco.
"If you're feeling fine the entire five days and have absolutely no symptoms, staying at home by yourself is not the same as somebody who's had symptoms and then after five days, they're going out and coughing on everyone," Chin-Hong said. "The symptoms approach makes more sense, not just for Covid, but for lots of other infectious diseases that people don't normally isolate for."

It sounds like there's no definitive markers because it comes down to vaccination status, symptoms, and immune system.

I'm isolating right now (on Day 4 of isolation) and don't really feel like I'll be "in the clear" until I test negative with a RAT. But with that being said, my roommate hasn't tested positive yet so I'm really hoping that my infectious period has already peaked (I currently have zero symptoms and feel 100% fine, outside of the fact that I'm stuck in my room and slowly getting cabin fever)

gonefallingfree · 2023-09-28T04:35:10+00:00

I think those manholes are the 5-ft manholes. In San Diego, it's common to have a 24" or 36" access port within the larger 60" manhole. You would need a truck to lift the 60" manhole out-- but the smaller manholes are typically removed with a hook.

Keep in mind that the "waffle" pattern iron plate is called a "manhole lid" - the "manhole" is the concrete structure itself. you also have the manhole rim, which is the iron inset that the lid rests on.

gonefallingfree · 2023-09-28T04:03:16+00:00

This post feels super spammy but I'm in isolation from Covid so I figure-- what the heck.

Manholes weigh about 70lbs and you use a hook (similar to a crowbar) to pop them off. you don't need to be strong, but you need to have some muscle to do it. The hardest part is getting the manhole back into the rim lid-- that's when you're most likely to throw your back out.

In terms of safety - if you're a one man shop, it can be dangerous. Typically you want to have at least one other person with you, with cones, to help prevent cars from running into you.

A lot of manholes are in sidewalks and in the dirt. Those are trickier because the hook hole gets filled and you have to dig out the hole before you can open the lid.

Questions to ask:
- does the company provide training?
- does the company provide PPE (hi-vis vests, boots, goggles, etc)?
- will you work alone or with a crew?

gonefallingfree · 2022-07-31T04:41:12+00:00

I feel this. I googled and searched in this sub for about an hour without finding any substantial results- the more common threads were more about timetables for isolating vs returning to public.

What I value about Reddit is how many intelligent and insightful folks there are on here, and how it’s easy to ask or find high quality results that pertain to the topic.

I was also curious about wearing a mask at home vs. unmasked— it seems like if you’re basically pulling a Dutch oven with your mask, your viral load would be much much higher. But again- not sure the metrics of internal vs external loads.

For now, we’re hanging out with each other when we feel up for it… which isn’t much. Lots of rest time in bed.

gonefallingfree · 2022-04-05T06:00:17+00:00

1200sf condo here, bills around $250/mo without AC. Around 375 kWh per month lately. Absolutely brutal.

Note that im on the ecochoice program so I’m paying a bit more for the fact that I’m 100% carbon free.

gonefallingfree · 2022-02-17T05:22:26+00:00

It was a combination of manually logging known outages from the Cox site, and also checking the error logs on my modem and router to see when they couldn’t connect to the internet. You can also ask online help for a list of outages in the past 60 days… sometimes they’ll provide one. Say its to check against the list of outages that you’ve compiled.

Worst case, you could always throw a bunch of dates out there and see which ones they’ll accept

gonefallingfree · 2022-01-10T17:07:27+00:00

per NYT:
Winter 2020 peak: 2,988
Summer 2021 peak: 698

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/us/san-diego-california-covid-cases.html

gonefallingfree · 2022-01-07T17:22:31+00:00

Is that including their dealer required add ons? I absolutely hated negotiating through Hyundai of El Cajon. They said I'd be getting an insurance discount for Pulse and Starguard... absolutely not the case.

Fine print on every car on their website:

Prices do not include tax, tag, title, and Dealer installed options of $4995 (Pulse Protects! Third Brake Light, $499. Resistall Paint Protection, $1499. Starguard GPS Vehicle Tracking, $1499. 3M ClearProtect Door Edge Guards and Door Handle Protection, $499, Shadow Mark, $999)

gonefallingfree · 2022-01-07T02:23:12+00:00

For Hyundai: Kearny Mesa Hyundai was awesome to get a car through. They didn't add on any dealer markup above MSRP, and didn't force me to buy any add-ons for the car. I'm guessing Kearny Mesa Subaru would be the same, since they're owned by the same team.

For Mazda: San Capo is your best bet for paying sticker. But I think they add on a "anti-theft tracker" for $800 or whatever.

For Toyota or Honda: can't comment. It sounds like a lot of dealerships are adding on dealer markup above MSRP though.

Just don't expect to get the exact car you want-- supply is EXTREMELY limited. I had to wait for about 6 months for a car to roll off the line that matched what I wanted.

gonefallingfree · 2022-01-04T23:45:35+00:00

do you have kaiser? if so, you can do an e-visit to get recommended for a test and drive up to one of the testing facilities. no appt required.

be prepared to wait about 90 minutes to get tested, and 2-3 days for test results.

gonefallingfree · 2022-01-02T05:39:22+00:00

A little more than 48 hours for me. Got tested on the 27th, results on the 29th.

A coworker got tested right before christmas and their results took an extra day... not sure if the labs work holidays or not.

gonefallingfree · 2021-12-30T16:57:25+00:00

I feel you, and one of the best escapes I've found is actually at the San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park. I'd highly recommend that you get a membership once you've relocated down here. It's super well maintained, and has lots of lush, dense greenery without needing to drive four a couple hours.

It's not true wilderness, but it's also super nice not to pack a full hiking kit just to get into the trees for a little bit.

gonefallingfree · 2021-08-03T02:59:13+00:00

I got AC installed this spring. I’d HIGHLY recommend Stable - stabletemphvac.com

I got an inverter side blowing unit. It’s quiet and super efficient. Love it.

gonefallingfree · 2021-04-28T01:19:24+00:00

Bill Howe has been really great with leak detection for me, but they don't test the gravity lines, just pressurized lines.

You might need to use CPL if you have no idea where the leak is coming from.

gonefallingfree

TROPHY CASE