#medics aren't doctors

[halorvic]

The danger is clear and present: COVID isn’t merely a respiratory illness; it’s a multi-dimensional threat impacting brain function, attacking almost all of the body’s organs, producing elevated risks of all kinds, and weakening our ability to fight off other diseases. Reinfections are thought to produce cumulative risks, and Long COVID is on the rise. Unfortunately, Long COVID is now being considered a long-term chronic illness — something many people will never fully recover from. Dr. Phillip Alvelda, a former program manager in DARPA’s Biological Technologies Office that pioneered the synthetic biology industry and the development of mRNA vaccine technology, is the founder of Medio Labs, a COVID diagnostic testing company. He has stepped forward as a strong critic of government COVID management, accusing health agencies of inadequacy and even deception. Alvelda is pushing for accountability and immediate action to tackle Long COVID and fend off future pandemics with stronger public health strategies. Contrary to public belief, he warns, COVID is not like the flu. New variants evolve much faster, making annual shots inadequate. He believes that if things continue as they are, with new COVID variants emerging and reinfections happening rapidly, the majority of Americans may eventually grapple with some form of Long COVID. Let’s repeat that: At the current rate of infection, most Americans may get Long COVID.

[...]

LP: A recent JAMA study found that US adults with Long COVID are more prone to depression and anxiety – and they’re struggling to afford treatment. Given the virus’s impact on the brain, I guess the link to mental health issues isn’t surprising. PA: There are all kinds of weird things going on that could be related to COVID’s cognitive effects. I’ll give you an example. We’ve noticed since the start of the pandemic that accidents are increasing. A report published by TRIP, a transportation research nonprofit, found that traffic fatalities in California increased by 22% from 2019 to 2022. They also found the likelihood of being killed in a traffic crash increased by 28% over that period. Other data, like studies from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, came to similar conclusions, reporting that traffic fatalities hit a 16-year high across the country in 2021. The TRIP report also looked at traffic fatalities on a national level and found that traffic fatalities increased by 19%. LP: What role might COVID play? PA: Research points to the various ways COVID attacks the brain. Some people who have been infected have suffered motor control damage, and that could be a factor in car crashes. News is beginning to emerge about other ways COVID impacts driving. For example, in Ireland, a driver’s COVID-related brain fog was linked to a crash that killed an elderly couple. Damage from COVID could be affecting people who are flying our planes, too. We’ve had pilots that had to quit because they couldn’t control the airplanes anymore. We know that medical events among U.S. military pilots were shown to have risen over 1,700% from 2019 to 2022, which the Pentagon attributes to the virus.

[...]

LP: You’ve criticized the track record of the CDC and the WHO – particularly their stubborn denial that COVID is airborne. PA: They knew the dangers of airborne transmission but refused to admit it for too long. They were warned repeatedly by scientists who studied aerosols. They instituted protections for themselves and for their kids against airborne transmission, but they didn’t tell the rest of us to do that.

[...]

LP: How would you grade Biden on how he’s handled the pandemic? PA: I’d give him an F. In some ways, he fails worse than Trump because more people have actually died from COVID on his watch than on Trump’s, though blame has to be shared with Republican governors and legislators who picked ideological fights opposing things like responsible masking, testing, vaccination, and ventilation improvements for partisan reasons. Biden’s administration has continued to promote the false idea that the vaccine is all that is needed, perpetuating the notion that the pandemic is over and you don’t need to do anything about it. Biden stopped the funding for surveillance and he stopped the funding for renewing vaccine advancement research. Trump allowed 400,000 people to die unnecessarily. The Biden administration policies have allowed more than 800,000 to 900,000 and counting.

[...]

LP: The situation with bird flu is certainly getting more concerning with the CDC confirming that a third person in the U.S. has tested positive after being exposed to infected cows. PA: Unfortunately, we’re repeating many of the same mistakes because we now know that the bird flu has made the jump to several species. The most important one now, of course, is the dairy cows. The dairy farmers have been refusing to let the government come in and inspect and test the cows. A team from Ohio State tested milk from a supermarket and found that 50% of the milk they tested was positive for bird flu viral particles.

[...]

PA: There’s a serious risk now in allowing the virus to freely evolve within the cow population. Each cow acts as a breeding ground for countless genetic mutations, potentially leading to strains capable of jumping to other species. If any of those countless genetic experiments within each cow prove successful in developing a strain transmissible to humans, we could face another pandemic – only this one could have a 58% death rate. Did you see the movie “Contagion?” It was remarkably accurate in its apocalyptic nature. And that virus only had a 20% death rate. If the bird flu makes the jump to human-to-human transition with even half of its current lethality, that would be disastrous.

[whotookmysenbon]

When in doubt, hospital.

Speaking of death and serious injury, the last guy I killed got me in the side. Does this look bad enough for the hospital, or should I just find someone who can do medical ninjutsu *coughGenmacough*?

[apostate-in-an-alcove]

As a chronically ill person, I don't trust nor do I like doctors and medical professionals as a whole and if that makes me an unreasonable asshole then so be it.

[not-poignant]

Hi Pia

I hope this question isn't too personal and please don't answer if it is. You have mentioned getting help for your adhd with medication. What medication has helped you or made the biggest difference?

I was diagnosed with adhd a year ago and was put on Elvanse but it hasn't helped and just makes me incredibly anxious and unable to focus.

I'm trying to research what other medication I could try but my doctor isn't being very helpful because according to them "adhd isn't a disability".

I'd love to be able to get some reprieve from this condition, it's destroying my life, so if you're willing to share info on what's helped you it would be hugely appreciated.

Thank you

Hiya anon,

(Medical chat and thoughts under the Read More and as I'm not a doctor and have no idea what I'm doing or talking about, I'm putting the rest under a thingo).

Unfortunately, while meds helped me work a bit better (although you know, I'm burnt out, and I'm writing the least I've written since I started writing, so actually I'm not sure that starting 'too many stories at the same time' is actually 'a bit better' than how it was before), mostly ADHD does run rampant over my life. I can't work conventional work hours, I forget important things, I have massive issues with executive dysfunction, and I zone in and out of conversations more often than I'd like.

I take Vyvanse, which - sounding from what you're taking - is probably the same thing. *googles quickly* Yep, it is.

ADHD meds are hard. It's definitely worth trying different ones, if you can, as well as different dosages (for example, a higher dose of Elvanse might work better for you, a lower dose might). There's also quick acting / fast release ADHD meds. And there's atypical meds like Atomoxetine (also known as Strattera) which some people find really good fortune with.

Finally, if you have no luck with any ADHD meds, it might be important to do a differential diagnosis with other conditions that might mimic ADHD symptoms (of which there are many mental illnesses that do this), because in those cases, you may find that the medication treatments for them help you WAY more.

Recently someone I know who has been on lithium all her life found out she was massively misdiagnosed, and actually had something else. Lithium doesn't suit almost any other condition, except for what she was diagnosed with, which explains why she never improved at all on it and actually got worse. She thought there was something wrong with her, the reality was that there was something wrong with her diagnosis. I'm not saying this is the case with you! BUT, when none of the meds work, and they all give you the opposite of what they're supposed to be doing, it is definitely worth chasing up other diagnoses. If you go to get an ADHD assessment, often those people don't look at the other potential culprits for the same symptoms, esp if they're ADHD specialists. (This is the same for just about any mental health or disorder - sometimes if you get a hammer than can only hit ADHD nails, it's going to miss the other nails.)

But yeah, it's very likely not the case for you anon, but after this other person's experience, I'd feel remiss if I don't point out that if - after a long time of trying / exhausting med options - you find you have no joy, sometimes it's because you're in the wrong 'family' of meds for what you have going on.

(I am not a doctor, just relating anecdotal stuff.)

I don't know if you'll have more luck asking your doc for specific meds. Unfortunately in Australia, ADHD is also not considered a disability, despite the fact that it is clearly disabling for hundreds of thousands of people here. I'm really sorry you're having to deal with those attitudes too, anon.

And finally, no ADHD med is perfect. It might help some things, and hinder others. But it definitely shouldn't be making things worse. It might be worth taking a bit of a holiday from the meds (if your doctor / therapist agrees) and mood tracking for a while before starting back on them, to see how bad of a difference it is.

There are unfortunately not a ton of meds specifically for ADHD. Most are variations of a similar kind of med (stimulants), and everyone has different experiences based off their chemical make-up and what they need. My sister gets really intense emotional blunting on Vyvanse, I get more emotional. We're related, and we still have pretty big differences with med responses on the same meds.

I wish I could be more help! My own life is a complete mess for the most part, I wouldn't say I'm someone who has this all figured out at all. I should be on a higher dose, but unfortunately I have other health stuff going on which means I can't be, so I'm just going to have to put up with a fair amount of disabling ADHD forever.

[naomiknight-17]

I've left the house every day this week except Tuesday, and even then I went up to Mom's place to help make dinner

Tim is so so pissed at me

And the vet thinks his mild cystitis symptoms lately have been due to stress because I've been out of the house more often and he's upset about it

I'm SORRY Tim but I'm at high risk for heart disease and I have depression and I NEED to go out and get cardio or I'll have a frickin heart attack and die and then I'm REALLY not gonna be around

Please don't get sick about it 😭

[creepyscritches]

You know I'm glad I have a good doctor and am not actively deteriorating now and all that but still so pissed that my prev doctor ignored me pleading to get off oral chemo for years bc I couldn't eat w/o rapid nausea/vomiting 6 days of the week. For years. Dealing with the resulting severe food aversion has been as shitty as the chemo itself >:| I still struggle to eat most meals bc my body still thinks it'll result in uncontrollable n/v for hours afterwards. And sometimes I still get the n/v from how deep the psychosomatic symptoms run from being Medically Intolerant To A Chemotherapy My Doctor Forced Me To Take For Years.

It didn't even work bc again, Medically Intolerant!

[uncanny-tranny]

Being trans is the funniest shit imaginable to me because, like... on a strictly personal level, I love hospitals and I love medicine because I'm trans, but I'm scared of medicine and hospitals (also because I'm trans). Make it make sense, brain!

[weirdstrangeandawful]

Masks are medical equipment.

The fact that hurricane-prone coastal states are considering/codifying mask bans is wild to me. Flooding is such a common cause of respiratory illness.

I would give you a source but a Google Scholar search of 'floods respiratory illness' should be more than sufficient because it is basic common sense to anyone who has lived in a flood-prone region (which is who this post is for).

I am Canadian and from a flood plain but if you're American and your state is considering a mask ban, please consider researching the health impacts of a mask ban in your region and then writing your local representative.

Banning medical equipment is fucked up. I don't know how else to put it. The right to health is a human right and (as some people seem to have forgotten) medical equipment is included in that.

[reserve-operator-melee]

Okay, I’ve gotta know: How do all you intend on settling that bet?

What, the Doctor's face? We just assume that they'll slip up and leave their mask off at some point, or someone crazy as hell like Lappland will take it off. A kind of unsaid rule is that nobody who bet is allowed to to actively try and take off their mask.

Beside, you'd suffer not only the wrath of Kal'tsit, but Amiya and a few of the other fans of the Doctor as well.

[trans-xianxian]

very ironic that there have been several story beats throughout fontaine like "the melusines are often infantalized by people but they are fully autonomous beings who deserve respect" and then half of the fan base is like awe cute little melusine baby who is like a child and a kid and a baby who needs to be taken care of by other characters because they're like a human toddler 🥺. die.

[thehightiefling]

x

[lesbiansanemi]

I'm so tired

[saintlesbian]

love how my shitty health insurance chose THE perfect time to expire. just really impeccable timing

[iftitah]

she's talking on a call with her parents about how it was her luck and gods will what got her into this college who's gonna tell her of course no one because you know 🤡🤡

[redrockbutch]

The medical system has a lot of problems and it sucks to navigate as a patient but it's really really really obvious that most of the people gleefully talking about how abusers "gravitate" towards nursing are talking out of their ass and have never been in a hospital cause all their anecdotes are "my HS bully is a nurse now I bet she bullies patients" and not "when I was hospitalized I was abused by a nurse" or even "my friend/family was abused by a nurse" like it's just one of those pithy phrases people like to parrot in place of actual critique or political awareness

And constantly comparing them to cops kinda shows these people don't have much experience with cops, either, so why are they even talking?

[transmasc-rose]

Man. Fever is gone for me and the Horrible Aches are too, but the coongestion and watery eyes are still here, and I can Feel the illness settling in my lungs and have a worse cough. There are 8 people in this house, and at least 5 + a friend have gotten covid from this bout, with 2 more in the household currently at a maybe (neither have taken a test).

At least I've gotten a full nights rest this time. My sleep is still broken, but this is the first time since Sunday I've slept for more than 3 hours at a time.