... with first year students.



I survived 10 days with my Covid-positive wife without coming down with the disease. I guess I wasn't "bullet proof!"


Started feeling scratchy throat yesterday evening. Today it just feels like a mild cold. My body feels like its temperature might be 97.7. Probably not true. I doubt I actually have a fever. My wife's fever didn't start until day 2 or 3. We'll see. Overall, her case was mild. She felt crappy for about three days. If it stays like how I feel right now, I will indeed have dodged the bullet. But a lot of activities are now on hold, and I'll be back to Zoom teaching next week.

This pic needs some shrinking, but I don't seem to be able to do it manually by reducing the pixel count.

Hope it becomes no worse and is over with soon.

So do I, but alas, it's already worse. I now have a fever! My wife had one for about three days, so I'm mentally (not physically) prepared.

Sorry to hear it got you, P*D. Hope it passes quickly.

Were you masked for the class? Where were you at with respect to boosters?

I was not wearing a mask. I really detest teaching in one, and trying desperately to understand masked students. I was hoping I had a good natural immunity after surviving my wife's bout with it without coming down with the disease.

I've had two shots + one booster. Waiting for the current bivalent one to get the next shot. Now I'll need to wait a bit.

Temp is about 100 right now. Uncomfortable but livable. I'll take some Aleve tonight.

Oh no, P*D, I'm really sorry to hear this!!

I hope it doesn't get much worse and resolves quickly!

I have been very consistent about keeping my mask on while teaching, but I'm the only one (no students in any of my classes are masking, I see approx. 75 students per week). Also, I don't wear a mask while I'm in my office, and other faculty and staff often poke their heads in my door or come in to chat, I don't put my mask on for that.

But I might start! I'm hearing from students that their friends and classmates are starting to get it, and we've had a few advisors out sick with covid as well.

Oh, and because of all the side effects the previous shots have given me, I've been thinking that I want to wait to get the newest shot until after I get past two massive deadlines coming at me the end of this month.

But now I'm wondering if I want to rethink that... Which would be worse for my productivity: two weeks of migraines, or covid (likely mild)?

I don't think that's answerable.

Maybe I'll start keeping my office door closed...

I am so sorry! Hopefully you will get through this quickly with minimal discomfort. Feel better soon! (And REST! Steve’s big mistake was to work remotely through his first few days of being sick - trying to solve the impossible logistics of dealing with a universtiy and teaching in the very beginning of the pandemic. Big mistake.)

I'm sorry, PD! I hope that it passes quickly and with no recurring or new symptoms.

SK, Did you have any other side effects other than migraines? I got chronic fatigue after my second booster.

I think that many people (and I don't mean anyone at WTF) don't understand the efficacy, or lack thereof, and the durability, or lack thereof, of these vaccines.

quote:

Originally posted by Daniel:

SK, Did you have any other side effects other than migraines? I got chronic fatigue after my second booster.

Not SK here, but I seemed to get a mild case of pericarditis after my booster. Bit of a problem with an arrhythmia. Both have subsided over time but aren't entirely gone.

It's always possible to get the same types of vaccine-associated problems (cardiovascular issues, chronic fatigue, long COVID) if one actually gets sick with COVID. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

I've posted about some of the studies that are just coming out that are providing data to help us do an informed harm/benefit analysis.

P*D, how are you feeling today?

WTG:

quote:

pericarditis

Is that super painful?

Several years ago, I had pleurisy (inflammation of the lining in the chest cavity) and it was unimaginably painful. I called a nurse line and based on my descriptions she said I could be having a heart attack and to call 911 immediately. I thought the chances that I could be having a heart attack were vanishingly small, but I did call and ended up going to the hospital in an ambulance. In the end, I was fine of course, but it was a crazy experience and a kind of pain I hope not to experience again!

[quote]SK, Did you have any other side effects other than migraines? I got chronic fatigue after my second booster.[/]

Daniel, I'm sorry to hear this! Has it mostly resolved?

I don't remember having "fatigue" per se, but having a strong migraine pretty much saps your energy and makes doing things close to impossible. Once the migraines started to decrease in frequency, I didn't notice other lingering symptoms.

I would prefer to time the next vax/booster with a school holiday when I have at least a few days off in a row, but we don't have one until early November. -_-

Not painful but definitely not comfortable. Very odd feeling when I lay down at night to go to sleep. Also odd bouts of a jumpy heart during the day.

quote:

Several years ago, I had pleurisy (inflammation of the lining in the chest cavity) and it was unimaginably painful.

I hear you and can sympathize.

I took a spill on the front porch maybe 10 years ago and literally had the wind knocked out of me. I don't think I broke any ribs, but I'm pretty sure that with the way I fell I managed to bang up the pleura. After a few hours I had a hard time taking a full breath. Even trying to turn over in bed caused excruciating pain.

I wouldn't want to go through that again either.

Sorry PD. I hope it passes quickly and you are on the mend already!

If it's any help, of the band staff and their family members that got it (all vaccinated and boosted), 1 adult and all the little kids had mild cases initially while 3 of the adults were pretty sick. 1 of us is still super sick (it settled into her lungs and she now has bronchitis - she's wheezing and coughing pretty bad), I'm still mildly sick with the snots, and all of us still have lingering issues with fatigue and temperature control - I still turn into a sweaty panting mess at the slightest exertion.

On the other hand, there are 3 or 4 other staff members who sat in all the same meetings a few feet away from us in a small room and didn't catch it, Mr. Lisa never caught it, and none of the kids I stood in front of and taught for 8 hours the day I was circling the drain (I felt like crap all day and spiked a fever within 20 minutes of getting home) caught it. Noone was masked. The transmission just seems so unpredictable as does the course of the virus once you catch it.

Sending thoughts for a quick and easy recovery!

I felt very icky yesterday, but with a little prophylactic Aleve I don't have any (noticeable) fever today. Just feels like a bit of a head cold with some fatigue and a cough. That seems to be a common progression, though many people experience fever for more days.

I'm still annoyed that I got it at all ...

Oh yuck. I hope you feel better, or continue to feel better. When I have a fever, I always feel totally crummy. I'll do anything to treat the fever. If yours spikes, remember you can piggyback various fever reducers like Aleve and Tylenol.

(I'm now remembering that your wife is an MD, so ignore my advice, I'm sure you already know it.)

How long are you contagious? The guidelines are changing as we figure out Omicron...

https://www.nbcchicago.com/new...op-doc-says/2933307/