NeonSnake on Nostr: Long Covid symptoms: It's getting to that time of year again, when Covid cases are ...

Long Covid symptoms:

It's getting to that time of year again, when Covid cases are going to skyrocket, so is worth posting this:

I have Long Covid, and have had since early 2022 (I got my first dose of Covid in the first week of Jan 2022).

A slight change in phrasing and how I talk about it, which may have more cut-through (my phrasing in most the below is quite deliberate, and is designed to provoke)

A lot is talked about about fatigue and brain fog, which feels like things one can just power through if one just "mans up" about it, or "powers through" (which we all think we can do)

Cool, cool.

This is a non-exhaustive list of things which have changed:

I can barely tolerate coffee. I drink mine black with no sugar and drank a LOT of it, like all Proper Men,. It now sends my heart rate through the roof, and if I have too much, I get nauseous.

I can barely tolerate alcohol (of any kind), and if I do drink, I get ill very, very quickly. So, going out for "beers with the lads" lie a Proper Man is pretty much out of the question.

Neon Junior (*cough*) sometimes misbehaves and doesn't perform when called upon. As a Proper Man, this is clearly unacceptable.

(yes, I hemmed and hawed about whether to include the above, as it's a *very* awkward thing to admit. I made a joke about not being able to get it up a day or so ago with reference to some plants of all things, but...almost every honest fella has had it happen at least once, and it's massively embarrassing. Covid is known for causing it)

So, y'know, Covid has stopped me from being a Proper Man.

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Less provocatively now.

I'm really starting to lose "myself", and a lot of what makes me "me", and that I took pride in.

I made barbacoa today, a multi-hour dish that normally I'd have posted every step, with some joy at the process. Instead, it's been a real chore, and I really had to force myself to not just through the fucking thing in the bin, and actually follow through with cooking it. This, for me, is not good news.

I'm having to use funnels, sometimes, to add spices into jars, because my hands shake so much that I need a wide area for them to shake into. If I just use a teaspoon, there's a reasonable chance I'll have a shake and scatter everything across my kitchen.

I've noticed I make a *lot* of typos (sometimes changing the entire meaning of a post). I used to be a good typist, and I was sharp enough to spot when I mistyped or wrote "could" when I meant "couldn't"

I sometimes read posts, and misinterpret them (through cognitive decline). Coupla days ago, I replied to a post having literally misread it, to the point that the OP must have looked at it and thought "what the fuck is he talking about? That has no bearing on what I just said lol"

(luckily, it was pretty mundane, but still. He was talking about lobsters and I "read" oysters, so replied with a complete non-sequitur)

Most importantly I'm struggling to take care of my birbs. I'm sacrificing everything else needed to ensure that I still have the energy needed to clean their perches etc, make sure they're fed, watered, played with and cared for. Above everything, this is my absolute number one priority.

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I think that if people realised just how *diminishing* Long Covid is, and how it ruins your life and everything you once took pride in and cared about; and the chances are high of catching it (I did *everything* to avoid it, and I still got it because other people weren't), I hope they'd take more care, and more precautions.

Please do.