this post was submitted on 27 Dec 2023
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[–] [email protected] 87 points 1 year ago (5 children)

People look at me strangely, but I don't go in anywhere without a mask, still. I don't eat in restaurants, I don't go to indoor family gatherings without a mask.

It's a big sacrifice but I'm not willing to live with long COVID and brain fog.

[–] [email protected] 40 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Same here. I'm already disabled and have cancer, and don't need any extra health issues to manage. Still get strange looks but I've evaded catching it so far, so I'll keep my mask.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago (1 children)

My heart goes out to you friend. I'm with you; masking is still better than the alternative.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

I appreciate it, thank you

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago
[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 year ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

As someone with long covid, it is fucking hell. The extreme fatigue, muscle soreness, lengthened healing times of wounds or new sicknesses or physical exertion have made life hardly bearable. I just straight up don't have the energy or mental capacity to do anything I used to love and enjoy.

It's endlessly depressing, even though I know I am keeping myself out of clinical depression after learning how to deal with depressive issues more proactively now.

I wish I just wore an n95 whenever I was around people now, but I know I never would have done so unless I knew how truly awful long covid is.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I'm there with you. If you haven't already, look into the treatments for mast cell activation disorder, it has a lot of overlap. In fact, I'm convinced they're largely the same thing. I'm popping pills like candy nowadays but I'm finally on the upswing.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

I hugely appreciate the information! I'll look into that for sure.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago

It’s not even that big of a sacrifice honestly. Wearing a mask is pretty trivial. Restaurants have outdoor tables. The indoor-only ones that don’t but are still worth going to tend to seat less than 15 people so I occasionally deem it worth the risk.

Long Covid seems way, way worse than a mask. When we have a cure for that I’ll drop it, but until then it’s not even that inconvenient.

Plus, you don’t even have to get the worst symptoms for it to affect you. A couple people I know lost their taste and smell in 2020/2021 and have yet to regain it. That, I think, ruins restaurants more than sitting outside.