Hi Everyone!
As always, we ask that in order to participate in the weekly megathread, one self-identifies as some form of disabled, which is broadly defined in the community sidebar:
"Disability" is an umbrella term which encompasses physical disabilities, emotional/psychiatric disabilities, neurodivergence, intellectual/developmental disabilities, sensory disabilities, invisible disabilities, and more. You do not have to have an official diagnosis to consider yourself disabled.
Alright, with that out of the way, let's talk about COVID-19, specifically the kind that messes with you for long time, possibly forever! <-- (so fun /s)
From the Wikipedia Page on Long COVID:
Long COVID or long-haul COVID is a group of health problems persisting or developing after an initial period of COVID-19 infection. Symptoms can last weeks, months or years and are often debilitating. The World Health Organization defines long COVID as starting three months after the initial COVID-19 infection, but other agencies define it as starting at four weeks after the initial infection.
Long COVID is characterized by a large number of symptoms that sometimes disappear and then reappear. Commonly reported symptoms of long COVID are fatigue, memory problems, shortness of breath, and sleep disorder. Several other symptoms, including headaches, mental health issues, initial loss of smell or taste, muscle weakness, fever, and cognitive dysfunction may also present. Symptoms often get worse after mental or physical effort, a process called post-exertional malaise. There is a large overlap in symptoms with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).
The causes of long COVID are not yet fully understood. Hypotheses include lasting damage to organs and blood vessels, problems with blood clotting, neurological dysfunction, persistent virus or a reactivation of latent viruses and autoimmunity. Diagnosis of long COVID is based on (suspected or confirmed) COVID-19 infection or symptoms—and by excluding alternative diagnoses.
As of 2024, the prevalence of long COVID is estimated to be about 6-7% in adults, and about 1% in children. Prevalence is less after vaccination. Risk factors are higher age, female sex, having asthma, and a more severe initial COVID-19 infection. As of 2023, there are no validated effective treatments. Management of long COVID depends on symptoms. Rest is recommended for fatigue and pacing for post-exertional malaise. People with severe symptoms or those who were in intensive care may require care from a team of specialists. Most people with symptoms at 4 weeks recover by 12 weeks. Recovery is slower (or plateaus) for those still ill at 12 weeks. For a subset of people, for instance those meeting the criteria for ME/CFS, symptoms are expected to be lifelong.
Globally, over 400 million people have experienced long COVID.
Mask up, love one another, and stay alive for one more week.
I really hate the fact that my disability eats up my free time. I’m supposed to be working full time, and then I’m expected to have energy to enjoy life. But I don’t, which means basically all my energy goes towards feeding capitalism. In this way it’s similar to being poor. It’s unfair in such a simple way.
Say John Doe gets 100,000 hours of concrete actually usable free time during his life, meanwhile we get maybe 1,000. And then I’m supposed to look John in the eye and try to see him as a peer. After all, we might have similar wages (we don’t) and similar working conditions (we also don’t).
John has a savings account he can use to go traveling, buy a synthesizer, drink tequilas, or whatever else he finds enjoyable. But any savings I manage to carve out inevitably go to food and rent when I’m burnt out and unemployed.
This is so true. We really do have less time than other people. I haven't worked in several years since having a stroke as a consequence of cancer treatment, and I desperately need to rest, yet my schedule is more full than I can handle, partly due to frequent and lengthy hospital appointments/treatments and partly due to fighting benefit claim appeals. The amount of work and effort that goes into these two things is really wearing me down. And if I do have any free time, I'm too tired to do anything anyway.
How I felt when I was working. Shit sapped all the energy I had, I was pretty sure I'd die before I got bad enough at it to be fired (lol)