this week the average distance i walked was 1.4 miles
this increase in distance matches my improvement in my symptoms
the infection mainly hit my gut causing diarrhea and cramps and nausea and loss of appetite
i had no urge to eat anything but i made myself eat something
i lost at least 12 lbs during those 2 weeks of quarantine
im surprised i didnt lose more
well i probably did since that weight was done about 10 days after i left my 2 week quarantine
an aside here
they now are recommending you do 7 days symptom free before you leave quarantine
thats basically what i did
even now a month later after leaving quarantine i never feel hungry
i could go all day without eating and be ok with it
however
i know i need to eat so im doing 3 meals a day with at least one of those being a real nutritious soup
thanks to my wet suitcase sister in law and to the organic soup kitchen here in santa barbara for my lunches
i am adding things to my meals to increase my caloric intake like adding rice to my soup adding cheese to my soup adding avocado to my soup sometimes adding butter or olive oil
i eat my usual breakfast of toast and egg and banana
i usually eat a good supper one that i can seem to tolerate
so one of the big issues i am left with is this total loss of appetite which i am handling by eating my meals and adding calories
i plan to regain my 12 lbs then try to stay at that weight
a weight i seem to feel better at even though its 20 lbs less than i weighed a year ago
yes i have lost 30 lbs in a year
20 of it im ok with
the last 12 i didnt want to lose
i havent read that folks have been left with this residual symptom of loss of appetite after a covid 19 infection
but im sure there are others since gastrointestinal symptoms can represent the major symptoms some folks get with this infection
my hoarseness is almost gone
i have a mild runny nose thats better based on my decreased tissue use
i have a minimal cough that seems to be more of my usual chronic cough
my other issue is the shortness of breath mainly if i exert myself doing thinks like my manly chores around the house ie vacuuming etc
and
gardening especially shoveling bending lifting pushing a wheelbarrow etc
because of this persistent symptom of exertional shortness of breath
i did a videochat with my primary care doctor
we rechecked my labs since my electrolytes were on the low side of normal when i was in the emergency room
they were all ok
he wanted to check out my heart just to be sure so he has ordered a stress echo
think an echocardiogram of the heart and continuous electrocardiogram while you are walking on a treadmill
this will check to make sure my heart isnt causing my shortness of breath
usually with the covid 19 infection the shortness of breath is a residual of damage done to the lungs
i also have developed several ectopic beats that are new that showed up after the covid 19 infection
based on the stress echo i may also have a holter monitor that i wear for several days to see what the pattern is like
sometimes those ectopic beats are not treated
sometimes they are treated with blood pressure meds like beta blockers to make them go away
my last week of steps above showing a 3 times increase in activity reflects how i feel better
alhough
the best i felt was that first week out of quarantine mainly because my appetite was better
so thats where i stand symptom wise almost 6 weeks since i got sick
i dont ever want this covid 19 infection again
i sure hope i have immunity that develops that is long term
two new blood tests for the covid 19 antibody are coming on the market that seems to have the accuracy that i am looking for
one is by roche
the other is by bio rad labs
once i can get one of those two lab tests i will have it done
quest labs has one that you can self order if you pay for it
it though seems to cross react with other coronaviruses
these two above apparently do not
first folks have the right to protest
but you have to follow the rules
i saw the signs
some disturbing
one said
give be liberty or give me death
most in that protest were not 6 ft apart and didnt wear a mask
many were older and many were obese
what will happen is those hundreds of people will be taking back the covid 19 infection to wherever they live
their loved ones who are vulnerable like older folks those with chronic diseases will get infected
those will infect others who will infect others who will infect others etc
your liberty can kill some of us
yes the government has the right to control what you do with contagions
eg
with tuberculosis they can actually jail you for the duration of your treatment
if you are going to protest
please do it responsibly
wear a mask
keep your distance
if you are vulnerable or have someone in your circle who is vulnerable consider doing your protest online
take a pen and circle the date in two weeks
thats when these events will cause an uptick in covid 19 cases
so
here are our rules my wife she and i follows
we wear a mask if we go out of the door
most of the time its an n95 mask
if im going to the garden and no one is around then i might wear a cloth mask
but i have my n95 mask with me to wear if anyone comes near be
near me is 20 ft
dont worry i raise my hand like im a traffic cob if you get closer than that
we wash our hands before we leave and after we return
we use disinfectant sprays in our car when we get in them
for me i only go to my garden usually each day to work
luckily my garden plot is isolated at one far corner of the garden where hardly anyone comes to
i try to do most of my extra volunteer work when no one else is present in the garden
i go to ms b and mr hs house and sit in a chair outside their fence to watch them play and to talk with them
i cant wait to give them a big ole hug
i still cant be sure im not contagious
we have gone to our sons and his wifes house and talked to them at a distance of about 20 ft with us both wearing our n95 mask to be safe
i did go to trader joes to shop on old folks early morning shopping times
i felt totally safe going there
or
i will use insta cart to order our groceries
the pharmacy delivers our pharmacy items we need
i will have my organic soups delivered each week
i use my afternoons to catch up on missed tv schedules to do my afternoon nap to do my honey dos to read etc
thats a routine that we plan to follow as we ride out this pandemic
so far we havent got bored
the organicgreen doctor
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