Coronavirus. 2020

[stuartwaters]

I had the all clear for Prostate Cancer at the end of last year. I was going through the work-up to donate a kidney to my younger brother and they found an elevated PSA count and that my prostate was enlarged. I had a biopsy done (a feat of endurance in itself) which came back clear. The live kidney donation however is off due to them finding an Adenoma on one of my adrendal glands. That and I'm prone to kidney stones and currently have a small one thats not causing any trouble pursuaded them to call it off. The prostate thing and the kidney stone are being controlled because of lifestyle and dietary changes I had to make anyway, like go from being 100kg to 90. Touch wood and whistle, all appears okay now, PSA count is back to normal, my blood pressure is down to a normal-ish level and I'm cycling the 5 miles to work instead of burning expensive diesel driving in.

[MartinR]

Thanks Stuart.  Yes so often prostate cancer is portrayed as "old men moaning about going to the loo", often I'm afraid, coupled with "now you know what we women have to go through".  It's not.  It's the second most common cancer in men, easily treated if caught early, but not screened for and as a result 359,000 men each year die of it.  In the developed world it is the most common cancer in males.  Message to all the men on here: if you're going to the loo more often, particularly at night, or more urgently, get yourself checked.  If you've had a father with it, either parent with breast cancer or any sibling with either, go and camp out on the doctor's doorstep.

The support group I belong to has mainly survivors and some of them are still affected in various ways 10 years or more later.  Of course for the two of us that are terminal it is a bit different and I will echo Stuart's comment that it really knocked the stuffing out of us.  Best wished to your F-i-L.

[stuartwaters]

JW, thank you.

Castle261, you stay safe and carry on taking care to stay that way. I'm over the worst of it but still a little rough around the edges. The same goes for you MartinR. My dad (80) had it a few weeks ago but he's always been as fit as a fiddle and it only knocked him over for a couple of days. Took him ten days to start testing negative though. My father-in-law (84) had it bad and it has left him more frail. What really knocked the stuffing out of him was Prostate Cancer a few years ago and he's not been right since.


My Step-daughter, son in law and two of the three grandbabies have all had it, step-daughter twice. Second time around laid her out for a week. My daughter who lives in the USA lost her father-in-law to Covid early on in the pandemic. It was especially stressful for her, because she's married into a Syrian-American Orthodox Christian family with a very strongly paternal family structure and Mikey (my son-in-law) was unprepared for all the extra responsibility of becoming head of the family at such short notice. Proud to say he's growing into the role now though.

[castle261]

I live in a complex of 8 flats - that`s 10 people - nobody has had it- two of us is sheilded - we had food packs.
Even our gardener & his wife have not had it - I can get out for a walk with a stick - most days - but I will not
use the buses yet - as a form of the virus has returned. We are lucky or - I think careful - I am 95 in Sept.
Nor has my ex - or my daughter.

[MartinR]

All four of my family have had it.  My wife and #2 son had it last Autumn, but managed to avoid passing it on in within the household.  However #1 son had it over Christmas and passed it on to me.  I'm CEV and have been shielded and now jabbed four times.  Fortunately for me the illness was trivial.  I have to have swabs for a PCR test at four-weekly intervals, and we're part of the ONS survey so get swabbed and blood test from them every month, I've just had the blood results back and I have "higher level" of antibodies.  Fingers crossed.

[Beachbum]

Despite 3 jabs, I got Covid at the end of March. It took 14 days of testing before I was clear but still not right.The joys of throat/sinus/bowel infections with this strand.
Turns out that I got SARS in 2017 and have had long Sars/Covid since then, but only diagnosed by the Covid Team in December 2021.

[Lutonman]

I managed to get it twice, but the second time with no symptom's at all. I had a ping from the NHS app more than once though and the last time I got it managed to avoid passing it on to my wife. First time we (before the injections) was quite bad with it.

[johnfilmer]

So far so good, neither the wife or I have knowingly had it. Living near the top of the Downs, with grass up the middle of the lane and only 3 houses on this postcode means little casual contact


I’ve been letting my inner hermit have free rein


Hope you feel better soon Stuart.

[grandarog]

Touch wood Missus (70,s)and me(80.s)have been lucky in avoiding the virus. I kept getting letters from Government telling me I was a target ,however,we didn't take really serious precautions ,carried on with  masks  hand washings etc. Both of us are now fully jabbed up and will probably get the new super jab in the Autumn. probably living in a Village environment helped ,although there were plenty of folks affected near us.

[stuartwaters]

Just a quick straw poll to see how many of us have had this nasty disease.


The reason I ask is because I now have it, especially annoying as I've managed to avoid it for 2 and a half years. I know exactly when and where I got it too. My wife and I went to a party a couple of weekends ago and my wife was one of a number of people who got it at the party. I was away working last week and got it when I got home. Felt rough working away again and tested positive in the small hours of Tuesday morning (5th July). I was sent home straight away.

[Dave Smith]

And the tv, grandarog, showing car queues & empty shelves in the supermarkets. I wonder whether those panic buyers of bog rolls have used them all up yet?

[grandarog]

Nowadays its the newspapers that cause the panic buying.

[CAT]

Good to hear castle21, and that you have a dedicated 'Flu arm'. Hope you continue well.

[castle261]

Here we are on Sept. 24th & I am off the the Delce Medical Centre - for my Booster Jab
for the Coronavirus at 11-30am. Was notified be email on Wednesday Sept 22nd - by the N.H.S.
Had form to fill in - by a worker. Many there - had a Flu Jab as well - Slight pain in flu arm.
 Time there - told - allow up to 40 minutes.

[MartinR]

@Dave: no, I'm sorry but it must have been someone else.