Fall travel season

[D&J]

1 hour ago, Barbaraok said:

What difference does it make?  They are still gone and the families would still suffer.  Yes, we will all die at some point, but that doesn’t mean we just do nothing and let people die.  Plus, we don’t know all of the long term effects for a lot of younger people who have the disease.  IT IS NOT A SIMPLE COLD.  Some long term effects are just starting to be recognized. 

I know it's not a simple cold but I beleave the numbers are being skewed to cause more panic than is warrantied.

Denny

[Barbaraok]

If anything the numbers are being suppressed in a lot of places so people won’t understand how easily this spreads and how many people are being infected.  It isn’t that people are necessarily dying, we just don’t know about all of the long term problems people are going to face.   My cousin’s husband was hospitalized the end of February in Washington state.  He recovered, Was never on a ventilator, seemed to recovery easily,  but now is experiencing something like chemo fog.  As are a lot of others all over the country.  

[bigjim]

48 minutes ago, D&J said:

I know it's not a simple cold but I beleave the numbers are being skewed to cause more panic than is warrantied.

It may not be the case but it sort of looks like your are looking for a reason to discount the severity. There is sure enough people and "news" sites that seem to be trying their best to convince as many folks as possible that it is either fake or something akin to fake.  I want to know how many are taking their children out and mingle with higher risk people and situations.

There are people out there that are being affected by this mentally.  Young girl about 20, born with severe cerebal palsy.  Already living a very restricted life.  Now trying to stay safe she is even more restricted. Develops major depression.  wraps an electric cord around her neck and rolls out of the bed trying to commit suicide.  Would this be a covid death if she were successful.  While it would be indirect  I would say covid and the people that don't want to do what it takes to knock it down are both guilty of contributing.  And I really don't give a big rat's A what anyone else thinks about it. 

D&J not aimed at you specificly.  Your question just triggered me. 

[Kirk W]

If things about covid-19 are being faked, or skewed, or any other distortion, then the conspiracy would have to be all around the world, in all countries, and across all forms of government. The simple fact is that because it is so new and because science is still in the learning process, there is much that we do not know and so there will continue to be changes of ideas, of reported data, and pretty much everything else. Even so, experience is supporting that things like wearing masks and keeping proper social distance do help to control or manage the problem. Whether covid-19 actually kills a person or it enables some pre-existing condition to kill them, the result is the same. Back in the 90's an aunt & uncle of mine were in a headon auto collision. Their airbags protected them from serious injury but my aunt was DOA from a heart attack. Did she die of an automobile accident, or a heart attack? To my uncle it didn't matter. 

Quote

I beleave the numbers are being skewed to cause more panic than is warrantied.

There seem to be many who doubt data but there are enough sources for information and from different studies that it really isn't that hard to get a feel for things yourself. There is no doubt that there have been efforts by some political candidates to make things sound better or worse for political purposes, but even that is pretty easily sifted out of the mix by selecting your information sources. Conspiracy theories abound and politicians have attempted to use that situation as well, and in some cases are probably the source of the belief. Without question, the current political turmoil in the USA has made the entire situation more confusing, but accurate information is available to those who are willing to do their own research. 

Edited September 7, 2020 by Kirk W

[D&J]

I don't think that someone already going to die of other causes should be included in the numbers. I would like to see the smoker numbers and related heath problems published so maybe it would convince some people to change their ways but I don't think it would do any good.

I was a volunteer Firefighter & EMT for 26 years and my wife was a EMT so we've been practicing good hygiene for years and for years we have been carrying hand sanitizer in our vehicles and used it after being in ESPECIALLY big box stores because even though people may look clean and well keep you just don't know how they live. After riding a rescue unit and being in peoples homes I can tell you some live like pigs and you wouldn't know it from their appearance and they are usually constantly sick from something, we called them frequent flyers and they tend to spread it around to everyone else.

Another thing we learned from being EMTs is take control of your own heathcare and be caucuses of what drugs you are taking. More than ounce we have picked people up that were in severe distress and we weren't sure if we would get them to the ER soon enough but it saved their lives because we always collected all their meds and the ER doctor was a fresh set of eyes and any times their problem was the drugs they were taking and nothing else. Anything that beats your system down opens you up for other health problems especially viruses. 

Here's a example of controlling your own healthcare, last year I had my A1C checked for the first time (I didn't even know what A1C was) and it was very high. The first thing they did was drugs to control it but before I started taking them we looked up the side affects (the internet can be useful) and what it did to the kidneys was not a good thing so we completely changed our diet and in 3 months it was normal and still is with no drugs and the only side affect is I lost 20lbs and my blood pressure is a little lower but it wasn't a problem before that. 

We are going to travel this fall leaving in October and will be with two other couples that we trust until November but because of this virus we changed our plans to stay away from crowded areas and mostly stay to ourselves then we will head to Yuma and social distant ourselves there. We will only have to change a few things from our normal activities in years past but very doable. 

Staying locked up and not being active is not good for anyone and can lead to many other problems so be safe but don't go into painic mode because that's what your supposed to do according to all the taking heads and people trying to get their 15 minutes of fame, I just don't fall for all that crap. And yes I know it's a serious virus but I'm not letting it contol my life. 

Denny

 

 

[DanZemke]

9 hours ago, D&J said:

 

After reading Denny's most recent post, I decided to disengage.

 

Edited September 7, 2020 by DanZemke
Updated due to new information

[bigjim]

23 minutes ago, D&J said:

And yes I know it's a serious virus but I'm not letting it control my life. 

I would say your current post is very good and is usefull.  You have serious insight based on your experience. The only issue I have is with the above quoted statement. It is really more aimed at others than you as I think your experience will cause you to do the right thing to the best of your ability.   One of the biggest issues I have with a lot of folks is in not letting the facts control their life THEY are to a degree controlling other peoples lives.  It would be kind of like someone being infectious  and not informing you when you responded to a call in your EMT positions.

[Barbaraok]

Denny,

You are going to do the things that are being asked of people, stay away from crowds, practice good hygiene, I assume wear a mask when going into areas where it's required, etc.   And as you have noticed, it doesn't really inflict a great deal of hardship on you.    So .......?   

I'm not sure what 'taking heads' you are watching.   I'll listen to Dr. Fauci and to Dr. Peter Hotez (Baylor College of Medicine, he was involved in the initial vaccine for SARS) as to what what to do.   Our only problem this summer has been the HEAT here in Arizona (set record for hottest month in July only to be broken in August) so getting outside to do things has been almost impossible and all large air conditioned malls, etc., were closed so no walking there.)

As an aside, good for you for looking up the side effects of diabetes drugs.   Dave was diagnosed with Type 2 after his stroke 20 years ago, and put on Metformin.  We didn't pick up on the kidney side effects in the warnings at that time - - Dave is now well controlled on insulin (A1C is 5.9) but his kidneys are at 27%!    Interestingly, one of his physicians said most Type 2 diabetics who couldn't control with diet did better on small amounts of insulin (Dave takes 14 units of Lantus at night), with less problems to other systems, but won't take it because of their fear of needles so most  just start with prescribing pills.

[D&J]

1 hour ago, Barbaraok said:

Denny,

You are going to do the things that are being asked of people, stay away from crowds, practice good hygiene, I assume wear a mask when going into areas where it's required, etc.   And as you have noticed, it doesn't really inflict a great deal of hardship on you.    So .......?   

I'm not sure what 'taking heads' you are watching.   I'll listen to Dr. Fauci and to Dr. Peter Hotez (Baylor College of Medicine, he was involved in the initial vaccine for SARS) as to what what to do.   Our only problem this summer has been the HEAT here in Arizona (set record for hottest month in July only to be broken in August) so getting outside to do things has been almost impossible and all large air conditioned malls, etc., were closed so no walking there.)

As an aside, good for you for looking up the side effects of diabetes drugs.   Dave was diagnosed with Type 2 after his stroke 20 years ago, and put on Metformin.  We didn't pick up on the kidney side effects in the warnings at that time - - Dave is now well controlled on insulin (A1C is 5.9) but his kidneys are at 27%!    Interestingly, one of his physicians said most Type 2 diabetics who couldn't control with diet did better on small amounts of insulin (Dave takes 14 units of Lantus at night), with less problems to other systems, but won't take it because of their fear of needles so most  just start with prescribing pills.

Yes we wear masks where required.

My A1C stays between 6 and 5.9 with diet alone and I'm still able to have a few beers when desired 😃 My biggest tool I used to figure out what I can eat is a cheap meter I bought at Walmart.

I  really wish more effort would be put toward risk factors instead of body count not that people would do anything different but you could only hope.

Denny 

[Barbaraok]

1 hour ago, D&J said:

Yes we wear masks where required.

My A1C stays between 6 and 5.9 with diet alone and I'm still able to have a few beers when desired 😃 My biggest tool I used to figure out what I can eat is a cheap meter I bought at Walmart.

I  really wish more effort would be put toward risk factors instead of body count not that people would do anything different but you could only hope.

Denny 

One of the things to think about is no one died from measles, but they died from the pneumonia that follows and overwhelms the lungs, or the high fevers that lead to seizures and sometimes heart stopping - but measles is the cause.   No one dies of AIDs, but from the HIV virus dismantling the immune system which leads to opporunistic infections.      Diabetics are more susceptible to Covid-19 because diabetes weakens the cardiovascular system (vascular especially) and the Covid-19 virus seems to attack that system and cause further weakening, leading to kidney failure and death.    Infections of all kinds cause the body to try and remove them and often, in that effort, leads to overwhelming systems that then fail.    And I agree, talking about risk factors should be highlighted, like the risk of being infected when going into crowds, being around people who refused to wear masks, not practicing good hygiene.   My hands are so shriveled it seems there isn't enough lotion to put on them to help anymore - but I can't take any chance of bring the infection home to Dave.

Yes, the meters to check blood glucose really make a difference - and if you are on medicare, the testing meters and supplies are provided by Medicare with a prescription.  And the use of the A1C has really made a difference in giving a 6 week look at how people are doing.   

[sandsys]

14 minutes ago, Barbaraok said:

And the use of the A1C has really made a difference in giving a 6 week look at how people are doing.   

I thought it was a 12 week look? When adjusting my meds my doctor ordered an A1c every 3 months. My reading is now down to 5.9 so we are happy with a once a week injection of Ozympic.

Linda

[D&J]

56 minutes ago, sandsys said:

I thought it was a 12 week look? When adjusting my meds my doctor ordered an A1c every 3 months. My reading is now down to 5.9 so we are happy with a once a week injection of Ozympic.

Linda

Yes it's a 90 day average or look back, I investigated it get a better understanding on what's going on. When your body has excess glucose in the blood stream it binds to the red blood cells and and stops there ability to transfer glucose to the body. Red blood cell are replaced every 90 days with new ones so the whole cycle starts over again. So if you control your glucose level your average will come down over a 90 day period or stay constant if you have it under control. I have to stay away from or consume in moderation simple carbs like rice, potatoes and processed wheat and replace them with complex carbs or foods with high dietary fiber to offset the carbs, we've become label readers. 

Denny

[Barbaraok]

1 hour ago, sandsys said:

I thought it was a 12 week look? When adjusting my meds my doctor ordered an A1c every 3 months. My reading is now down to 5.9 so we are happy with a once a week injection of Ozympic.

Linda

Yes, it is a 90 day average the glucose -bound red blood cells survive, but if you make a change it will start showing up about 6 weeks out.   Which is why people who try the week before to lower it are unhappy with the results.    Glad to hear you’re doing well.
 

Het, Denny, in addition to carb levels we also have to read labels for sodium and potassium levels, plus onions since Dave’s lower gastrointestinal tract can not handle any unless they have been in contact it’s vinegar!

 

[D&J]

32 minutes ago, Barbaraok said:

Yes, it is a 90 day average the glucose -bound red blood cells survive, but if you make a change it will start showing up about 6 weeks out.   Which is why people who try the week before to lower it are unhappy with the results.    Glad to hear you’re doing well.
 

Het, Denny, in addition to carb levels we also have to read labels for sodium and potassium levels, plus onions since Dave’s lower gastrointestinal tract can not handle any unless they have been in contact it’s vinegar!

 

You can't cheat the test 😄

I used to take a Rolaids all the time and raw onions were my enemy but now that I have myself regulated I can eat them or about anything else but I prefer not to eat raw onions because I don't like then unless they are cooked, no more Rolaids unless I eat hot peppers. 

Denny 

[bigjim]

I wish someone could figure out how I could eat grapefruit and drink grapefruit juice.  I am sure there is some good scientfic reason why I can deal with oranges but not grapefruit. I have 2 meds  grapefruit interfere with.

[Barbaraok]

Grapefruit has compounds that interfere with some P450 enzymes  (Dave’s postdoctoral work was on different P450s) and these enzymes allow the liver to detoxify medications.  Lack of these enzymes mean your body can reach lethal dosage levels of different dugs.  Seyvile Oranges will also interfere with  some P450 enzymes.  

Edited September 7, 2020 by Barbaraok

[richfaa]

19 hours ago, D&J said:

I know it's not a simple cold but I beleave the numbers are being skewed to cause more panic than is warrantied.

Denny

For what purpose and who is doing that.

[D&J]

20 minutes ago, richfaa said:

For what purpose and who is doing that.

Just watch or read the news and there's always someone promoting doom and gloom for what reason who knows. 

[jc2]

Approaching 200,000+- deaths in 6mths sounds damm serious to me and there is no cure at the moment for Covid.  Oh I forgot, those numbers have maybe been manipulated by someone for some reason. 🙄    

Edited September 7, 2020 by jc2

[Barbaraok]

2 hours ago, D&J said:

Just watch or read the news and there's always someone promoting doom and gloom for what reason who knows. 

Why would each state be putting out false data which can be easily checked by reporters since Death notices are public records and subject to FOAs?  

[mptjelgin]

13 hours ago, D&J said:

I don't think that someone already going to die of other causes should be included in the numbers.

I've mentioned this before in a thread that has since been removed. Forget about the stated cause of death for a moment. Just look up numbers on "Excess Mortality". 

Excess Deaths in the US

This is data showing the number of people who are dying "above and beyond" the normal averages. Governments, health organizations, and others have very reliable data on the number of deaths in a given region over time.  They can predict very closely what the expected number of deaths is month-by-month and year-by-year. When you see a spike as has been seen worldwide in the past six months, you should recognize that a lot of people are dying unexpectedly.  The death rate in New York City was 800% of normal during the worst weeks. In the Amazon region of Brazil they are seeing similar levels of excess mortality. 

In the linked article you can see that 5,000 - 20,000 "excess" people were dying per week in the US.  That is a lot of folks. And this isn't motorcycle accidents, a sudden uptick in heart disease, or "folks that were already going to die of other causes". The only logical cause is COVID.  

If you look back at January 2018 you'll see a small bump, and that was the "worst flu season in 40 years".  The bump that we're seeing now is far greater and longer lived. Not to mention the folks that are surviving with serious permanent damage. 

Edited September 8, 2020 by mptjelgin

[Blues]

On 9/7/2020 at 8:21 PM, mptjelgin said:

I've mentioned this before in a thread that has since been removed. Forget about the stated cause of death for a moment. Just look up numbers on "Excess Mortality". 

Excess Deaths in the US

That's a really interesting site.  Thanks for posting.

 

On 9/7/2020 at 8:21 PM, mptjelgin said:

If you look back at January 2018 you'll see a small bump, and that was the "worst flu season in 40 years". 

Well, I'll be.  I pretty much never get the flu, but did a couple of years ago.  So I checked the exact date and sure enough, it was February 2018.  The mystery is solved.