Posts by mellowskipper

stormymaker242 said:Hi everyone, my dad just tested positive for COVID today. I contacted my doctor immediately and was told I need to quarantine for 20 days. I don't have any symptoms at all. I’m honestly confused about why it's 20 days, though... because every single person I know who was either a close contact or living in the same house with an infected person ended up getting a 10-day isolation period. Is this some new guideline, or does every doctor just interpret the rules however they want?

Self-isolation lasts for 10 days. If you start developing symptoms during that window, it gets extended by another 10 days. And if you still have a fever, it might be longer than that, depending on the situation.

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ironsurfer10 said:Can I actually see Dr. Petriček just for a standard eye exam (regular glasses, not the telescopic kind)? I usually wear contacts, but honestly, I wasn't super happy with my doctor over at Rib... anyway, totally unrelated, I just really need an eye exam for some glasses.

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I went in for regular ones.

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David Flores68 said:I'm looking for a solid ophthalmologist in Washington, D.C. For quite some time now, my eyes have been aching for a few hours once a week—it's becoming a bit much. The last specialist I saw basically brushed me off with a disinterested, "maybe it's just your prescription," and sent me on my way. I really need someone who actually has the patience and genuine interest to dig into what's going on, rather than someone who just checks my eye pressure and tells me to head home.

Personally, I think Dr. Petriček over at the General Surgery Clinic is excellent. I usually go in just to check my prescription, but they end up running a whole battery of tests on me. I'm usually practically blind for a little while afterward, but honestly, it’s worth it.
Very thorough and professional.

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briskdrifter6 said:Hi there. I was wondering where one goes to get a Medicare card if they're an American living in Canada—specifically for Americans from Canada—in case they need to use medical services while traveling abroad? Also, does having European Union citizenship automatically grant me access to a Medicare card?

Well, Canada isn't part of the European Union. If you actually have residency and health insurance in the States, you can just head over to Medicare & Medicaid to pick up a card.

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Kenneth Nelson26 said:It seems they didn't get sick.
For those of us who showed no symptoms, how long should we wait here in the States?

Well, then—if you're up for it—I suppose you could just get it done today. Or not. It's really up to you, I guess.

Kenneth Nelson26 said:I got my flu shot right before my husband fell ill; that might be part of it.

My daughter was certain she was already over it, but these studies suggest immunity only lasts about 3 to 6 months. We're halfway through the school year now, and this flu strain is strange...

That strange flu—the one that wasn't actually a flu—my daughter had it too. And honestly, the entire school was basically wiped out. It was back in January and February of last year. Maybe it was COVID, maybe it wasn't... I guess it’s hard to say for sure now.
First they were telling everyone to expect immunity to last maybe three to six months—then they bumped that up to eight—and now, apparently, the latest research is suggesting we might actually be looking at permanent immunity. I guess things change depending on who you ask.

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Rib. Should I go with Dr. EL Saleh or maybe Dr. Ferenčak?

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Kenneth Nelson26 said:How long did you wait before getting tested?
I’d go, just to see how I managed to stay healthy—my daughter, who's graduating this year, feels the same. My husband was out sick for 12 days straight.

The only thing that makes sense is that we've already cleared it...

It isn't a rule that everyone in a household gets sick. Maybe you just have an incredible immune system—or maybe you were asymptomatic. Or, perhaps, you already had it.
An antibody test usually makes the most sense about three weeks after those last symptoms finally clear up.

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rustydriver said:Well, my results just came back, and I’m feeling pretty discouraged.

It’s honestly so frustrating. Can someone please just confirm one thing for me? If I go get an antibody test and it shows I’ve already had the virus before, does that actually change anything? Because if I end up being around someone who tests positive, am I still stuck going into isolation regardless?

I actually have antibodies myself, though I never officially tested positive for COVID.
From what I’ve been reading, they aren't going to recognize that. It's completely insane.

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It’s honestly a bit of a waste if they aren't actually recognizing antibodies. I mean, what is even the point of running the test for them if that's the case?

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rustydriver said:Honestly, this whole thing is just a complete joke. I’m already on my third round of isolation, and frankly, I need some kind of official documentation to make this feel real. Otherwise, I could just sit at home for ten days indefinitely, which feels ridiculous when the testing site is practically right outside my apartment building—literally a three-minute walk.

I know, I know, I probably shouldn't be out and about right now, but I am reaching my absolute breaking point with this nonsense.

I would probably look into getting a medical referral for a test. Though, there's a bit of irony there—you'd actually need a positive COVID result, rather than a negative one, just to finally get out from under these isolation rules.

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Rachel Jones8 said:I mean, honestly? You probably shouldn't even bother walking, taking the bus, or grabbing an Uber to the test. Just drive your own car.
And hey, nobody’s gonna judge you for that. No one's going to give you a hard time either.

I mean, how would they even know how he got there? It’s not like they can just go ask some elderly lady pushing a walker. As if.

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cosmicdriver42 said:I didn't even get an appointment at the plastic surgery unit over at the Rib clinic until February 2021...

Well, I suppose that's actually fine. Last time I managed to secure an appointment, it took about eight months—and that was back when they were still operating out of the Neighborhood location.

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Matthew Garcia2 said:It specifically mentions the ICA method.

In New York, they measure signal values and then compare them against a cut-off index—that's the method. Then they express everything numerically. The price is $78.

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Matthew Garcia2 said:What exactly does "three times more antibodies" even mean? Where is that documented?
On our lab results, it just says:

CDC positive
FDA positive

Well, I guess it depends on the specific testing method used—there are probably about ten different ways to do it. We all had ours done at New York, where they provide both the terminology and the numerical values. For instance, one person might be at 5, another at 20, maybe someone else is at 50 or even 90. Generally speaking, anything under 1 is considered negative, while anything above that is positive.

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Andrew Booth29 said:That is all anecdotal evidence. However—and I think you're underestimating the loss of taste and smell—that is a neurological symptom. It's a sign that the virus has breached the nasal mucosa (your first line of defense) and potentially reached the brain via the nerves connecting the nose to the skull. In that scenario, we are talking about a systemic variant of the disease.
You can technically be asymptomatic while the virus spreads to your heart and blood vessels, where it can cause severe damage. With a systemic form of the illness, you'll trigger a massive immune response—one you might not even realize is happening.

I didn't underestimate it. I am fully aware that it's a neurological symptom. I actually mentioned this a few days ago—saying I plan to get a brain MRI in about two years—and some people actually mocked me for it.

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Alexander Morgan33 said:I had a confirmed case of COVID-19. Up until the day my symptoms showed up, I was sharing a bed with my boyfriend. We’ve been sleeping in separate rooms since then. We didn't go overboard disinfecting everything constantly. His antibody test came back negative.

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Either you guys managed to isolate yourselves well enough that he didn't catch it—or maybe his immune system is just incredibly strong.

Andrew Booth29 said:A lot of people seem to possess immunity driven primarily by T cells—it’s a different mechanism entirely. In these cases, the virus simply fails to trigger a severe enough reaction for the body to bother producing antibodies. Essentially, cytotoxic T cells step in and wipe out the infected cells before the virus even gets a chance to replicate effectively.
They’ll likely end up testing positive on a PCR test, sure, but they almost never actually show symptoms. Most people who experience those mild, nagging symptoms don't even develop antibodies. It’s usually the ones with moderate issues who do, and then you have the severe cases—those folks almost always produce them.

Personally, I’ve seen plenty of live examples of this, so I guess the only rule is that there aren't any rules.
I just lost my sense of smell and taste, but I do have antibodies.
A colleague of mine from my office—totally asymptomatic—has three times the antibodies I do.
Then there's a younger colleague who just had a headache and some fatigue for two days. Yet, he has enough antibodies to look like he survived a ventilator.
Another young female colleague spent four days with her husband before it turned out he had COVID-19, so they split up. She didn't catch it, and she doesn't have antibodies.

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Alexander Morgan33 said:Are you absolutely sure, though? They actually showed symptoms?

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My husband has been dealing with this cold for two weeks now—his doctor put him on Folco. Though, honestly, he catches a cold at least once every single winter. My little one had a virus for about a week back in November, though there was no fever involved.
The doctor just kept saying—every single time, really—that we should just focus on treating the symptoms.
Then again, I’ve seen quite a few people at my office test positive for antibodies, so it's clear. It seems like a lot of adults are asymptomatic. Just a rough estimate, I guess—maybe more women than men, but it's happening across all age groups.

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Keith Barrett2 said:Look, I totally get why you made the call to not quarantine your kid—sometimes you just gotta take that risk if they caught something from some other student at school,
but I’ve gotta ask... does everyone just stay holed up at home for those 10 days? Or are the people who aren't officially under isolation still out there hitting the office, heading to class, or grabbing stuff at Target?

My husband was working remotely this week, but he’ll be out in the field starting Monday. As for me, I have antibodies, so I’m going about my business—hitting the grocery store and leaving the house like usual. My plan is to take them both to get tested for antibodies as soon as the holidays kick off; I’m fairly certain they have them too. Even if I didn't have antibodies, I'd still be heading to the store. It's not like there are any official restrictions placed on me or anything.

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Dana Lewis3 said:I have a quick question about self-isolation. Basically, one student in my class tested positive for COVID-19, so now the whole class is stuck in isolation. Does this mean we actually have to stay shut in a single room without any contact with the rest of the family? How should we be handling this?

We’re already working through our second round of isolation because apparently, yet another kid in the class caught it. I just take sick leave to look after my kid. At home, everything is business as usual—we eat together, hang out, the whole bit. It doesn't even cross my mind to lock my child in a bedroom and isolate them from the rest of us.

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Jesse Williams59 said:Thanks for the heads-up. I just wonder if they actually have the bandwidth right now—given the whole COVID-19 mess—to be performing procedures that aren't exactly top priority. For me, though, the timing seems almost perfect, especially since I’m working from home these days.

I assume Dermatology is still operational, and likely General Surgery too, though you should probably double-check that. Unless the entire department gets put under strict isolation, they really ought to be carrying out all standard procedures as usual.

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