SMA News Forums Forums Treatments and Research COVID-19 and SMA Hark! the bells… Covid is here!

  • Hark! the bells… Covid is here!

    Posted by anna on December 22, 2022 at 5:55 am

    After dodging the bullet for three years, Covid finally visited our house. Dad tested positive this morning. On Monday evening he went to a work gathering he felt he couldn’t avoid, so we avoided spending time together the last three days as we knew there was a chance he was exposed. He did my care though three times a day wearing a mask. He’s now isolating downstairs and Mom and I are negative so far. The problem is that there’s no one else to do my care, so if one of us has got it the other one will too.

    Fingers crossed I didn’t get it but I’d rather be prepared. Does anyone know if there is any reason Covid treatments aren’t indicated for SMA patients? When I asked my neurologist a couple of months ago, he said that they give us the same drugs, but I wonder if the fact that I’m underweight might be a problem. Any information would be greatly appreciated!

    Happy holidays to all!

    anna replied 1 year, 3 months ago 4 Members · 8 Replies
  • 8 Replies
  • dennis-turner

    Member
    December 22, 2022 at 3:24 pm

    Don’t know about not getting treatments if you have SMA. I usually tend to be cautious, I have my boosters, and wear a mask whenever I go out.

    Please just continue to be careful.

    • anna

      Member
      December 24, 2022 at 1:46 pm

      So do I. The problem is that you can’t eat or drink wearing a mask which means that lots of indoor activities are out of the question. I had barely come to terms with the idea of spending another Christmas at home without friends and family, and it turns out I can’t do that either! Marvelous!!

  • yvette-haas

    Member
    December 23, 2022 at 8:54 pm

    I highly recommend you start taking Quercetin and Zinc to help avoid getting sick. Most people have heard of Zinc, but you should not skip the Quercetin. It’s a Zinc-ionophore (it is the vehicle that brings the Zinc into your cells).

    Hope you stay healthy.

     

    • anna

      Member
      December 24, 2022 at 1:48 pm

      I take a supplement of Zinc and Vitamin C when I’m sick to speed up recovery. Opinions on its effectiveness are divided, but I figured it couldn’t hurt. Didn’t think it would work after exposure though. Also didn’t know about Quercetin. Thank you for the recommendation!

      • yvette-haas

        Member
        December 27, 2022 at 8:37 pm

        The more you are able to help your immune system, the better prepared your body is to handle whatever life brings. That can be before exposure, after infection, and once symptoms appear.

        How are you doing?

      • anna

        Member
        December 28, 2022 at 4:10 am

        Yeah, makes sense. It’s just that I’ve always thought that building a strong immune system takes more than a few days and that these supplements have a more long-term effect. But I guess better late than never.

        Anyway, I’m still fine so it seems that it was one more close call! The problem now is that the temporary caregiver I asked to help me out for a few days has to leave tomorrow. My mom can do anything when it comes to my care except lift me and carry me, due to a chronic spine condition, which means that my dad needs to come back on day 8 after symptom onset, at least to put me on my chair and take me to the bathroom. Of course, we’ll take all the precautions (masks, gloves etc.), but I’d feel better if we had another couple of days or at least if he stopped testing positive.

  • alyssa-silva

    Member
    December 24, 2022 at 9:03 am

    Hi Anna. I’m so sorry to hear that Covid hit your home. How are you feeling now?

    There are treatments available for folks with SMA though I’m assuming it varies from person to person. For example, I can’t take paxlovid because of my weight, but if I were ever to get Covid, I was told I could take remdesivir. Definitely something worth having a conversation with your doctors about. Is there anyone besides your neurologist you could speak to?

    Hope you have a Merry Christmas and stay healthy. ????

    • anna

      Member
      December 24, 2022 at 1:54 pm

      Thank you for asking Alyssa! Still no symptoms and still negative, but I guess the next couple of days are critical.

      My GP already knows. He said he would put a plan into place although he didn’t mention any details. I’ll ask him about remdesivir if it comes down to it. He’s pretty good, just not very experienced with SMA. On the other hand, I’m not sure who else I can contact.

      Merry Christmas everyone and stay safe! Everyone I know is under the weather. You don’t want your holidays ruined by any virus!

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