New to this Forum :-) Interested in managing post Covid isolation.

CG3

Hi,

Having just read my way through a load of Versus Arthritis guides I came across a link for this community and thought I would see what it is about:-)

I’ve had RA for decades, diagnosed 25 years ago, but it has been agreed by my rheumatologist that I have had it for more than 20 years prior to that, it was masked by long term steroid treatment for kidney disease.

I have the usual range of secondary diagnoses - Sjogren’s; Fibromyalgia; Raynauds - plus Spondylisthesis, OA in my hands, feet and spine etc etc

I’m sure that I’ve forgotten a few ‘diagnoses’ but you get the picture! Generally it is what it is and I just get on with things:-)

However, since Covid started in 2020 I have realised that I have become increasingly isolated. I was in the Shielding Group and that seems to have cut me off from ‘normal’ life. I’m still wearing an FFP2 mask indoors apart from with immediate family - on the advice of my consultant- and have managed to avoid catching Covid so far with the help of my family being very vigilant. But this does mean that apart from hospital appointments, seeing my very young grandchildren and the occasional foray into a shop I really don’t socialise with anyone outside of my family.

I do have online contact with some friends but I have little face to face contact with anyone anymore. I was unable to continue working in 2015 and had to take an early medical retirement and found that it was difficult to keep up with work colleagues once I was no longer seeing them in the office or as part of training groups. I was really struggling with chronic infections at that time and fatigue was a massive issue so things just slipped away. Then Covid ended the bits of volunteering that I did for various mental health charities etc

I guess what I’m interested in is how are other folk with autoimmune diseases coping with the changes that Shielding brought and the void that has been left in its wake?

I’m not depressed, or especially lonely just I’m aware of how much more alone I am now.

Thanks for reading this far…

C

noddingtonpete

Hello @CG3 and welcome to the Community. We are a friendly and supportive group and I hope that will be your experience as well.

I understand that you have arthritis and questions about Covid. There are many discussions on here about Covid and I have put the search results below.

https://community.versusarthritis.org/search?domain=all_content&query=covid&scope=site&source=community

and also you might find the following of interest

https://www.versusarthritis.org/news/2020/april/coronavirus-covid-19-and-arthritis-where-to-go-for-information/

Please keep posting and let us know how you are getting on.

With best wishes

Peter (moderator)

stickywicket

Hi,

I think for those of us who are on immunosuppresants there will never be à post-covid era. I think you're dealing with things as well as possible. We have to (a) be sensible but also (b) live. Like you, I have little face to face contact with others now apart from family. Yet my son, a regular visitor, has a job with brings him into daily contact with lots of people and my husbànd does voluntary work which also brings him into close contact with many. I can't ask them to be less than they are for my sake. -As I said, we have to be sensible but also to live a little. We've been invited to a 90yh birthday lunch in a few weeks. I shall go bur with mixed feelings.