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    Created in 2008, Phoenix Rising is the largest and oldest forum dedicated to furthering the understanding of, and finding treatments for, complex chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia, long COVID, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and allied diseases.

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  1. TiredBill

    Covid vaccine. Anyone not having it?

    I agree with the idea that better air circulation and the use of filters (including HEPA filters) is looking more and more valuable as a means to slow transmission. Being well nourished and having optimal levels of vitamins certainly isn't going to do a person any harm and may mitigate against...
  2. TiredBill

    Covid vaccine. Anyone not having it?

    By the use of the term "skewing" I did not mean to suggest bad intent. Comparisons with a year ago are one measure of infection rates. We are down from the high of approx. 250,000 pre-vaccines per day despite the new challenges posed by the highly contagious Delta variant combined with...
  3. TiredBill

    Covid vaccine. Anyone not having it?

    So looking at the graphs makes it clear one can skew the perception of percentage shifts by how one picking the dates. In mid-September of last year the US was in a trough. But by early January (pre-vaccinations and with the complications of holiday gatherings) the 7 day average was over a...
  4. TiredBill

    Covid vaccine. Anyone not having it?

    Some good information here, and thanks for that. But hospitalization and deaths from Covid in the United States are overwhelmingly concentrated among the unvaccinated population--a cohort that many would consider least at risk given their relative youth, etc. The degree of protection against...
  5. TiredBill

    Covid vaccine. Anyone not having it?

    Infections are up because too many people refuse to be vaccinated or live in places where vaccines are scarce and the Covid virus has mutated. Delta is far more contagious than the original strain. It is becoming increasingly hard to avoid. Those who refuse to vaccinate are making up the large...
  6. TiredBill

    Covid vaccine. Anyone not having it?

    In Japan, like everywhere else Delta has hit, hospitalizations and death are concentrated in the unvaccinated population. Japan is losing about 70 people a day at this point to Covid. There was contamination of a large batch of Moderna vaccines with what seems to be stainless steel fragments...
  7. TiredBill

    Covid vaccine. Anyone not having it?

    Saying that Israel's experience is casting doubt on the efficacy of the vaccines us simply not true not true. Israel, unfortunately, has a significant portion of their population (haredi especially) who refuse to vaccinate or take the most basic precautions to stop the spread. Combined with a...
  8. TiredBill

    Had third round of Covid vaccine (Moderna). Feel relieved.

    Sorry to quote myself, but today my wife got the devastating news that father of the boy in her class who I mentioned above died from Covid today. He was young, trim, seemed healthy, and was a very nice man from what I'm told. Unfortunately he was not vaccinated. He perished, leaving his...
  9. TiredBill

    Covid vaccine. Anyone not having it?

    The notion that vaccinated individuals are "shedding" spike protein had been de-bunked by innumerable sources: Previous fact checks by Reuters found coronavirus vaccines cannot “shed” or be passed from vaccinated to unvaccinated individuals (here), and debunked claims that vaccinated people are...
  10. TiredBill

    Dr Chia finds 2% of ME/CFS cases are due to varicella zoster virus reactivation (shingles), and this form of ME/CFS is very treatable

    I have not. Were I able to turn back time I certainly would have clamored for antivirals immediately upon the outbreak of shingles. I did not recognize what was happening until it was too late--and I paid a considerable price in terms of pain for that mistake. Pure torture. My plans to get a...
  11. TiredBill

    Dr Chia finds 2% of ME/CFS cases are due to varicella zoster virus reactivation (shingles), and this form of ME/CFS is very treatable

    I did have shingles about 25 years after contracting ME/CFS. It was the most excruciatingly painful thing I've ever experienced, and I discovered the cause too late to take antiviral medications, to my regret. I can't say that shingles--as awful as it was--set off any noticeable change in my...
  12. TiredBill

    Covid vaccine. Anyone not having it?

    Japan has lagged far behind most of the industrialized world in vaccination rates. They only hit the 1% fully vaccinated mark in mid-May of this year and remain under 50% as of today. The infection rate in Japan has increased--as in other places around the globe--thanks to the highly...
  13. TiredBill

    Covid vaccine. Anyone not having it?

    What is to debate? Delta is highly contagious. So contagious that there are breakthrough infections even among some who are vaccinated with two doses of Pfizer or Moderna and full doses of other vaccines. But look at the degree of illness, hospitalization, and death in the vaccinated vs...
  14. TiredBill

    Ron Davis statement about NICE’s pausing publication of new guidelines

    Agree 100%. Thank you Janet and Ron. Bill
  15. TiredBill

    Which Covid vaccine are we supposed to get?

    Any update on getting the shot? Bill
  16. TiredBill

    Advice for the *First* Doctor Visit?

    In many ways a ME/CFS diagnosis is still one of exclusions. So being positive about trying to find any comorbidities or conditions that could cause or exacerbate your symptoms is generally a well-received approach in my experience. It is a good thing to rule other potential issues and it is...
  17. TiredBill

    Covid vaccine. Anyone not having it?

    Trust me, I wear well-fitted respirator grade masks anytime I'm around others in an indoor setting outside my home. Bill
  18. TiredBill

    "Intense exercise could trigger ALS in those with genetic risk" … I swear, some days are just beyond infuriating and bordering on depressing …

    Being sedentary isn't exactly a healthy lifestyle choice, even if it is imposed on pwME/CFS as the better of two bad alternatives. Bill
  19. TiredBill

    Covid vaccine. Anyone not having it?

    Not true. It is possible to carry a viral load after vaccinations, but it is also possible to entirely avoid getting infected (which is typically the case). Especially with a third dose. Covid is deadly. That's beyond any reasonable doubt. There is no reasonable comparison of the risk of...
  20. TiredBill

    Covid vaccine. Anyone not having it?

    I've had three doses of Moderna without incident. I'm saddened to read of the alarmism over vaccines that are proven to be safe and effective on a forum for people who are as vulnerable as we are. Further, Covid seems to be to be causing an illness that is indistinguishable from ME/CFS. As a...
  21. TiredBill

    Had third round of Covid vaccine (Moderna). Feel relieved.

    So as I feared would be the case, we just got word that a child in my wife's class who came to school with a fever tested positive for Covid today. Ugg. I'm very glad I took the bull by the horns and got third shots for us both. Hopefully we acted in time. Please be very careful people...
  22. TiredBill

    Brand new here with BIPAP/Chronic Fatigue questions...

    Be very (very) happy if you don't have ME/CFS. This is not a club where you want to be among the membership. 100+ events an hour could definitely cause fatigue. How could it not? Hopefully CPAP will change your life around. Bill
  23. TiredBill

    Anyone have a 3D printer?

    Great. Also swap out the air filters regularly. Bill
  24. TiredBill

    Brand new here with BIPAP/Chronic Fatigue questions...

    Also, if you are going to delve into the data and the settings, make sure there is an SD card in the machine (on the left side, above). ResMed used to always ship with SD card, I understand that it not always the case now. There is a wealth of data that can be captured on the card on a nightly...
  25. TiredBill

    Anyone have a 3D printer?

    Be sure not to get sucked into SoClean or other ozone cleaning systems. Those destroy machines and are implicated in the internal foam failures that have made the news recently. I just soak my hose in warm soapy water per manufacturer's suggestions. Bill
  26. TiredBill

    Brand new here with BIPAP/Chronic Fatigue questions...

    My Dad, a Navy/Marine WWII fighter pilot, always received great care from the VA. I'm grateful. Do they have you on fixed pressure? You actually can change the settings easily, but perhaps you mean they have asked you not to do so and want you to work with a tech? Fair enough. The advice still...
  27. TiredBill

    Brand new here with BIPAP/Chronic Fatigue questions...

    @Old Man Hey Joe, about 5 years ago I was diagnosed with mild sleep apnea. I started with a ResMed APAP device, but by tracking my data I discovered I had a mix of apnea types (regular obstructive apnea and central apnea). As part of the hoop jumping to get the device I really needed (an...
  28. TiredBill

    Natural Immunity lasts longer than BioNTech vaccination immunity of less than 5 months

    No disagreement, especially on the the bolded portion that people who are vaccinated should not assume their risk is zero and therefore it is important to take other measures (like masking) to layer protections. As you correctly pointed out, the most highly vulnerable populations are heavily...
  29. TiredBill

    Natural Immunity lasts longer than BioNTech vaccination immunity of less than 5 months

    The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services yesterday released new data in the weekly respiratory surveillance report showing that unvaccinated people were 15.4 times, or 1,540 percent, more likely to die from COVID-19 during the four-week period ending Aug. 21, 2021...
  30. TiredBill

    Natural Immunity lasts longer than BioNTech vaccination immunity of less than 5 months

    Vaccines may not be "perfect," but they are highly excellent (and especially so with a third dose). In contrast, getting Covid to acquire some measure of natural immunity risks one's life and the lives of others. Bill