The Antidote #19: brain waste, COVID in newborns, and the dangers of loneliness
Plus, don't ruin your Disability Pride Month by catching COVID
Welcome to The Antidote, the biweekly roundup post from The Tonic that is filled to the brim with goodies.
The Tonic is a lighthearted, heavily resourced newsletter for folks interested in learning about long COVID, ME/CFS, and other chronic illnesses. Come for the info; stay for the whimsy. Or vice versa.
I will generally post once a week on Saturdays or Sundays: a narrative post when my energy allows and resource roundups (The Antidote) at all other times. Occasionally I post more than once a week, usually to announce an event or to push brief, timely info out to you sooner.
Wish list shout outs!
I’d be nowhere without my readers, many of whom have chosen to support my efforts here via the Amazon wish list in lieu of paid subscriptions (which could jeopardize my disability benefits). A big Tonic THANK YOU this week goes to Gwendolyn G.!
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The Tonic is free to read - Amy is so happy you’re here! There is no paid subscription option here like with other Substack newsletters. However, if you are valuing the experience and are able, please consider a show of support by sending a gift of health, wellness, or joy from this Amazon wish list. Anyone who does gets a 📢 in an upcoming post. Thank you!
(Don’t) Catch the wave
Last week I read an astonishing statistic in
:187,000 new people will end up getting Long COVID each week over the summer
It is astounding to me, and I know to so many of you, that we can know as much as we know in year five about how the acute SARS-CoV-2 virus and the long tail illness damages bodily organs and systems, and people will still bury their heads in the sand about taking precautions. (Please don’t get me started at the moment on these impending mask ban efforts).
Dr. Ruth cites the statistic above from Michael Hoerger, a clinical psychologist out of the Tulane University School of Medicine who focuses on public health. Hoerger arrived at this number through estimating that Americans will get 500,000 to 600,000 COVID infections each day this summer.
Each day.
Hoerger also had this to say:
COVID transmission in late June 2024 is 2x higher than in June 2023, 3x higher than in June 2020 and 5 to 6x higher than in June 2021.
(In June 2022, the BA.2 Omicron surge surpassed all prior summers).
Conclusion: the pandemic isn’t over just because the president said it was, or because people want it to be. Also, this:
Play with fire. Just don’t be surprised when you get burned, and your life is turned upside down for years on end. I wish this was me being dramatic.
I recommend you check out the rest of Dr. Ruth’s recent post, which is filled to the brim with great info.
It’s July; hug a disabled person (but get their consent!)
Disability Pride Month is celebrated every July and is an opportunity to honor the history, achievements, experiences, and struggles of the disability community. Why July? It marks the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), landmark legislation that broke down barriers to inclusion in society. Read more about it on The Arc’s web page: Why and How to Celebrate Disability Pride Month.
Time for links.
COVID, Long COVID, and ME/CFS
➡️ Look at this: Tissue-based T cell activation and viral RNA persist for up to 2 years after SARS-CoV-2 infection.
⬇️ Then watch this:
👨🏻⚕️
on why primary care docs “should still respect this virus”:
🆕 The COVID-19 Longhauler Advocacy Project has a new website.
😷 Here’s a good one, in time for the summer wave: Face mask effectiveness: What science knows now.
🩺 Can’t remember where I came across this site on COVID Safe Providers (U.S. and Canada only). Meaning, medical providers that are still respectful of the virus and of patients who are taking precautions.
👶🏽 From
of : COVID infection endangers pregnancies and newborns. Why aren't parents being warned?🧘🏾 Some of you may recall my post about the benefits of yoga to my long COVID journey. Here’s
of with (Bear with me here...) How Yoga Therapy Has Helped Me During My Long COVID Recovery. As a yoga instructor from the “before times,” Nicole offers some key insights that are worth your time. Please give it a read and give her a subscribe.🫁 Cort Johnson over at Health Rising as usual is doing phenomenal work distilling important ME/CFS and long COVID studies and initiatives. Subscribe to the newsletter through his site. Here he is with: A German Anaerobic Exercise Program for ME/CFS and Long COVID + Oxygen Extraction – Is it the Key Problem for Many?
Webinars/conferences/podcasts/videos
🫛
of the newsletter posted a summary of podcast episodes she’s done since she started on April 1st. Her podcast is called A Friend for the Long Haul and features interviews with long haulers from all walks of life. Stay tuned for more here from Beth.🦠 Don’t miss this episode of the Secret Lives of the Disabled podcast: Deconstructing COVID Denialism with Julia Doubleday & Miles Griffis.
Health miscellany
🤕 What causes migraines? Study of ‘brain blackout’ offers clues.
♿ Check out the San Francisco Disability Cultural Center which recently launched online and will open a brick-and-mortar center in 2025. So cool. Check out the site (they are already offering a number of online events) and sign up for their newsletter.
💘 It may be a while before I get more ink: Detection of anaerobic and aerobic bacteria from commercial tattoo and permanent makeup inks.
🍳 More than 4K pounds of liquid eggs recalled from 9 states.
🧠 I found this super fascinating (and maybe this explains why I have cognitive blips on days where I don’t get enough sleep): The brain makes a lot of waste. Now scientists think they know where it goes.
📲 Was just talking about this over lunch today with a friend who is raising Black teenage girls: Why Protecting Black Girls on Social Media Should Be a Public Health Priority (free MedPage Today account required).
😔 Also discussed at lunch today - the dangers of loneliness: Loneliness can increase stroke risk by up to 56%, finds research. Also, a majority of bisexual and transgender people feel lonely. (Please please please check on your friends who are isolating/isolated, for any reason).
🙊 My pal
of responds to a question I asked her about when/whether to disclose a disability to a potential or new employer. Thanks for lending me and the world your expertise, Teri!
🫘 Holy smokes: Northwestern Medicine kidney transplant happens as patient is awake. He did have a local anesthetic, thank goodness.
👨🏻⚖️ "Make no mistake—more people will get sick, injured, or die as a result of today's decision," said one advocate. Understand the Supreme Court’s decision to scrap the Chevron Doctrine by reading this piece.
🦟 The Scents and Colors Mosquitoes Are Drawn to.
🫚 9 Things in Your Pantry You Should Probably Throw Away.
👴🏼
asks Is Aging Bad for You?❤️🩹 Here are 16 Things That Will Drastically Improve Your Well Being.
Now stick around for…
🥳 The After-party 🥳
Added resources, joy, tomfoolery, and buffoonery
😸 This is a heartwarming tail (ba dump dump!): A cat just earned his doctorate degree from a Vermont university.
✍🏼 Keith Oxenrider, a Tonic reader who I’ve emailed back and forth with a bit, recently reached out again to let me know that he was inspired by my newsletter to start his own (so cool!) featuring his fiction writing. Check out his work, called Diary of a Contract Killer, and give him a subscribe.
😆 Here’s a spoonie-funny from my Daily Bitch calendar last week:
🤸🏽♀️ Simone Biles watch: you know we’re huge fans here at The Tonic. Simone Biles headlines women’s U.S. gymnastics Olympic team; rookie Hezly Rivera earns fifth spot. Can’t wait for the Olympics in a few weeks!
🍦 If you like vanilla plain ice cream, I’ll judge you mercilessly and unapologetically for your utter lack of imagination. But I’ll still have compassion for your distorted taste buds by sharing this: We Tried 11 Vanilla Ice Creams — and No One Saw the Winner Coming.
🤦🏻 Buffoon of the week: this week, it’s a whole country. Why work 4 days a week when you can work 6? Greece gives it a shot.
🏆 Winner of the week: congrats are in order for Jessica Campbell, a newly hired assistant coach for the Seattle Kraken and the first female coach in NHL history.
🐈⬛ 💩 And finally, it’s this week’s Cat Dump. Zira had her follow up scans and she remains cancer-free. So everyone was extra silly this week to celebrate.
Excellent edition thank you! I particularly respected the Julia Doubleday/Gauntlet piece about Covid infections in pregnant women, etc. it’s spot on. And I’m definitely looking forward to the Olympics and Simone Biles! Thank you for the link, too ☺️
The research on anaerobic exercise you linked to is fascinating. Firstly, the approach Dr. Simon recommends to building up exercise tolerance is basically what worked for me, too. Extremely small increases, interspersed by rest.
Secondly, the part on oxygen-deprivation is in line with what I've been learning in my breathwork training (in short - CO2 tolerance can be severely reduced in LC patients, which leads to lower O2 uptake in the cells, which leads to overbreathing, which leads to losing even more CO2 (vicious cycle). Fascinating. Thanks for sharing :)