Long COVID is a Real Thing…..And it’s Pretty Horrible
As many as half of all COVID patients will likely experience Long COVID symptoms. The number may actually be higher! And there’s no correlation between age, healthfulness and Long COVID. Further, there’s no compelling evidence that people who have been vaccinated are somehow protected against Long COVID. That’s right — if you are vaccinated and you get a mild case or even have no symptoms at all, you can still fall victim to what is being called Long COVID.
The October 13, 2021 peer-reviewed study found that over 50% of COVID patients suffered long haul symptoms for over 6 months. And the symptoms are nasty:
- More than half of all patients reported weight loss, fatigue, fever or pain.
- 30% of those who suffered from COVID-19 are experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, sleep disorders or anxiety disorders
- Roughly 20% experienced a decrease in mobility.
- Nearly 78% experienced difficulty concentrating.
- 60% had chest imaging abnormality and more than a quarter of patients had difficulty breathing.
- Chest pain and palpitations were among the commonly reported conditions.
- Nearly 20% of patients experienced hair loss or rashes.
- Stomach pain, lack of appetite, diarrhea and vomiting were among the commonly reported conditions.
And while the definition of Long COVID that the researchers used was no less than 6 months of symptoms, a large number of these symptoms lasted more than 6 months or are still on-going. That number could be as high as 75%. In a recent Lancet article, researchers as many as three-quarters of Chinese COVID patients who recovered from COVID-19 reported experiencing at least one lingering symptom 6 months later. And current estimates put the number of Long COVID cases worldwide at over 5 million.
Another study found that nearly a quarter of COVID-19 patients in a Mount Sinai Health System registry experienced some issues with their memory. Hospitalized patients did fare more poorly than unhospitalized ones: the researchers found 39% of hospitalized patients had impairment in that area compared with 12% of outpatients.
In one of the more worrisome long COVID studies, people who died of severe COVID-19 were found to have brain abnormalities that resemble changes seen in Alzheimer’s disease. Autopsies of these patients showed abnormal amounts of the protein beta-amyloid that accumulates into amyloid plaques.
What Causes Long COVID? We Don’t Know…..Yet.
As described in the October 13, 2021 study, COVID-19 syndrome or “long COVID is the term used to describe a myriad of diverse symptoms. Among the most common are insomnia, brain fog, fatigue, headaches, dizziness, tinnitus and shortness of breath and a multitude of other illnesses. Primarily, scientists are finding that COVID affects a multitude of organ systems. So COVID survivors are now displaying brain, heart, liver, kidney, lung and vascular ailments, long past their recovery from COVID itself. As noted in a Harvard Medical School blog post, some people who recover from COVID-19 are left with clear damage to their lungs, heart, kidney, or brain that may never be reversed. Two studies released in July 2021 indicate that large numbers of COVID patients suffer severe and possibly irreversible brain damage that is comparable to Alzheimers.
Studies that monitored COVID-19 patients 21 days after their diagnosis and 60 days after discharge showed that some 50% to 80% of patients continued to not feel well up to three months after they first were diagnosed, months after tests no longer detect a live virus in their bodies. A recent Swiss study suggests about after six to eight months, 26% of COVID patients reported not having fully recovered. On July 22nd, a top story in the NY Times warned that ” there is concern among scientists that a few vaccinated people who become infected may go on to develop long Covid”
This syndrome can be intensely painful and hard to diagnose. One of the most common mental health effects and challenges has been chronic fatigue, depression and anxiety, making it literally impossible for people to work, or even function. Many Long-COVID suffers have turned to suicide, as the only relief from this unrelenting syndrome.
Importantly, there are no known cures for Long COVID. Medical doctors have been limited to treating symptoms using existing pharmaceuticals and/or COVID vaccines. Fraud alert: If anyone claims they have a cure to Long COVID, please know that you are about to be ripped-off.
Drug-Free Relief from Long COVID Symptoms
For Long COVID sufferers who are looking to avoid pharmaceutical treatment of Long COVID symptoms, there are some anecdotal reports of substantial relief by Eastern medicine practitioners. Throughout the U.S., reiki specialists are finding that non-invasive energy work is relieving some of the common Long COVID symptoms. Boston Children’s Hospital reports notable success in using meditation and reiki in healing children with COVID-19.
Here in San Diego, Dr. Maria Danilychev MD is a medically-trained internist who also has extensively studied and used reiki for accelerating healing among her patients. She reports remarkable success in treating Long COVID sufferers and is offering discounted rates and a first-session guarantee for those patients.