Anecdotal stories from COVID longhaulers:
With the mass vaccination program, many individuals have returned to a semblance of normalcy including making long overdue dental appointments. Many people to whom I’ve spoken in the last four weeks have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and have “recovered“ but many of them relate long-standing symptoms following the acute phase of the disease.
Many of the people who relate the symptoms are extremely reliable, medically honest individuals who are not the type to ascribe routine aging issues to the sequelae of acute disease. I’m used to hearing hypochondriacal complaints and I pride myself on knowing the difference.
these complaints include, but are not limited to:
Inability to walk distances greater than a block or two without having to stop and rest and catch a breath before continuing.
Sleep disturbances which these individuals feel are not related to anxiety or depression. Many people have told me that they awaken and feel physiological issues encroaching upon them such as nausea, inability to breathe properly when sleeping at an angle at which they normally slept prior to Covid, and strange bodily sensations which they cannot place.
Bleeding issues and blood clots have been reported in my practice involving organs including leg muscles, the spleen, and the lungs. Each of these patients who discuss this with me had been hospitalized for these conditions and were deemed unusual in the progress of the disease or condition by their team of physicians.
A disproportionate number of people Who experienced staph infections and MERSA for which they were at first treated as outpatients because the doctors did not want to admit them to hospital but were then forced to become inpatients due to the severity. No one has mentioned this to me who did not experience Covid. As a matter of routine we ask all patients upon their recall if there has been any change in their medical history or any hospitalizations. In the past three months I have had at least six people mentioned this to me versus essentially never, perhaps one or two times a year on the outside. One woman almost lost her leg: she is an extremely active healthy, Sensible individual who is normal in all respects physiologically for the 30 years I’ve known her. She has never before had any type of infection related to immune system issues which required significant treatment other than of course, viral disease.
People complaining that at times they feel as though their lungs are hot or searing in pain at certain times following exercise or vigorous activity. They describe pain which is not reflux or G.I. but bilateral spreading discomfort in the chest. This is in all cases describe to me episodic and disturbing to the individual because it feels so visceral.
Sheer exhaustion for no apparent reason: the patient will state that he or she has had normal amounts of sleep, wakes up reasonably rested, and then at random points becomes so tired that they must close their eyes and lay down or put their head down on their desks. All of those individuals state that they have never had this come over them during the day before in this fashion.
As I said in the beginning, these are simply statements from patients. In no way shape or form am I positing that these are definitely sequelae from Covid but in keeping with major medical publications’ recent documenting of anecdotal reports, I felt it necessary to at least state these here and see it as a contribution to the information Encyclopedia of Covid. I do recall in the early 1980s that I noticed a series of symptoms involving young gay males in my practice and when asking physicians their opinion of these are events was put off and told that this was simply because my practice was growing larger and I was seeing more sick people. I knew that was ridiculous At the time and think that it is very critical the people suggest issues but draw no conclusions and wait for science to determine the truth of the matter.
Or conversely ask Jim Jordan what he might think about it....
= new reply since forum marked as read
I posted this a few hours ago:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100215359032
