Something I never seem to hear explained: What IS long COVID. Is it damage to lungs, is it a change in the behavior of the immune system, is it something that happens in the cells? Where in the body is it hiding? Is this something we just don't know yet?
this post was submitted on 27 Jun 2023
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I think it's still unknown? This article talks about how even the definition and symptoms of long covid are still being debated!
Largely, yeah, we just don't know. In research terms, it's still quite early, so anything definitive is likely years away. However, research is starting to indicate it may be neurological - a product of damage to the brain and nervous system, as this article discusses.
Anything that persists long term after an infection is long COVID. It's the same concept for other viral infections.
Sure, but what is that? Neural damage? Inflammation? Lingering viral load? Weakened immune system? Immune system over excitability?
We don't know. That's the only good answer.
Neurological damage seems to be a strong contender for the bulk of long COVID symptoms though.
My friend has neural symptoms and gastrological symptoms, also they're very tired, much more than before Covid.
I did hear something on the radio (which is probably the least appealing source but I'm sure you can find others) suggesting it was inflammation of a part of the brain and similar to chronic fatigue
https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/hack/102079376 this was the show
I found this good video by Trace Dominguez. He gives a good overview and also mentions a bunch of new studies that are being done https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpjGLLbWZJ0
Meanwhile my long covid symptom is most sodas and woody scents all taste/smell like sewage. So I’m better and don’t fit into the definition of long covid but at the same time I feel like it should.
I haven't really followed this too closely.
When I caught covid the most standout thing to me was the effect it had on me mentally. On day 3 or 4 I attempted to work from home as I was physically feeling almost completely recovered. I was absolutely shocked the degree to which my thinking was affected: I could not hold my train of thought together, my short term memory was hopeless and I ended up taking another couple of days off because my work output was atrocious.
After 2 weeks I was pretty much back to normal, and I can't imagine how crappy it would be to try and live with that if the condition persisted. I assume that this is what long covid feels like?
I have to wonder though, do we know for sure that this stuff that is getting called "long covid" is strictly covid related?
There's a whole world of poorly defined conditions that could be exacerbated by a covid infection, or get blamed on a covid infection: chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, depression, general physical unwellness and lack of energy.
Sometimes it feels like covid is a great big bogeyman and people feel like shit and just don't know what else to blame it on? Am I making sense or is the science pretty clear cut here?
Yeah, I don't know what other people have going on, but I can tell you without a doubt I now get tired easier and have some days where I'm feeling wiped out even with adequate sleep and rest. This wasn't something I experienced before, I could pretty tightly tie how I felt on any given day to my diet, activity level, sleep, and relaxation.
It feels like it has improved very gradually. Hopefully my body can even itself out after a few years, which it feels like it will be at this rate, if at all.
That's interesting. For me it was very similar initially, but the brain fog issues lasted much longer. It felt like it took multiple months to really recover, though I'm on the pretty high end for ADD so that may have contributed.
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