The Long Haulers
Dr. Joseph Feste, MD
It has been over a year and a half since COVID has invaded the United States. This virus caused or contributed to many deaths. It has left countless others with persistent symptoms. In the past, most virus infections had little long term sequalae, but the COVID strains are different in the after-effects suffered by many.
These include chronic fatigue, brain fog, persistent cough, and others such as hair loss, shortness of breath, fatigue, smell and taste loss, body aches, headaches, brain fog and gut issues. The name for those who experience these symptoms are named Long Haulers.
Fortunately, we have had some success in providing relief from these after-effects while increasing the strength of the immune system while reducing inflammation.
Protocols for long haulers
We have developed protocols that help treat these bothersome and ongoing symptoms. Not everyone has the symptoms or have all at the same time. But those that have the constant symptoms, have been significantly debilitated to some degree. There also have been published papers that some patients may have continued symptoms for more than a year or never get over the symptom. This can be very frustrating and problematic.
Currently, we cannot accurately predict who will become a long hauler. As a recent article in Science notes, people only mildly affected by COVID-19 still can have lingering symptoms, and people who were severely ill can be back to normal two months later. However, continued symptoms are more likely to occur in people over age 50, people with two or three chronic illnesses, and people who became very ill with COVID-19. There is no formal definition of the term “post-COVID long haulers.” In my opinion, a reasonable definition would be anyone diagnosed with the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, or very likely to have been infected by it, who has not returned to their pre-COVID-19 level of health and function after six months.
Long-haulers include two groups of people affected by the virus: Those who experience some permanent damage to their lungs, heart, kidneys, or brain that may affect their ability to function. Those who continue to experience debilitating symptoms despite no detectable damage to these organs.
Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, director of the World Health Organization, has expressed growing concern about the chronic illnesses that may follow in the wake of COVID-19, including ME/CFS. (Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome). Ten monthslater, some people diagnosed with COVID are still dealing with COVID brain fog, weakness, extreme fatigue, migraines, mini-strokes, heart issues, shortness of breath,fever, coughs, body aches, stiff joints, and balance issues. The CDC reports up to 35 percent of those infected endure symptoms lasting beyond three weeks.
Since this phenomenon of Long Haulers is new and it has been suggested that Post COVID-19 is setting off some autoimmune reactions due to the strong, sometime overzealous reaction of the immune system to normal tissue. Some of the recommended therapies will be general and some may not have had enough evaluation to be completely able to cure or resolve the symptom. A major focus should be to enhance the immune system. But we do know that our suggested treatments have worked for similar symptoms from other causes.
Some of our treatments include:
Zinc: 54 mg a day:
Immune Booster IV
Alpha Lipoic acid:
Peptides
Vitamin D3
NAD IV:250mg x 5days or NAD oral:100mg
Quercetin
Selenomethionine
Magnesium
We offer advanced holistic treatments for chronic fatigue and brain fog as well as lung issues (coughing, shortness of breath, glassy lungs).
For more information on treating the after-effects of COVID or any virus or vaccines, please email us at info@vitalhealthim.com or call us at 512-559-4350.
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