MURRAY, Utah, Feb. 14, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — For people suffering from what has been called “Long COVID,” doctors with Intermountain Healthcare have good news and bad news.
Long COVID patients are those who tend to have symptoms including episodes of extreme fatigue, “brain fog” and muscle aches for months or years after the usual COVID-19 recovery period of about two weeks. IMC doctors saw their first Long COVID patients in 2020.
The good news, Intermountain Healthcare’s Dr. Dixie L. Harris told reporters in a Monday morning Zoom news conference, is that chronic Long COVID symptoms seem to fade over time.
The bad news, IMC’s Dr. Ellie Hirshberg told listeners, is that tests of possible drugs or therapies to help the overall conditions have not yet yielded successful treatments.
Harris and Hirshberg are two of the doctors involved in IMC’s newly announced Long Haul Navigator program, which aims to connect Long COVID patients to the doctors who can treat their specific problems.
Some previously announced protocols have looked promising, Hirshberg said, but they “have been debunked in the literature. We’ve gone through some different trials, nothing is been solidly proven as of yet to reduce or resolve Long COVID.
“There’s some really interesting new studies out there one hyperbaric therapy that has suggested that has some promise,” Hirshberg said. “And as Dr. Harris mentioned, we are a part of a couple of nationwide studies, the recovery trial being one, and then a more local study better dealing specifically with lung COVID symptoms and recovery and treatments.”
Treating individual symptoms can bring relief, but there’s no overall cure that is known at this point.
Harris said she has seen many patients approve.
“A bright spot is we see our patients getting better over time. So that’s something good to know,” Harris said.
Patients can be helped by tuning into their own needs, she said.
“One thing I would say to anybody that has COVID is do a lot of self-care wellness, and I really like the highlight on sleep,” Harris said. “You know, just optimize and really take care of yourself. Most of these patients need more sleep than they generally need during the recovery phase.”
Hirshberg agreed.
“Self-compassion is something I think I really encourage with our patients,” she said. “They have to be compassionate with themselves and recognize that it takes time.”
Harris said she has heard of people going out to intentionally catch the virus to build their immunity, but if cases become Long COVID, sufferers can find they have a headache for a year or more.
“One message I do have is risk of Long COVID, depending on which study you read, can drop markedly if you’ve been vaccinated,” she said.
“We know that not only preventing the infection, but if you have ever had a breakthrough infection, the chance of having Long COVID or chronic COVID is markedly lower. So that’s exciting.”
Harris said that since the Olympics have been in the news, she has heard multiple stories of athletes in top physical condition struggling to perform due to the effects of Long COVID. Symptoms can also include shortness of breath, headaches, chest pains, and issues with the heart, brain, lungs, gut, and other organs.
Harris said studies have suggested 5% to 30% of COVID-19 patients become long haulers.
“This is a good reason to get a vaccine,” Harris said. “I really don’t want to have a headache for the next 12 months.”
