Morning everyone!
Welcome to another edition of the Doctor’s Note where we talk about what’s on our minds when it comes to your health.
I just completed an 18 hour course on Long Hauler Symptoms of COVID-19 that I have been looking forward to for a while now.
Over the past 18 months, my team and I have treated hundreds of Covid cases and we’ve learned a lot!
This is a story that is unfolding in real time. I’m probably going to have to focus on this the rest of my career.
For a doctor this is the challenge of a lifetime. I don’t think I’ve worked as hard as I have in the last 18 months since I was in residency.
Although the story plays on (ie COVID), just remember that everything is treatable!
This week in the Note, we are going to go over a few of the things I learned this past weekend about Long Hauler COVID-19 as it relates to you and your own health!
What is Long Hauler COVID-19?
The technical term is PASC ( Post Acute Sequelae Covid), but for the purposes of this Note we are simply going to refer to it as “Long Covid”.
If you’re still not feeling back to normal 30 days after you had Covid, you probably have what we term “long covid.”
Long Covid mimics what we call “Chronic Fatigue Syndrome”, which is a real thing!
This can be bad for a lot of people. It can be long lasting, but there are strategies to treat this.
First, you have to realize that COVID-19 is a multi-organ disease.
Every organ can be affected by having Covid. What’s weird is that both mild and severe cases of Covid can become Long Covid.
Symptoms of Long Covid:
Fatigue
Brain Fog
Shortness of Breath
Intolerance to Exercise
Tachycardia
POT Syndrome (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome)
Joint Pains
Muscle Aches
Headaches
Hair Loss
Loss of Taste and Smell (one of the first signs you knew you had Covid)
The Mechanics of Long Covid
How COVID-19 can cause Long Covid:
Direct Viral Toxicity – This means that the spike protein is directly toxic to every cell in the body.
Endothelial Damage
Inflammation
Gut Dysbiosis
Note: When you take the vaccine it makes your body manufacture that spike protein. Anything that Covid can cause, the vaccine can potentially cause too. I’m not against the vaccine for high risk individuals.
How To Treat Long Covid
There are a lot of different ways. This is personalized medicine and no one person is the same.
The approach is different based on the symptoms.
High Dose Vitamins
Ivermectin
Steroids
Type 1 and Type 2 Antihistamines
Colchicine
Statin (Occasionally)
Lovox (SSRI)
Omega 3 Fatty Acids
SRM’s (Resolving mediators)
EMS (Electromagnetic Stimulation) – To activate the parasympathetic nervous system because with Covid it over activates your sympathetic nervous system
Other Things I learned
Genetics play a part in how you’re going to do with Long Covid, but Epigenetics also play a part. You can improve your Epigenetics by eating CLEAN (not eating sugar and eating more vegetables). Exercising and getting outside. Hydrating and getting good sleep. Taking vitamins as well as eating healthy.
We are probably going to see more Parkinson’s, Dementia, and Autoimmune Diseases from this pandemic. This virus can get directly into your brain through your olfactory tract (i.e one of the first signs is when you lose your sense of smell).
COVID-19 has brought out everything that could go wrong with your immune system.
We are getting “breakthrough” infections, which means some of those that are fully vaccinated are getting Covid.
All viruses mutate, and this Delta variant may be more contagious than the Alpha.
There is so much more to learn and a lot more that I want to continue to share with you. This is an ongoing story.
We will have more Doctor’s Notes on this subject, obviously. I’m going to be talking more about ways to get you back on track if you’ve had Covid or a vaccine reaction.
Performance Medicine is always focused on prevention first and foremost, plus early treatment if you get it.
Stay educated. Stay healthy.
