<story><title>What doctors wish patients knew about long Covid</title><url>https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/public-health/what-doctors-wish-patients-knew-about-long-covid</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>logicalmonster</author><text>I think taking most illnesses seriously is wise, particularly so today as Covid has been around a shorter period of time and the long term effects are less known.&lt;p&gt;What I’m curious about is how does the frequency of “long-Covid” compare to other post-viral syndromes? Having various forms of malaise, lethargy, and other health problems after an illness is not a new phenomenon. Does this affect 1 in 100 or 1 in 100,000 people severely? How does this compare with say past flus? It’s hard to compare long Covid to anything without a basis for comparison.&lt;p&gt;I’ve had the flu before and was a physical wreck for about 6 months after until my body finally snapped back. Because it was pre-Covid times, I just sucked it up and focused on struggling through my day and then resting. I can easily imagine people going through something similar today, and because everybody is scared because of the media, we’re looking for a problem and labeling it rather than just generally sucking it up. (This isn’t to say that we shouldn’t work to understand and treat this problem, just that it might not be anything significantly different than all prior human experience)&lt;p&gt;How much of the concern over “long-Covid” is simply a byproduct of psychology? We may be fixated on a problem and looking for it and therefore finding it more even though it’s not necessarily any more common of a problem. Maybe a direct comparison with other viruses shows different, but this is the comparison I’d like to see to better understand the risk-management here.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>fragmede</author><text>Respectfully, no. I had Covid-19 in March 2020 and had long covid and... &amp;quot;just suck it up and push through&amp;quot; is basically the worst possible advice. Saying it causes fatigue just doesn&amp;#x27;t describe how utterly disabling it can be. I would get tired walking from my bedroom to the kitchen and I live in a small apartment. When I &lt;i&gt;would&lt;/i&gt; push through, I&amp;#x27;d be bedridden for &lt;i&gt;days&lt;/i&gt; after. Seriously! We&amp;#x27;re talking too exhausted to have Netflix on in the background, not even watching it. I&amp;#x27;m &lt;i&gt;sure&lt;/i&gt; it&amp;#x27;s not psychosomatic because this was all new at the time, and I was far too exhausted for &lt;i&gt;months&lt;/i&gt; after to even just surf the Internet.&lt;p&gt;The most disabling part of the illness was learning that I can&amp;#x27;t just &amp;quot;push through&amp;quot; without paying for it for &lt;i&gt;days&lt;/i&gt; afterwards. For months after, a single beer and a big meal would lay me out. You don&amp;#x27;t usually think of digesting food as strenuous, but in my weakened state, I&amp;#x27;d start seeing stars and almost black out.&lt;p&gt;Now, it would be easy to dismiss me, blame me for not being healthier, but when young athletes who are fit have having these symptoms, and doctors (with better access to healthcare then I) are recording their own symptoms as scientists, it&amp;#x27;s not made up.&lt;p&gt;The worst part of having long covid is people (including doctors!) who don&amp;#x27;t believe long covid is real. Thankfully for long covid, there &lt;i&gt;are&lt;/i&gt; biomarkers that can be tested for now so unbelievers don&amp;#x27;t have to take it on faith. After the medical gaslighting I&amp;#x27;ve experienced, I really feel for people that suffer from fibromyalgia or other mysterious un-seeable maladies that there are not tests for.</text></comment>
<story><title>What doctors wish patients knew about long Covid</title><url>https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/public-health/what-doctors-wish-patients-knew-about-long-covid</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>logicalmonster</author><text>I think taking most illnesses seriously is wise, particularly so today as Covid has been around a shorter period of time and the long term effects are less known.&lt;p&gt;What I’m curious about is how does the frequency of “long-Covid” compare to other post-viral syndromes? Having various forms of malaise, lethargy, and other health problems after an illness is not a new phenomenon. Does this affect 1 in 100 or 1 in 100,000 people severely? How does this compare with say past flus? It’s hard to compare long Covid to anything without a basis for comparison.&lt;p&gt;I’ve had the flu before and was a physical wreck for about 6 months after until my body finally snapped back. Because it was pre-Covid times, I just sucked it up and focused on struggling through my day and then resting. I can easily imagine people going through something similar today, and because everybody is scared because of the media, we’re looking for a problem and labeling it rather than just generally sucking it up. (This isn’t to say that we shouldn’t work to understand and treat this problem, just that it might not be anything significantly different than all prior human experience)&lt;p&gt;How much of the concern over “long-Covid” is simply a byproduct of psychology? We may be fixated on a problem and looking for it and therefore finding it more even though it’s not necessarily any more common of a problem. Maybe a direct comparison with other viruses shows different, but this is the comparison I’d like to see to better understand the risk-management here.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>MaximumYComb</author><text>I had post-viral syndrome from glandular fever when I was ~32. It sucked. Like you, I was a wreck for 6 months. It took 2-3 years before I could exercise properly but my life was decent enough at the 12 month mark. My research at the time indicated that rates of post-viral syndromes vary by disease. Glandular fever is known to cause it in 10-20% of adults who fall sick.</text></comment>