Understanding Long-COVID and Those at Risk
by Dr. Grace Downs
Are you suffering from Long-COVID symptoms?
1 in 10 of those who get COVID are expected to develop symptoms of Long COVID.
Those more at risk for Long-COVID include those with:
Estrogen dominate physiology (which may include symptoms such as mood swings, weight gain, breast tenderness, heavy periods/menses, fibroid/polyps, etc)
Co-occurring autoimmune diseases, diabetes, allergies, and chronic fatigue syndrome
Hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (https://www.ehlers-danlos.com/what-is-eds/ )
What is Long-COVID?
Over the course of the pandemic, the definition of Long COVID - or as it is known in the medical community as post-acute sequela of COVID (or PASC) - has changed. The CDC’s most current definition describe PASC as “a wide range of new, returning, or ongoing health problems that people experience after being infected with the virus that causes COVID-19”.
Symptoms can be varied and there are some estimates that there may be over 200 symptoms that may be associated with a prior diagnosis of COVID. Some of the most common symptoms of Long-COVID are:
Fatigue
Brain fog
Chronic pain
Shortness of breath
Chest pain
Heart palpitations
Dizziness
Change in taste and/or smell
Depression and/or anxiety
Diarrhea.
But the KEY is…if symptoms persist after 4 weeks OR if new symptoms start following resolution of initial infection, then this could be consider Long-COVID.
Why do people develop Long-Covid?
There are numerous theories around why people develop the symptoms of Long-COVID, including:
Depletion of serotonin throughout the body due to decreased tryptophan absorption in the gut because of COVID 19 caused changes in the gut microbiome (doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2023.09.013)
Dysfunction in the mitochondria, the small organelles that power each of our cells, leading to energy depleted states and easier fatigue (doi: 10.3390/ijms24098034)
Inflammation from COVID 19 triggering dysautonomia, a dysfunction in your “automatic” or autonomic nervous system, leading to changes in heart rate, blood pressure, and difficulty with changes in position (called orthostatic intolerance) (Dysautonomia International: For Patients)
Increased activation of the mast cells, cells responsible for releasing histamine in the body, leading to a condition called Mast Cell Activation or MCAS (https://tmsforacure.org/overview/)
Long-COVID can be complex to understand and the information we have around it continues to progress. Neighborhood Naturopathic will plan on future blog posts to discuss some of these possible underlying causes and conditions further.
What should you do if you think you may have Long-COVID?
If you feel like you may have Long-COVID, please schedule an appointment to talk about things further including the treatment options that may help you feel your best.
See you in clinic,
Dr. Downs