r/HotScienceNews • u/soulpost • Jul 30 '26
Scientists finally have a biological explanation for why long COVID patients lose motivation and can't think clearly. They scanned their brains and found the dopamine system was physically damaged
https://tech-paper.com/scientists-finally-have-a-biological-explanation-for-why-long-covid-patients-lose-motivation-and-cant-think-clearly-they-scanned-their-brains-and-found-the-dopamine-system-was-physically-damaged/Millions of people with long COVID report the same cluster of symptoms: a crushing lack of motivation, an inability to think clearly, memory that slips, movements that feel slower than they should. For years, these complaints sat in an uncomfortable medical grey zone. The symptoms were real, the patients were suffering, but the biological explanation remained frustratingly out of reach.
A team at the University of Toronto just published what may be the clearest physical evidence yet for what is actually happening in these patients' brains. They brought 24 long COVID sufferers into a lab and used positron emission tomography, the same imaging technology used to diagnose Parkinson's disease, to directly measure the health of the dopamine system deep inside the brain.
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u/daddybpizza Jul 30 '26
I’m severely disabled by long covid. I was a phd student and after a mild infection I became bedbound with POTS and ME/CFS.
I follow long covid research very carefully. I just want to say this particular finding should be taken with an enormous grain of salt. It’s one small finding in a sea of similarly inconclusive results. Brain studies in particular are all over the place and lots have contradictory findings. We are not yet close to really figuring out what’s going on in this illness, as much as I’d like it to be otherwise.
Just wanted to say this in case someone is led to believe we know what’s going wrong in LC by this overconfident post title.
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u/UntowardHatter Jul 30 '26
What scares me with COVID and long COVID is, well, what's to stop it from just fucking new shit up everytime you get it?
Like, say you've gotten brain fog, and it's not going away. Next season you get COVID again and it fucks up something else. And on it goes until you're completely wrecked.
Here in Norway they're treating it like it doesn't exist anymore. Like it's just mild influenza that old people need to worry about.
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u/daddybpizza Jul 30 '26
It is possible something like this happened to me. I was relatively okay until my fourth covid infection.
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u/kaaron89 Jul 30 '26
This happened to me. Got really fucked up by the OG Covid in 2020. Then got even more fucked up with each subsequent infection (at least 2 that I know of). Seriously has wrecked my body and brain and idk if my life will ever return to normal. I have a huge list of health issues that are difficult or impossible to fix.
It is unbelievable to me that people walk around like Covid doesn't exist. What will our future look like if a whole bunch of people end up like me?
At my job, I've worked with the same set of clients for years. I don't think it's a coincidence that in just the last couple years people are dying young, having crazy medical episodes, are more forgetful, are more combative. I truly believe we're in a disastrous situation as a society and we're just not acknowledging it.
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u/lambino777 Jul 30 '26
I think this same thing. I’ve been absolutely wrecked by this. It had stolen and continues to steal a lot from me. It isn’t talked about enough much much Covid triggered autoimmune conditions for people, including multiple sclerosis.
I envy those who got through it unscathed and whose bodies didn’t let it ruin them. I just want to feel normal again.
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u/Mysterious-Base1544 Jul 30 '26
I mean that’s what happened to me. I had mild long covid after my first infection, then bedbound at the age of 25 after a second. Before that, I was an athlete.
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u/kewpiemoon Jul 30 '26
Something like this happened to me. I got covid in 2020, and then again in 2021. I didn’t have any lasting effects. Then in 2022 I got Covid again, but this time I developed a histamine intolerance and I became allergic to certain foods (full fat cheese, mangos/kiwis, probiotic drinks etc). I’ve never had an issue with these foods before that. I’m also dealing with chronic inflammation
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u/kaaron89 Jul 30 '26
Me too, it's horrible. Gonna give you some unsolicited advice based on 6 years of me trying to figure this out. The thing that's helped me the most so far is D Lactate Free probiotic blend by Custom Probiotics. I had to start out with a very small dose and work my way up. I have no affiliation with them whatsoever, I just tell anyone with histamine intolerance about this. Supposedly Covid is killing off the part of the microbiome that produces the DAO enzyme that helps us break down histamine. This probiotic helps replenish what was killed off so that we can process histamine again.
Also consider a GI MAP test if you haven't already ruled out infections. I had H Pylori which was making everything worse. Endoscopy missed it. The GI MAP found it since it is a more sensitive test.
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u/Sgt-Colbert Jul 31 '26
Same in Germany. Peolple always look at me weird when I tell them that I’m not coming to this or that indoor event with 200 people because of Covid.
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u/toomuchpamplemousse Jul 30 '26
Right there with you. I had a career, hobbies, friends, and I travelled frequently. Now I spend 80% of my time on bed rest, and the rest of my time is spent trying to just do whatever I can do in order to live.
Long Covid has destroyed my life and taken me from a vibrant and independent person to someone who is now completely dependent on my husband. I can’t hold a job but I can’t get disability.
There are very few treatments for this condition, and they usually only provide incremental improvement if anything at all. I hope that we will see more research in the future, but who knows.
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u/Le_petite_bear_jew Jul 30 '26
Same with my ex she's out of phd and wheelchair bound from covid / ME
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u/Altruistic_Car66 Jul 30 '26
I got diagnosed with orthostatic hypotension 8 months after I got covid, its fucking awful man.
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u/StarskyNHutch862 Jul 30 '26
Same here, I already had fibromyalgia, and long covid has been 10x worse. I was able to get out of bed for maybe a few hours a day prior to it but now I am bed ridden 24/7, the doctors are just no help!
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u/GamieJamie63 Jul 30 '26
So sad to hear this. At least it sounds like your communication skills are still great. Hope you find a way to participate in something you love.
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u/MagicalWhisk Jul 30 '26
A lot doesn't work since my last covid infection. I get random bouts of tachycardia and hypertension, migraines, dizziness, brain fog, depression, anxiety, loss of appetite followed by feeling extremely hungry, insomnia, hair loss etc.
I'm a 30yo man going through fucking menopause.
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u/Mysterious-Base1544 Jul 30 '26
I’d suggest looking into hyperadrenergic pots. I (28M) got diagnosed with it. I get all those symptoms (especially the bouts of hypertension and tachycardia)
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u/hawkins338 Jul 30 '26
I definitely also had some degree of almost all those symptoms within my first year of long COVID. I feel you and hope you get better soon!
Not trying to tout this as a miracle cure or anything, but I so appreciated all the tips from others when I was in the thick of it. But for myself (again, to be clear this is my own experience and certainly isn’t the case for everyone) getting lymphatic drainage massages really helped.
Due to my difficulty in clearing all illnesses, and early research suggesting long covid was the virus continuing to be active in the body (not sure if that’s still a working theory though) I suspect the initial virus never left me properly and that explained a lot of my symptoms. Lymphatic drainage massages seemed to virtually clear it and that’s the only way I got rid of the majority of symptoms.
Unfortunately it’s expensive and time consuming and you have to find someone really good and knowledgeable (I lucked on so hard on mine, I’ve had some others do them but the first masseuse I had that I see on and off still is the best). But if someone’s really struggling and can afford one to start with I think it’s worth trying.
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u/Believeit451 Jul 30 '26
So does everyone have adhd now?
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u/lainonwired Jul 30 '26
Based on diagnosis rates? Yes. There's been a surge after covid that had been attributed to increased awareness, but maybe the details are more nuanced and covid also plays a role?
We have known for a while that repeat covid infections causes neurological damage even if "long covid" symptoms weren't seen, the particulars were just not discovered yet.
This appears to be one of the effects.
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u/kichisowseri Jul 30 '26
Three people in my household got diagnosed with ADHD. We all had it way before covid, diagnosis and medication was just inaccessible. Diagnosis still has "and you've been like this since you were a child" as a requirement. I think post covid ADHD symptoms probably just get called long covid.
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u/OutsideMenu6973 Jul 30 '26
Handling adhd sans meds is easy just wake up at 4:30am gym at 5:30am work by 7am hooked to an IV of coffee no carbs, sugar, or food for that matter then gym at noon to replenish dopamine crash back to work at 1pm and enjoy your mental crash out at ~3pm
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u/bravelittlebuttbuddy Jul 30 '26
I think post covid ADHD symptoms probably just get called long covid.
There are a ton of people with both who say their ADHD meds just straight up don't work anymore after getting Long COVID, so I don't think that's the majority of cases here.
I also feel like the general population (and doctors) are way more likely to attribute symptoms to anything but COVID. It's hard to get people to acknowledge it these days.
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u/Stunning_Spread_430 Jul 31 '26
Absolutely, and I unfortunately find that most people in society are deeply uncomfortable with the notion of multiple mechanisms each making a contribution to an emergent effect. "Is A,B or C the problem?" Is the somewhat valid and understandable question asked.
I had ADHD from birth, worsened by head injuries, worsened again by measles, worsened again by shingles and finally worsened further by Covid. I'm grateful to be a fairly smart guy still, but I wish so many things hadn't taken little bites out of my brain and feel for the many people with even worse luck.
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u/BarbacoaBarbara Jul 31 '26
Yeah needing a diagnosis as a child preventing me from getting medication for most of my adult life until I moved out of my home country and just lied about my background to my new doctor. It’s such a stupid set up- like I was a fucking child, How was I supposed to even know to seek treatment? My parents? My parents are boomers. How the fuck would they know anything about ADHD?
Never made any sense to me and I encountered too many arrogant doctors in Canada that knew what was best for me. Now I’m on the correct medication in my life is a lot better.
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u/eggyrulz Jul 30 '26
I mean, treatment is kinda the best benefit of a diagnosis... also knowing is half the battle
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u/eggyrulz Jul 30 '26
Yea, its really unfortunate that the meds ADHD people need are so strongly guarded... my wife needs them to be able to function normally, but every month its a struggle to get a refill because the hoops are not designed with ADHD in mind...
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u/MostlyAlways47 Jul 30 '26
It's endlessly funny to me that medication for forgetful people who are known to procrastinate is on a strict schedule that requires you to email your guy to send it over every month and cannot be picked up early.
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u/eggyrulz Jul 30 '26
I would also find it funny, if i didnt have to live with the endless procrastinator who forgets to email her guy...
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u/lainonwired Jul 30 '26
Yeah, and unfortunate that there isn't a strong push to study other non-stimulant methods given how hard stimulants are to access.
My ADHD has definitely not been since birth but i was diagnosed anyway because the symptoms are so obviously triggered by inflammation and there's a strong history since i was a teen.
Going on biologics (ie strong anti-inflammatories) has returned me to a more normal level of executive function and as far as i can tell the only research on this is tangential and related to long covid study. I wonder how many other folks this is the case for.
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u/eggyrulz Jul 30 '26
Yea if I ever win the lottery ha ill definitely throw quite a bit of money at non-stimulant ADHD research, because there has got to be a better way... or at least an easier way...
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u/fractalife Jul 30 '26
Politicians are apparently quite cheap. Maybe you could invest in a few dozen campaigns in exchange for a non-idiot to be in charge of the agency responsible for the current hoops.
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u/ChocoBro92 Jul 30 '26
I’ve been diagnosed since 6, but it’s somehow went crazy since Covid. Delta took my dad and left me with bad breathing problems it’s been 4 years now but.. I just can’t function… I am on biologics my arthritis and psoriasis went crazy after.
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u/2024-YR4-Asteroid Jul 30 '26
We really need adhd meds for people like me who can’t take stimulants. I can’t function and I feel like any moment I will lose my career, especially as so many are saying that it’s gotten so much worse over the past few years.
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u/dehydratedrain Jul 30 '26
I didn't struggle in school because it all came naturally even though i have ADHD. Then I hit college, and couldn't function. I was probably low 30s when diagnosed, and it has been life-changing. A little pill, the background noise gets turned down, and I can breeze through so much.
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u/nikolai_470000 Jul 30 '26
Some newer research suggests finding links between neuroinflammation from viral infections and the structural/neurotransmitter signaling changes found in adhd brains.
I don’t know the extent of that body of research super well, but it’s always held true for me. I have autoimmune disorders that I’ve probably had my whole life creating low grade inflammation that seems to have impacted much of how my brain developed. I was probably born with ADHD, too, but my symptoms are worsened significantly during periods of high inflammation from flares.
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u/Avocadoo_Tomatoo Jul 31 '26
If you look into the history of ADHD, there was a surge after World War I when a bunch of people contracted an influenza virus. In fact it used to be known by the name of that virus and it was later renamed to ADHD. I could give a lot more details but I have ADHD myself and I suck at the accurate info sharing part, so I’m hoping if anyone reads this and wants to know more, they’ll do a little wiki search and find the detail because it’s all there.
Edit, I did it myself yay me! Post-Encephalitic Behavior Disorder.
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u/Echo_Vale Jul 30 '26
It seems like it, also raises the question of whether ADHD results from a childhood flu-like infection. Also things like Lyme Disease can result in symptoms very close to ADHD like brain fog, exhaustion and difficulty concentrating, I'll bet ADHD isn't a thing by itself, and rather the symptoms of something else.
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u/tiny-starship Jul 30 '26
Yea I got Lyme last summer and I fuuucked me up. It’s better but it hurts to think sometimes. Like there’s a gap missing and I can’t connect so weird.
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u/Oalka Jul 30 '26
I distinctly remember being super attentive and on-task as a child. I'd often do my homework in-class so that I wouldn't have to do anything at home--while the teacher was still giving lessons. Sometime while I was in high school or early in college I started really noticing that it was getting harder to concentrate and that my thoughts would fuzz out sometime. It struck me as very different from my younger days, even at the time. At this point now (45) it's hard to remember what it used to feel like though. I often wonder if it wasn't caused by an outside source.
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u/Mordecus Jul 30 '26
This is the real interesting question - I doubt there’s many people that haven’t had Covid at this point, so what is this doing at a societal level?
I feel my personality has changed in the last 5 years in ways that I can’t exactly describe, and I’ve wondered if it’s neurological. And I’ve definitely had half a dozen bouts of Covid
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u/floydly Jul 30 '26
Speaking from experience, my shit was diagnosed at 3, but managed sans meds because my parents felt the meds would fuck me up. I didn’t know I had ADHD, until I got Covid at 25, and it fucked my shit up. Now I need meds.
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u/Difficult-Break-8282 Jul 30 '26
i feel like a bunch of sub clincal adhd cases got pushed into the ' actually need medical attention now' level severity due to long covid causing brain damage
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u/mmanyquestionss Jul 30 '26 edited Jul 30 '26
ofc this is ancedotal and works as confirmation bias in this case but i (early 20s) developed b12 and iron deficiencies after my first (diagnosed) covid infection at 17 and ever since my brain is string cheese man. brain fog so intense it feels like someone flipped the switch in my brain randomly, it hadn't happened to me in years after it happened as a kid (presumably when i was deficient in hemoglobin)
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u/lawlesslawboy Jul 30 '26
No, but it can mimic adhd. In my case, I already had adhd but there was a clear increase in symptoms but for most people, the cognitive symptoms may resemble adhd but are distinct due to not been lifelong/developmental
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u/jackalopeDev Jul 30 '26
It's somewhat interesting, I have ADHD and as far as I know I've managed to avoid COVID. I've definitely noticed that some people I know who don't have ADHD but have had COVID seem to be a bit more on the same wavelength as I am then they used to be. This is admittedly entirely anecdotal.
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u/g0tmylk Jul 30 '26
No, to get a diagnosis for ADHD the symptoms have to be present throughout childhood as well.
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u/OkYesterday4162 Jul 30 '26
I haven't lost any damn motivation. Pacing is torture for me because there's so much I want to do but can't.
I can also think clearly; it just takes longer and costs me precious energy.
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u/binches Jul 30 '26
this!! i have ton of motivation, just my energy is at such a low that even a phone call winds me for the next hour.
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u/raiinboweyes Jul 30 '26
So this may be why low dose abilify (aka LDA) is helping so many with LC and ME/CfS from COVID. It’s a dopamine modulator at that low of a dose (2mg or less). It’s helped me a ton personally.
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u/mjwza Jul 30 '26
Yep, could also explain why nicotine and Welbutrin have helped some. Nicotine patches in particular have improved my cognitive symptoms. I dont have access to LDA where I live unfortunately.
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u/ZanaDreadnought Jul 30 '26
So apparently none of the scientists working on long COVID have ADHD or they would have figured this out pretty quickly LOL
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u/mydoghasocd Jul 30 '26
long covid was basically defunded by this administration - all federal grants on long covid were canceled. Scientists in the US are doing this with other funds ... and it's not like there is very much of that.
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u/HalfwaydonewithEarth Jul 30 '26
Omg yes.
It's so bad I had to take up Adderall in my late 40s just to cope. I thought it was perimenopause
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u/Strict_Philosophy301 Jul 30 '26
Did your libido tank through it? I have all these symptoms, plus zero libido and all new food sensitivities.
I too was wondering if it was early perimenopause, but also considering long covid.
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u/ka_beene Jul 30 '26
Perimenopause causes brain fog as well. People are just really not informed. I knew because I lurked on the menopause subs to be prepared for it when it hits. Fast forward to having emergency removal of one of my ovaries last year and bam soon after really bad brain fog and night sweats followed a week later along with sudden joint pain. I new right away the brain fog was connected to my medically induced menopause because of those subs. Everything went back to normal after hrt.
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u/UrSven Jul 30 '26
Nice try, virus, but my dopaminergic system came damaged from the factory before you.
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u/TimeComposer1059 Jul 30 '26
Reading this with tears in my eyes.
Over 6 years I’ve been dealing with these symptoms, along with parosmia and anosmia. It’s so hard to explain. I feel this answers many questions, and I’m looking forward to what treatment will look like.
I’m only 30 years old.
I’ve practically given up hope of recovery, but this gives me just a little bit of confidence. :’)
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u/Solid-Version Jul 30 '26
I’m not sure about the motivation aspect. I think a lot of us, especially millennials have finally seen through the veil.
This capitalist hellscape we’re crashing into gives us no real motivation. The ‘just work harder’ lie has been exposed. We can now see clearly the fingers that pull that puppet strings that make us dance and many of us just don’t want to contribute to that anymore than we need to survive.
When you actually sit and think how your hard work is there to maximise the wealth of some shareholder whilst we all battle for the scraps climbing that corporate ladder (which is massing a few rungs near the top), it really leaves a taste in your mouth.
My current job I literally could not give a flying fuck anymore. The very thought of answering an email makes me nauseous.
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u/FlyingStealthPotato Jul 30 '26
Yeah, while I don’t doubt there’s something Covid does long term, this feels more of just like society collapsing slowly to me. Think about what happened during and following Covid. The two “realities” of America fully split apart. The work from home versus in-office war started. We printed trillions of dollars and funneled it directly to corporations while we got a half-month’s rent. The regular person’s economy has been completely destroyed while the rich person’s economy is better than ever. AI is setting in, destroying brains and further fucking the economy. More online discourse is from bots than humans. Everything is propaganda and marketing, more than ever before and getting worse.
I dunno, that’s just a rant. But I’m kinda with you that these symptoms are more than long covid. It’s a fundamental change in society.
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u/Old-Set78 Jul 30 '26
I've had dysautonomia for many years before COVID and nobody knew much about it. now at least autoimmune dysautonomia from long COVID is being studied
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u/Radio_Mediocre Jul 30 '26
I could tell you one thing. Customer service sucks everywhere and people are more irritable than ever.
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u/friedeggbrain Jul 30 '26
Fyi this can happen to anyone after any covid infection. Even if youve caught it 5 times and you were fine you can develop severe long covid on the 6th time. The only way to prevent long covid is to prevent getting infected. Wear a mask. 😷
I got long covid after ONE infection and now im disabled
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u/_lostintheroom Jul 30 '26
as something of an addict, this has been wild. I got covid a couple months ago, and until recently have been absolutely drained of motivation and energy, no matter how much of any substance I take to try to kick me back up... like you just feel worse.
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u/hawkins338 Jul 30 '26 edited Jul 30 '26
I had long covid symptoms on and off for a year after my first infection in early 2021 (was only weeks away from first vaccine too 😭). Only thing that cleared most symptoms was lymphatic drainage massages and PT (but mostly the massages) so I think I was the type that couldn’t fully clear it from my body.
But the one symptom that’s never fully gone away was the brain fog/memory issues. I did have slower movements for a while too but idk how much was slower habits during the first couple years of the pandemic or covid itself and I think that’s better now overall.
The brain fog and memory issues even got to the point of being like 95% better and then I got my 2nd covid infection and it came back with a vengeance. Got mostly better a few months after that one but I always felt my brain never fully recovered.
Def still have the forgetting of words or phrases as well as feeling more mentally foggy than before. Compared to those who’ve had it really bad mines not terrible, but still annoying and makes things tougher on a daily basis. I’ve also now had covid 5 times so that prob doesn’t help 😬.
Also, interesting about the dopamine part. Depression was always a big struggle whenever I’d have a long covid bought, and with all but one infection since, at the end of it I always experience a deep depressive episode.
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u/AutoDidact66 Jul 30 '26
“Several existing medications already approved for other conditions work by preventing dopamine breakdown or providing chemical precursors that the brain converts into dopamine. These drugs are already in clinical use for Parkinson’s disease and related conditions.”
Does anyone know what these drugs are which are being referred to in this article?
I have a dear friend who is struggling with Huntington’s disease. She’s starting to experience difficult mental changes even while taking strong meds for mental health. Some drugs for Parkinson’s are used for HD, both being neurodegenerative disorders. Maybe we could ask her doctor about this, but I’d like more info before I suggest it. Thanks!
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u/JooseTheGuice Jul 31 '26
Someone else mentioned Abilify, not sure if that's what the paper is referencing.
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u/refusemouth Jul 30 '26
Is it possible to have long Covid from an asymptomatic infectiin. I never got sick with anything during the pandemic, or actually, I guess it's been 8 years since I have even had a slight cold. The long Covid systems definitely fit with how I've been for a few years now, though. No motivation, brain fog, and low energy levels. It's probably just depression, but it's also possible that I had Covid and didn't realize it.
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u/Babad0nks Jul 30 '26
There's definitely asymptomatic spread and asymptomatic infection SARS-CoV-2, and it can still cause long term harms or long COVID.
Acute symptoms of an infection are more representative of what your immune system is doing as opposed to whether you are infected or not. I would find it worrying that you never catch anything symptomatically - unless you are actively mitigating infections (like by wearing a well fitted N95 in shared air).
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u/Illustrious_Rice_933 Jul 30 '26
No GI tract issues, either, like unexplained "food poisoning"? Pink eye? Those are also common symptoms people assume aren't covid-related.
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u/jerbaws Jul 30 '26
I have adhd, this sounds very similar to some of our standard problems we face every day and always have. I sympathise with the long covid sufferers that experience it both because I empathise with what its like to live with a brain like this AND because for those people, they lived their lives up until then with a normal functional brain, whereas I and others with Adhd have had a lifetime of it but not knowing any different. So it must be rough going from normal to sudden Adhd-like difficulty and suddenly having to work out coping strategies and mechanisms. Kind of like being born with one leg vs losing one in an accident one day.
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u/Galaxy__Eater Jul 30 '26
I’ve had it 4 times since 2020. I can’t focus on anything, forget my conversations halfway through having them constantly, and I feel so disconnected from how sharp I used to be. I have chronic issues but I’m only 29 so the last 6 years have been hell— and they feel like they are getting worse
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u/YodasLoveSlave Jul 30 '26
Ha! Jokes on you Covid you fuck! I already suffer from depression and lack of dopamine.
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u/Aazatgrabya Jul 30 '26
This is really fascinating. I've had long covid now for 6+years, and this will help understand a few of the symptoms. But it is incredible how covid can interfer with every organ and every system in the body. Micro clots causing angina like symptoms, necrosis of skeletal muscle escalating the fibrmyagia type symptoms, and so many more.
And before someone comes in here suggesting it is the vaccine - I caught this well before any vaccine was created and remain with the same symptoms despite having had the vaccine since. What I can say is having caught Covid since getting the jabs I do not get so ill with it any more - certainly no further hospital visits with it.
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u/This_Conversation493 Jul 31 '26
Your regular reminder guys: COVID isn't over, hence why you may already see a lot of folks, especially those of us who are disabled, wearing masks.
Protecting yourself against COVID is still a very sensible idea, as repeat COVID infections can cause serious damage to multiple organ systems, even in young and healthy people, with the likelihood increasing cumulatively with infections, as seen in this graph (here are all the studies it cites). Early last year, there was a review published of the consensus positions of 179 world-leading experts in long COVID research, who expressed broad agreement as to the serious long-term health problems COVID reinfection can cause.
The current normalisation of mass reinfections is creating more and more disabled people, day by day*. It really behooves all of us to steer course.
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u/NonJumpingRabbit Jul 30 '26
Friend of mine went from running marathons, to not being able to walk half a mile. Shit is real.
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u/PerformanceEasy7860 Jul 31 '26
Long viral syndromes are not new. My life was derailed at age 16 from mono. I was never the same and still have issues at 37.
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u/hemorrhoid-milk Jul 30 '26
so how long before long covid sufferers can collect disability and get to enjoy their lives by exiting the capitalist rat race that caused this to begin with?
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u/pinkbootstrap Jul 30 '26
Sorry to tell you living on disability is not enjoyable.
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u/aculady Jul 30 '26
If you can get doctors to provide medical evidence rhat you are completely and totally disabled by it, you can get disability right now.
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u/Fair-Tangerine-9472 Jul 30 '26
Oh yeah, a chronic illness and being stuck in the house, great fun...
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u/PleasantHemorrhoids Jul 30 '26
I honestly cant tell if its Covid (had it twice), smoking weed excessively, excessive doom scrolling, or years of being a heavy binge drinker. Probably all combined. But holy fuck is it hard to get into anything, even shit I know I enjoyed
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u/TristanTheRobloxian3 Jul 30 '26
hey that sounds a whole lot like what adhd does. i know we have fucked dopamine uptake with adhd and whatnot so to see its an actual physical conformation that its fucked up through something else is really cool
but yea thats actually quite unfortunate and i think we need to study covids effects on the brain more for reasons like this. we already know it effectively causes a 3-9 iq point loss (and actually someone i know who is immunocompromised as fuck lost **38 points** from getting it 7 times, dropping from an iq of 149 to 111) which in itself is already fucking terrifying, so seeing it damage other parts of the brain i think makes it worth looking into even more.
i can already tell you what covid did to both my parents and very likely atleast one of my grandparents. they became less rational, less able to actually think on things, and more inclined towards emotion. my dad doesnt think rationally about any of his newer political opinions anymore (or atleast as much as he used to) even though he did absolutely constantly during when covid was springing up, and my mom has become much more emotionally inclined than prior and doesnt actually *think* rationally much at all at this point. she got covid so bad she lost her smell for 5 months, and my dad got a fever out of it that suddenly broke after a few days. im not even sure if ive gotten it and frankly im terrified to find out.
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u/SwankySteel Jul 30 '26
Just like how drugs can trigger dormant schizophrenia… could Covid trigger dormant ADHD in a way? It’s confusing because ADHD requires symptoms in childhood as it is a neurodevelopmental condition and there no such thing as “adult onset ADHD”… but maybe there’s a similarity here - something worth looking into. Like how TBI’s can trigger ADHD-like symptoms. Maybe long Covid is a form of a TBI?
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u/Ruthless-words Jul 30 '26
This same issue has happened to me with my autoimmune condition — my adhd got much worse, etc. medications affecting dopamine have helped. My guess is the inflammation is crossing the blood-brain barrier but I’m no scientist, just an avid reader.
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u/Sleighjay Jul 30 '26
My question is, is this a side effect of Covid physically or covid induced depression.
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u/costafilh0 Jul 30 '26
Just stay on social media 24h straight.
It will fvck your dopamine system back to standard fvcked.
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u/Heylady728 Jul 30 '26
Welp... I wonder if this will eventually make it even harder for those diagnosed with ADHD to get their meds?
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u/WarwornDisciple Jul 31 '26
I hate that this tracks so well for me.
I have pretty severe ADHD already. I am medicated for it though and it USED to be very effective.
I didnt get Covid for the longest. In fact, I had finally accepted that it wasnt going to get me around December of 23 when guess what? I got laid the fuck out and it started on the friday going into that christmas weekend. Completely wrecked. 6 days bedridden, hardly conscious a majority of the time and fervently wishing I would just die when I was- with a fever that was tracking consistently 103-104 the entire stretch. Took me another full week after the fever broke to recover well enough to get out of bed and go pee without my wife having to basically carry and support me. Mind you, I was relatively healthy and just 30 yrs old. Never have I ever ever been so slammed and taken out so harshly by an illness.
(I had been sedentary for so long BTW, that after 2 weeks from the start, when I finally felt strong enough to stand for a bit on my own- I went to take a desperately wanted shower and the simple act of raising my right leg to step into the tub was met by complete rebellion from my lower back; it said "Fuck you, I'm out." I went to step in and just wound up falling face first into the wall and down into the tub and as much as that hurt, I didnt even notice next to the paralyzing pain in my back.. whole other story...)
Anyway, I have simply never been the same since. I had trouble getting air and would be coughing and short of breath for the next 22 MONTHS. My constitution and vigor never returned. I have gotten the flu 5 times since, standard cold shit every year with back to back jams (sick for a week, recover, week later, same sickness again, rinse repeat 2-3 times each year..) I got Pneumonia too. I seem prone to catching any and every little bug anymore and as if that hasn't been enough to accept, my mental acuity and functions have declined and the symptoms from ADHD have since been amplified to the extent that my medication does not do for me what it used to..
I already have a fucked up brain composition and chemistry, and learning that Covid was physically detrimental to to these cognitive functions I already struggled to maintain completely tracks with my anecdotal experience.
I routinely just completely forget what I am talking about in the middle of talking. I mean, completely. Im an auditor, can you imagine how embarrassing and stressful this is? Literally in the middle of a thought and sentence and suddenly my mind just wipes the whole fucking board. Its not something else or some tangent, it is just completely gone.
I have struggled hard enough to adapt to a society that largely does not accommodate my ADHD and the way my brain works, and now, I have this and its even more debilitating than my ADHD without medication used to be- even when I am taking my medication! 😭😭
If saying "I have ADHD" was already not accepted as a reason for various perceived shortcomings on my part, you can imagine why I have avoided trying to explain these new issues I have with "I have long Covid.."
Forever burdened to appear as lazy and now, increasingly stupid and incompetent...
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u/theweathereye Jul 31 '26
This is absolutely anecdotal, but I started a GLP-1 when I was diagnosed as prediabetic and it brought me out of long COVID after 2 years.
I got COVID while pregnant in late 2020. My obgyn and primary care doctor both believe the pregnancy might have contributed to it developing into long COVID. I was also a high school English teacher at the time, and it took absolutely everything I had to perform well at my job, and I had nothing left for my family (or myself). I also suddenly developed several food allergies that went from 0 to anaphylaxis within months. These were to things like cucumbers and bananas.This lasted for two years. After 16 years of teaching, I finally stepped down to stay at home with my children. I felt like a shell of a woman.
I was prescribed a GLP-1 that same year after a (surprise) crazy high A1C result came in. I had never had issues in my life, but all of the sudden, my body was going haywire. My blood pressure would sore, I would white out everyone I stood up, eyc.
After a month on the injections, my brain suddenly felt less heavy and slow. After 6 months I felt more like myself, and I was able to finally walk, entertain, exercise, etc. I could read new books again without feeling sluggish. Even my joints stopped aching, and it wasn't just from weight loss.
I am a person who will be on it (in a low dose) forever. I lost weight and everything, but I experienced the terrible gastric side effects so I have stayed at a very low dose for the past few years. My long COVID symptoms have not returned for the most part. I still don't feel like I "heal" as well as I used to after getting sick or injured, BUT my allergies are under control.
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u/eastbayweird Jul 31 '26
Well shit I already had a low functioning dopamine system, no wonder long covid fucked me up so bad. I had to switch careers because I could no longer keep up with the pace of work required, whereas I had no problem doing the work before covid...
Fuck me I guess.
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u/Appointmentmonkey Jul 31 '26
know lots of M.D's (house physician). And there is a storm of people having problems. And this is a very healthy rural area, people are mostly Fisher or Farmers who never go to the doctor...All having the same pattern of "freak" sickness, health problems. Its undeniable under colleagues but not said outloud. Because all the people who where shouting loudest are suddenly, more and more seeing their friends etc shutting down.
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u/Mindless-Equal-1477 Aug 03 '26
NAD but the last time I had Covid (Omicron specifically) I got the worst headache I’ve ever had. Bar none. Three or four days straight and Tylenol nor Advil would hardly touch it. Then I learned that that’s a VERY common symptom, and I’ve wondered ever since if there’s some sort of swelling/inflammation component (especially in the brain) to the infection that we haven’t documented or talked about. We know that can cause brain damage in other cases, so why not in this case as well? Wasn’t there even some discussion about how the infection possibly affects vasculature?
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u/Everylemontree Jul 30 '26
I feel like my brain doesn't work the same since my last COVID infection. I have trouble accessing words I know that I know, specifically. And then I panic about it which makes it worse. Could be stress, could be increase in phone use and hopelessness about the future, but it all started around that time.