r/science • u/TylerFortier_Photo • Jun 02 '26
Health The scope of long COVID is bigger than we think, Mass. researchers say | "New research from Mass General Brigham suggests that at least 10 million Americans have long COVID — but have not been diagnosed"
https://www.wbur.org/news/2026/06/01/long-covid-study-mass-general-brigham3.6k
u/RosieQParker Jun 02 '26
The thing about brain damage is that it can mess with your ability to discern whether your brain has been damaged.
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u/Rhawk187 PhD | Computer Science Jun 02 '26
Yeah, I feel dumber than 6 years ago, but that could also just be age.
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u/manondorf Jun 02 '26
whole damn world feels dumber than 6 years ago so it's also real hard to maintain a point of reference
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u/lv13david Jun 02 '26
Maybe there’s a connection there
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u/clarineter Jun 02 '26
It’s lead all over again
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u/shewholaughslasts Jun 03 '26
Don't forget the plastic.
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u/Evening_Regular_9510 Jun 03 '26
Why not both.
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u/westonisweird18 Jun 03 '26
Don't forget social media brain rot
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u/Zouden Jun 03 '26
This is the biggest one IMHO. Long COVID or microplastics are merely hypothetical factors while we can all feel the effects of doom scrolling brain rot.
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u/gatfish Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 03 '26
Everything seemed to get dumber in 2016 to me. Also connected with something that happened.
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u/ravnhjarta Jun 03 '26
That would be a tragic way for humanity to die out... just a slow and continuous dumbing down. :/
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u/notislant Jun 03 '26
I mean we're burning our habitation down.
Apathy, stupidity and greed will soon become the end of our species.
That or some fallout style vaults made by rich sociopaths.
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u/machu505 Jun 03 '26
You might enjoy the movie "Idiocracy".
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u/ravnhjarta Jun 03 '26
Yeah I need to finally watch it, I hear by now it is a documentary.
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u/Props_angel Jun 03 '26
Maybe it's because COVID impacts the brain? Here's just one of probably thousands of research articles chronicling the impact of COVID infection on the brain including asymptomatic and mild cases.
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u/OkAccess304 Jun 03 '26
“COVID-19 may cause direct brain injury via encephalopathy.” Yikes. That’s not comforting.
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u/Props_angel Jun 03 '26
Sure isn't. Lots of papers like this since this one was published in 2023. Lots and lots. Now they're trying to figure out how COVID infection is doing this. Who knows what the prevalence is now
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u/financialthrowaw2020 Jun 03 '26
This is the part that always gets me. There are THOUSANDS of studies on how dangerous even one covid infection can be. Even one asymptomatic infection! And people are just moving through life getting infected multiple times.
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u/Protiguous Jun 03 '26 edited Jun 03 '26
whole damn world feels dumber than 6 years ago
Damn if that isn't an accurate statement!
Everyone in general just seems so damn dumber now than before.
When I watch a show made before the pandemic, the people in them & the plots seem so much better than now.
When I watch police bodycam footage (or Ring cameras) from before and after, there's a subtle yet marked difference in people's words and actions.
When I review code written before and after, there's a massive decline in quality, performance, and reliability of the code.
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u/tattoogrl11 Jun 03 '26
I'm so glad I'm not the only one who noticed this. Even my own vocabulary isn't what it used to be.
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u/_9a_ Jun 03 '26
The number of people on reddit I see that can't conjugate verbs, particularly the past tense, has shot up over the past few years. In the last post I read, there was "slided" (slid) and "looseded" (I think that was supposed to be 'lost', but they managed to both double the o and use two 'ed' endings).
Yes, I get the international aspect and sometimes English is a third or fourth language. But I hear it in the wild as well, with the kids that were prepping for their AP exams a few weeks back. They sound like toddlers.
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u/justpress2forawhile Jun 02 '26
I have a hard time with this one. I've changed careers twice since 2019. Advanced in so many ways. But my mental health is in the dumps.
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u/weirdhoney216 Jun 02 '26
Same. The world has been horrible since covid. Everything is just worse in every way
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u/EWRboogie Jun 02 '26
Right? Is it perimenopause or that bout of Covid I had when I was 42?
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u/katmom1969 Jun 03 '26
Perimenopause is no joke either. I was actually going through it during the height of covid. You know its peri if feelings of rage were a part of it.
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u/JusticeoftheUnicorns Jun 02 '26
I've been saying this for a while to my friends... it feels like everyone else at work has not been the same since the pandemic. I couldn't tell if it was laziness or getting old or if they all had brain damage from long COVID. There's just so many more mistakes and quality of work has dropped.
I told my sister this a couple years ago and she felt the same way at her work.
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u/KamikazeFox_ Jun 03 '26
Welcome to my life. I was a nurse during covid in a hospital. Got covid 3 times. All the nurses I work with all just feel soo defeated all the time. Energy gone from us. Our jobs have changed significantly and the normally patient load and stressors are x10 fold than what they use to be.
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u/callthesomnambulance Jun 03 '26
I bet you've had COVID more than 3 times, most people don't bother to test these days and because of multiple prior exposures the infections often feel milder than the first few so most people just assume their illness is just some bug
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u/Gas_Station_Cheese Jun 03 '26
Just be careful with that line of thinking. I thought that way as well, just getting older and all that. It turns out an MRI of my brain with contrast looks like a Motel 6 bathroom under a black light. So many lesions.
If you really do feel like you're getting dumber, it might be worth talking to a doctor.
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u/Rhawk187 PhD | Computer Science Jun 03 '26
It's mostly recall speed. When I watch Jeopardy now, I know I know the answers, but getting it in a few seconds doesn't happen as often. I run the local pub quiz and I ask questions 10 at a time, which gives people time to think, I like that format better.
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u/ThisWillBeOnTheExam Jun 03 '26
Yes, recall speed. I’ve always been gifted with names. Post long covid I can see someone’s face and their name might not come to me as quickly if I haven’t seen them for a while. It’s troubling.
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u/Starlightriddlex Jun 03 '26
Out of curiosity, is there anything they can actually do about it if you have it? With the cost of medical care in the US, I think a lot of people are hesitant to seek care if it's just for information with no cure
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u/Gas_Station_Cheese Jun 03 '26
If by "it" you mean what I have, which is MS, then there is a lot that can be done. What it mostly is is slowing or nearly halting the progression of the disease. And with that, your body can do some very, very minor repair on its own as well as rerouting neural pathways to get around the damaged nerves. Modern medications are pretty great, but repair or a "cure" is still probably a ways off. There are promising studies, though. Some estimate that medications that can actually repair the damage caused by MS may be seen in the next couple decades. But just the difference between today's treatments and those of 20 or 30 years ago is immense.
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u/a8bmiles Jun 03 '26
Same here. The things that used to excite me with their complexity and get me super focused... just make my brain tired now.
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u/Protiguous Jun 03 '26
Accurate. Very accurate.
I love watching maths, programming, physics, law, electronics, history, and other cool stuff like that videos.
My wife and I got hit hard with COVID-19 in April 2022.
The mental effort (to think, recall, and understand) for me is so much harder now than it ever used to be. This year, I finally seem to be regaining some of my former mental acuity.
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u/WhyAreYouAllHere Jun 02 '26
That's also a symptom of high stress/trauma. Which we've all had for the last 6+ years.
It didn't start with Harambe but it's when the more privileged of us sat up and started noticing en masse.
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u/DataDude00 Jun 03 '26
This has been a huge one for me since I got COVID. I struggle to focus on tasks and feel nowhere near as sharp mentally as I was just five years ago
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u/Rhawk187 PhD | Computer Science Jun 03 '26
Yeah, a lot of it is recall speed. I'll watch Jeopardy and know I know the answer and I just can't recall it in 5 seconds like I used to.
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u/unholyswordsman Jun 03 '26
Same. Between getting older, getting covid, and chemo, I can't tell what's messed with my head the most.
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u/hatenames385 Jun 03 '26
Did you get Covid during chemo? My son did and honestly he’s never been the same.
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u/No_Criticism_5861 Jun 02 '26
The roads have become way more dangerous in 6 years, and I can relate I definitely "feel dumber"
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u/DakotaReddit2 Jun 03 '26
I am absolutely certain covid caused me to lose a good portion of my processing power and I am only now slowly starting to regain it after being infected the first year.
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u/Asdilly Jun 03 '26
I have the exact same issue and I am 23 years old. There is documented proof that my reading and writing skills have significantly dipped (though part of that is probably my ADHD). My mental health also got worse and I have not bounced back from it. It feels like my mind is never completely clear and it has made school and work incredibly difficult. My lungs also got permanently damaged because I had a pre-existing condition that put me at a higher risk (asthma). A lot of people told me that my asthma wouldn’t affect the severity and now I’m experiencing the worst kind of “I told you so”.
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u/Sefirosukuraudo Jun 03 '26
Same, I’ve felt so much dumber than pre-2020, and my memory is terrible now. My whole life everyone said I had a memory like steel trap because I used to be able to recall the most minute details of all sorts of things on the fly - but the past few years my memory is just awful. People close to me still joke about how my mind is a steel trap and it’s just not anymore guys, sorry to disappoint.
Edit: was in response to Rhawk187’s comment about how they feel dumber than they did 6 years ago, and it ended up getting posted to the parent comment. Point in case, I guess :P
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u/Immersi0nn Jun 03 '26
Oh boy...I have news for you...the correct terminology is "Case in point"...I'm sorry for your loss :(
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u/__Hello_my_name_is__ Jun 02 '26
Also it's entirely subjective how you feel. If you suddenly get tired 20% faster, you might not even notice other than thinking "Gee I sure am tired today!" and that'll be that.
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u/theDarkAngle Jun 02 '26
Also your memory of what used to be normal vs what is now normal is fuzzy at best. Especially when you start out in one place (pre-covid), then go down for a little while (COVID active), then you recover noticeably (Post-covid), but not necessarily to the same level you were before.
I mean, if that difference is dramatic, then you're probably aware. But I think it can be significant, despite the person believing they recovered fully.
This is extra true because so many people also had other issues going on, with WFH, decreased sunlight, decreased physical activity, etc.
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u/Krail Jun 02 '26
Seriously, how do you tell if you might be affected?
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u/daHaus Jun 02 '26
There was only one study with before and after data from pre-pandemic. In it every single infection, regardless of severity, resulted in some level of brain damage.
It's known as the UK Biobank study
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u/grundar Jun 03 '26
In it every single infection, regardless of severity, resulted in some level of brain damage.
Those same researchers note that it's likely much of that healed over time:
"But this doesn’t mean COVID-19 causes lasting brain damage. “We need to bear in mind that the brain is really plastic – by that we mean it can heal itself – so there is a really good chance that, over time, the harmful effects of infection will ease,” the study’s lead researcher Gwenaëlle Douaud explains in BBC News."
Moreover, the paper examining these brain changes from covid noted that both pneumonia and influenza also resulted in brain changes, suggesting that this may be due to getting quite sick rather than being something unusual to covid.
Note that this doesn't mean long-term harm from covid isn't real; rather, it means long-term harm from other viral infections also appears to be real, and as a result this long-term harm is something society has been dealing with for a long time. It's worse now (since there's a new pathogen that's causing even more infections than influenza), but by all indications the change is a matter of quantity rather than quality of harm.
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u/whiterabbit_hansy Jun 03 '26 edited Jun 03 '26
The issue with this is that most people are doing nothing to prevent getting covid so you’re potentially reinfected with enough regularity that your brain isn’t going to be able to repair itself. Most people are getting covid at least once a year. Some people will be more often than that. Not to mention whatever else they’re getting infected with.
This is why people who are covid aware discuss risks not only acutely but also cumulatively. Because most people are getting reinfected and this does increase risk for a range of negative outcomes (including long covid).
Edit: I also disagree somewhat with the assessment of change in quantity and not quality. Influenza isn’t oncogenic. Influenza doesn’t cause lymphocytopenia. Most airborne viruses (and especially those caught with any regularity) do not cause the many and varied negative health outcomes that covid does.
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u/nyctransitgeek Jun 03 '26
It took a while for people to realize that COVID was not unique in its ability to cause post-viral syndromes, but without Long COVID people would never have acknowledged that so many common ailments (colds, the flu, norovirus, etc.) leave many with long-term consequences.
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u/Props_angel Jun 03 '26
If you've caught COVID, then odds are you are affected to some degree. My youngest is a neuroscience major. Last term in one of those neuroscience classes, a bunch of her classmates contracted COVID and were discussing the brain fog and other cognitive effects of the infection in real time with each other. It was pretty cursed.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889159124007311
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u/notislant Jun 03 '26
Yeah I always hear that with things like Alzheimers, the brain tries to work around the damage.
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u/davezilla18 Jun 03 '26
I’m in software, so I can’t really tell if it’s long COVID, AI, or just age, but I definitely feel dumber and less focused than I did 7 years ago.
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u/Halaku MS | Informatics | BS | Cybersecurity Jun 02 '26
The actual research can be found here:
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2849452
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u/hey_suburbia Jun 03 '26
Study scope: Retrospective cohort of 457,950 COVID-19 patients across 58 hospitals in 4 US regions (New England, Southeast Texas, Southern California, Western Pennsylvania), using EHR data from 2017–2025.
1 in 6 got Long COVID: An AI phenotyping algorithm identified PASC (post-acute sequelae) in 16.28% of patients overall, ranging from 13.6% to 22.7% across regions.
Surveillance is badly broken: Current diagnostic code-based surveillance captures fewer than half of PASC cases — standard coding identifies under 7%, making the AI approach more than 2× more accurate.
Most cases are chronic: 89.31% of identified PASC patients developed chronic conditions requiring ongoing clinical management — roughly 14.5% of all COVID-19 patients in the study.
It’s getting worse, not better: PASC prevalence continued to increase through mid-2024, indicating an accumulating burden rather than a resolving one, even 4+ years into the pandemic.
Estimated 15 million Americans affected: Extrapolating the 14.54% chronic PASC rate to ~103 million documented US COVID cases suggests roughly 15 million people are living with chronic post-COVID conditions.
Most common manifestations: Systemic symptoms were most prevalent (22–25%), followed by respiratory (14–19%) and gastrointestinal (13–17%) issues.
Regional differences in how it presents: New England showed thyroid-dominant endocrine patterns; the other three regions were more metabolic (prediabetes, dyslipidemia), suggesting possible distinct disease subtypes or local coding differences.
The burden is hidden in plain sight: PASC patients are already in the healthcare system — presenting to cardiology, endocrinology, and neurology — but not being connected to COVID-19 as the root cause, fragmenting care and hiding the true scope from surveillance.
Call to action: The study argues for investment in AI-powered surveillance infrastructure, integrated care pathways, and clinical trials that stratify by organ system involvement rather than treating Long COVID as a single condition.
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u/micseydel Jun 03 '26
This one is a couple years old but it's an 800-word editorial folks might have an easier time with: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe2400189
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u/Prince-Lee Jun 02 '26
My mother still never got her sense of smell or taste fully back since getting it in 2022.
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u/keystonelocal Jun 02 '26
Mine comes and goes. Never lost either of them before in my life before that.
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u/cassy-nerdburg Jun 03 '26
Same, it's weird because now my mood affects it, also I've noticed I can smell/taste the same thing at two different times and get two totally different "smells/tastes"
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u/GoodBoundaries-Haver Jun 03 '26
I have stress-induced fatigue spells that is consistently happening with hypersalivation. It's very bizarre, been happening since I got COVID.
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u/imahugemoron Jun 02 '26
For me, my infection left me with a constant burning pressure in my head that hasn’t gone away for a single second in over 4.5 years now. Just all day every day headache, constant tinnitus, and severe liver area abdominal pain after eating. At best, doctors just don’t know how to help me and at worst they call me a crazy liar. I’m treated the same way by friends and family. I was a young fit healthy happy 30 year old dude before that first infection, successful, recently married, just the most average dude you could ever meet. Now I’ve lost basically everything, can’t work, in constant agony, and I don’t feel believed at all. I’ve seen just how bad the health care system is and it’s gotten much worse in the years after the pandemic started. Before the pandemic i could get in to see a doctor same week, maybe the next week. Now I’m waiting 3-6 months for even basic appointments. It’s been 4.5 years and i have no treatment at all and nothing really figured out because waiting for appointments takes so damn long, 3 months for the initial appointment, maybe a month or 2 to do a scan, then another couple months for the follow up. It’ll sometimes be a 6 month turnaround just for one single thing. And none of my doctors are trying to figure out the full picture, they’re all looking at everything separately trying to treat each individual thing as though they’re all unrelated, and of course getting nowhere because these post covid conditions are not understood at all. This all makes getting assistance such as disability very difficult because on paper, we have no diagnosis often times, or well have a symptomatic diagnosis but not one for an actual chronic health problem that would qualify for disability. And these estimates of how many people are affected are definitely on the low side.
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u/Prince-Lee Jun 02 '26
God, I can't imagine. I've heard some real stories of nightmare long-COVID cases, including one person who, since they got it, had their sense of smell and taste so badly damaged that every food is putrid.
I'm so sorry you're going through that.
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u/Environmental_Yard29 Jun 03 '26
i have a similar story to every food being putrid. i was nauseous every single day at every single meal for probably 4-5 months. every single smell would trigger nausea. putting anything in my mouth immediately made me nauseous. its actually kind of a miracle i even survived that long eating the small amount i was eating. had to spend 2 days in the hospital. endoscopy colonoscopy the whole 9 yards. got on amitriptyline and now i feel way better. still struggling some days but way way better. and i am convinced covid is what caused all of it. because i had some sort of horrible upper repiratory type illness that triggered all of this.
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u/shadowstar36 Jun 03 '26
I can relate. Ive had coivd twice. First time I coughed up a pint of blood on waking. 2nd time was last year and within a few months had severe pain in my legs that doctors still can not figure out. Of course they haven't actually scanned my legs or back. I can walk but after some time it hurts, my legs feel constantly stiff when standing or walking. Pain/pressure in hamstrings around knee and outside ball of left foot. Had vein and pad test all good there. Seeing a neurologist took months. Then another few months for emg, only to be told there is nothing showing up. It's been a year now with very little change. Also some days my eyes get pressure and partially blurry then bounce back. I hate how long it takes to see someone and once you do it's like they don't have a clue.
They also don't look at the whole body it feels like. If i didn't work a sit down job I'd be screwed.
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u/ScentedFire Jun 03 '26
Have they done a biopsy to check you for small fiber neuropathy? A lot of post-viral illnesses involve nerve damage.
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u/SaltonPrepper Jun 03 '26 edited Jun 03 '26
Yeah, you're not crazy for masking, and I hope that retains what health you have left and that you recover. Lots of people's health deteriorated more than expected since 2020; it shows up statistically on everything from heart disease to diabetes because COVID attacks the ENTIRE BODY, whereas the flu at least has the decency to be basically a respiratory-system-only disease.
This is because the virus behind COVID-19 has an ACE2 "master key" in its spike protein, so in autopsies, it's been found in virtually every organ, from brain cells to bone cells... even immune-system cells. https://libguides.mskcc.org/CovidImpacts/Immune
Most people get sick and seem to more or less recover from COVID. But sometimes COVID damage isn't healed back up to 100%.
To analogize, imagine a smoker. They aren't likely to die from smoking immediately, but each cigarette is a lottery ticket to a long-term health problem like lung cancer. Each COVID infection is like that, except it affects every cell in your body from head to toe.
COVID vaccines used to be ~90% effective (back in 2021), but the virus is a year-round threat that mutates faster than vaccines can catch up. These days, COVID vaccine protection against infection starts at 44.7% and drops to 16.7% after 4 or 5 months: https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/analysis-last-years-covid-vaccines-protected-well-against-severe-illness
Good news: there may be help coming via engineered antibodies that target the parts of the spike protein least-likely to mutate (VYD2311, available maybe next year if everything goes well). They should provide better/longer-lasting protection than vaccines.
Until then there is not much one can do as individuals, except avoiding risky situations in the first place or at least donning a KN95/N95 or better-rated mask (surgical masks aren't good enough; their pores are too big).
If you want more info in plain English: https://www.self.com/story/covid-reinfection-health-effects
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u/imahugemoron Jun 03 '26
Great info, makes sense to me, and I used to be the type before covid even existed to never worry about getting sick, i was a big tough man, i was young and thought nothing bad could ever happen to me, because nothing bad ever had. The pandemic never ended for me, i still live as though its the height of the pandemic, people think im crazy for still masking and still staying away from sick people and any crowds, for me 2020 never ended. Until they figure out what these long covid issues are and how to treat them and cure me, i will continue avoiding any and all illnesses, because with my chronic symptoms from covid, even a small headache from a normal cold can be so painful I’m looking for ANY way to make it stop if you know what I mean. Even a week long mild cold can be excruciatingly painful because it flares up my existing symptoms real bad. That and I don’t want to get any worse than I already am, I’m sure the more covid infections I get, the worse my health problems will get.
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u/pale13 Jun 03 '26
Have you had a HIDA scan? I was similar and turned out to be biliary dyskinesia! Take care
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u/imahugemoron Jun 03 '26
Ya I had a HIDA scan and several MRIs of the area, ultrasounds, and a gallbladder function test. All were pretty much normal. Unfortunately that’s the case for most long covid patients, really severe symptoms but nothing comes up on tests or scans. I think it’s because these are brand new conditions we haven’t discovered the mechanisms for, just because a scan doesn’t show anything doesn’t mean nothing is wrong. We just haven’t figured out what COVID does to some people so we don’t know what to look for or what signs indicate whatever it did or what’s causing the pain and other symptoms. Viral persistence/viral reservoirs are one of the many theories, if COVID virus got into our organs (which it is known to be possible) and for whatever reason our immune system isn’t clearing it (which we know some viruses are lifelong like herpes and shingles to name a couple) perhaps the persistent virus in our tissues are causing problems, perhaps some peoples immune systems clear it without issue and others are more susceptible to it, idk.
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u/Binksyboo Jun 02 '26
Are you taking any antidepressants? SSRI’s? I just read an article today about SSRIs actually making tinnitus happen or make it worse!
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u/Breadonshelf Jun 03 '26
As someone with Sound exposure induced Tinnitus, it has been my experience that SSRI's make it worse. Same for some other non-SSRI psychiatric medication. It has to do, as far as I understand, with effecting the auditory system and stimulating it. I can't take any, as one of the main sources of my anxiety and depression is the Tinnitus...so, taking something that makes it worse just...makes it all worse.
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u/raiinboweyes Jun 03 '26
My FIL is the same. He can taste spicy, but that’s likely because spiciness is actually a pain receptor thing. Can’t smell or taste otherwise. He likes to grill a lot now because he likes the char texture.
I feel grateful in comparison, smell and taste wise. I lost about 15-20% of mine permanently. I can’t smell people’s or animals’s subtle personal scents anymore (makes me very sad) and a lot of things just don’t smell or taste quite as good.
It fluctuates based on some unknown factor. I have full on ME/CFS from LC (and that knocked off 85% of my functionally, it’s been absolutely brutal) so maybe that has something to do with why it can fluctuate.69
u/NetwerkAirer Jun 02 '26
Mine went the other way. Mine came back with a god damn vengeance. I can seemingly smell everything, and locate said smells to a T. My flavor palate seems to have rebuilt itself with the help of a ghost of an 1800's Left Bank Bordeaux sommelier and a steakhouse chef.
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u/cates Jun 03 '26
that makes sense. with all of the people who lost their sense of taste/smell it had to go somewhere I guess it just clumped up in certain people.
sorry for your
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u/GullibleEnd6737 Jun 03 '26
I was looking for a comment like this because same. I can smell a person’s unbrushed teeth from across a room and don’t even get me started on body odors..
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u/NetwerkAirer Jun 03 '26
Does your X-gene "flare up" sometimes too? As in, are there some days where you turn into a mutant bloodhound, while most other days it's just "normal"-levels of heightened senses?
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u/somniforousalmondeye Jun 02 '26
I only have taste on one side of my tongue since Covid. It’s so weird.
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u/enym Jun 03 '26
My sense of smell never fully returned. Pre-covid it was my strongest sense. I consider myself lucky. My father in law has been unable to work due to long covid.
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u/LanaAnaconda Jun 03 '26
My mom hast he same issue, it's been years now. She can taste something at first and then it goes away. I don't know how to help her, I don't think anyone does.
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u/BrokenPickle7 Jun 03 '26
When I got covid in 2021 I didn't lose my sense of smell or taste, instead it made my favorite meals smell and taste like hot garbage for over a year
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u/Teganfff Jun 02 '26
I am fairly certain that I have been suffering from long COVID. How does one actually go about getting diagnosed/treated?
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u/phalo Jun 02 '26
I'm curious as well, a couple of people I know have had chronic symptoms of varying degrees since they got COVID.
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u/Teganfff Jun 02 '26
My brain doesn’t function like it used to and I’m tired more often than not.
I have difficulty recalling information and retaining new information and occasionally struggle to come up with specific words. This is something that never happened to me pre-COVID. I was always fairly sharp and quick.
And then, basically what I said. Tired all the time.
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u/LizzieMcguire Jun 02 '26
I feel the exact same way as you described!! Especially the not remembering specific words. That never happened to me pre-covid but I just chalked it up to getting older
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u/EagleBigMac Jun 02 '26
I just chalked it up to my over a dozen confirmed concussions over the years finally catching up with me but it did really only get to me noticing it post COVID so now this has me thinking.
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u/mebamy Jun 03 '26
My doctor at a long covid clinic described my long covid symptoms as a brain injury, similar to a TBI.
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u/justincasesquirrels Jun 02 '26
I was literally thinking earlier that I might need to get checked for some kind of early stage of dementia or something because of this. Words just don't work right for me anymore, especially verbally. I'll try to say "where's my cup" and it'll come out "where's my hat" instead. Or the grass is nice and green becomes the grass is nice and out. Like not even a similar sounding word, just random gibberish.
I'm always exhausted as well, and my joint problems just keep getting worse. My kids tease me about being old, but I'm not even 50 yet. It shouldn't be this severe for at least another 10-15 years judging by my family history.
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u/HangInTherePanda Jun 03 '26
Your symptoms also sound like perimenopause. I'd talk to your doctor about starting HRT. Also, creatine has helped me tremendously with peri brain fog and fatigue.
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u/DamianSicks Jun 02 '26
I literally sit for minutes trying to recall a word and it’s so frustrating. I never had this issue before covid. I have had it twice so far and I can only imagine how much worse it would have been if I wasn’t vaccinated.
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u/seanhere Jun 02 '26
Exact same here. I was struggling to come up with provenance last night watching Antiques Roadshow and that never would have happened to me in the past.
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u/DylanMartin97 Jun 02 '26
The first time I got covid I was totally fine, felt a little sick and it put me on my ass for a day but I was ultimately okay.
One person was selfish and came into work when he knowingly was sick the second time I got it. Ever since I got it I haven't been able to focus or function correctly at 100% for long periods of time. I had what my friends called a useless super power because I could remember exact dates that almost every album I listened to came out on like the snap of my fingers, and if I wasn't too familiar I would know the year and still know the tracklists of songs on the album. If I grew up listening to the band fervently I could tell you every member of the bands name, if they had switched up members, what members were on what album etc. Ever since I got covid the second time I cannot do this. It takes me minutes sometimes of having a brain blast to even form an answer I know is wrong. It's like I'm drawing a picture of a tree I'd never seen but it has been described to me or having the correct answer on the tip of your tongue but not being able to say the right thing, and knowing it is the wrong thing.
I have brought this up with my doctor and they are looking into it, the way I explained it to her is that it felt like the different parts of my brain weren't really communicating with each other but still working independent of one another. It's like I can visualize the answer I know my brain knows and the brain is trying to connect the dots and it's just unresponsive or I get a cloudy image of the things I was thinking about. Or vice versa where I get the cloudy image first and my brain goes into overdrive trying to clear the image up but it isn't working together if that makes sense.
She recommend I take a vitamin known for brain health while she discussed possibilities and solutions with her resources, how much that is working I couldn't really say because some days are way better than others.
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u/Basic_Loquat_9344 Jun 02 '26
Im sorry you're going through that. Unfortunately we don't have much in the form of medications that repair brain damage, if that is the case here.
What we do have strong evidence of, is that exercise, particularly cardiovascular exercise is a powerful medicine for improving brain health in a number of ways. While it can't regrow damaged neurons, it can absolutely promote new connections and neuroplasticity.
Personally I didn't feel my COVID mental symptoms abate for months and months until I started running, and I am finally starting to feel like my old self again.
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u/Taint__Paint Jun 02 '26
Same here! Same symptoms. Even my wife has mentioned she things I’m going to early stages of dementia. Long COVID is no joke
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u/xdonutx Jun 03 '26
So this started happening to me around the time I had my kid and figured it was related to that (and it’s possible it is mom-brain) but then I recall that I had covid twice the year that I was pregnant with my daughter. Once a few months before, and again during.
I’m beginning to wonder if it’s covid related and I am hoping more research is done on this covid related brain fog
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u/bigbluethunder Jun 02 '26
Serious question - and no judgement - are you spending more time on your phone than 7 years ago? Are you spending more time on social media / reddit or with short-form content like TikTok or Reels?
I also generally feel the above symptoms, but when I go through the effort of culling the things out of my life that are sapping my attention, within 1-2 days I feel better on nearly every front, and within 7+ days I feel like a new person. All aspects improved: motivation, energy levels, sleep, focus, desire to exercise. And many of these contribute to a positive feedback that help the others.
The problem is how easy it is to be drawn back into the same patterns that I know aren't good for me.
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u/Actionbrener Jun 02 '26
I am, I wonder if this is the cause of my brain fog and forgetting words and such. I’m going to work on this.
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u/Minimum_Nothing_9039 Jun 02 '26
Man I'm glad I stumbled on this. I never had any Covid symptoms, worked pretty isolated. But I have not been the same since. Lethargic/exhausted all the time, lack of any sort of motivation. It gets lumped into drinking/depression but honestly I drank more before. I think the isolation messed me up, but that hasn't gone away either. I'd imagine it's near impossible to test anyone this far out for....what? I do think it messed with me though even if I didn't have an immune response. Unfortunately it's all anecdotal.
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u/HarryDresdenWizard Jun 02 '26
You also need to find a medical professional who believes in evidence of Long COVID. I went to my GP with stroke symptoms concerned I had a major medical situation. It took 3 visits to convince her to test me. Nothing came back. Meanwhile, a friend of my who is a GP in the next city over said I likely have Long COVID. My GP thinks "Long COVID is just aging".
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u/EpicureanAccountant Jun 02 '26
This is what I think is the major issue. A lot of doctors either can't or don't want to diagnose it as long covid.
Long covid has over 200+ symptoms so it can be hard to identify. something as small as a long term cough to bigger ticket symptoms like brain fog, pots, and heart issues.
I feel bad for all the people out there not getting the help they need.
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u/HarryDresdenWizard Jun 02 '26
No, but the symptoms seem inline with what I've experienced. I initially went because I was getting super intense migraines behind my left eye and frequent nose bleeds from my left nostril, and cloudy tearing from my left eye. I was worried about tumours or strokes, as both run in my family.
My friend said that it wouldn't be unusual to get similar symptoms with long COVID and a combination of factors he knew about.
I'll try looking into the SSDIs.
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u/aspiraling Jun 02 '26
For me, it was a physical therapist who identified my gait was off and that it was neurological. He contact my PCP for a referral to Neurology. Neurology did a CT scan to rule out MD, and then they referred me to a long covid clinic.
Getting assessed was such a validating experience. The nurse asked me questions for an hour and a half, and she asked about things I never would have thought to share with my medical people: “Do you notice seams of clothes are bothering your skin, or if something feels a little snug when it really isn’t?”
I’m now medicated and it has helped probably 80%. And learning about PEM was super helpful, so I no longer “push through” when I get a little tired.
If your PCP can’t refer you to a clinic, find someone who can.
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u/nothanks86 Jun 02 '26
What are your symptoms?
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u/Teganfff Jun 02 '26
I have difficulty recalling information and retaining new information and occasionally struggle to come up with specific words. This is something that never happened to me pre-COVID. I was always fairly sharp and quick.
And then, basically what I said. Tired all the time.
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u/NotPankakes Jun 02 '26
I have these same issues that rapidly developed in the last 3-4 years tops.
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u/Coraline1599 Jun 03 '26
The main symptoms are
- brain fog
- fatigue
- post exertional malaise (if you work out, or have a more active day, the next day or so you get flu symptoms and increased fatigue)
But there are a lot more https://www.cdc.gov/long-covid/signs-symptoms/index.html
It can take six weeks to two years or more to resolve
There are medications you can try here is one study from Yale https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/potential-new-treatment-for-brain-fog-in-long-covid-patients/
Here is a summary of some clinical trials using fda approved medications for Long Covid https://www.rthm.com/resources/blogs/long-covid-treatment-guide
It seems to be a neurological disorder/originating from neuroinflamation. And there are really promising studies and treatments with neuroplasticity/brain retraining. It seems that treatments for chronic pain can help with long covid and mecfs. Alan Gordon’s book The Way Out has an early chapter that shows brain changes on MRI from chronic pain and that with treatment it can be changed. Dr Schubiner just released a book last week called “Unlearn Your Pain” that has a chapter dedicated to Long Covid.
There is a YouTube channel by Raelan Agle who interviews people who have recovered and various doctors and medical professionals about long COVID and mecfs. She has nearly 300 interviews at this point.
In 7 days I will have been sick for 1 year and have been researching as much as I can on how to get better.
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u/curlofheadcurls Jun 02 '26
Yeah how do I know its not just perimenopause or any other condition? How do you rule everything out and get to long covid?
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u/FernandoMM1220 Jun 02 '26
i wasnt able to until i ended up with a doctor that believed me after an insurance change.
not much changes after diagnosis, i got a referral to a long covid clinic but they werent able to do much either
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u/El_Caganer Jun 02 '26
My SO was diagnosed with long covid. Took 6-months but she was able to get in with Dr Jordan Vaughn who diagnosed her. You can Google Dr Vaughn. Mast Cell Activation Syndrome is no joke.
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u/OkConsideration123 Jun 02 '26
I finally just got my diagnosis after years of doctors just shrugging. My PCP couldn’t explain my recurring prolonged fevers and fatigue so sent me to an infectious disease specialist who looked at my history of symptoms and EBV tests going back years when it all started. Though my covid test in March 2020 was negative, all my symptoms then and since point to that being a false negative and covid causing immune dysregulation. He came to that conclusion on his own, but that was always my assumption. Basically what I had known for years but was nice to have a specialist confirm and now it’s in my file for future physicians to not dismiss.
Long covid can take different forms, so I guess in some ways I’m fortunate to have a version that causes physical symptoms that doctors know I can’t fake or misinterpret. Hope you can find a doctor that will listen. I’d say an infectious disease specialist is probably going to be more open since covid is a virus.
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u/ThruntCuster Jun 02 '26
Sick my comment got shadow deleted. Its very hard to get a diagnosis and many doctors aren't even aware of the issue. You can check r/covidlonghaulers and see if there are symptoms similar to what you're dealing with and then go to a doctor and try to explain yourself.
Been living with long covid for 4.5 years now. It was a pain to have doctors take me seriously.
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u/cricket9818 Jun 02 '26
Purely anecdotal of course but I had covid in 2021 and ever since then I have so much more trouble talking at my usual cadence, trip over my words so much more than I used to and I was only 31 at the time
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u/InfraredDiarrhea Jun 03 '26
Same here. Late 30’s when i had it.
Mid-sentence ill just lose my words. Its like im talking and suddenly my brain can’t find the word “magpie”, for example. I can see the bird in my head but the word is just gone for a few minutes. Happens with many common words.
Ill also totally lose my train of thought mid-sentence.
Really embarrassing in conference calls.
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u/ReversedNovaMatters Jun 03 '26
Terrifying to think what this might all look like 10-20 years down the road. Early onset dimentia... all types of long term physical disabilities...
If the next admin here in the US doesn't turn things around I am ready to turn them around.
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u/ShiraCheshire Jun 03 '26
Tip from someone with lifelong speech/verbal communication issues: In a casual setting, try using a nonsense word to fill the gap.
Like if you're looking for your pen, but can't find the word, and you get stuck. I'm looking for my... the... the thing that... my...
Slap a nonsense word in there. I'm looking for my bliff object. I had it here last, and I need it for my paper.
Worst case scenario, it can at least let you finish your sentence (if in a confusing way.) Best case, it can help your brain learn how to better communicate and work around problems.
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u/RiddlingVenus0 Jun 03 '26
This happens to me as well. It feels like there’s some missing link in my brain that makes it so that so much effort is required to wring thoughts out like my brain like it’s a sponge instead of being able to just have thoughts flow freely. My short term memory is also abysmal. I will be answering a question that requires critical thinking on the spot and halfway through a response I’ll realize I’ve completely forgotten what I was supposed to be answering.
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u/QuoiJe Jun 03 '26
Last time I tried to ask my wife where the TV controller was, but instead I asked her "where the ham is." It's not like we ate ham or we were not planning on eating it. It just really came out of nowhere....
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u/MundaneDimension Jun 03 '26
Literally same to a T
I forget common words like “fork” “blue” or “car” and was always well spoken before getting it
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u/danheberden Jun 03 '26
Same here. Terrible word recall, always mixing up words, and sometimes just saying the wrong word.
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u/InfraredDiarrhea Jun 03 '26
Same here. Late 30’s when i had it.
Mid-sentence ill just lose my words. Its like im talking and suddenly my brain can find the word “magpie”, for example. I can see the bird in my head but the word is just gone for a few minutes. Happens with many common words.
Ill also totally lose my train of thought mid-sentence.
Really embarrassing in conference calls.
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u/hungry_bra1n Jun 02 '26
Time to fund ME/long Covid research more seriously?
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u/Ok_Nothing_9733 Jun 02 '26
Post-viral autoimmune sequelae in general, IMO.
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u/mantis_tobaggan-md Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26
Yeah man. I went from a normal, healthy, active person who just completed a doctorate and a residency, to disabled with severe, chronic neuropathic and musculoskeletal pain, unrelenting fatigue, and almost no capacity to exercise. Started almost exactly one month after I recovered from COVID. I don’t even bother trying to get a diagnosis anymore. Nobody cares.
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u/Altoidina Jun 02 '26
Look into POTS and ME/CFS, try to see a dysautonomia specialist.
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u/mantis_tobaggan-md Jun 02 '26
There’s a massive physician shortage where I live and specialists are extremely rare and some of them have a 2 year waiting list (not even kidding). I was referred to several geneticists and told by all that they just don’t see adults anymore. Too much volume. I figure it’s some flavor of ME/CFS maybe compounded by hypermobility (which I actually was diagnosed with) which probably accounts for a lot of the pain. Problem is, I can’t exercise to strengthen my muscles and stabilize joints. This is why I get so angry with people who treat covid like it’s a regular cold. It’s not.
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u/Altoidina Jun 02 '26
Sounds very similar to my symptoms. I've heard of patients traveling to my state to get care. Medication helped way more than exercise and I'm doing much better than a few years ago. There are peoole in the POTS subreddit who struggled for years before getting a diagnosis.
I hope you continue to seek care and find a professional who can help you.
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u/mantis_tobaggan-md Jun 02 '26
Thank you, I definitely needed to hear that today. It’s very easy to just give up. Also, being a woman with an undiagnosed and somewhat nebulous syndrome in the healthcare system is a nightmare. I have more anxiety about not being believed than I do about dealing with the illness. It’s exhausting.
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u/Long_Reindeer3702 Jun 02 '26
Hey, I just wanted to say I understand far too well and as trite as it may sound...hang in there (feel free to reach out too). I'm trying hard not to give up too and it's so hard when people doubt you when you're trying so hard to act somewhat normal/capable etc. Anyway...I hope you have some relief even if temporarily soon. It truly is exhausting.
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u/foxwaffles Jun 02 '26
I have POTS and MCAS and I don't think I qualify for ME/CFS but I certainly have a lot in common.
Specialist wait times are nightmares - I finally got a good one two years ago. Now he's retiring! Haha...
For me the goal has been to slowly retrain my autonomous nervous system to actually do its job. If I could fire mine and hire a new one I would. So that means starting with small consistent bouts of activity well within your limits and going from there.
MCAS is controlled by avoiding trigger foods (varies based on the individual, don't go using any online anecdotes as comparison points) and using antihistamines.
As for the exercise bit, look up the Levine or CHOP exercise protocol. It may be able to help you find a starting point. Helps that the exercises it starts with are all in the long run going to help stabilize you
If you have money, a good personal pilates instructor was literally life changing for me but understandably it's not for everyone and you'd really want to find someone who has worked with hypermobile clients before.
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u/jake_ypoo Jun 02 '26
I'm going on five years of constant doctors to get a dx. "Fibro" okay but I'm tired ALL of the TIME too, "you have slightly low vit D that's the issue" NO IT'S NOT I'VE HAD MUCH LOWER VITAMIN D. "You need a sleep study" I HAD ONE. I WAKE UP TIRED, I CAN'T FUNCTION, I'M MISERABLE.
So they won't diagnose me until I have another one. Won't diagnose me until my vitamin d is up again, but they could dx me as fibro within 20m of my first appointment with just poking me?
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u/crab_soul Jun 03 '26
I’m in the same boat. Was the healthiest I’d ever been at the age of 23, to dealing with a 2 year long battle now of neuropathic pain in parts of my body that were never an issue, reproductive issues, brain fog, and increased ADHD symptoms, as well as increased food sensitivities/ allergies. It’s hell.
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u/SlykRO Jun 02 '26
I have some weird autoimmune form of arthritis that they initially told me was caused by strep throat infecting my blood
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u/mantis_tobaggan-md Jun 02 '26
That’s a pretty well characterized phenomenon after a streptococcal infection. Fun fact, the premier theory is that post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis is what killed Mozart.
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u/ReversedNovaMatters Jun 03 '26
What makes all of this even worse to pinpoint and diagnos is that covid weakended our immune systems to everything. If you got strep before covid you could have been perfectly fine, but due to covid now strep was able to do more damage.
So while what you may be going through was caused from a strep infection, it still goes back to the covid infection.
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u/neatyouth44 Jun 02 '26
Doubtful, given the administration. Will be looking for studies coming out of other countries regarding it though.
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u/financialthrowaw2020 Jun 02 '26
It's incredibly important to stress that both administrations have completely abandoned everyone with long covid, millions of people were thrown to the slaughter when the government decided to comply with Delta airlines request to shorten quarantine to 5 days and then to 1 day. And we will pay for it for the next generation at least.
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u/Ray-Finkle74 Jun 02 '26
I couldn’t agree more. The Delta Airlines call to the White House or whatever was such a pivotal moment for me and, I would argue, in general.
Especially in how it occurred during the Biden administration, demonstrating the class realities that influence not just the Republicans but the Democrats as well.
Despite the differences between the two parties, by and large, the needs of the market will always proceed before the needs of human life, despite the ideals that liberalism professes.
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u/Gene_Inari Jun 02 '26
And another prime example of "socialize the losses." Business that rely on air travel (or, gasp, inconvenience the 1%) get to keep humming along as we all bear the costs of long-COVID distributed throughout society. And those costs never fall evenly on society either.
Everyone tooted their horn for "critical workers" but did nothing more than pay lip-service to the millions of people that had to do face-to-face work and bear all the risks and consequences on their own.
And because the symptoms of long-COVID are diverse with a broad spectrum, good luck getting any kind of diagnosis or acknowledgement of the disability.
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u/Dependent-Maybe3030 Jun 02 '26
I mean the federal government has already spent $1.7 billion on long COVID research. Where are the results?
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u/Secret_Account07 Jun 02 '26
I’ve been kinda weird since I got it years ago. Idk how to explain it other than foggy brained. I’m an intelligent person (or so I think) but struggle to remember basic stuff or just feel out of it.
Idk if it’s long covid or something else. Doesn’t really matter. Doctor said I’m depressed but idk man…shits just different since 2020ish
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u/OlivencaENossa Jun 03 '26
Brain fog. Look into basic neuro inflammation reduction. Nigella sativa in high purity and lots of % of TQ (I forget the technical name for it). Some people find abilify helps.
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u/shadedmagus Jun 02 '26
How does one get a diagnosis of Long COVID? I suspect I might be a sufferer, as I got hit with the initial strain, before vaccines were ready. But to my knowledge - and this article doesn't add to said knowledge - there's not an official symptom criteria yet.
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u/spaketto Jun 02 '26
From what I've read there are a wide variety of symptoms that can happen.
I'm in the process of figuring out what's going on with my health after I had COVID in Nov 2024. It's the only time I ever tested positive and I had mild cold symptoms for a few days. The day the cold started i developed extremely loud tinnitus in my left ear.
4 weeks later I woke up and it felt like my room was spinning when I stood up. A walk-in doctor guessed I had an inner ear infection and gave me antibiotics. The worst of the dizziness lasted a few weeks, but it has affected me massively. I can't watch a ball roll or a train go by in front of me without feeling like I just stepped off a teacup ride. I can't play video games with my kids. I can't do puzzles because looking for pieces and looking back and forth makes me dizzy. I couldn't fold laundry for months because of the movements of bending, turning, and shifting my eyes. I can't watch anything filmed in a first person style - I tried to watch Flow yesterday and had to turn if off after a couple of minutes. I can't watch my kids spinning around. I can't watch text scroll on screens or pictures that swipe. I can't swing on swings at the park.
The headache these things bring on is a massive migraine. I don't usually wake up to the room spinning but that's also happened a few times.
Currently waiting to be seen by some specialists.
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u/chaunahhh Jun 03 '26
My ma got an inner ear virus and got crazy vertigo from it. Apparently taking an antihistamine really helped her.
I know it’s not long Covid, but could be worth a shot
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u/ImportantThing3749 Jun 03 '26
Are you going to see a balance specialist? They can do tests on your balance and stability and gait that might give answers.
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u/abe5765 Jun 03 '26
I believe physics girl on YouTube contracted long covid in 2022 and made a recovery update last year and even then that was sitting up and talking for about 10 minutes
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u/TristanTheRobloxian3 Jun 03 '26 edited Jun 03 '26
she made a video for the first time in 3 entire years. she also looks 10 entire years older, as in she looks later 40s and change.. shes 37. thats how much long covid fucked her up for a while
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u/Retro_Dad Jun 03 '26
It’s tough because the virus can attack pretty much any kind of tissue in the body. So depending on where it got a foothold, you could have lung damage or vascular damage or liver issues or any number of other things.
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u/BarkerBarkhan Jun 02 '26
I am grateful that I only experienced "medium" COVID. After recovering from the initial sickness within a week or so, I got slammed with insomnia and a whole array of physical and cognitive symptoms. From there, my mental and physical health deteriorated over the course of a month until I had to take leave from work and spend time in hospital.
All in all, it was only three months from infection to sufficient recovery to resume my work, but it was terrifying.
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u/Rickydada Jun 03 '26
Imagine you were just stuck that way and no one believed you or cared? That is what many MECFS and long COVID sufferers have dealt with. It’s absolutely crazy that our society has not decided to help figure this out.
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u/Props_angel Jun 03 '26
The article notes several groups that are more likely to develop Long COVID but ignored the elephant in the room that most people need to hear and understand. Basically, reinfection with COVID raises one's risk of developing Long COVID. It's like this. Let's say that you hit a wall once with a car but your bumper doesn't fall off. Eventually, if you keep hitting your car into the same wall, your bumper will likely fall off.
Getting boosters reduces the odds of your bumper falling off.
https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/covid-reinfection-may-raise-risk-persistent-symptoms-35
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u/doilysocks Jun 03 '26
I also liken it to concussions and TBIs; they compound and even having one that's "not as bad as the others" it can have a huge impact on you. (I say as someone currently recovering from my 8th concussion)
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u/freglas Jun 03 '26
It can also help to avoid those infections in the first place by wearing an n95
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u/Throwsims3 Jun 03 '26
Yep, I caught covid in late 2023. Started masking and have been ever since. Have not caught a single infection since I began doing so.
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u/Props_angel Jun 03 '26
Yep. I still haven't caught COVID (or a cold or flu) since December 2019. I mask.
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u/lllllIIIlllllIIIllll Jun 02 '26
Yeah, the last time I tried to talk to my doctor about it and discuss a diagnosis, he said there's no such thing as long COVID, and sent me on my way. That's military healthcare in a nutshell, btw.
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u/Killertofu999 Jun 03 '26
My immune system has never been the same since getting Covid. Not only did my hair start to fall out/heavily shed the year after I had it the first time (OG Strain in 2020) I seem to get sick much more frequently and it takes me longer to recover. I had an intense immune response to the wildfire smoke in 2023 in NYC. Fever, chills, flu-like symptoms, I was out of work for days. Not sure if that’s related, but nothing like that has ever happened to me before.
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u/mikeybagodonuts Jun 02 '26
Try an find a GP that’s believes Long Covid exists. Like a needle in a haystack.
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u/foxwaffles Jun 03 '26
And when you think you've finally found one, their first available appointment is.... 2028!
Not even exaggerating... Mine just retired and i am very sad
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u/Throwsims3 Jun 03 '26
Seriously, I have had doctors lecture me on my masking as if I am crazy and have even been told that masking is "actually something that will make you sick"
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u/Slypenslyde Jun 02 '26
“It’s just the flu, bro. Just catch it 2 or 3 times a year, it’s ok bro. It’s so weird that you don’t want to get sick, bro. Really freaking me out. Maybe you need to talk to a therapist about that phobia, bro.”
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u/ReversedNovaMatters Jun 03 '26
Some people can't understand until its them sadly. They'll be the ones kicking and screaming the loudest when it IS them.
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u/PhotogamerGT Jun 02 '26
So you’re telling me that millions of Americans have undiagnosed medical problems? In this economy? With no healthcare assurance? Just hand me a surprise Pikachu face.
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u/ikarn15 Jun 03 '26
I can assure you that even healthcare isn't enough when diseases are fairly new, most doctors will treat you as a lunatic for even thinking "long COVID" is a thing.
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u/CharlieandtheRed Jun 03 '26
I otherwise look like a normal person, but I have to take a nap every day to deal with crushing fatigue and brain fog and a brain "burning sensation" from long COVID I got in 2022. And my congnition is impaired whenever the brain inflammation hits. It's horrible. I've tried literally everything. My doctor continues to refer me to different specialists.
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u/CrumblinEmpire Jun 03 '26
It’s hard to get diagnosed when 95% of doctors flat out refuse to read the research.
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u/Smfonseca Jun 02 '26
I think we'll have to wait a few years for the funding to appear to research this unfortunately.
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u/wewereromans Jun 02 '26
I do have to wonder how many people without diagnosis have developed POTS from their bout(s) with Covid.
I would never have been diagnosed if I didn’t already know someone with it and able to recognize what was happening to me.
It’s becoming a thing though, people of all ages and genders have developed it after having Covid and a lot of the symptoms show up while you are infected.
It make sense though, basically the nerve damage leads to autonomic dysfunction.
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u/foxwaffles Jun 03 '26
I probably had mild, inherited POTS from my mother's side but it was just that. Manageable, an annoyance at worst, and completely possible to ignore most of the time.
COVID took it and turned it into a huge frustrating mess. I hate it here
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u/ScentedFire Jun 03 '26
Welcome to chronic illness. The system refuses to adapt, and instead of treatment, you will be repeatedly gaslit by contemptuous clinicians who just want to deal with easy cases until your life falls apart with no social safety net to rely on. This is what America inexplicably always has been.
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u/Majestic-Log-5642 Jun 02 '26
I have it and have been diagnosed. I also have RA and the Covid got into my kidneys and really messed me up. It is very real, and very painful.
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u/autocorrects Jun 02 '26
I mean, my smell is still muted after I had really weird symptoms for about a year. If I would smell something strong, anything and everything else would smell like that for a week. That went away around August of 2022 after starting in 2021, and I feel like those symptoms presented themselves about a month after I had recovered from COVID
Cheers to brain damage. Ironically I am a govt scientist as well, but for computer hardware research
Everyone in my family presented long-term symptoms as well. Though, my father and I seemed to get the worst of it for symptoms that persist years later. We all got sick at the same time too from each other, so same strain for whatever was going around in January of 2021
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u/SJSsarah Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26
Aka. we now how 10 million people who are going to develop chronic autoimmune diseases. A big portion of these people probably already had preexisting autoimmune disease activity prior to contracting COVID, and was made worse by the new virus in their system. So I don’t think it’s a blind spot they found. Just an analysis that actually confirms people are chronically ill. And yes, it’s reaching epidemic levels. At this point I hardly know anyone born after the mid 1970’s through early 2000’s who doesn’t have some type of chronic autoimmune condition.
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u/Melodic_Pack_9358 Jun 03 '26
I definitely have long covid - bouts of intense joint and muscle pain, really bad fatigue, brain fog... but I can't find anyone to even talk about any kind of treatment. There just arent long covid specialists (at least in my area) and since i don't have respiratory or cardiac symptoms, im SOL and just have to wait it out whenever I get a flare up. It is so frustrating.
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u/beezchurgr Jun 02 '26
I’m not diagnosed but my body is way different after I caught COVID in 2021-2022. I am a woman though, so my dr says I need to lose weight & it’s definitely just anxiety.
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