What Causes Long Covid and Who Is Most at Risk? | WSJ

New studies offer clues about who may be more susceptible to long Covid, a term for lingering Covid-19 symptoms. WSJ breaks down the science of long Covid and the state of treatment. Illustration: Jacob Reynolds

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[diannespalding]

My super healthy 50 year old daughter was vaccinated (she’s a respiratory therapist) got Covid and never got better. She’s been on long term disability for a year. It’s frightening!

[belltextu]

What about people who have been sick with long covid for 2.5 yrs. Long covid is caused by SarsCov2 virus, a Sars virus which is known to cause post infection disase, just like Mono-ME. People have been sick for over 3 decades!! People desperately need help!!

[JoseDavidTorres]

Reading all these comments had a two-sided emotional effect on me. On one hand I feel some sort of relief knowing I'm not the only one going through this. All those doctors I went to, saying everything was fine, all those tests that came back "OK", doctors saying I was just anxious and that's it. On the other hand, I feel terribly fatalist about this because it all seems to point to the fact that my condition won't get better in the short term. Maybe it never will. I'm 27, got covid March 2021, I never had to visit the hospital, never had a fever, barely had a cough, O2 saturation always above 95% and still... I have palpitations from the moment I wake up until I go to sleep and I can feel them on different parts of my body but mainly around chest, neck and head. My breathing feels weird all the time, like my lungs always keep asking for more air no matter how deep I breathe, I get tired so easily, everything I eat hits like a brick on my stomach, I can barely exercise anymore, my body experiences anxiety-related symptoms without being anxious at all, I feel dizzy sometimes for no reason, I have a lot of trouble focusing during work or studying, my memory isn't the same, I just don't feel the same. I'm not me anymore. Hopefully there will be a solution, even if just partial, to this in the future. I'm not optimistic. Thanks, Wuhan Institute of Virology.

[barbarawarren]

So many high-functioning athletes have been impacted. These are not people with comorbidities. Many are very young and were in excellent condition.

[sarenastarz]

I’m still a 12 yr old kid and I’m still recovering from long covid. I have to walk with a stick, and I had to spend my 12th birthday alone. I got it in January and I’m fully vaccinated. My mom was concerned I might have gotten a multi system inflammatory disease that can be found with kids with Covid so I went to the hospital and they did a million tests and said I was ok. My blood pressure was high and it was a bad experience because I could barely walk down the stairs at the time. They gave me a round of fluids and sent me home. My mom is still worried for me so we’re taking the summer off to help me get stronger and it’s working so far. I walked 3 miles in nyc the other day! (I was tired afterward) but yeah. Not a lot of kids go through long covid but I’m glad that it was me over any of my friends. I’m still glad I was healthy and I was a dancer. I lost all my muscle tone and thought I would die. I still get very tired and after doing something big one day I need to have 1-2 rest days to recover. I definitely matured while having covid and I was facing big grief as well because my dad died around 5 months prior to having covid, and I had time to process my feelings instead of being distracted with school and dance and friends. Don’t recommend

[shellshell]

I'm young 30's, I had my yearly health check and passed with no issues, got covid (Delta) 5 days later. I now have a heart condition requiring medication every 12 hours so I don't have a stroke or heart attack. My symptoms are still not completely controlled and I have to get checked every fortnight.

[dreamer]

Anyone else feels so tired they can’t find words or express themselves like before? I’m so tired I can’t talk properly anymore. It’s insane, I’m 35.

[nisar]

The problem is that doctors don’t listen. When I visit my physician she just keeps telling me how healthy I am even before she’s done testing on me. I think it’s sort of a mind game on her part. If she tells me I’m healthy I’ll believe it and go home. But going to the grocery store requires a three hour nap due to the fatigue. It wasn’t like that before I had COVID.

[timetraveller]

I have got Long COVID. I had 3 jabs and still got it

[meme-fdfs]

The sad part is, they didn’t take this serious until athletic started showing signs DISGUSTING Drs didn’t believe regular folks but as soon as the athletic started showing signs HERE WE ARE 🙄

[sithwolf]

Yeah covid has messed up my family big time. Dad has breathing issues, my focus is considerably lower than before covid and mom has brain damage that seems to be permanent. All in all not a fun time and it pisses me off that people treat it as a joke. You guys have any idea how depressing it is to go from a bright student that was able to run multiple microbiology experiments at once to not being able to remember if the hot plate was turned off or not? To see your dad not being able to lift a box because his lungs hurt to breathe? Your mom having seizures and hallucinations on top of not being able to follow a thought process for no more than a few seconds from brain damage?

[samhouston]

Certain viruses have been linked to developing cancers or autoimmune conditions. Epstein Barr Virus has recently been linked to developing MS for example. Let’s hope Covid doesn’t end up causing things down the road.

[polyforged]

After getting what I assume was covid, I started to experience around 20 different symptoms including dizziness, heart palpitations, joint pain, low-grade fever etc. etc... Turned out I have POTS (my heart beat was 130 upon standing) and it lasted for a year and 3 months and my heart still isn't working normally. People are talking about 12 weeks... That's when you are lucky. I know people that are still ill after more than 2 years after getting covid. But anyway, my POTS subsided after taking a lot of iron, drinking vegetable juice and forcing myself to sit and stand. But still after one and a half year I have some crazy symptoms like hearing my voice only in my left ear when I open my mouth, dizziness when moving my head, exercise intolerance, skipping heart beats, allergy to histamine, joint pain, low-grade fever, nerve damage, left hand numbness and many more.

[aw-stk]

I got covid in July last year and my smell and taste still isn't back to normal 😒. I have been smelling a skunk smell on and off here recently. And I'm always tired, low motivation. And trouble staying asleep all night.

[erinmason]

My nervous system is completely destroyed. I have anxiety attacks almost daily, IBS, muscle weakness/aches and fatigue. It’s been 3 years now.

[natalieohlsson]

I agree, it’s going to have a massive impact. I used to work out often, now I can only really walk and hike a little. The work outs set me back.

[JamillaLevy]

I have ME/chronic fatigue syndrome and this sounds very similar when it comes to symptoms

[Bennythemaltese]

I got Covid in July and still dealing with postnasal drip, stuffy nose, chest heaviness/tightness, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, and fatigue😩 i have tried several different otc and prescription meds with little relief. I have had chest xrays, ekg, bloodwork done and everything is normal. My oxygen saturation is always in the upper 90’s despite feeling so short of breath.

[RickyChiu]

It looks like it’s not just a flu after all.

[mtpetri]

I have long COVID and dx with me/cfs. Got sick in 2020. I have gotten worse over time. Most likely due to crash from vaccine. I can talk for about ten minutes without gettign Fatigued. I am completely House bound, can’t drive, have light and sound sensitivity, brain fog where I can’t even think. Relentless fatigue where I’m basically paralyzed. I am so desperate to get better I’m at my ends Rope. I’m only 31. I have to use a wheelchair when I leave the house. I just want ANY improvement. My stomach stopped working and can only eat soft foods. Every day I pray for improvement or for death.