My 37 year old daughter, who has been triple vaccinated with Moderna (she got all her shots, as soon as she was eligable), and who has been VERY CAREFUL (masking, distance, etc.) for the past few years, got COVID from a friend of hers who told my daughter she was safe. The friend said that she (the friend) couldn't possibly have COVID again, since she had just gotten over it less than a month before. Turns out, the friend DID have it again, and DID give it to my daughter. My daughter tested positive on July 1, immediately asked for and took Paxlovid, and tested negative about 6 days later.
it is now Aug 11, and my daughter has been diagnosed with Long COVID Syndrome. She (formerly a high energy person) cannot walk up a couple of flights of stairs without being incredibly exhausted. She can't spend 10 minutes tidying up the house she shares with her partner, without having to lie down for several hours. She wants a manicure, but can't sit up for the time it takes to get it in a shop, so she is trying to get someone to come to her home to give her a manicure. She can't do her job (she is in business for herself and teaches voice, and she can't sing, because it is too exhausting). She now has a heart murmur that she never had before. One of her friends took her to the ER the other night (her partner was out of town), because her heart was doing strange things. She apparently checked out OK (ECG and CAT scan with contrast?), but I had to wake up in the middle of the night to pick her up at the ER, since her friend had to go home to take care of their dogs. I stayed with her until her partner came back from out of town.
I am 76 years old, and I have worried about getting COVID and ending up with LONG COVID, since this thing started. It never occurred to me that my healthy 37 year old, fully vaccinated daughter would end up with long covid. I am so freaked out, and have nowhere else to talk about this. I am so sad and angry.
UPDATE: May 6, 2023 It is now been over 10 months. My daughter was able to join https://rthm.com which she participates in online and has a team of doctors and other professionals both researching Long COVID, as well as treating patients by "trial and error" in many cases. But they have suggested many things which have greatly improved my daughter's stamina and other symptoms. She is still very far from completely well, but she says that she feels like she has her personality back. She still has a walker with a seat (so that if she gets suddenly exhausted, she can sit. And uses a cane, when she isn't with the walker. She wears a medical corset and support stockings to push the blood back up to her head, and is on a special low histamine diet to reduce inflammation. She has to take a variety of pills six times a day! She pays for much of this out of pocket, including the cost of the Long COVID clinic. She still can't work, but luckily her fiancée makes very good money and so can afford it. She was interviewed for an article in CalMatters on Long COVID, and a lot more of her story is in there (along with some things about two other people). Photo of many of the pills and supplements that she has to take are in there too. https://calmatters.org/health/coronavirus/2023/04/long-covid-california/?fbclid=IwAR0zluml_KMN0orT0Jbwh2yMt1dLeNF1G45BXP31nTLfmKPRrIYP0shXqng
It has now been 5 months since she got COVID on July 1. She has slowly been getting better. She wears compression socks and a personally fitted medical corset, to help her blood get to her brain, which helps with her brain fog. They have also been giving her some beta blockers, which has increased her energy somewhat. When she and her partner moved to Washington state, she wore a blindfold, ear plugs AND noise canceling headphones while she was in public to keep her migraines from being triggered. She meditates, which helps her maintain her emotional equilibrium. Her parter is great and she has lots of wonderful and loving friends. I am getting a little hopeful that she will continue getting slowly better and better. She can’t work yet. She is a vocal coach and she can barely sing softly now. Luckily, her partner makes enough money and they both have medical insurance through her partner’s work.
My daughter and her significant other just moved to the Portland, Oregon area (from here where I live in San Francisco, CA). I think it was partly because the loud sounds of the city were bringing on migraines, and also to get a much larger house with lots of empty land around it. Thank all of you who had suggestions, but my daughter won’t listen to anything I say (I am not a medical professional), even when I send her links to studies on PubMed. I feel helpless. Her significant other is great and very smart, so I trust her to do the best for my daughter. When we said goodbye to them at the airport, and I hugged her SO, her SO said to me, “Don’t worry, I will take good care of her” I said, “Take care of yourself too “
Hi, there. Stanford University is studying 200 people with long Covid using Paxlovid to diminish symptoms. Urge your doctor to consider off label use or find a study.
https://www.marinij.com/2022/11/21/could-these-antiviral-pills-treat-long-covid/
Not sure if you are returning Born, but in case you are, be sure to check poida's info again and my reply if you also could not find the study previously.
Here is one way to protect your Ace 2 receptors and help inhibit the virus from latching onto them. If you do not see a URL attached to the info... that is because it is from an a blog I added to help people prepare for COVID.
Ace-2 receptors
Ace-2 receptors are where the COVID spike “keys into” a cell.
Natural ACE inhibitors you can add to your diet
Here are natural Ace receptor inhibitors: Milk, eggs, soured cream/yogurt/kefir, pomegranate juice, flaxseed, beet-apple juice, vegetable juice, prunes, dark chocolate, hibiscus tea and blueberries. Pomegranates are also high in antioxidants which can improve and strengthen the arteries, and prevent blood from clotting https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6484055/
Blood clots
COVID changes your vascular viscosity so that blood clots may occur. Males, smokers, those over age 65, and those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes have an increased risk of thrombotic complications of COVID-19. https://www.bmj.com/content/369/bmj.m2058/rr-5
Although you have less energy, keeping moving to keep the blood moving. Eat nutritionally and avoid fatty and sugar foods that are already bad for the heart, like fast foods, fried foods, pastries, margarine, processed foods and cured meats. COVID puts a huge strain on the heart (and other organs too)
Good for heart foods like, blueberries and other antioxidant rich foods, wild salmon and lots of vegetables are important. Limit any meats, and at least for now, ditch processed/ cured meat and beef.
The lack of absorption of Calcium ties in here. You need Vitamin D to absorb. You need sunshine to make D, or supplementation. AND magnesium to absorb the D... Lacking that symbiosis may be why Long COVID is insidious. Over-doing calcium with pill supplementation can create problems ... like plaque deposits, so please be careful.
Calcium: fish with bones, such as salmon and sardines; Yogurt, milk, cheese, dairy foods. green leafy vegetables, broccoli, cabbages, not spinach; fortified breads, nuts; and my go to... Organic chicken made into soup and then the bones boiled for a week (Buy a chicken every Saturday and make Sunday chicken dinner, an inexpensive soup lunch AND bone broth in the slow cooker. https://thecleaneatingcouple.com/easy-crockpot-bone-broth/ I boil thr bones until then are soft.
Illness recovery:
When you are ill you DEPLETE vitamins; especially ABCDE. It is difficult to get the nutrients you need in your diet, so supplementing is important. Take a daily vitamin, especially when you have been unwell.
Anyone not living near the equator needs to supplement vitamin D. If you have not made a trip to a hotspot this winter, your body will be depleted of vitamin D. (You body stores it for up to 3 months, which is why winter blues set in after 2 months of winter) I take a combo of magnesium and vitamin D for absorption, and extra D at the advice of my physician.
Do not go and gobble down vitamins in hopes that you will be healthier. See your physician or a holistic doc to check if you are actually deficient, if you wish to take more than a daily recommended amount. Eating nutritiously and following a healthy life style plan will have you better prepared than most to recover from the virus and stay well.
Self-care and diet.
Inflammation
Inflammation from the virus may make the immune system over react, and bursting cells spill into the lungs causing inflammation, fever, pneumonia and can make it difficult for oxygen to get into the bloodstream.
Cut back or eliminate inflammatory foods like sugar, refined carbs/white bread, fried foods/trans fats, processed meats, sugary drinks, gluten, soybean oil and vegetable oils, processed snack foods, such as chips and crackers. Avoid alcohol. Control blood sugar. Exercise. Sleep well.
Drink lots of water.
Vaping, smoking and toking inflame the lungs. Cut back or hey maybe try quitting, again… as long as you don’t make yourself sick with stress.
* Omega 6 fatty acids are an essential fatty acid that the body needs for normal growth and development. The body needs a healthy balance of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids. Excess consumption of omega-6s can trigger the body to produce pro-inflammatory chemicals. These fatty acids are found in oils such corn, safflower, sunflower, grapeseed, soy, peanut, and vegetable; mayonnaise; and many salad dressings.
Being healthy may not protect you from getting the virus, but will help you in your recovery.
Try an anti-inflammatory diet
High quantities of vegetables, such as tomatoes, kale, broccoli, spinach, carrots, cucumbers, and onions.
Fresh fruit such as apples, bananas, figs, dates, grapes, and melons.
High consumption of legumes, beans, nuts, and seeds, such as almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds, and cashews
Whole grains such as whole wheat, oats, barley, buckwheat, corn, and brown rice
Olive oil as the main source of dietary fat, alongside olives, avocados, and avocado oil
Cheese and yogurt as the main dairy foods, including Greek yogurt
Moderate amounts of fish and poultry, such as chicken, duck, turkey, salmon, sardines, and oysters
Eggs,
Limited amounts red meats and sweets
Around one glass per day of wine, with water as the main beverage of choice and no carbonated and sweetened drinks
Eat more of these antiviral foods
(but don’t be fooled by companies selling capsules costing you an arm and a leg! Buy bulk spices and cook with them)
These are known antiviral foods, but again, they are unlikely to prevent you from getting the virus, but are healthy options to include , so I added them.
Onions, garlic, turmeric, ginger, curcumin, cayenne pepper, Oregano
Greek yogurt, coconut oil,
kale, spinach, Brussel sprouts, cabbage (Do not overdo, as Thyroid triggers)
Lemons, limes
Fermented foods
You might lose a little weight AND be healthier. Triple win!
Yet everyone is acting like it is all over. I am still wearing masks when out and avoiding the same things I have been avoiding for years now. I can’t remember the last time I saw someone else wearing a mask and people stare at me like I’m a leper. All these assholes better hope that COVID doesn’t mutate into something completely unrecognizable to the collective immunity we’ve built up. Right now getting COVID is easy, even if you are fully vaccinated. Where the vaccines really shine is in making the disease less severe. They don’t, unfortunately, do much to stop long COVID. I guess the reich wing got its wish, because now everyone is acting like COVID is nothing more than a common cold.
Queensland University just discovered a correlation between long covid and chronic fatigue syndrome. Something to do with a calcium blockage.
Answers are coming.
Just reading now, Born. So sorry and I hope she’ll be back to her old self soon. 💗
If it is any consolation, long COVID is usually not diagnosed until months afterward. She has been through an illness and even mild COVID can take its toll. Post COVID symptoms may not last more than12 weeks. I will wish your daughter to get better very soon.
One of our Provinces has an interactive self-help guide:
ADULTS: https://sharedhealthmb.ca/patient-care/long-covid/adults/#breath
For anyone else reading there is one for children and teens too https://sharedhealthmb.ca/patient-care/long-covid/children-and-teens/
I am not a health care professional, but one of the speculations ( no one knows enough yet about it to be positive and everyone is different in number/type/severity of symptoms /presentation ) but COVID may still remain in the tissues in a small enough quantity to not test positive but to also wreak havoc. If she has not yet had a second booster, make sure she gets it as long as her heart is okay and her DOc okays it. For some, it was a great relief and started recovery. (90 days after her clearance of COVID usually, as long as she is eligible.)
VIDEO about 14 mins, talks about the virus being in the tissues… and remaining. (Also has lots of charts) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OjFd9w7Lic
It’s frustrating and scary to see our children suffer, especially in a case like yours. I don’t know if you are in the US, or if it matters, but here are some behavioral health resources from the CDC’s website:
https://asprtracie.hhs.gov/technical-resources/115/covid-19-behavioral-health-resources/99
There are a lot of resources listed throughout their site. Take care of yourself, mentally and physically. Your daughter needs a healthy, happy mom.
I am hoping her LC will improve, as I am hoping my own (possible?) LC will improve. I have brain fog and fatigue as well. Anecdotally, I have heard of a woman who had such severe brain fog after Covid that she could not do her job any more, and within 8 months or so, she is back to normal. I would recommend a FB such as this one: https://www.facebook.com/groups/longcovid
I am so sorry. This is beyond infuriating. I hope your daughter recovers. In the meantime, all I can do is offer my best wishes. Know that some of us out here are still trying to stem this awful tide. I'm sure everyone at SAV is happy to listen and support you. Many hugs.
Crap, I am so sorry to hear about your daughter. What kind of a "friend" assumes they can't get covid again so soon and exposes someone else?
I hope that she will be able to overcome this and recover fully.
So sorry to hear this. Infuriating that someone who did all the right things got covid, and then long covid.
Since she has a good doctor, she had least has an above average chance of full recovery.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-01453-0
Long COVID risk falls only slightly after vaccination, huge study shows
I am so sorry. I've read that some Covid patients develop Fibromyalgia which causes extreme fatigue and pain. I am in your age group and understand your fear and anger.
I hope things get better ❤️🩹
I am so sorry 😞 That sucks. I have to believe that so many people have long Covid at this point that they’ll figure out treatment soon, but that doesn’t help her now. ❤️
💙❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙