A unique COVID experience [an inside look]

I was recently sitting in my office wondering why I haven’t yet seen any long-COVID cases among my patients.

(It wouldn’t be unusual—I tend to get all the tougher ailments as conventional medicine has very few things to offer if there isn’t a medicine “cure” pushed by Big Pharma.)

Lo and behold, later that day, I had my first.

Since there tends to be some disbelief around long COVID—and confusion about how to treat it—I thought I’d share how the encounter went.

Here goes nothing…

Patient zero combats long COVID

Me: “How have you been? The last time I saw you, you had COVID-19.”

Patient Zero (PZ): “I have been feeling ok, but my memory is shot, I can’t remember the names of my grandchildren, my supplements, nothing; and I have lost weight as I just don’t seem to have an appetite.” (PZ has never been overweight. But has lost 8 pounds in just 3 months!)

Me: “Let me check my notes, but I don’t recall you ever complaining of memory issues. Or ever losing weight so easily. I bet you have long COVID.”

PZ: “The local health department called to ask if I wanted a second booster shot. I told them to get out of here… my son says that COVID is just a cold.”

Me: “Really? I have known you a long time and you get colds/flus regularly—when was the last time you suffered memory loss or lost weight because food doesn’t taste right from a cold or the flu?”

PZ: “Oh, you’re right. I will get the second booster when the new shots come out.”

And, well, I’m sure you can see where this is going…

We aren’t out of the woods yet

We are 2.5 years into the pandemic and people still aren’t understanding.

There continue to be over 100,000 new COVID cases each week (that we know of)… and the death rate continues to rise. But… COVID is over, right?!

Symptoms associated with long COVID include fatigue, malaise, problems concentrating, brain fog, and heart complications. And they can persist for weeks to months after a COVID-19 infection.

Not to mention, according to estimates, somewhere between 8 and 23 million people are suffering from long COVID.

And that number is only going to go up—affecting millions of seniors and working-aged Americans.

Why does that matter?

In seniors, like patient zero above, memory loss is a frightening prospect. But so is unintended weight loss, as frailty concerns come into play.

Plus, 15 percent of unfilled positions are already being attributed to long COVID—a percentage that’s burdening our country’s workforce and healthcare system.

And among those who manage to hold a job through their symptoms, well, their working abilities are often limited, even if their position allows for accommodations.

The bottom line is, there’s a wide diversity in the severity and duration of COVID-19 symptoms you may experience. Some may experience COVID and be fully functional, whereas others can’t seem to function at all—for months.

We still have a long way to go before we figure out why.

In the meantime, continue being vigilant. Prime your immune system. And stop classifying COVID-19 as “a common cold.”

For more detailed guidance, check out the October 2021 issue of my monthly Logical Health Alternatives newsletter (“Scientifically proven prevention against COVID-19—and perhaps even the annual cold and flu”). Not yet a subscriber? Click here to become one.

Until next time,

Dr. Fred

Sources:

“COVID data tracker weekly review.” CDC, 08/12/2022. (cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/covidview/index.html)

“What are the Implications of Long COVID for Employment and Health Coverage?” KFF, 08/01/2022. (kff.org/policy-watch/what-are-the-implications-of-long-covid-for-employment-and-health-coverage)