What You Need to Know about Long-Haul Covid

Long-haul Covid, or post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC), is real. We see it on a fairly regular basis at Natural Healthcare Center. 

Long-haul covid is a complex condition in which someone experiences symptoms and health problems long after the acute phase of a COVID-19 infection. There are many diseases that live inside you and can have a lingering effect long after treatment and recovery when symptoms flare up or never completely resolved. Long-haul Covid is one of them.

In fact, we’ve known people whose quality of life has been seriously affected, physically and neurologically, to the point that they can’t work and struggle to function on a daily basis.

Dr. David Brady, naturopathic and functional medicine practitioner and Chief Medical Officer at Designs for Health and Diagnostic Solutions Laboratory, has researched long-haul Covid extensively. Dr. Brady also works closely with Dr. Oscar Coetzee, PhD, DCN, Director of Clinical Nutrition at Natural Healthcare Center.

Dr. Brady was recently interviewed on an episode of the podcast “Conversations for Health”and discussed advancements in evidence-based research and nutraceutical approaches to managing long-haul syndrome with host Evelyne Lambrecht.

I wanted to share the highlights of this podcast so you can learn more about the most common symptoms of long-haul Covid and the latest information available.

Common Symptoms of Long Covid

Most cases of long-haul Covid can be traced back to the initial wave of COVID-19, while variants like Omicron and Delta did not cause as much long-haul Covid. The list of symptoms is very long, but the most common symptoms are:

• Prolonged and often severe fatigue
• Achy pain, often around the rib cage
• Chest pain and intermittent rapid heartbeat, also called hypotension or postural orthostatic tachycardia (POT) syndrome
• Dizziness when standing up quickly 
• Brain fog
• Sudden coldness in hands and feet

The Brooking Institute estimates that about 16 million people in the U.S. are living with long-haul Covid, about 4 million of whom are in their prime working years. This has taken many people out of the workforce and increased consumption of healthcare resources. In addition to the impact on public health, long-haul Covid is having a serious economic impact on our country. 

Care for Long-Haul Covid

We have learned much about Covid during the past four years. What we still do not know is what causes symptoms to persist long after the acute phase has supposedly resolved. There are many hypotheses, but concrete, evidence-based answers are lacking at this point. We also have no established standard of care in conventional medicine or integrative medicine.

What we do know is that blood testing can diagnose long-haul Covid and determine if there’s a connection to the symptoms you’re experiencing and a previous bout with Covid. We also know that personalized nutrition protocols that restore balance in the gut microbiome and reduce inflammation can help patients find relief from some symptoms.

Both pharmaceutical and nutraceutical treatments continue to be researched. Some patients are traveling to other parts of the world for treatments that might not be available or approved in the U.S. with very mixed results.

Educate Yourself about Long-Haul Covid

Keep in mind that someone who had mild symptoms or even no symptoms of Covid could be experiencing symptoms of long-haul Covid. This condition is not limited to people who ended up in the hospital.

I encourage everyone to watch or listen to the full podcast to become educated about this disease, the symptoms, and the latest research being done by Dr. Brady and other great minds around the world. 

If you’re experiencing any of the symptoms of long-haul Covid, schedule an appointment at Natural Healthcare Center. We can help you get to the root causes and determine next steps.