Although he has been on a ventilator for over three months due to Long-COVID, he has come a long way. He says he's almost back to normal. We're walking all over town now that I can go to the mailbox."
Rick, one of many patients suffering from the symptoms of prolonged COVID-19, has found a clinic that specializes in his quest for recovery.
More than 400 clinics across the country have established their own programs, according to a collaborative project. The treatment protocol is non-standard and experts are searching a wide network for cures, but few are ready for formal clinical trials. Doctors are doing what they can to help their patients despite the lack of proven treatments. At Ascension Saint Thomas in Nashville, Dr. Stephen Heyman, a pulmonologist who treats Lucas in the long-term COVID clinic. He says people like him take off their skis. It's been a bumpy ride back to 'near normal'
The number of people who suffer from Long-COVID symptoms for a long time is not known. It is often the same definition of Long-COVID that varies greatly from study to study, resulting in large variations in estimates. However, even with more conservative estimates, millions of people are likely to have developed the condition after becoming infected.
COVID-19 can cause lingering symptoms that are more severe for some than the initial symptoms. Some have had a roller coaster recovery, like Rick, who was near death. In addition to brain fog and fatigue, I was depressed. After regaining her energy, she tried gardening and ended up in hospital with pneumonia. Long-term COVID was still a mysterious and new condition, so it wasn't clear what ailments resulted from being on a ventilator for so long. After returning home from the hospital, Rick tells Cinde Lucas, his primary caregiver, "I want to go to work in four months." Do not drive or walk. Just go for an interview."
It took Rick a while to get back to work.
He resumed his short-term job as director of a nursing home earlier this year, but remains partially disabled. trying and failing
The medical community is nervous about what appears to be an approach to treating COVID. Researchers are more likely to support therapies before doctors try them. Kristin Englund of the Cleveland Clinic supervises more than 2,000 patients long-term and says that many experiments on one patient could be confusing. Her It was her job to make sure that her team followed 'evidence-based medicine'.
The more data we collect and evidence-based data we get, the better,” she says. "We need to try to develop some sort of protocol in the future."
There is no lack of urgency on their part. Englund has also experienced lingering symptoms of COVID. His health deteriorated for months after he fell ill in 2020 and he spent his days sleeping on his office floor.
Their goal is to validate patients' experience with their disease and offer them some hope through these lengthy COVID clinics. Whenever possible, stick to proven treatments.
A patient with long-term COVID can develop POTS, which causes dizziness and a rapid heart rate when she stands up. In general, Englund knows how to treat these symptoms, but with other patients it is more difficult.