“I have a very, very strong anxiety, much worse than I have ever had in my life,” says Dunlop. “The anxiety I’m feeling right now is unlike any anxiety I’ve ever felt.” From the moment she wakes up until the moment she goes to bed at night, Dunlop’s mind is racing with questions like, “When will I recover completely?” and, “Do I have undetected heart damage?”
It doesn’t help that Dunlop feels short of breath and extremely tired after exercise. “Not being able to exercise is probably the most difficult for me, because intense exercise is how I used to control my anxiety. Without being able to do that, that level of control is gone, so this has also been a struggle for me, ”says Dunlop. Now, she practices yoga, and it helps to moderate some of her anxiety.
Then there is monetary stress. Chronic illnesses can drain your finances with medical expenses and reduced wages due to absences from work. The Mount Sinai program requires daily rehabilitation work, and there is no way of telling whether anyone will improve in three months, six months or more. “We are talking to the social security administration because this is a full-time job for people,” says Dr. Putrino.
The fact that insurance approval is often required to help pay for medical treatment can create an impossible financial situation for people with long-distance COVID-19. Approximately 28.5 million people in the United States were uninsured in 2017, according to a 2018 report by the US Census Bureau. That same report showed that approximately 10.6% of black individuals and 16.1% of Hispanics did not have health insurance in 2017. This lack of insurance can create great financial stress for people who fall ill in some of the communities that are impacted by the virus. .
To further complicate the insurance situation, some people with long-distance coronavirus never received a definitive positive diagnosis. Especially at the beginning of the pandemic, coronavirus testing was limited across the country. Some people who thought they had COVID-19 just couldn’t get confirmation. So, what about people who can’t prove they had the coronavirus, but believe they are dealing with its consequences?
“We have been working around the clock to defend the fact that someone cannot be denied access to care based on the status of the test. The World Health Organization has released guidelines for presumed positive diagnoses based on symptoms, so we are following those guidelines, ”says Dr. Putrino.
What’s next for the long-haulers
It is too early to know whether everyone with post-acute COVID-19 syndrome will have a full recovery. It’s only been about a year since specialist doctors in the United States have treated patients with COVID-19; they had even less time to find out what post-acute COVID syndrome is, what causes it and how to treat it effectively, says Dr. Putrino. “We still don’t have a good answer if this is something that people will have to be vigilant for the rest of their lives,” he says.
But he is encouraged by the success of his patients. “I wouldn’t say that right now we have someone who is saying ‘I’m 100 percent where I was before COVID-19,’ but we are seeing people running on treadmills again and people who can exercise at a very heavy level without being eliminated by two three days later ”, says Dr. Putrino. That said, some patients have setbacks, so there’s no telling if any noticeable improvement will last.
Dr. Bunnell’s feelings are similar: “I don’t have exact figures on the recovery path yet, but, anecdotally, most of our patients get better, and I would say that after about three months, patients who were not in the ICU are doing much better. ”
As more people receive COVID-19 and the number of people with post-acute COVID-19 syndrome increases, our knowledge about the disease – and who it affects – will increase, says Dr. Putrino. A national study called INSPIRE, funded by the CDC, will study the long-term results of the new coronavirus in patients. The United States Department of Veterans Affairs will study the effects of COVID-19 on 9,000 veterans who have had the disease.
For now, everyone needs to remain vigilant to protect themselves against the new coronavirus. It is just another good reason (in an already long list) to follow the recommendations of the local health department, social distance and wearing masks. “There are all these young people across the country thinking, ‘It’s okay if I get COVID-19. I’m young and healthy ‘, ”says Dr. Putrino. You may have a lower risk of death, but you are susceptible to this new condition that changes your life. “We still haven’t been able to find out who will have post-acute COVID-19 syndrome and who won’t,” says Dr. Putrino.
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