What are the long COVID symptoms?

When her family of three contracted COVID-19 last December, Kim Ashbourne had only mild symptoms, while her husband and school-aged son suffered typical symptoms.

Little did she know at the time that she would be dealing with post-COVID symptoms almost a year later. Her symptoms are so severe that she has not returned to work or to most of her pre-COVID favorite activities.

“I was a relatively active mom and hiker who went to school and worked,” Ashbourne told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview Wednesday. I had to drop everything.”

About 14.8% of COVID-19 patients suffer symptoms at least three months after infection, according to Statistics Canada data. This is a condition known as long-term COVID.

These symptoms can disappear within months after infection, persist for years, or even disappear and reappear later. It can occur both in people who are not infected and in people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19.

It’s hard for anyone to say for sure what the 20-, 10-, or even 5-year outlook for those suffering from long-term COVID is, but the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that most patients’ symptoms will slowly improve over time. reported to improve. It took researchers and medical professionals two years to catalog the most common symptoms.The list is long, with over 100 symptoms, according to Health Canada.

The most common symptoms include fatigue, memory problems, sleep disturbances, shortness of breath, anxiety and depression, general pain and discomfort, difficulty thinking or concentrating, post-traumatic stress disorder, but other neurological, Some patients suffer from blood vessels, lungs, and heart. complications.

Ashbourne checks many of these boxes. Within weeks of recovering from her initial infection, she began to suffer from extreme fatigue, memory problems, difficulty concentrating, and difficulty walking. Her legs became numb and tingling and one of her legs limped. By the end of her first day back at work after her first COVID-19 infection, she was unable to lift her arm.

“I didn’t know anything about the long COVID at that point, so I spoke with some doctors early on,” she said.

Ultimately, she was diagnosed with long COVID, post-exercise fatigue, and functional neuropathy due to COVID. This is a nervous system disorder that can affect a patient’s ability to move, swallow, see and hear. I can no longer become A short walk around her neighborhood can cause her a couple of days of intense fatigue. She also struggled with depression and feelings of isolation.

Ashbourne said, “There was definitely some sadness at not being able to maintain the life I had been living and having stress.” I was spending more time alone than I used to.”

Feeling alone, Ashbourne is not alone. For patients suffering from the most severe cases, it is not impossible, if not impossible, to carry out the daily activities that most people take for granted (going to work, socializing, exercising, doing household chores, etc.). will also be very difficult.

Dr. Mark Bailey knows this all too well. Dr. Bailey is the Medical Director of the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute and the Institute’s longtime Chief Physician of the COVID Rehabilitation Clinic. He is part of a multidisciplinary team helping patients try to recover from his long-term COVID using a symptom-based approach.

Bailey told CTVNews.ca in a telephone interview on Thursday, “We know that individual symptoms and individual problem expressions vary from person to person, but the ultimate effect on many of those symptoms is the extent to which normal activity continues. It will become impossible.

He said part of the reason so many symptoms have been documented is that in some patients suffering from prolonged COVID, the virus may not have caused them problems before they were infected. appearing to exacerbate an existing or potential condition.

“This is the challenge that we face. We know it can certainly make things worse,” he said.

“For example, we know people with pre-existing depression and anxiety have been exacerbated by COVID, but there are physiological reasons for that. and for calmness and anxiety.”

There is no single cure for long-term COVID. That’s why Bailey and his colleagues, including occupational therapists, physical therapists, cardiologists, psychotherapists, and other professionals, work with patients to help them minimize and overcome their unique symptoms. We are supporting to

This is what Ashbourne is working with a team of experts at the Island Health Post COVID-19 Recovery Clinic in Victoria, British Columbia. With the help of physical therapists, occupational therapists, nursing staff, social her workers, and clinicians, she’s getting started. control her symptoms. She does not know where the limits of her recovery are or when they will be reached, but she is hopeful enough to continue her efforts towards them.

“It’s definitely the long-term prognosis for me, and for many people, no doubt.” You can see the improvement.”

In Sudbury, Ontario, nurse Stacy Thompson is fighting a similar battle with her own set of post-COVID symptoms. Like Ashbourne, Thompson, her husband, and her two children contracted her COVID-19 last December. While her family suffered from mild symptoms, Thompson suffered from severe shortness of breath and an irregular heartbeat that took her to the hospital for four days.

Within weeks of testing positive for COVID-19, Thompson was so weak that he could only walk by leaning against walls and furniture. She started feeling pain in her chest after her light exercise. She lost her appetite, strength and balance ability. She rolled up easily, causing weakness and numbness on her left side. She struggled with her brain fog, depression and suicidal thoughts.

“Around Christmas I had numbness and weakness on my left side,” she told CTVNews.ca in a telephone interview Thursday. “But I should have gone to the hospital to make sure I didn’t have a stroke. It never occurred to me.”

Thompson’s doctors performed a series of tests over several months. They eventually diagnosed her with her long COVID, and COVID-induced depression, left nerve damage, and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS).

Like Ashbourne and many other long-term COVID patients, Thompson has lost the ability to work, do household chores, and enjoy many of the activities she enjoyed before COVID-19.

“Everything was difficult,” she said. “I struggled a lot with the idea of ​​not being able to go to work, play with my kids, and do normal things in one day.”

Fortunately, weekly rehabilitation sessions with a cardiologist, physical therapist, and psychotherapist are starting to pay off. Thompson says medication has helped control depression and her POTS, improving cognitive symptoms and fatigue.

She even plans to return to work as a registered nurse at Health Sciences North.

“My hope is that I can go back into the new year with minimal restrictions,” she said.

Thompson and Ashbourne are just two of the nearly 1.4 million Canadians suffering from post-COVID symptoms. However, their experience shows that, despite the diversity of these symptoms, a great many long-term COVID patients face the same challenges to lead active and fulfilling lives.

“I would be happy to share my story if it helps someone else,” Thompson said. increase.”