Some are easily recognized as brain- or nerve-related: many people experience cognitive dysfunction in the form of difficulty with memory, attention, sleep and mood. The most common, persistent and disabling symptoms of long COVID are neurological. Vaccination appears to reduce the danger but does not entirely prevent long COVID. Women and those at socioeconomic disadvantage also face higher risk, as do people who smoke, are obese, or have any of an array of health conditions, particularly autoimmune disease. The risk appears at least slightly higher in people who were hospitalized for COVID and in older adults (who end up in the hospital more often). Long COVID often arises in otherwise healthy young people, and it can follow even a mild initial infection. As of March 2023, the syndrome was estimated to affect more than 15 million adults in the U.S., and a 2022 report found that it had forced between two million and four million Americans out of the workforce. People with long COVID have symptoms such as pain, extreme fatigue and “brain fog,” or difficulty concentrating or remembering things. The syndrome is known by medical professionals as postacute sequelae of COVID-19, or PASC. Her early infection and ongoing symptoms make her one of the first people in the country with “long COVID,” a condition where symptoms persist for at least three months after the infection and can last for years. She still spends most of her days off resting in the dark or going to her many doctors' appointments. Ghormley and her husband, who have relocated to a Los Angeles suburb, once spent their free time visiting their “happiest place on Earth”-Disneyland-but her health prevented that for more than a year. She gets exhausted quickly, her heartbeat suddenly races, and she goes through periods where she can't concentrate or think clearly. “I could have done without being first at this,” she says.Īlmost three years after apparently clearing the virus from her body, Ghormley is still suffering. But in March 2020 she got infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus-just the 24th case in the small, coastal central California town she lived in at the time, near the site of an early outbreak in the COVID pandemic. She went on to complete a rigorous training program and build a successful career as a veterinary internal medicine specialist. She finished at the top of her class in high school, graduated summa cum laude from college and earned top honors in veterinary school. “Recovery is a process … There are many many specialists that need to be at the table for someone to get back to living the life that they want to after a devastating illness or injury regardless of whether or not you were hospitalized.Tara Ghormley has always been an overachiever. They might not think that they need help,” she said. “A lot of people who have brain fog were never actually hospitalized and had a mild case. But it is important to seek professional guidance if brain fog is slowing one down. But the therapists will help people improve their memory, organize their thinking and help the person reach their goals. It might feel “a little bit like school” with people performing tasks with paper and pencil. But generally speaking for COVID-related brain fog, we're going to start with some of the therapies.” “Sometimes a medication can come into play depending on what the person’s presenting issues are. “We're actually working on things like memory strategies,” she said. If it’s attention that’s related to exhaustion, for example, she is going to recommend improved sleep hygiene and stress-reducing measures.Ĭognitive therapists also recommend various tricks to help. When Madathil determines where the problem happens, she can provide tailored solutions to help. One first has to pay attention, then encode that information, then store it and finally retrieve it. “I'm going to try to break down the steps to memory formation and take a magnifying glass to each of those steps and see where the breakdown is.” “When we look at memory issues as rehabilitation specialists we have to figure out where the breakdown is occurring,” Madathil said. Often a patient’s goals drive the treatments. Cognitive therapists, who are often neuropsychologists, try to determine where the problem starts through a thorough assessment. “Your PCP can take it from there and start targeting a plan to manage some of those issues.” What’s cognitive therapy?įor people who still feel as if medication and behavior changes aren’t improving their thinking, cognitive therapy can help. “You can go to your PCP and say, ‘I’ve been journaling … These are the patterns I have noticed,’” Madathil said.
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