Long COVID FAQs

Feb 1

*Answers for the most frequently asked questions about Long COVID.*

Updated February 14, 2024

What is Long COVID?

Long covid refers to random clusters of symptoms that develop and/or persist after an acute covid infection, regardless of the severity of the infection. It has to be differentiated from reinfection, where the disease is active.

Studies show that 30-50% of people who get COVID-19 will have lingering health issues for 4 weeks or longer. More recent research has shown that re-infection can cause more damage. For example: If you had COVID and recovered about 90%, then got re-infected, that 90% becomes your new 100%. This is why prevention and early intervention are so important.

View our Educational Blog Table of Contents for information on Long COVID symptoms management.

View our Recovery Tools page for CCG recommended products and services.

What are the symptoms of “Long COVID”?

The top 5 symptoms reported by covidCAREgroup followers are: 1. Fatigue 2. Brainfog 3. Insomnia 4. Depression 5. Anxiety. According to the National Institutes of Health, there are now over 200 different symptoms associated with Long COVID. Other commons symptoms may include cardiac changes, nerve twitches or vibrations, sleep disorders, fevers, gastrointestinal symptoms, adrenal fatigue, thyroid dysfunction, anosmia, pain, headache, rhinitis, poor appetite, dizziness, myalgias, and insomnia.

Are there solutions Long COVID symptom management?

Our Clinical Specialists continuously seek out new and valid cutting-edge solutions. View our Recovery Tools page for CCG recommended products and services or follow these links to learn about our top recommendations for Long COVID recovery and get discount pricing:

When will COVID-19 be over?

COVID-19 will continue circulating in the public. It changes and mutates rapidly and frequently. Newer variants are considered less fatal in the acute phase, but the molecules are lighter, smaller and more contagious than the Alpha strain and they can cause more long-term damage. This means that the risks of developing new or worsened Long COVID symptoms will be a risk for many years.

What causes Long COVID?

COVID-19 disrupts the immune system. It causes the cytokine storm that disrupts the systems that usually keep you healthy. One of these problems is dysautonomia, when the immune system mistakes healthy tissue for an invasive virus or bacteria, and tries to neutralize the “threat”. Another issue is mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS). This leads to the overproduction of histamines, resulting in inflammation.

When nerves and organs are inflamed, they cannot function properly. When this happens, other organs, muscles, tissues, even whole body systems cannot function properly either.

How long can Long COVID symptoms last?

According to the National Institute of Health, symptoms can persist for weeks to months or become permanent. They can range from mild to incapacitating.

Mild cases can resolve in a matter of weeks, but researchers are finding that the Long COVID syndrome may take 3-6 months to slow down. In some cases, the Long COVID syndrome can cause permanent or long-term damage.

Don’t despair! After the Long COVID cascade stops, you can and should work on regaining your strength. You may need to make life-style changes like healthy eating or stress management, and you may need to see your medical providers more often, but you can do it!

What Should I Do?

Talk to your doctor about your managing your symptoms. In some cases, you may need to work with a specialist, temporarily or long term. Many are seeing post viral symptoms spontaneously resolve after several weeks or months, including cardiac issues, tooth pain, insulin dependent diabetes, neuritis, anxiety, depression and more.

At home, things you can do to help yourself center around self-care: healthy eating, hydration, physical and mental stress reduction, gentle physical movement.

People say I do not look or sound sick. Is this real?

Long COVID is real. COVID causes damage at the cellular level in the mitochondria. The mitochondria are the powerhouse of the cell, and if they are not working, the cells cannot function properly. If the cells that make up organs and tissues are not functioning properly, neither are the organs or tissues.

Why doesn’t the lab work show an issue?

There are no definitive blood labs that indicate Long COVID. Lab work may include inflammatory markers, antibodies or indicators of secondary conditions such as hypothyroid, kidney function, or high cholesterol.

Why does my diagnostic testing (CT, MRI, ultrasound, EMG/ENG) come back normal?

Today’s technology is not sensitive enough to assess the nerves and cells that are inflamed or damaged. The testing is used to rule out other medical conditions such as stroke, cancer, aneurysm, nerve damage, etc. In other words, no news is good news!

Can a person that had no history of mental health conditions develop post COVID depression or anxiety?

Absolutely. COVID related mental health conditions are related to inflammation of the brain, regulatory systems, and hormone receptors. Treatment is aimed at reducing inflammation and balancing hormone levels. Suicidal ideation is common. It is important to remember that this is a symptom of Long COVID, and often get better on its own or with supportive treatment.

Are Long COVID behavioral health issues permanent?

Post COVID inflammation of the brain and cranial nerves are called Neuro COVID. Many people report it is to be temporary and correctable when the brain inflammation and serotonin balance are corrected. However, grief and trauma related symptoms require the same interventions as non-COVID behavioral health conditions do.

What medications are used to treat Long COVID?

There is not a medication specifically approved for post COVID syndrome. Medications are used to minimize an acute infection (such as Paxlovid) and to address the secondary conditions as needed such as depression, inflammation, thyroid, cardiac or respiratory medications.

Why am I losing my hair?

Hair loss after COVID is extremely common. This is a sign that your body is under stress and still recovering. With Long COVID, the shedding commonly lasts 3-6 months, then hair starts growing back. Hair may be lost on any part of the body, including eye lashes. When it grows back, it may be thicker, thinner, wiry, brittle, or gray. Nutrition, hydration, good quality shampoo, a supplement called biotin may help with health hair regrowth. There is little you can do to prevent shedding, but some things that may help it grow back faster or include nutrition, B vitamins and biotin.

How do I prevent Long COVID or permanent damage?

Prevention is the best approach!

Prevention through social distancing, handwashing, avoiding crowded spaces with poor ventilation.
Healthy lifestyle habits such as clean eating, stress management, hydration, sleep hygiene, and breathwork.
Nasal flushing, gargling, and swishing daily to wash out viral particles.
Vaccination when appropriate.

Early intervention is the key!

If you think you have been infected or re-infected, get tested or do a home test.
If you test positive, ask your doctor about anti-viral medication within the first 5 days of infection.

If you get sick, focus on early intervention and talk to your doctor about the antihistamine, anti-inflammatory, anticoagulant and antidepressant protocols.

Keep learning and advocating!

If your doctor doesn’t have answers, keep looking.
Remember western medical doctors may not have all of the answers.
You need to take charge of your recovery through education and self-advocacy.
Consider complimentary alternatives such as Chinese medicine, acupuncture, nutrition, counselling or other types of care if you need extra help.

What are the medication protocols for long COVID prevention and treatment?

Talk to your doctor about the top 4 concerns: Histamines, Inflammation, Depression, and Blood Clotting

The antihistamine protocol: Seasonal allergy medicines like Allegra or Zyrtec (H1 blockers) and antacids like famotidine or Pepcid (H2 blockers) to counter the histamine cascade.
The anti-inflammatory protocol: Such as steroids in severe cases, or NSAIDs like ibuprofen or other prescription medications to reduce inflammation, pain, and the risk of damage to nerves and organs.
The antidepressant protocol: SSRI and SNRI medications to reduce depression, anxiety or fatigue.
The anticoagulant protocol: Aspirin, baby aspirin or prescription medications to prevent micro-clotting or deep vein thromboses (DVT) that can cause neural damage, organ damage, or stroke by blocking the flow of blood to vital organs.

Read Long COVID prevention and treatment guidance — covidCAREgroup for more information and suggestions for managing your symptoms.

Do I need the vaccine or the booster if I already had COVID?

When we are exposed to viruses, the body develops antibodies to prevent re-infection by the same strain of the virus. Antibody coverage varies depending on each individual, although we don’t know why it varies so much. Some people have immunity for 4 weeks, others have high antibody levels for over a year. When the virus mutates, you can get infected again, but you have a head start with your Memory T Cells that are already familiar with COVID and can respond quickly to new variants.

Read Deciding whether or not to get the COVID vaccine booster — covidCAREgroup to help you make an informed decision about the vaccine and boosters.

Can the vaccine cure Long COVID?

In a covidCAREgroup survey of 1000 people, 79% of respondents reported improvement or no change in their long COVID symptoms. About 21% reported worse symptoms. But this should NOT be the reason you get vaccinated. The vaccine prevents death and severe infection.

Read Deciding whether or not to get the COVID vaccine booster — covidCAREgroup to help you make an informed decision about the vaccine and boosters.

Why does it feel like my muscles are vibrating?

This is misfiring of the nerves caused by inflammation in Long COVID. The signals from the brain to the nerve endings are affected, similar to a wire shorting out. Addressing nerve inflammation with the antihistamine and anti-inflammatory protocols and a low histamine diet can help. Many people have success with calcium, magnesium, B complex vitamins, and niacin supplements. Herbal remedies that soothe the nerves can also be helpful including melatonin, catnip, chamomile. Formula C has been clinically shown to alleviate Long COVID symptoms in the majority of people who take it.

Read Functional Nerve Disorder (FND) and Long COVID — covidCAREgroup and Cranial Nerve Inflammation and Long COVID — covidCAREgroup for information on how and why this is happening.

Am I having seizures or muscle spasms?

When the spike protein causes neural (brain and nerve) inflammation, neurons and parts of the brain can become dysfunctional or disabled. Symptoms may present as seizures, myoclonic type symptoms, small involuntary jerks of fingers, limbs, etc., especially when sleeping. Some people report muscle twitching, vibrations, spasms and atypical seizures that happen while they are awake and aware, but unable to control their body during an episode.

It’s important to ask a doctor about this. Seizures typically result in oxygen deprivation to the brain and can cause brain damage. Seizures would be diagnosed with an EEG (electroencephalogram) and may require anti-seizure medication or oxygen supplementation.

Read Functional Nerve Disorder (FND) and Long COVID — covidCAREgroup and Cranial Nerve Inflammation and Long COVID — covidCAREgroup for information on how and why this is happening.

What are functional medicine and integrative health care?

According to the National Institute of Health, integrative health care and functional medicine bring conventional and complementary approaches together in a coordinated way, using a patient-focused approach to health care and wellness—including mental, emotional, functional, spiritual, social, and community aspects—and treating the whole person rather than, for example, one organ system. It aims for well-coordinated care between different providers and institutions.

What are complementary and alternative health care?

When non-mainstream practice is used together with conventional medicine (western medicine), it’s considered “complementary.” Complementary health approaches include natural products and mind and body practices.

When a non-mainstream practice is used in place of conventional medicine, it’s considered “alternative,” meaning the exclusion of allopathic or western medicine.

Complementary and alternative healing techniques that can safely be done in the comfort and privacy of your own home may include meditation, breath work, qigong, stretching, walking, acupressure, aromatherapy, reflexology, tai chi, body movement therapy, yoga, guided imagery, and much more.

Things you can do to help yourself

Minimizing physical & psychological stressors is essential in recovery from Long COVID.

Nutrition: Try to eat protein and fresh vitamin rich foods daily and avoid chemicals, preservatives, sugars, fast foods, prepared foods and high histamine foods.
Don’t skip meals. Your body needs protein, vitamin C, and vitamin D to heal from any injury or illness. A low histamine or low carbohydrate (sugar) diet is recommended by doctors treating Long COVID, and many people report a reduction in symptoms within 1-3 days of the diet change, including decreases in sneezing, itching or hives, irritable bowel syndrome, body pain, along with a reduction in swelling and inflammation.
Hydration: A minimum of eight 8 oz glasses of plain water daily is recommended.
Avoid drinks with chemical additives. You can easily make a fresh electrolyte drink yourself by adding a dash of mineral rich Epsom salt and a piece a fruit like a raspberry for flavor instead of spending money on commercial drinks like Gatorade that contain chemicals and sit in plastic bottles for long periods of time. Remember that caffeine and alcohol have dehydrating effects.
Sleep hygiene: Getting 7-9 hours of sleep so your body can repair itself. You need at least 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep to get into the restorative phase of sleep.
Avoid stimulating activities after dinner like thrilling movies or books, arguments, negative news or frustrating stimuli.
If you wake up frequently or with a startle, you may be experiencing drops in your oxygen level, which signal your brain to release adrenaline to force you to take a breath. This could be a temporary inflammation issue or more enduring sleep apnea. Ask your doctor for a sleep study to evaluate your need for a CPAP or BiPAP, a machine that pushes air into your lungs when it senses an apneic episode (periods of not breathing).
Stress management: Stress effects every component of your life.
The only thing you can control about stress is your reaction to it. Try to avoid or minimize your exposure to stressful situations: Turn off the news, make family visits that end unpleasantly short, wait for the morning to have intense discussions, let go of things that annoy you but don’t really matter in the big scheme of things, avoid intense conversations or entertainment in the evening.
Exercise within tolerance: Pace yourself and do not push your body to extremes in any way.
For some this may mean seated breathing exercises or walking to the mailbox. Rest when your body says to slow down. Gradually build on your activity endurance as your body cues you to progress. This can be hard to gauge, because when you feel good you naturally do more, but if you do too much you may experience symptom flare ups 1-3 days later as the post exertion inflammation builds. Some people describe this as post exertional malaise, others experience severe recovery set backs.
Breathwork: You can literally stop the fight or flight reaction by taking slow deep breaths.
Deep slow breathing shuts down the adrenaline flow, slows your heart rate, lowers your blood pressure and decreases stress related histamine release. When you do this, your blood reroutes back to your brain and nervous system to allow you to think clearly. It also allows your body to use its energy and oxygen to heal your inflamed nerves and organs.

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Brought to you by covidCAREgroup, connecting the dots of long COVID through education, research and resources.

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