I want to provide these updates to my network because many of us are probably impacted by long Covid, and we don't even realize it. Even people who got Covid very lightly. So it's essential to be aware of some of the new results that recent studies have produced.
But please keep in mind, as you read this information from the AMA and what's going on with me, that everybody is different. Our bodies react very differently to this particular virus. And I happen to be somebody who had other things going on that exasperated what I am experiencing :)
After a recent follow-up appointment with my doctor, she asked me to consider this fundamental idea:
“I would like you to sit with the thought, the possibility, it's not guaranteed, but the real possibility that when it comes to your brain fog and some of the other issues you are having, you may never get that much better. This might be it. I want you to sit with that because I think it's important for all of us to start thinking about this."
Having more than one long-covid patient, she has been doing the research.
This, my dear friends, is difficult to sit with but likely important as it has been over a year, a year + 3 months. I need to find a different way of living. This is huge as it means professional changes, lifestyle changes, and tons of personal compassion.
But first, please take a look at this article, “Even Mild COVID-19 May Change the Brain.” Written by Jennifer Abbasi, March 23, 2022, published in the JAMA. This article discusses a study about the brain differences of people before and after having light covid. The findings?
“The brain scans and cognitive scores of participants who had been infected with SARS-CoV-2 showed changes between the 2 time points that differed from those seen in the control group, with greater differences among older participants. Although not everyone who became infected with SARS-CoV-2 had these differences, the prior-infection group on average had:
greater loss of gray matter thickness in the orbitofrontal cortex and parahippocampal gyrus, areas associated with the sense of smell
greater tissue damage in areas connected with the primary olfactory cortex, also linked with smell
greater decrease in whole-brain volume and increase in cerebrospinal fluid volume
the greater decline in the ability to perform complex tasks, which on brain scans was associated with atrophy in crus II, an area of the cerebellum associated with cognition
Compared with the control group, volunteers with a prior SARS-CoV-2 infection had an additional 0.2% to 2% gray matter loss or tissue damage on average between their 2 sets of scans. For context, adults lose about 0.2% to 0.3% of gray matter in memory-related brain regions per year, according to Gwenaëlle Douaud, Ph.D., the study’s lead author and an associate professor at the NDCN.” (Abbasi).
For myself, the brain fog was made worse because I was misdiagnosed for 40+ years as having panic disorder and anxiety rather than somebody with both forms of ADHD: attention deficit and hyperactivity. ADD, and ADHD is disorders of the brain, how the brain develops and forms, the neurotransmitters, etc.
I realized I was in the perfect storm when I got sick: Menopause (loss of hormones), ADHD, and Covid - BAMB!
Regardless, here is where I am at.
My smell comes in and out, giving me hope that I will get it back. It is erratic, unpredictable, and odd, but the fact that I have a sense of smell sometimes is nice.
My fatigue is being slightly mitigated by getting B12 shots. Once a month for six months. This helped bring my iron levels up, and it also helped stabilize some of the other issues I was having regarding high levels of different things in my body. And there were a lot of them.
So the B12 has been beneficial. But my fatigue has not gone away yet. However, I can take shorter naps in the afternoon, and I now sleep less than 10-11 hours a night. Averaging 9.
Brain Fog - Well, this, my friends, is the kicker. I just talked to my pop about this today - so for family reading this, please do not worry. It is what it is :). I am alive and grateful.
However, I am not who I was. It is that simple. I cannot explain it, but it isn’t very comforting to realize how little free will we have compared to biology’s control over us.
I have not been able to accept a teaching assignment for several terms. This means I lost my priority hire status, my insurance, and how I identified who I was and what I did. As I mentioned before, I am far more visual and sound-oriented. Analyzing scholarly or medical texts and reading / analyzing student papers have become very difficult for me. I have a tough time concentrating or keeping my mind on what I am doing, even with medication, meditation, exercise, etc. I am a different person as a result.
The challenge for myself, and others in my situation, is how to start over again? What do I do? Where will my utility come into play? How will I contribute to the world?
Art, music, and VR have been the most helpful forms of therapy for me, as they engage and offer relief. So, I do art (clay) and music (Uke and singing with my husband). I write down odd jokes thinking that maybe I can perform again at some point :). I can still memorize a text, but it takes longer, and I have to keep at it.
And that is the McCarthy Report!
If you had Covid, be aware of any changes in the cognitive area, especially if you also lost smell and taste. Pay attention to the fatigue and the amount of brain fog and focus you may be dealing with. Finally, stay as strong as you can. You are not alone. We are many.
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