I went to a neurologist who said there's tons of people coming in with the same complaint after COVID, and since there's no literature on that yet, he couldn't really do anything.
It gets better.
That's the issue with these anecdotes
But then I _got_ COVID and I can tell you COVID brain is real. Even after I had recovered physically there were a few weeks of obvious cognitive degradation. One of my first days testing negative I was trying to implement some pretty basic pagination logic but when it came time to writing the algos for it, it was like my body flipped a switch and I would get impossibly drowsy and have to go lie down.
I've had covid twice since then without the same problem but it is very real and wild.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2022.10.006
SARS-CoV-2 is known to cause brain damage, endocrine problems, and circulatory issues which impede oxygenation. Of the brain.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2022.10.006
https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs10238-022-00871-8
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nerep.2022.100154
https://doi.org/10.1042/BCJ20220016
I would like to point to this kind of statement that doctors often make, that there is “no literature” or that “nothing is known”. This is very often flat out wrong. Consider the size of the statement: Nothing is known and there exists no literature. The domain of knowledge required for the statement is omniscience. Having read all papers. It’s not an acceptable statement for anyone to make.
I don't think there's much value taking the word that literally. I simply assume the acedemic conscious when I hear "there is no literature on X". I certainly wouldn't want a neurologist to tell me "oh yea I read some news on this last week and X" and treat that as gospel for an ongoing issue.
I of course accept the fact that information takes time to propagate, but the fact remains that I have been to specialist doctors for serious issues which have stated flat out that “nothing is known” – where they literally meant ”nothing is known”, which was completely contradicted by papers. Ten year old papers. Twenty year old papers. Fifty year old papers.
Again and again.
Certainly not all doctors are part of this culture. More than one time I have been present when a doctor who reads academic papers makes a decision based on that information which effectively saved a life.
Nonetheless, this hazard is a very real part of medical practicioner culture.
I certainly wouldn’t want a neurologist to treat last week’s news as gospel either. Absolutely not.
I just don’t know yet how to tell people how big this gulf can be between existing knowledge – established, proven, actionable knowledge – and what a given doctor acknowledges and/or doesn’t flat out deny the existence of.
Maybe this:
Anyone can read academic papers. In biology and medicine. Anyone. Really. And it is the minority of doctors who actually do so. I suggest that people verify doctors’ statements about the complete non-existence of knowledge about any given thing, should they make such statements. Read. Read as if lives were at stake.
—
Part of the reason doctors don’t read is that they are often overworked. They really, really are. (It’s not the only reason though.)
And: Of course!, reading science papers online IS NOT a substitute for medical training.
What I suggest people do is this: Help your doctors to help you.
With the utmost humility. As if lives were at stake.
The big problem was that I'd always been able to hide my adhd symptoms, or at least 'clever' my way around them, and long covid / covid brain just laid them all bare.
Over 3 years after my first covid infection - still can't really taste or smell - I'm medicated for adhd, and I feel almost like how I was in March 2020.
After a number of years I feel normal, and I think it was due primarily to finding and sticking to a routine. The routine involves little things like watering plants and making coffee, and I just do them every day without thinking. Otherwise it includes exercise, sleep, chores, work, and procrastination.
One thing that I later noticed was that I e.g. couldn't enjoy any music anymore. I always used to be able to be absolutely amazed by some tracks and dance to it at home - but during that time there was just nothing.
During that time, is there any chance you weren’t eating enough? Did you lose weight?
it took a breakup, a sale of the business, and nearly 2 years of doing nothing until i recovered.
fwiw, the biggest takeaways the whole thing taught me are 1. be careful of what you wish for and 2. both attractive women and customers want outcomes, they don't give a shit about your problems and 3. never forego vacations/holidays for work.
as for me, well - you know how the saying goes - it's always darkest before the dawn, and life is good now. for the time being. but i know that if i wake up one day and i'm feeling like a fucking pack mule for people who don't appreciate me, it's time for a massive rapid change, without the period of suffering this time.
I massively agree, though I will make the mistake of staying for money again. Whenever I see I can work 3 years at A for every 1 year at B, I can't stomach the loss.
Just because some people have conditions that prevent them from exercising it doesn't mean it isn't the healthy choice overall.
And a cursory look at the literature for PEM[1] will show you that the recommended path to recovery isn’t “avoid physical exertion at all costs”, but to do what you’re capable of and slowly ramp up the intensity, in which case small amounts of exercise could play a vital role.
[1] http://www.phsa.ca/health-info-site/Documents/post_covid-19_...
Can't say I feel any different, but it is enjoyable.
https://web.archive.org/web/20230609011808/https://old.reddi...
It's not perfect, but it was great for getting into the habit 3 times a week. Now I often make up my own sets as I go, taking note of what's sore on me and what I feel could use some work. Doing that gave me the time to do research and get a bit more familiar with how to engage certain muscles, and what machines will do what for me.
IMO: most of what makes fit people fit is becoming aware of their body in detail: how to use muscles, how they work, what they feel like, what they should feel like when they're working together -- all of this builds a foundation where, if they lost their fitness, they would just get it back again.
So if you don't know what you're doing: just learn by doing. Pick something that it seems like your body should be able to do easily, but can't, and fix it. Repeat x100 and you'll be fit as hell.
Not causing injuries is the hardest part.
You can start with bodyweight though. Pushups, pull-ups, etc. I recommend the YouTube channel FitnessFAQs or Calisthenicmovement for a good start there. No nonsense, direct guides with discussion of technique and injury avoidance.
Book some regular sessions with a personal trainer. He/she will give you a balanced basic routine and teach you good form.
I was fortunate to have an excellent PT when I first ventured into the gym age 19, a skinny, awkward, scared teenager. The structure of that gym program is still the basis of what I do 30 years later. Different exercises get incorporated, depending on my goals at the time, and variations in # of reps and sets. But still the same general approach.
Then my _dentist_ of all people ordered a Watch-PAT take-home sleep test (took a lab sleep test, but it was useless) which finally revealed I was having more than 10 events per hour. The dentist made me a Herbst appliance to hold my airways open during sleep. My life is 100x better now.
Excellent catch.
I should say that my health issue weren't all magically solved by the Herbst appliance, but addressing my sleep apnea was a major improvement.
How have you measured? I know people do decline cognitively in old age, but 30s is still young. I wonder if people only think they were sharper when younger. I knew much less in my 20s and made tons of mistakes. The mind has a peculiar way of highlighting good memories and downplaying the bad. The person I was in my 20s would not be able to do my current job.
Yes, accumulated knowledge and wisdom can make you more successful with age. It doesn't mean your fluid intelligence and ability to learn new things is keeping up.
If it were somehow possible to grant my 20s self these advantages, he’d run circles around me. Not just because he’s cognitively faster, but because he’s able to work for longer periods without feeling fatigued and can focus more deeply thanks to having fewer mental background tasks constantly running and not yet feeling the various time-related pressures that come with age.
Giving my teenage self current knowledge would also be interesting. Even though people aren’t cognitively complete yet at that point, at that age I had the ability to get lost in a project on a dime which was was amazing.
Might all be placebo effect, but I’m okay with that. My doctor seems to think that’s probably the case.
FWIW, I’m 20 years older than you.
HN please stop upvoting this nonsense. Already the second and third answers are HN quality.
This is r/covid commentary. Does not belong here.
...and just like Reddit, chasing popular posts and comments is a race to the bottom as it attracts an ever-more juvenile crowd of participants.
Nuanced opinions and expert commentary are more boring but attract a more intellectually curious crowd - and that is what sets HN apart from reddit.
I use the collorary for evaluating stuff like this. I care less about a high polished acedemic answer than I do about the resulting discussion not diving into a dumpster afterwrds. For here, I don't see a de-evolution into COVID denailism and anti-vaxxers or even random anecdotes of an off the hinge relative who died and the OP has to be like "I told him but he wouldn't listen", like I would on reddit. I see interesting discussion on a topic that is still a very hotly researched topic even in academia. Ways to potentially get checked or self help to mitigate effects.
No one is an expert on "long COVID" yet, so it's interesting to see experiences (and IMO, see how they age as we learn more about such phenomenon).
If you think every comment with a personal anecdote tangentially related to the article is “nonsense” and “r/x” material then you must be constantly frustrated by nearly every HN comments section of sufficient length.
Just a random source here because I'm too lazy:
https://www.balancedwellbeinghealthcare.com/are-you-taking-v...
> Because vitamin D is so good at improving calcium levels, by taking it alone you could be working to increase the calcification of your arteries instead of strengthening your bones so make sure to include K2 in your vitamin D supplement regimen!
But if you can be in the sun your skin can make vitamin D.
My doctor told me to get 15 minutes a day from May through the end of August - and these should be walks with at least the arms exposed (Am in Norway, so this isn't always possible for me, the immigrant). Walking alone isn't always enough.
I'd go to sleep under them, just dont have them too close to you though otherwise you will burn but never tan.
https://www.reptilecentre.com/collections/t5-uvb-fluorescent...
I'd also read this website entirely, its got loads of useful info. http://www.uvguide.co.uk/lightingsurveyintro.htm
There is a corrugated plastic sheet (2mx1m) which allows UV-B through, but it needs replacing every few years as it breaks down and its expensive!
Needs to be balanced with calcium. I wouldn't recommend supplements until you have blood work done.
You should take vitamin K2 with D3 though.
>But if you can be in the sun your skin can make vitamin D.
This is harder than people say. You need UVB light to hit your uncovered skin (glass blocks it entirely). The sun needs to be above 35-50 degrees in the sky. If it's below that (like in winter or evenings) then you won't get vitamin D from it.
Vitamin K2 is what essentially takes calcium out of your blood and puts it in your bones (and teeth). It's something that's rather lacking in western diets and could be a big reason why people in western countries suffer so many bones injuries in old age (and why our teeth suck).
https://www.amazon.com/Sports-Research-Plant-Based-Verified-...
I also learn new stuff and program on projects, which are cognitively demanding, almost every single day. I don't regularly watch TV shows. On occasion I binge-watch something, only to stop it again for many months. I don't drink alcohol at all, but I consume small amounts of THC.
Your "mid 30s" claim might be true for people who are doing it wrong, which probably/likely is the vast majority, but there's absolutely no fair and objective way of putting an age on the beginning of cognitive or physical decline as if it was outside of ones personality responsibility/abilities to prevent it from happening until a much, much later age.
But ... to be the exception that agrees with the rule: If I lived how most people around seem to be living, I'd likely suffer from decline as well.
Fast forward 3 years, I go swimming thrice a week, and it sucks that STILL my breathing hasn't recovered. If I try to take a lot of air for several times, I'll start coughing. I get out of air quickly... even though I have strength to keep swimming.
Much more likely to just be aging. You're not too old for it.