Unlocking the Mysteries of Long COVID (The Atlantic) 2021, O'Rouke,

[zzz]

An excellent article from The Atlantic:

Unlocking the Mysteries of Long COVID

It's a great summary of what's been learned to date, and includes a number of illustrative case histories. It also makes a strong case tying long COVID to dysautonomia, and notes the similarities and differences between long COVID and POTS, ME/CFS, EDS, and other illnesses that feature dysautonomia. New treatment possibilities are also discussed.

 

[Helene]

My impression was the article had some excellent parts but also a lot about the success of simple breath works as a treatment.

Not sure what to make of it?

 

[Forbin]

Similar symptoms (fatigue, shortness of breath, racing heart) occur in people who have low carbon-dioxide levels in their blood—a condition known as hypocapnia, which can be triggered by hyperventilation, or shallow, rapid breathing through the mouth. Duntz wondered if perhaps these long-COVID patients, so many of whom suffered from dizziness and tachycardia, were also breathing shallowly, because of either lung inflammation even in mild cases or viral damage to the vagus nerve.

[bolding mine]


This is an interesting idea. I wonder if "shallow rapid breathing through the mouth" is noticeable to the person doing it. If not, it might be consistent with some ME patients (like me) who have reported the sensation of "forgetting to breathe," at least early in the illness - but wouldn't a blood test reveal low CO2 levels in the blood?

Also, I'd think that any kind of exercise would lead to more normal, deeper breathing, but moderate exercise never reduced my dizziness or tachycardia.

 

[Forbin]

I liked this bit in particular:

“I wouldn’t be surprised if people are walking about with long Epstein-Barr virus, or long influenza. We all know someone who is low energy, who’s told to work harder. We have all heard about chronic-Lyme sufferers, and those with ME/CFS. But they get written off,” Spencer told me. The difference now is that it is happening “on such a huge scale—unlike anything we’ve seen before. It is harder for the medical community to write off.” Indeed, many researchers I spoke with believe that the race to understand long COVID will advance our understanding of chronic conditions that follow infection, transforming medicine in the process.

 

[Perrier]

I just finished reading the book, Breath by James Nestor. The Stasis group in the Atlantic article are really following what Nestor outlined in his long search to learn about how breathing can help regulate certain bodily functions. Thanks to @Chris for suggesting the book, by the way.

Thanks @zzz for posting this intelligent article.

Here's the thing: we see in this piece a number of highly dedicated mainstream doctors trying to sort out what is going on in this post viral calamity of Long Covid. Might it not be useful to have some ME people on board too? I'm getting worried ME will be left behind.

There seems to be a real recognition here that this is a serious matter with social implications. The ME groups in North America and EU have not been accorded this kind of attention, and have been literally abandoned, unlike some of the people described in the article--abandoned for decades.

Isn't this a moment, to join forces and get help?