Some of their patients simply improved with time, Cerrone says, while others have had luck after working with sleep or behavioral health specialists. Federico Cerrone is a pulmonologist and the co-medical director of Atlantic Health’s COVID Recovery Center in New Jersey, which has treated about 500 Long COVID patients since it opened in October 2020. That may end up being true for some patients, but others are beginning to report improvements.ĭr. In previous conversations with TIME, multiple experts have said it’s possible that Long COVID could last for decades or even the rest of a patient’s life, similar to myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, another debilitating condition that can follow viral illnesses. Until recently, there weren’t many stories of Long COVID patients getting better. Some patients have visible damage to a particular organ, such as the lungs or heart, while others have no obvious reason for their suffering-their lab tests and scans come back normal, despite how sick they feel. In one July 2020 survey, a group of about 1,500 Long COVID patients affiliated with the support group Survivor Corps reported almost 100 different symptoms. No two Long COVID cases are exactly alike, which complicates the search for treatments. Doctors still aren’t entirely sure how to treat Long COVID or even what causes it, though there are two main theories: either remnants of the virus linger in some people’s bodies, or certain elements of the immune system rev into overdrive after exposure to the virus, essentially causing the body to attack itself. Experts believe somewhere between 10% and 30% of COVID-19 patients develop long-term symptoms, including fatigue, chronic pain, brain fog, shortness of breath and gastrointestinal problems, though the severity of these can vary.
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