SALTY LAKE, Utah – Utah’s COVID-19 ‘long haulers’ find validation in a new study of long-term COVID-19 symptoms.
The study, conducted through online surveys, studied symptoms in nearly 4,000 patients in 56 countries.
Researchers found more than 200 common symptoms in participants in 10 of the body’s organ systems.
Utah’s Jess Monsen did not participate in the study, but hopes the findings will help doctors and others take her symptoms more seriously.
“I still have family members who don’t validate it and it’s a big fight,” she said. “It hurts.”
Monsen had positive experiences with practitioners at the VA hospital in Utah, but many other long-distance travelers with whom KSL has spoken have described doctors diagnosing their symptoms as anxiety or brushing them off as not serious.
“I’ve seen many other people struggle and cry because they have so many practitioners and caregivers who don’t believe them,” Monsen said.
This new study followed the participants’ symptoms for seven months. After six months, the participants most often experienced fatigue (77.7%), post-exertional malaise (72.2%) and cognitive dysfunction (55.4%).
Other common symptoms included brain fog and memory impairment, headache, changes in emotion and mood, elevated body temperature, palpitations, shortness of breath and diarrhea.
Overall, these findings suggest that the morbidity of COVID-19 disease is greatly underestimated. Patients experience symptoms from multiple systems for more than seven months, resulting in a significant impact on patients’ lives and livelihoods, ”said researchers.
Monsen has been suffering from post-COVID symptoms since July. Some days are better than others.
“It’s like a switch,” she said. “I have a really good day and the next day it becomes like a switch and I can’t do anything.”
The study found that nearly half (45.2%) of the participants were unable to work full-time because of persistent symptoms. 22.3% could not work at all.
Monsen has a job that offers flexible hours and breaks when needed. She is grateful that she has returned to work and can provide for her family, but she knows she cannot be as independent as she used to be.
She wishes others would see her situation and take it into account when making everyday decisions.
“When they talk about loss of independence from wearing a mask, I say, ‘You have no idea of the loss of independence that some of us have experienced with these long-lasting debilitating symptoms of COVID,” said Monsen.
A long-haul flight support group for Utahns was formed in June 2020. Since then it has grown to more than 1,300 members.
If you are suffering from long-lasting symptoms of COVID-19, you can find the Utah COVID-19 Long-haulers Facebook page here.