COVID-19 Symptoms Are A Long Haul For Some

By Mary Ann Yehl, DO, MBA

Interim Medical Director, Northern Western Region, AtlantiCare Physician Group Primary Care Plus

We all have a story of how the pandemic interrupted and changed our lives. It’s been a remarkable and challenging year. But as more people become vaccinated and restrictions are being lifted, many of those who had COVID-19 are still burdened every day living with very serious long-term impacts.

Many patients who had very mild or even asymptomatic COVID are experiencing fatigue and other health issues that they say are dramatically impacting their daily lives. Many of these patients are typically living high-functioning and active lives.

Young healthy people who were living “normal” lives are now not. Some are embarrassed and they don’t know what to do about the way they are feeling. My heart really breaks for these patients because their lifestyle is not what it used to be.

Among the most challenging, lingering effects are anxiety and worsening or new onset of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. PTSD can really be from anxiety of being around COVID or even from the stress from having spouses or family members hospitalized.

The long-lasting side effects are not only physical. The impacts also extend into mental, financial and social stressors. Many of our patients are struggling so much with decreased attention span and brain fog so severe that they can’t keep their jobs. Their daily activities including taking care of their families and themselves are difficult. It’s heartbreaking.

Just like our economic recovery from the pandemic shutdowns, post-COVID recovery is a long process, and, mentally, it can take its toll.

But we are here to help, with our newly launched Post-COVID Long Haul Clinic.

This clinic is open to those who have had COVID and have experienced persistent symptoms/health issues lasting or appearing more than 30 days after being infected with the virus.

Through the service, which opened April 26, an AtlantiCare board-certified internal medicine physician holds a one-hour telehealth screening and assessment meeting with the patient.

The care team identifies treatment/rehabilitation needs, then coordinates virtual and in-person appointments with specialists as needed.

We help these Long Haulers navigate our health system to get into the specialists they need, taking into account the patients’ comprehensive medical histories.

The specialties involved include:

• Infectious disease
• Critical care
• Pulmonary care
• Physical medicine and rehabilitation
• Psychiatry and behavioral health
• Primary care/internal medicine
• Neurology
• Rheumatology
• Hematology
• Nephrology
• Gastrointestinal
• Pain management

Our hope is that this comprehensive approach will be a temporary pit stop for our patients as we transition them back to “normal healthcare” and back to their regular lives as much as possible.

If you are starting to experience these symptoms, please get checked out. If you have not yet been vaccinated, please do so. We don’t know who will be affected by post-COVID symptoms, and the easiest way to avoid these long-lasting impacts is to protect yourself from getting the disease. To learn about vaccinations near you, please visit vaccination.atlanticare.org.

Medical providers like me are continuing to learn more about COVID every day, and we will for a long time. There can be so much confusing information that makes it really difficult for patients to make informed decisions. But we want our patients to know they are not alone. We are here to partner with them. Together we will work through it and support them every step of the way.

You don’t have to suffer. We are here.

Learn more and book an appointment at www.atlanticare.org/covidclinic