26 votes

Long COVID: The impact on language and cognition

8 comments

  1. [2]
    eladnarra
    Link
    I have only skimmed the study (ironic, considering my post-viral illnesses can make reading tiring), but it's heartbreaking to see so many symptoms I recognize from myself when I first got sick...

    I have only skimmed the study (ironic, considering my post-viral illnesses can make reading tiring), but it's heartbreaking to see so many symptoms I recognize from myself when I first got sick nearly 2 decades ago. We'd be so much further in all sorts of research if the medical field hadn't collectively decided folks with illnesses like CFS/ME weren't really sick.

    I do wonder if any of these folks were tested for POTS. My ability to talk without losing track of my thoughts increased once I started treatment for POTS, which was likely mildly depriving my brain of oxygen all this time. (I'm not sure if my word recall is better, though. I struggled with the word ketchup earlier today.)

    11 votes
    1. [2]
      Comment deleted by author
      Link Parent
      1. eladnarra
        Link Parent
        I'm so sorry you're dealing with this - it really, really sucks. I can't count how many doctors I saw when I first got sick who implied or stated outright that I "just" had depression. (One...

        I'm so sorry you're dealing with this - it really, really sucks. I can't count how many doctors I saw when I first got sick who implied or stated outright that I "just" had depression. (One pediatrician saw me one time and suggested I go on antidepressants at age 16, despite the increased risk.) I actually scored mildly for depression when I first got sick, but it was plainly obvious to me that the only questions contributing to that were fatigue related.

        my symptoms not get better when I am "active", they do get worse after activity and I also have not stopped doing those things I loved to do because I would have lost interest in them, I stopped doing them because I lack the physical and mental energy to do them, albeit I would love to keep doing them....or rather, when I say "fuck it" I push through and do them anyways, because I fucking want to do them, I will crash with my symptoms getting worse the day after....

        So many doctors seem completely unable to understand post-exertional malaise (or post-exertional symptom exacerbation if you prefer). On top of being told it's just depression, I often get told that it's just deconditioning. But if it was just that, I wouldn't be able to push through, and I wouldn't end up with a fever and brain fog the next day. What sedentary person complains of feeling feverish or having trouble with word recall if they decide to walk a couple thousand steps one day instead of a thousand?

        I was hoping that the silver lining of long COVID would be the medical profession paying attention to this sort of thing, regardless of cause, but most of them seem hell bent on applying the same dismissiveness to long COVID instead (with the additional argument that it was "lockdowns").

        Anyway, sorry for the rant! I hope you're able to find someone who is able to look into your symptoms — ME/CFS specialists aren't common, but patient groups can be a good resource for finding sympathetic doctors.

        2 votes
  2. Good_Apollo
    Link
    Man I have been unable to get any help with my post COVID symptoms. I have episodes of panic I never had before with heart palpitations and the worst one is this feeling of suffocation right as...

    Man I have been unable to get any help with my post COVID symptoms. I have episodes of panic I never had before with heart palpitations and the worst one is this feeling of suffocation right as I’m trying to fall asleep, like pure panic. It’s really hard to explain but it started after I had COVID. My wife now also has panic attacks she never had before. It feels like it must be heart related but my cardiologist is stumped and my PCP just shrugs and tells me to see a therapist.

    I can exercise and still swim with the same lung capacity I’ve always had and yet at quiet moments like when laying down it seems like I can’t get enough air.

    I also suffer from random moments of dizziness and the brain fog is still there. Just terrible.

    6 votes
  3. [3]
    disk
    Link
    Although the implications of such a paper are rather interesting, I would like to know more about the contributions of reduced social interaction/psychological effects to the overall result, since...

    Although the implications of such a paper are rather interesting, I would like to know more about the contributions of reduced social interaction/psychological effects to the overall result, since this could be of particular interest to studying the effects on demographics that do not have English as a first language.

    Besides, the "rearrangement" of common linguistic optimisation structures is rather interesting. The mention of a loss of "clustering" ability in some patients, if it can indeed be tied almost exclusively to direct neurological consequences of the disease, indicates that there could be a degree of impact to other logical processes that depend on more than just memory.

    The report by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists also offers some insight, but I would like to view studies that help determine the effectiveness of treatment, and just how much of an effect treatment omission has on patients.

    3 votes
    1. Gekko
      Link Parent
      They tested against people without Long COVID, which I imagine functions as their control group. The average quarantine isolation between groups (we were all there), but the people with Long COVID...

      They tested against people without Long COVID, which I imagine functions as their control group. The average quarantine isolation between groups (we were all there), but the people with Long COVID had worse cognitive and linguistic performance across a variety of tests.

      For the comparison you've mentioned, it may be worth studying before and after results on linguistics and cognition between countries with different lockdown lengths or digital communication options, seeing the impact of longer and longer separations and reduction in social engagement.

      4 votes
    2. eladnarra
      Link Parent
      Gekko already covered the control group aspect, but I can tell you from experience with post-viral cognitive impairment (not due to COVID) - the language changes are sudden and large, and in my...

      Gekko already covered the control group aspect, but I can tell you from experience with post-viral cognitive impairment (not due to COVID) - the language changes are sudden and large, and in my case often varied from day to day based on symptom severity. And I didn't experience any long term isolation prior to onset at all.

      4 votes
  4. [2]
    doctortofu
    Link
    Something like this is my worst nightmare. I'm a simultaneous interpreter, and a cognitive decline would rob me of the only job I know how to do well. Even when I feel great and well-rested, by...

    Something like this is my worst nightmare. I'm a simultaneous interpreter, and a cognitive decline would rob me of the only job I know how to do well. Even when I feel great and well-rested, by the end of a busy day I'm quite tired and my performance is noticeably worse. And that's on a good day, with no symptoms at all!

    Bone-chillingly terrifying. I hope I never experience any language or cognitive issues like that, because it would end my career in an instant, and my life shortly after...

    3 votes
    1. eladnarra
      Link Parent
      Keep wearing good masks whenever you can!

      Keep wearing good masks whenever you can!

      2 votes