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Psych symptoms post COVID
I have been trying to connect with people who have had psych issues post-COVID infection. I was infected in June 2023 and immediately experienced insomnia, depression, anxiety, and significant unplanned weight loss. While I do have a history of depression, it was very well managed (w/ meds) prior to infection. However, everything switched post- infection. It was like a light switch. I have had bloodwork done and even participated in a LC study through USC and no biomarkers were found. Prior to COVID I was on an SSRI but since then I have been put on three additional psych meds. They only help marginally. I know for a fact that this virus changed me. Thoughts of death and tears have popped up out of left field. The pattern of feelings is hard to predict. I do have my good days but the bad days are very challenging. If anyone on here can relate to what I have described here will you please reach out with any advice or tips. Thank you!!!
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@jfgrt44 -
I think the inflammatory affect in the sinuses can trigger feelings like this.
I can only speak to my experience. I had a sinus surgery way pre Covid. And what I explained for a year, post surgery is the same thing that people have explained post Covid. It was literally like a light switch. I was 100% healthy. And afterwards I had this shift that I could not explain but I could tell it was coming from a systemic response and it was uncontrollable.
I experienced severe inflammation for me, post op that was not controlled. And Covid is a very high inflammatory immune reaction.
I am not a doctor and these are just thoughts from my own personal non Covid experience and how eerily similar what people say Post Long Covid.
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1 ReactionMy Doctor told me Covid can bring on phychosis.Undiagnosed autoimmune diseases,lymes and other viruses that covid can set off in the body can also cause phychosis.I have never been on any kind of medication for anxiety,but I knew that something was not right at all.I could not sleep,eat,go to the bathroom,focus on anything.Covid directly attacks the vagus nerve which controls stress responses and many other functions in the body.The Anxiety caused from Covid is not a normal anxiety because the body does not know how to react to it since it was manmade.It is absolutely horrible.
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6 Reactions@j77
This would make sense, as I had iatrogenic (doctor made) inflammation to my sinuses from surgery that was never addressed.
Never had anxiety before. It was like my body did not know what to do with the inflammatory reaction.
I did not know that it could bring on psychosis. I do know, in my experience, that this virus causes isolation, depression, anxiety and often hopelessness. The body is essentially fighting itself. The immune system has not shut off and is actually still on high alert. This causes inflammation. Inflammation is really bad for us. Cortisol levels rise from stress and our bodies are fighting and sick right now. I know that part of my isolating was that I felt so bad in the beginning. This has been going on for over two years and although I am getting better, it is still a fight. The post exertion malaise (PEM) is brutal and I do not have to do a whole lot for that to happen. Exercise was one of my coping skills before I got this damn virus. The feelings of powerlessness are hard to deal with. People not believing that Long COVID is real is also hard to deal with. I believe that is why support in groups like this one are very important. I also try to get up, immediately take my medications and try to find some kind of gratitude, even if it is something small. I highly recommend therapy. It has helped as well. Hang in there.
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6 ReactionsCovid can also cause seizures and Epilepsy - rare, but it does happen. You mention the vagus nerve - the longest nerve in the body. Some people with hard to control seizures benefit from a vagus nerve stimulator implant. Covid can also damage the hippocampus; loss of hippocampal neurogenesis in the brain explains a lot of issues with memory and executive function. This forum is one of the few places where we can connect the dots and help the medical community understand this terrible disease, and help each other understand what we are going through and find ways to get through it.
https://www.ccjm.org/page/aan-2021/covid-seizures-epilepsy#:~:text=Seizures%20may%20only%20be%20seen,hospital%20and%20higher%20mortality%20rates.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10208918/#:~:text=These%20implications%20on%20the%20hippocampus,uninfected%20healthy%20controls%20%5B45%5D.
Yes!Covid is a nightmare.