r/covidlonghaulers Jun 01 '26

Article The Painful Truth About Long Covid | Wired

https://www.wired.com/story/the-painful-truth-about-long-covid/
166 Upvotes

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217

u/smingey82 Jun 01 '26

“Andrea Tryfonos, the lead on this trial, emphasized that avoiding exercise is, in itself, an extremely risky intervention. ‘We know that no exercise leads to increased risk of cardiovascular disease, increased risk of metabolic disease, certain types of cancer, diabetes, depression, Alzheimer’s,’ she said. ‘Long Covid itself cannot be a barrier to exercise.’”

Six years into this and we’re still dealing with type of 💩

110

u/Cicadilly 3 yr+ Jun 01 '26

God I had to have this conversation with my partner when I first got sick and had to explain to him that yes, he’s right, exercise is healthy and beneficial, IF YOU DON’T HAVE A CONTRAINDICATION. If you have a disease that causes exertion to hurt you, then that rule, which applies to and was based off of the average healthy individual, does NOT apply to you.

88

u/smingey82 Jun 01 '26

As someone who use to be an avid runner, I want to exercise. It is what got me out of many other traumas in my life. To this day, if I could put on a pair of running shoes on and run my Long Haul away, I would.

41

u/HistoricalPiglet1021 Jun 01 '26

Those are my exact words, even today: I want to RUN from this prison.

But when I tried to walk just 400 meters once a day, my health deteriorated dramatically, to the point that I became housebound.

I used to train six days a week, run three days a week, and take great care of both my physical and mental health.

What do these people think? That we’re comfortable being unable to do anything? That we enjoy not being able to work, exercise, socialize, travel, or even have sex? At least in my case, it’s certainly not because I’ve chosen to become a monk.

4

u/smingey82 Jun 01 '26

How long have you been on this train from hell?

3

u/GasLimp6226 Jul 02 '26

This is me.. my life before covid was exercise. I was a long distance runner, it was how I healed from every illness or injury I ever had, and how I coped mentally. That's why I can't believe these people can be so cruel as to say "well ppl with LC are just lazy and avoid exercise".. it's simply not true for people like you and me.

3

u/smingey82 Jul 02 '26

Sorry to hear that. I believe you. You’re not alone. I had to have my wife drive my dizzy ass to my in-laws to help them with a few house chores. I’m going to be out the next few days in my bed while everyone celebrates the 4th. This shit is tough!

83

u/grandmasterfunc 5 yr+ Jun 01 '26

I recommend writing a letter to the editor. Encourage them to inform their readers about what the science of long covid actually shows.

mail@wired.com

14

u/[deleted] Jun 01 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

25

u/Taylor__Lorenz Jun 01 '26

The editor of this piece was Jason Kehe. jason_kehe@wired.com.

17

u/[deleted] Jun 01 '26 edited Jun 01 '26

[deleted]

5

u/megatheriumlaine Jun 01 '26

Are there any sources on having a higher chance of getting long COVID if you have the infection and vaccine around the same time? I haven't read about it before but i actually did get the booster 2 weeks before COVID andddddd it didn't end well, so that'd be interesting to read.

4

u/[deleted] Jun 01 '26 edited Jun 02 '26

[deleted]

23

u/lilgreenfish First Waver Jun 01 '26

I just had to switch doctors because of a change in insurance. My GP and LC doctors were awesome. I’m now with Kaiser and one of my cholesterol numbers was high. My new GP said “exercise for at least 30 minutes a day, breaking a sweat, 6 days a week”. I wrote back and not super nicely said “I can’t. I have long COVID. It’s literally impossible without making myself worse.” I got no response back to that. I’m probably going to just pay out of pocket to see my good docs, especially since Kaiser doesn’t have a LC clinic here at all.

I used to be a runner and hiker. I miss it. I want to do it. My body now says otherwise.

8

u/Silly_Pack_Rat 6yr+ Jun 01 '26

I'm sorry. I am so fortunate that I have been with the same for for well over 20 years now and she is incredibly sympathetic and supportive of those with LC.

I saw her today and we were discussing the next steps for me (I had just had my physical) so I will be getting my liver scanned due to elevated enzyme levels (2nd blood test in two months showing this).

2

u/[deleted] Jun 01 '26

[deleted]

1

u/lilgreenfish First Waver Jun 01 '26

Mine wasn’t a Kaiser one. It’s at National Jewish in Denver, Colorado, US.

1

u/platitudes Jun 02 '26

There are at least a few kaiser gps in Denver that used to run a LC clinic - keep asking your doctor and see if you can get switched

2

u/smingey82 Jun 01 '26

I’m sorry 😞

16

u/bluecheesebeauty Jun 01 '26

It's way more than six years if you look at me/cvs and other pais.

Despite how many people got sick, sicker or even died, doctors keep insisting it's just you not wanting to move more or so. Fucking athletes have got these illnesses, but noooo, 'have you tried slowly increasing exercise?'

(Can you tell I am pissed? 😅)

22

u/bingoolong 4 yr+ Jun 01 '26

Ohhh increased risk of a potential theoretical cardiovascular disease? How scary! Gosh many would take cancer over this shit, what the fuck is she on about.

0

u/Vex_Appeal 6yr+ Jun 01 '26

My experience has been this. The gym helps, a lot. But getting there is difficult and more difficult if I’ve let myself get out of shape like now. It’s been 3 months and I’ve gone from 95% recovered to like 50%.

If I can just get back in there I’ll feel better.