by Daniel Brouse
March 7, 2023
In February of 2020, I contracted SARS-CoV-2. By May of 2020, I recognized a pattern of recurring symptoms including: difficulty breathing, congestion, cough, stomach aches, diarrhea, loss of taste and smell, temperature deregulation, night sweats, nightmares, vivid dreams, dizziness, brain fog, headaches, muscle aches, earaches, and peripheral neuropathy.
Over the next year, I was able to treat most of these symptoms with nicotinic acid; however, reducing the niacin dosage yielded increased symptoms. It was only after becoming fully vaccinated in 2021 (post-infection vaccination) that I appear to have been cured of most of the above symptoms. Approximately ninety days after my second dose of the COVID vaccine I was able to reduce my niacin dosage with no ill side effects.
The problem with long COVID is many aspects of the condition(s) do not readily present themselves. In my case, COVID appears to have permanently:
1) increased hypertension
2) increased blood sugar
3) increased cholesterol
If you have had COVID, I highly recommend a medical physical and complete blood work. Though only 10% of people “present with symptoms”, it appears COVID will impact 99% of survivors in the long-term.
With vaccination, medication, and diet, I have been able to control all of my known conditions.
I’m coming to the conclusion that there are 2 main things going on: 1) persistent virus 2) epigenetic changes
1) SARS-CoV-2 can live in organs for an indefinite period of time. Even after testing negative for weeks, the virus can be active in the brain, heart, blood, etc.
2) There appear to be dozens of epigenetic modifications. The changes are not uniform across the population due mainly to preexisting conditions and/or predispositions (eg family history).
In my case, it is likely I had both conditions. The persistent COVID-19 was causing most of my readily apparent symptoms. The niacin helped treat the NAD+ deficiency but did not help clear the virus. It was only after I was fully vaccinated that I was able to clear the virus.
On the other hand, the epigenetic changes appear to be of a permanent nature. My genes are now programmed for increased hypertension, blood sugars, and cholesterol. Unfortunately, it is quite likely I have other undetected epigenetic modifications. I am looking to my family history and being extra diligent on cancer and other health screenings.
The BBC has produced a documentary entitled The long haul of long Covid that talks about COVID induced: cognitive impairment, fatigue, lactic acid, metabolic dysfunction, micro clots, hypertension, blood sugar, diabetes, asthma, allergies, overactive immune system, muscle and joint pain, arthritis, migraines, shortness of breath, and other chronic problems.
Three years after the official declaration of a pandemic, 65 million people – one in 10 who had Covid-19 – still have symptoms. Some are so ill they are yet to return to work.
The Economist’s health editor, Natasha Loder, examines the science behind long Covid and hears about the challenges as researchers try to unravel the cause behind a condition associated with around 200 symptoms.
Natasha gains insights about the disease from Dr Walter Koroshetz, co-director of the long Covid Recover study in the United States, pulmonologist Dr Lancelot Pinto in Mumbai, India, and long Covid expert Dr Waasila Jassat in Johannesburg, South Africa.
She also meets Dr Emma Wall at London’s Francis Crick Institute to hear about the UK’s long Covid drug trial and Dr Maria Teresa Ferretti, from the Women’s Brain Project, discusses why women are twice as likely to get long Covid than men.
Some Known COVID Chronic Conditions
* Persistent SARS-CoV-2 RNA in multiple organs and throughout the brain
* Destruction of Good Gut Bacteria Resulting in a Compromised Immune System
* Epigenetic Modifications (Changes to DNA)
* Change in Cell Fate
* Tryptophan Deficiency
* Dysfunctional Kynurenine Pathway
* Neurological Damage
* New-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease
* Exertional Intolerance, Oxygen Extraction, Reduced Exercise Capacity
* Down Regulating NAD+
* Up Regulating IDO
* Rogue Antibodies
* Insulin Reduction, Diabetes, High Cholesterol, Heart Disease and Stroke
* Increased Risk of Cancer
* Blood Clots
* Hypertension, Vascular Disorders, Myocarditis and Heart Disease
* Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)
* Dysregulation of the innate immune system, i.e. “cytokine storm”