From Bloated to Bliss: An Effective Way to Heal Your Gut Issues
By addressing the root cause of symptoms, we can provide effective, and long-lasting relief from GI issues, as well as help patients achieve overall health and well-being.
Dr. Niele Maimone, DC
Suppose you are suddenly stricken with COVID-19. You become very ill for several weeks and then you begin to turn the corner. Every day your worst symptoms — the fever, the terrible cough, the fatigue — get a little better. In another week or two, you’ll be your old self.
But weeks pass, and while the worst symptoms are gone, you’re not your old self — not even close. You can’t meet your responsibilities at home or at work because you have no energy. Even routine physical exertion, like climbing stairs, leaves you feeling exhausted. You ache all over. You’re having trouble concentrating on anything, even watching TV. You’re unusually forgetful. Your brain feels like it’s in a fog.
Tens of thousands of people in the United States have lingering illness following COVID-19. Currently, the condition they are suffering from is known as “long COVID” or “long haul COVID”.
Published studies and surveys conducted by patient groups indicate that 50% to 80% of patients continue to have bothersome symptoms three months after the onset of COVID-19, even after tests no longer detect the virus in their body.
The most common symptoms are fatigue, body aches, shortness of breath, joint pain, brain fog, inability to exercise, headache, and difficulty sleeping. Since COVID-19 is a new disease that first appeared in December 2019, there is no information on long-term recovery rates.
Currently, we can’t accurately predict who will become a long hauler. According to an article in Science magazine, people only mildly affected by COVID-19 still can have lingering symptoms, while people who were severely ill seemingly return to normal two months later.
If you are suffering from long COVID, it is likely that you had been suffering from a weakened immune system long before you became sick with COVID. As the body heals from a virus or illness, it utilizes many of its reserves (vitamins, minerals, aminos, hormones and antioxidants to name a few), which leaves you even more depleted than before. If those reserves do not get replenished, the body struggles to regain its former symptom-free state. At Align, we help to identify exactly what a person is lacking in order to provide the body with what it needs to heal and return to normal function. Once the imbalances have been identified, a very specific protocol is prescribed so symptoms have the opportunity to resolve. This approach, called “Functional Medicine,” looks deep into the physiology of a person helping to identify why the body is in a state of dis-ease and how to go about fixing it. The use of functional medicine is a powerful tool in unwinding symptoms and restoring health.
If you or anyone you know suffer from long COVID please know that there is help available and it is possible to get your life back and feel yourself again! If you are interested in exploring what functional medicine can do for you, call Align Healing Center for a complimentary consultation at 925-362-8283.
