The Doctor, the Biohacker, and the Quest to Treat Their Long COVID
March 19, 2025 at 04:30PMFor Men’s Health, Erika Hayasaki recounts the journeys of two men seeking to understand, navigate, and treat their Long COVID symptoms: Dr. Light, a pulmonologist battling chronic fatigue who has found some relief with naltrexone; and Levi, a long-hauler who has tried experimental and alternative methods (such as red light therapy, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, and ice baths). At first, Hayasaki alternates between the men’s stories, describing how both have dealt with a debilitating condition that is often misunderstood—and has no definitive treatment. As they search for answers, the two men eventually meet at a Long COVID support group in Colorado, led by Light.
Never one to believe that doctors have all the answers, Levi does not show up to this long COVID support group seeking specialists with expertise in his condition. He comes for the regular folks like him who are commiserating freely, troubleshooting potential treatments without feeling judged, discussing everything from digestive problems to nerve pain, sweating, numbness, vertigo, tingling, dizziness, difficulties smelling or tasting, trouble socializing, and sleeping. They turn to each other, because who better to turn to? Science does not yet have the answers.
They sent him home, but he returned to the ER two more times, with no clear test results or diagnosis. He tried to gulp for air but felt as if he were drowning instead. Eight weeks passed. I can’t work. I can’t take care of my kids. I can barely sit here on the couch without panicking. Dr. Light tried inhalers, pulmonary medication samples. He even did an ultrasound of his own heart.
To be a pulmonologist struggling to breathe felt like a special kind of hell. His mind raced with all the potential COVID-related problems: Inflammation of the heart. Constriction of the heart by the pericardium, the surrounding sac. Blood clots in the lungs. Organizing pneumonia, an inflammation that can damage the lungs but is not an infection like general pneumonia. Is that what’s happening to me? A chest X-ray, he knew, catches organizing pneumonia only half the time.
from Longreads https://longreads.com/2025/03/19/the-doctor-the-biohacker-and-the-quest-to-treat-their-long-covid/
via IFTTT
Watch