Long-haul Covid patients can experience 'waves of symptoms,' early research suggests

Covid symptoms can come in distinct 'waves' for long-hauler patients Long-term symptoms may emerge in a distinct pattern over weeks and months. NBC News

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Natalie Lambert, an associate research professor at Indiana University School of Medicine, surveyed thousands of "long-hauler" Covid-19 patients, finding that specific symptoms tend to emerge at regular intervals — usually a week or 10 days — resulting in what she calls "waves of symptoms."

More research is needed to confirm the results, which have not been published in a medical journal or posted to a preprint server. But the early findings, which were shared with NBC News, could give clinicians insights into treating long-haulers more effectively and perhaps even preventing debilitating symptoms.

Lambert surveyed 5,163 long-haulers. Patients were contacted online through the website Survivor Corps, a site dedicated to long-haulers. Seventy-seven percent of respondents had either tested positive for Covid-19 or had been diagnosed by physicians based on their symptoms and exposure.

In the survey, Lambert asked patients what symptoms they had and approximately how long after their illnesses they had begun.

Overall, patients reported more than 100 symptoms. Not all are necessarily connected to Covid-19 — it will take time for researchers to sort that out.

But long-haulers do tend to be careful note takers. "They are normally tracking their symptoms week by week so that they can report it to the doctor to try to get help," Lambert said.

When Lambert analyzed symptom onset specifically, distinct patterns emerged.

"The first wave is clearly the more flu-like symptoms," such as fatigue, headache, fever and chills, she said. "Then it seems like diarrhea, nausea and vomiting are five days later, typically."

The new waves don't mean the previous symptoms disappear; those symptoms can linger, or they may fade and re-emerge later.

Ten days into illness, another wave crashes. This time, the new symptoms tend to be more neurologic, including confusion, dizziness and difficulty concentrating. Patients may also develop joint pain and low back pain. Some report pressure in the brain that is so intense that it feels like their heads might explode. ...