Back Back
C19 Obesity PatientPerspective
My Journey as a Patient and Healthcare Professional With COVID-19 and Obesity

Released: May 26, 2023

Jessica Gustafson
Jessica Gustafson, PA-C
Activity Information

Activity

Progress
1
Course Completed
Key Takeaways
  • Individuals with obesity or metabolic syndrome are at high risk for severe COVID-19 and development of long COVID.

Catching COVID-19
I was infected with COVID-19 in May of 2022 while practicing as a physician associate in an asthma clinic. At that time, I had been managing patients with acute COVID-19 for more than 2 years. I had a healthy respect for the virus, and I was cautious at work and at home. I always wore an N95 respirator and personal protective equipment at work because everyone coughs in an asthma clinic. My job entailed seeing our same-day sick patients, and I wanted to protect myself.

I had received 3 COVID-19 vaccinations and was considering a booster because I was at high risk for severe infection due to my weight. Between the media updates and my experience treating patients with COVID-19, I was regularly reminded that obesity was a major risk factor for severe COVID-19 (and now long COVID, or postacute sequelae of COVID-19). 

Choosing Treatment Options
Although my initial symptoms were minor, by Day 4 my cough was deep and productive, so I reached out to my primary care provider to discuss treatment. After a lengthy discussion, we decided that I would receive monoclonal antibody therapy instead of oral antiviral treatment. In retrospect, that was likely the wrong decision, but we used the data available at the time, and the antibody infusion appeared to be the better choice.  

Developing Long COVID
In the days following my treatment, the infection seemed to settle deeper into my lungs. Late one night I presented to the emergency department with a heavy, productive cough; left-sided chest pain; and a persistent fever. My imaging and labs were normal, and I was sent home with instructions to follow up if anything worsened.

 It took a few days for the cough, sore throat, and fever to begin to resolve. At Day 10 of my infection, a constellation of new, strange symptoms appeared—shooting head and neck pains, overwhelming nausea, sensitivity to bright lights and loud sounds, palpitations, and insomnia, among others. Fatigue and brain fog began each afternoon, and they still do. The waves of symptoms were and still are completely unpredictable. I knew I must be experiencing long COVID but hoped that it would resolve over time.

Over the next year, those symptoms have led to several emergency department visits and numerous specialist visits, including visits to cardiologists, neurologists, and gastroenterologists. The potential diagnoses they discussed with me—postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, dysautonomia, vagal nerve dysfunction, and assorted neuropathies—had limited treatment options.

Since then, I have frequented an established long COVID clinic. This has been helpful in treating a few symptoms but is not a panacea for managing all things long COVID.

Message to Healthcare Professionals
My journey is not unique and certainly isn’t the most severe compared with others—I truly am thankful that I can still work. Long COVID has been a journey of unpredictability, diagnostic dilemmas, and frustration. Despite that, I remain optimistic, as my symptoms have started to decrease in overall frequency. I hope my story is a strong reminder—if not a call to action—for healthcare professionals to be proactive in treating their patients with obesity to help prevent poor outcomes.

To discuss this topic further, we invite you to join the conversation during 2 live webinars this summer.

Your Thoughts?
How often are you prescribing preventive therapy in your patients with acute COVID-19 and metabolic syndrome? Which interventions seem to help? Join the conversation by leaving a comment below.