Dr Vishakha Shivdasani - COVID and Post-COVID Recovery: DoctorVees 6-Point Plan

Dr Vishakhas 6-Point Plan is a highly innovative yet practical guide to recover from COVID-19, post-COVID complications and enhance health and immunity. A must read.

- VISHWAJIT RANE, Goa Health Minister

This book teaches us the importance of other aspects of health beyond pills and prescriptions, seeking to understand how to improve outcomes of not just COVID-19 but health at large. It is a must read for anyone battling COVID, those trying to boost their immunity and definitely for all those wanting to reverse chronic lifestyle diseases

- DR JEHANGIR SORABJEE, Head of Dept of Medicine, Bombay Hospital Institute of Medical Sciences

V for victory over the long-term issues straddling COVID-19 patients with DoctorVees guidance, so meticulously elucidated in her new book .

- DR HEMANT P THACKER, Consultant Physician and Cardiometabolic Specialist

What patients say about DoctorVees 6-Point Plan

Whats special about Dr Vishakha Shivdasani is that she calms your worried mind and then she reassures you with a precise diagnosis, logical analysis and holistic approach. In October 2020, my family and I were afflicted with COVID-19. Dr Vishakha, who monitored our health closely, put her foot on the pedal on day 10, and insisted on immediately hospitalizing my wife when her saturation level dropped suddenly. The ordeal continued over 12 days with Dr Vishakha supervising in her calm, inimitable style and assuring the rest of the family that all would end happily. My wife, who had multiple comorbidities, needed oxygen, but Dr Vishakha remained unfazed. She knew shed taken timely action. Its one thing to be a master of ones craft, but its quite another to be empathetic and humane. It takes a confluence of many noble qualities to be a healer, and Dr Vishakha combines a host of them in her ebullient persona. Godspeed, DoctorVee.

- HARESH JAGTIANI, senior advocate and founder, Haresh Jagtiani & Associates

When my entire household, including me, tested positive for COVID-19, we had pretty severe attacks, especially my mother who has every comorbidity in the book. We placed all our faith in the capable hands of Dr Vishakha who treated us and guided us through the illness with a combination of anti-viral, antibiotic drugs, lifestyle medicine and a positive, non-alarmist, attitude. Her insistence on a high-protein diet, breathing techniques, natural anti-inflammatory foods, etc. saw us through COVID-19 and helped my mum recover completely even though she is severely diabetic, and her saturation had fallen to critical levels. I have immense faith in DoctorVees holistic approach to healing. This book is a must-read for anyone who has been through this terrible virus.

- ANUSHKA JAG, international singer

To my darling mother, who taught me to live a life of love and laughter and to stand tall with dignity and grace, despite all odds. I love you and miss you today and every day.

Contents

Surviving is not the same as recovery, doctor.

I was taken aback by this response from a fifty-year-old patient after I congratulated her on her recovery from COVID-19.

She looked me in the eye and said, Ive survived COVID-19, but Im not the same person I was pre-COVID. I havent recovered; I have not fully healed.

It had already been a month since this patient had tested negative for the severe acute respiratory syndromerelated coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). As a physician, I should think that was enough time for her to be back to normal and feeling like herself again.

Well, clearly not.

COVID-19 has taken the world by storm. The year 2020 was a washout, a blur for most. Nobody anticipated that the virus would last this long, or that it would pose such an unprecedented challenge to both our health and economy. It is a novel virus, after all, and whilst there is no doubt that we have learnt a lot about it over the last year, it continues to throw curveballs every now and then which keep us medical professionals on our toes.

As a doctor, I have seen the entire gamut of cases, from patients who are completely asymptomatic to those who have unfortunately succumbed to the virus. There is no textbook case or exact guidelines for recovery like we have for malaria, typhoid or even another virus like influenza. Fortunately, statistics show us that the number of people who have recovered from COVID-19 far exceeds that of those who are left with complications or sadly succumb to it.

The problem is this. We are seeing a sizeable number of people who have been infected with COVID-19 but cant seem to rid their bodies of its effects even months later. It is a mystery that has baffled the medical community. Patients among this group may even develop COVID-19 like symptoms and others, weeks after testing negative for the virus. They have been designated COVID long-haulers or Long COVID sufferers. While the medical community is citing growing evidence of COVID long-haulers, peer reviewed journals and textbooks havent written much about these cases yet because its too soon.

Common symptoms of Long COVID can range from hair fall, skin problems, chronic cough, brain fog, headaches, loss of taste and smell to insomnia, fatigue, difficulty breathing, palpitations, depression, joint pains to blood clots and lung scarring. The list is a long one (also goes to show COVID-19 isnt just a respiratory disease). While most these symptoms may not kill you, they are definitely debilitating and affect a persons quality of life.

Long COVID affects all patients, from those with comorbidities to others who are young and healthy. In my practice, I have seen a significant number of young patients who cannot focus at work and now suffer from insomnia. A patient of mine, an otherwise very fit and healthy girl, had a debilitating cough and a flare-up of psoriasis three months after testing negative for COVID-19. Another young patient complains that his stamina whilst working out just isnt the same even a month after recovery. He cannot exercise because he experiences shortness of breath a few minutes in. Yet another patient of mine, who is middle-aged, obese and an uncontrolled diabetic, has developed pulmonary fibrosis following COVID-19. Some patients who were very sick and spent time in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) showed symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Manifestations of Long COVID are varied and can cover multiple systems in the body. Unfortunately, many long-haulers claim that their symptoms are being overlooked. They are being told by both their doctors and families that they are exaggeratingeven imaginingtheir condition. Consider this: the most common symptom of Long COVID is the inability to perform simple daily tasks like showering, getting dressed and preparing meals. This level of exhaustion resembles that of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and can be mistaken for it.

Only timebacked by solid, scientific and medical researchcan give us definitive answers for how to deal with COVID long-haulers. Meanwhile, based on both patient testimonials and physician evidence, we must do what we can to treat their genuine, debilitating health problems.

What do we know so far? People with comorbidities suffer the most serious outcomes with COVID-19. They are the ones with the most complications, are most likely to have delayed recovery and, sadly, even the ones who seem to succumb to the virus. Long-haulers, on the other hand, can be people who have suffered mild infections or have even been asymptomatic.