Thread by @ahandvanish

I've debated for a long time about being public with this, bc it's heavy & I still haven't come to terms with it. But I have a rare pre-COVID datapoint so will do it, hoping it helps people:

Right before I got COVID, I did neuro testing to see if I had ADHD.

1/ #LongCovid

My processing speed was in the 96th percentile (meaning it was higher than 96% of people who took the test).

After I got COVID and my brain issues started, I did the same testing with the same provider, and my processing speed had dropped to the 14th percentile. #LongCovid

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Having low processing speed affects everything. It impacts basic communication with people, like texting & talking. Not only how long it takes to actually communicate, but how much you ingest about what you are reading/hearing. Relationships become hard to maintain. #LongCovid
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Things like driving - where you *have* to make fast decisions - are much scarier & often not possible at all. Common sense decision-making - like putting on potholders to take something out of the oven - are related to processing speed too, & are scary to find suddenly absent. 3/

Processing speed impacts memory, because it impacts how fast you can register memories. It impacts emotional awareness & how fast it takes to know how you're feeling. The downstream impacts of having suddenly lower processing speed affect identity in a serious way. #LongCovid

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Processing speed impacts how much you can hold in your head, how you weave the world together and make sense of it, the thoughts that come up when you think about the people, places, ideas that you love. It turns those processes into just a void, a blank wall. #LongCovid

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Intelligence tests aren't ideal & are rooted in problematic ideas, so I'm not suggesting they are key. But these processing speed drops are substantial & happening to many with #LongCovid, esp those with new ME/CFS, which has processing speed deficits as part of the illness.

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This is still happening to so many people, despite vaccination, despite pretending like the pandemic is over. The public deserves to know the actual risks of what can be lost.

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My tangible ask of people reading this: please continue to mask, or start again if you've stopped, & please implement ventilation protocols where you have power to do so (including your own homes), & please stay home when you're sick, even if you test negative for COVID.

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One thing I’ll add to this: these were full neurological evaluations, and both tests showed no anxiety or depression.

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