Parkinson's-like symptoms include tremors and "internal vibrations," according to Long Covid sufferers.

A new research of long-term Covid patients is casting light on a slew of underreported symptoms, including Parkinson's-like tremors and internal vibrations, that are wreaking havoc on sufferers' lives.

A study published in the journal MedRXiv on Friday aims to raise awareness of a disorder that has yet to be identified in patients who are still experiencing symptoms months or years after contracting COVID-19. The phrase "lasting Covid" refers to what physicians refer to as "post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection," or PASC; it describes the situation in which people who previously had COVID-19 but no longer test positive nevertheless suffer symptoms.

Diana Berrent, who founded Survivor Corps, a support network for COVID-19 survivors, is one of the paper's authors. The publication provides first-person accounts from people who acquired tremors and vibrations after lengthy periods of Covid.

"Now that I'm over 8 months post-covid, I'm still dealing with these dreadful tremors on a regular basis," one research participant said. "They don't come and go; they're always there. They are available at all times. When I'm motionless and relaxing, or at night and early in the morning, or during naps, I'm more aware of them."

The death of Heidi Ferrer, a screenwriter and Survivor Corps member who suffered from tremors and vibrations, prompted this research. Nick Güthe, Ferrer's husband, co-wrote the article and has collaborated with Survivor Corps to discover more people suffering from the same symptoms.

"It's like someone putting a cell phone in your chest and turning off the vibration feature," Güthe told Salon, "but they have the capacity to switch it on arbitrarily at any time in the night." "As a result, even with Ambien and other sleep drugs, she couldn't sleep because the vibrations would wake her up and it would take her hours to go back asleep."

Güthe hopes that his wife's tale, as well as those of other long-term Covid patients suffering from tremors and vibrations, would serve as a "canary in the coal mine" for American medicine.

"There are a lot of individuals suffering from this, and it's a really serious condition because you can't recover if you can't sleep," Güthe explained. "You lose hope if you can't sleep."

Survivor Corps compiled 140 emails and 450 Facebook comments from members of the support group to come up with seven main themes about people's experiences with tremors and vibrations, such as experiencing them on their feet, hands, or back. While there were some similarities in the experiences, the onset of these symptoms varied greatly.

"Overall, these patient tales depicted extreme pain," the study's authors said, "yet there is still no diagnosis or treatment available."

Liza Fisher, a long-hauler research participant, was diagnosed with COVID-19 in July 2020, at the age of 36. Fisher was sent to an intensive care unit before being transferred to a rehabilitation facility, where she suffered tremors and vibrations.

"I experienced extremely debilitating tremors and the internal vibrations that people talk about," Fisher told Salon. "My tremors were quite heavy Parkinsonian-like, and they were all over my body." "I hadn't been able to walk in a long time."

Fisher has been searching for answers for the past 17 months. Her tremors have been decreased after physicians put a neuromodulation device in her spine.

According to University of Alabama experts, up to 10% of persons who catch COVID-19 have long-term effects after the virus has left their body.

"Considerable-haulers" are people who have traveled a long distance in Covid. Some long-haul drivers make a complete recovery, while others do not. Patients have also reported weariness, brain fog, disorientation, shortness of breath, migraines, and chest discomfort as long-term Covid effects. Not everyone who became a long-hauler after being diagnosed with COVID-19 had a serious illness or was hospitalized.