Getting COVID-19 is scary enough but continuing to have symptoms after COVID-19 can make you wonder if you will ever fully recover.

For some people, symptoms continue long after they have recovered from an active infection — and tested negative for the COVID-19 virus. There is a name for this condition. It is called post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC), but it is more commonly referred to as “long COVID-19” or “post-COVID-19.”

If you still have symptoms more than three months after you first tested positive for COVID-19, you may have post-COVID-19. Our post-COVID care team is here to help you manage the lingering symptoms of COVID-19 that continue to affect your day-to-day life.

What to expect during your first appointment

During your first appointment with the Post-COVID Rehabilitation and Recovery Care team, your doctor will ask you a lot of questions about your symptoms. That’s because post-COVID-19 can affect your body, mood, mind and ability to function in ways that you may not realize are related to COVID-19.

Your doctor may also order tests that will provide more information about your health, such as blood tests or imaging. If you do need any tests, our program coordinator will give you the details to help you schedule them.

A treatment plan tailored to you

After reviewing all of your symptoms and any test results, your doctor will create a treatment plan tailored to you. There is no single course of care to treat post-COVID-19 because it affects each person differently.

Most people with post-COVID-19 experience a combination of symptoms. Our approach is to identify those symptoms and assess them as a whole. Our team includes doctors from different specialties who work together to provide you with the right treatment at the right time. Some patients need medications to address problems such as dizziness or headaches. Others need a referral to physical therapy or to a heart or lung specialist for further treatment. Still others have anxiety, depression or issues with their sleep, and benefit from mental health treatment.

Coordinated care on the road to recovery

The Post-COVID Rehabilitation and Recovery Care team will coordinate all of your care and make referrals to any diagnostics or treatment you need.

UW Medicine has specialists in all areas of medicine, including primary care, pulmonology, cardiology, allergy and infectious diseases, neurology, rheumatology, occupational medicine and psychiatry. Rehabilitation services available through the clinic include physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, rehab psychology, vocational rehabilitation and social work.

Our specialists have been involved in COVID-19 care since the start of the pandemic and are committed to your recovery.

Our team will follow up with you to review the recommendations from other specialists, and your progress. We also work closely with your primary care physician.

Our Post-COVID Rehabilitation and Recovery Care team brings together experts who are committed to supporting patients with post-COVID-19 symptoms in their recovery. We also participate in and lead ongoing COVID-19 research efforts to better understand COVID-19’s long-term effects and improve post-COVID-19 care and quality of life.