Long COVID with brain fog and little sleep, somewhat better after low-dose Abilify
- Condition
- Long COVID
- At worst
- Moderate (mostly housebound)
- Ill before improving or writing
- 4 years
- Last post
- Feb 2024
In their words
- Condition: Long COVID
as someone with long covid, i had tried taking one of their classes
In context ↗ - At worst: Moderate
my energy envelope is still small and I still crash, but at least i feel decent on days when i'm not
In context ↗ - Now: Somewhat better
my brain fog is recovered to the point where i can read as-desired ... my energy envelope is still small and I still crash
- Began after: COVID
as someone with long covid
Read from 11 of their posts and comments; links to the 8 this page draws on
Summary
Hawk 89181 fell ill in March 2020 with long COVID, which they also called ME/CFS. The first two years were worst, with heavy brain fog that limited reading and about four hours of sleep a night. Low-dose Abilify, guanfacine with NAC, trazodone and memantine, via a long-COVID specialist, brought more good days and let them read again, but their energy envelope stayed small and they still crashed.
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What they tried
What they credit
Their words about each treatment
- cetirizine · Helped
My cardiolgist puts all his POTS patients on cetirizine and famotidine. i think it has helped with sleep and mental clarity
In context ↗ - buproprion · Not said
I was on buproprion for years before I got sick and they took me off it because I have the type of POTS that has to do with norapenephrine ... my heartrate problem did improve.
In context ↗ - vagus nerve stimulation · Helped
i do think it's contributed (among many other things) to my feeling more energy and "aliveness" on good days ... at least i feel decent on days when i'm not, which is much better than how it was the first 2 years
In context ↗ - Gupta · Not said
recommended first Gupta (which i couldn't stand the woo-woo)
In context ↗ - trazodone · Helped
getting on enough sleep meds to go from sleeping 4 hours a night to 6-7. (i don't take ambien or anything like that, I take trazodone
In context ↗ - low-dose abilify · Helped
this is due to several medications: ... low-dose abilify (2 ml)
In context ↗ - guanfacine · Helped
guanfacine + the supplement NAC
In context ↗ - memantine · Helped
most recently, memantine -- very hot right now in alzheimer's resarch, it boosts executive functioning which i always had trouble with
In context ↗
Approaches: Other antidepressants · Other drugs and medicines · Supplements · Vagus nerve stimulation
Their path
How ill they were on the ME/CFS severity scale, estimated from what they describe at each point, with time counted from when the illness began. Hover or tap a point. The first step with a time is 3.2 years after onset: the story doesn’t say how ill they were before that. The dashed part: the story doesn’t say when. 1 step says too little to place on the scale and is only in the table. Dates are when they posted. What the levels mean.
Show as a table
| When | What happened | Where they were | After |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 2020 | Illness onset (long COVID / ME/CFS)hauling into Year 5 in MarchIn context ↗ | Not stated | |
| first two years (2020-2022) | Lowest point: heavy brain fog, four hours of sleep a night, felt unwell even on better daysmuch better than how it was the first 2 yearsIn context ↗ | Moderate | |
| 2023-06-15 | More good time than bad; progress under a long-COVID doctorYes! still up and down but much more up timeIn context ↗ | Mild | |
| 2023-12-28 | More energy and feeling of aliveness on good days, though still crashingi do think it's contributed (among many other things) to my feeling more energy and "aliveness" on good daysIn context ↗ | Mild | Vagus nerve stimulation |
| 2024-02-28 | Brain fog recovered enough to read as desired; energy envelope still small and still crashesmy brain fog is recovered to the point where i can read as-desiredIn context ↗ | Mild | Low-dose Abilify / aripiprazole |
Adverse events
- Bupropion (Wellbutrin)“they took me off it because I have the type of POTS that has to do with norapenephrine and buproprion is a norepinephrine uptake inhibitor ... my heartrate problem did improve.” In context ↗ Heart rhythm problems
Symptoms mentioned
Their words about their symptoms
- Brain fog
my brain fog is recovered to the point where i can read as-desired
In context ↗ - Post-exertional malaise
my energy envelope is still small and I still crash
In context ↗ - Sleep problems
i used to get 4 hours, now i can get as much as 8 if i do my sleep hygeine right
In context ↗ - POTS & dysautonomia
I have the type of POTS that has to do with norapenephrine
In context ↗
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