Long COVID with migraines and POTS-like tachycardia, now near normal with a stimulant
- Condition
- Long COVID
- At worst
- Severe (mostly bedbound)
- Ill before improving or writing
- 2 years
- Last post
- Feb 2024
In their words
- Condition: Long COVID
very direct long haul symptoms
In context ↗ - At worst: Severe
I was in basically the same situation in about month 2 and I never thought I'd get better.
In context ↗ - Now: Near normal
has made me feel almost normal again even with dysautonomia, food intolerances, post-exertional fatigue, etc.
In context ↗ - Began after: COVID
Caught covid in late December
Read from 18 of their posts and comments; links to the 8 this page draws on
Summary
Stone 39048 caught COVID in late December 2021, then developed heartburn, GI problems, a three-week migraine that hospitalised them, leg tendonitis and POTS-like tachycardia. A beta-blocker, rest and diet helped; by nine months they felt much better. A possible reinfection in August 2023 caused neck and jaw pain, but by February 2024 an ADHD stimulant had them near normal, with dysautonomia, food intolerances and post-exertional fatigue remaining.
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What they tried
What they credit
Also tried
Their words about each treatment
- nortriptyline · Helped
nortriptyline was the only med that relieved a 3 week long migraine I had ... Nortriptyline brought me up to like 60% in a matter of a week or two
- metoprolol · Helped
Beta blockers currently helping ... Metoprolol has made it much less noticible in daily activities
- Ibuprofen · Helped
Assuming its just costo flares since Ibuprofen seems to help a bit.
In context ↗ - Rest · Helped
Rest and improved diet made the most difference for me.
In context ↗ - horse chestnut supplements · Helped
Been taking horse chestnut supplements and wearing compression socks during flares and it seems to help.
In context ↗ - Heat and cold · No change
Been trying heat, cold, and ibuprofen but not much is helping.
In context ↗ - stimulant medication · Helped a lot
a low dose of stimulant medication (for prior ADHD combined with new brain fog) has made me feel almost normal again
In context ↗
Approaches: Beta-blockers · Diet · Pacing · Stimulants · Tricyclic antidepressants
Their path
What they say at each step doesn’t fit the worst point or outcome above on the severity scale, so the steps are listed as they describe them. Dates are when they posted.
| When | What happened | After |
|---|---|---|
| late December 2021 | Caught COVID, then weeks of severe heartburn and GI problemsCaught covid in late December, January had the most intense heartburn of my lifeIn context ↗ | |
| March 2022 | Three-week migraine that hospitalised them, then out-of-control heart ratestarted having a migraine which would go on for 3 weeks straight eventually hospitalizing meIn context ↗ | |
| May 2022 | Diagnosed with tachycardia, started a beta-blocker and began improvingBeen properly diagnosed with tachycardia and on beta-blockers now. Been much better as of lately thanfully.In context ↗ | Metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol) |
| September 2022 | Feeling much better after rest and diet changesRest and improved diet made the most difference for me.In context ↗ | Pacing and the energy envelope |
| 2023 | Doing a lot better in the months before the reinfectionBeen doing a lot better in the last few months and not having a good timeIn context ↗ | Stimulants (unspecified) |
| August 2023 | Reinfection with something; neck, shoulder and jaw painReinfected with something, not sure if covid or not, but my neck, shoulder, and jaw keep rotating in and out of being stiff and painful.In context ↗ | |
| February 2024 | Almost normal on a low-dose stimulant, with some limits remaininga low dose of stimulant medication (for prior ADHD combined with new brain fog) has made me feel almost normal again even with dysautonomia, food intolerances, post-exertional fatigue, etc.In context ↗ | Stimulants (unspecified) |
Adverse events
- Nortriptyline (Pamelor)“Tachycardia and believed to have POTs which was further aggravated by the nortriptyline I was put on for migraine prevention.” In context ↗ Heart rhythm problems
- Metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol)“I've tapered down from 25 to 12.5 over the course of about 2 weeks. Still on 12.5 and my body is having a hard time moving down from here but stable at consistent dose.” In context ↗ Withdrawal problems
Symptoms mentioned
Their words about their symptoms
- POTS & dysautonomia
has made me feel almost normal again even with dysautonomia
In context ↗ - Headaches & migraine
a migraine which would go on for 3 weeks straight eventually hospitalizing me
In context ↗ - Gut problems
January had the most intense heartburn of my life that wouldn't let me eat or barely sleep
In context ↗ - Sleep problems
a lot of trouble sleeping
In context ↗ - Pain & fibromyalgia
my neck, shoulder, and jaw keep rotating in and out of being stiff and painful
In context ↗
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