Long COVID with chest pain and brain fog, worse again after setbacks; rest helped
- Condition
- Long COVID
- At worst
- Moderate (mostly housebound)
- Ill before improving or writing
- 4 years
- Last post
- Sep 2025
In their words
- At worst: Moderate
I am currently operating at about 30% of normal most days, sometimes lower.
In context ↗ - Now: Relapsed
I was doing well, maybe 60-80% of pre-infection. ... I am currently operating at about 30% of normal most days, sometimes lower.
In context ↗ - Began after: COVID
Last October I had my first bout with covid, Delta variant and it was rough to say the least.
Read from 34 of their posts and comments; links to the 18 this page draws on
Summary
Lagoon 94102, 31, fell ill with COVID in October 2021 and never recovered; a cold in early 2023 dropped him to about 30% of normal, with chest pain, breathlessness, brain fog and fatigue almost four years on. Reinfections and pericarditis flares set him back further, and he said inhalers, breathing devices and supplements did nothing. He found real rest most helpful. He described something that made his symptoms go berserk, nearly hospitalizing him.
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What they tried
What they credit
Also tried
Their words about each treatment
- blood pressure meds · Helped
A year before I got my first covid infection I started taking blood pressure meds.
In context ↗ - Lisinopril · Helped
I take Lisinopril for blood pressure, it's helped immensely.
In context ↗ - ibuprofen · Helped
My Doctor told me to take high doses of ibuprofen for a week and it went away for the most part.
In context ↗ - COVID vaccine and boosters · No change
got vaccinated a few months after hoping it would help my long haul symptoms. It did absolutely nothing to help them.
In context ↗ - chiropractor · No change
I've done all kinds of things like chiropractor and acupuncture and started taking heart healthy meds and changed my diet and breathing exercises. None of it worked.
In context ↗ - inhalers and nebulizers · No change
Inhalers and nebulizers have little to no effect other than causing me anxiety
In context ↗ - colchicine · No change
I've recently been out on colchicine for pericarditis and that did not help lol.
In context ↗ - counseling · Helped
I've started counseling, it helps some talking about this
In context ↗ - budesonide nebulizer · Not said
I've started a new nebulizer treatment, budesonide. They say it might help the chest pain so we'll see on that one.
In context ↗ - marijuana · Helped
I've turned to marijuana for sleep and pain regulation ... It does the job but sucks what little energy I do have right out.
In context ↗ - homeopathic treatment · Much worse
It was awful and made my symptoms go berserk, nearly hospitalized me.
In context ↗ - breathing training equipment · No change
I've been using breathing training equipment for months and have seen no change.
In context ↗ - real rest · Helped
I've found that real rest has been of the most benefit.
In context ↗ - supplements and pills · No change
the supplements and pills to treat symptoms never work
In context ↗
Approaches: Radical rest
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. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| October 2021 | COVID-19 (Delta variant) two days after his 31st birthdayI was first diagnosed with Covid 2 days after my 31st birthday in October 2021.In context ↗ | Moderate |
| 2022-07-06 | second COVID infection; breathing and chest pain doubled, could hardly walk to the couchI've gone from feeling like I was maybe recovering two weeks ago, with the excitement from the vacation, to hardly being able to walk from my bedroom to the couch.In context ↗ | Severe |
| 2022-11-05 | slowly getting back to baseline after the reinfectionI would say I'm slowly getting back to baseline but couldn't say how long it'll take to get there.In context ↗ | Mild |
| 2023-01-16 | 14 months in, physically about the same but content and better overallOverall I've been good, better anyway.In context ↗ | Mild |
| February 2023 | non-COVID cold at work knocked him from 60-80% down to about 30% of normalSix months ago I caught a cold that was going around at work, for most everyone it was very mild but for me it knocked me down seriously badIn context ↗ | Moderate |
| by December 2024 | fifth COVID infection and a further non-COVID illness made long haul much worse5th - lc got much worse. My most recent illness which did not test positive for COVID made my lc stuff way way worse, not sure what it was.In context ↗ | Not stated |
| 2025-09-03 | homeopathic drops made symptoms go berserk, nearly hospitalised himIt was awful and made my symptoms go berserk, nearly hospitalized me.In context ↗ | Moderate |
Adverse events
- “Inhalers and nebulizers have little to no effect other than causing me anxiety” In context ↗ Mood or psychiatric effects
- Cannabis (THC, marijuana)“It does the job but sucks what little energy I do have right out.” In context ↗ Side effects
- “It was awful and made my symptoms go berserk, nearly hospitalized me.” In context ↗ Made symptoms worse
Symptoms mentioned
Their words about their symptoms
- Post-exertional malaise
I paid for it heavily for the week after but the time I spent there was worth it I think
In context ↗ - POTS & dysautonomia
my heart rate does spike on standing up but not nearly as high as some others have reported
In context ↗ - Sleep problems
I've turned to marijuana for sleep and pain regulation
In context ↗ - Pain & fibromyalgia
Chest pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, brain fog, and joint pain are my main symptoms
In context ↗ - Breathlessness
The shortness of breath came back fierce.
In context ↗ - Heart symptoms & palpitations
It's a little concerning how bad my chest hurts sometimes.
In context ↗ - Neuropathy & tingling
my limbs are numb from the pain
In context ↗ - Anxiety & low mood
depressed is definitely a good way to describe my current emotional status
In context ↗ - Vision problems
my vision gets a little blurry
In context ↗
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