Severe fatigue, brain fog and PEM with long COVID, now near normal after pacing and coQ10
- Condition
- Long COVID
- At worst
- Not stated
- Ill before improving or writing
- 4.5 years
- Last post
- Mar 2025
In their words
- Condition: Long COVID
I've had long COVID for almost 2 years
In context ↗ - Now: Near normal
I work four days a week ... my word finding and memory/concentration is pretty much normal; you wouldn't know if you met me
In context ↗ - Began after: COVID
I picked up COVID early on before the vaccines were released and was briefly hospitalised with hypoxia.
In context ↗
Read from 42 of their posts and comments; links to the 22 this page draws on
Summary
A UK doctor caught COVID in late 2020, was briefly hospitalised with hypoxia, and developed severe fatigue, brain fog and PEM. Over 4.5 years they gradually improved, crediting alpha lipoic acid, coQ10, pacing/rest, intermittent fasting and an SNRI, with setbacks after viruses, overexercise, alcohol and dairy. By 2025 they worked four days a week, jogged and had near-normal cognition, but were not fully fixed.
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What they tried
What they credit
Also tried
Their words about each treatment
- pacing myself · Helped
I've had to learn to pace myself and be more forgiving of my body.
In context ↗ - alpha lipoic acid · Helped a lot
The improvement was quite dramatic in a short period of time taking 300 mg a day.
In context ↗ - co-q10 · Helped
have recently started taking co-q10
In context ↗ - removing Lactose from my diet · Helped
Mine seemed to improve after removing Lactose from my diet.
In context ↗ - phyto v · Helped
I feel like the phyto v has helped.
In context ↗ - reading and doing word games with family · Helped
reading and doing word games with family has really helped
In context ↗ - intermittent fasting · Helped
I got into intermittent fasting and that seemed to help with energy a little
In context ↗ - Propranolol · Helped a lot
Propranolol at low dose short term was a life saver.
In context ↗ - SSRI · Worse
SSRi gave me bad carb cravings so I switched to an SNRi
In context ↗ - Venlafaxine (SNRI) · Helped a lot
Venlafaxine helped me with anxiety and low mood
In context ↗ - CBT with journaling · Helped
Changes to work-life schedule and CBT with journaling and mediative/reflective practice.
In context ↗ - meditation · Helped
a regular meditation practice where I checked in with myself in the mornings on the bus
In context ↗ - Rest · Helped
Rest and Mindfulness helped me to balance my day and to improve my fitness without overdoing it.
In context ↗ - structured HITT exercise · Helped
doing some structured HITT exercise within limits to build up stamina when I'm feeling well
In context ↗
Approaches: CBT & mindset · SNRIs · Beta-blockers · Diet · Mind-body practices · Pacing · Physiotherapy and rehab · Supplements
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. Dates are when they posted. What the levels mean.
Show as a table
| When | What happened | Where they were | After |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-12 | COVID with hypoxia, hospitalised; severe fatigue, brain fog and PEMI picked up COVID early on before the vaccines were released and was briefly hospitalised with hypoxia.In context ↗ | Severe | |
| 2021-05 | started alpha lipoic acid before an exam; improved enough to sit and pass itstarted taking 300mg twice a day a few days before the exam and I seemed to improve significantly such that I could sit the exam which I passed.In context ↗ | Mild | |
| 2021-09-04 | brain fog and severe fatigue dramatically improved from mid-May; still fatigued easilybrain fog and severe fatigue from Dec until mid-May when it seemed to dramatically improve.In context ↗ | Mild | |
| 2022-02-23 | about 95% there, significantly better than a year earlierI would say I am 95% there - significantly better than a year ago.In context ↗ | Near normal | |
| 2022-09-30 | after COVID reinfection, symptoms got better; still not 100%after getting over the virus again, my symptoms got better - still not 100% but slowly getting there.In context ↗ | Mild | |
| 2023-03-06 | 95% recovered, back at work part time, going to the gymNow I am 95% recovered, mentally back and at work (although less than full time), going to the gym and enjoying my life.In context ↗ | Near normal | |
| 2023-11-05 | switched to an SNRI; anxiety and low mood greatly improvedswitched to an SNRi and it made a massive difference over 2 years. No anxiety, very happy and calmIn context ↗ | Near normal | |
| 2025-03-27 | works four days, jogs, cognition nearly normal; not fully fixedNow I work four days a week, I can do some longer shifts and nights with rest days built in. I can now jogIn context ↗ | Near normal | Pacing and the energy envelope |
Adverse events
- Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA, R-ALA)“only side effects I had were that it could cause indigestion and later in the day I would get migraines more often” In context ↗ Side effects
- Antidepressants (unspecified), Venlafaxine (Effexor)“started on SSRi but put on significant weight as a side effect (carb craving)” In context ↗ Side effects
Symptoms mentioned
Their words about their symptoms
- Brain fog
severe problems with concentration, word finding and short term memory
In context ↗ - Post-exertional malaise
I still have PEM but my stamina before hitting the wall/dead battery mode has significantly improved
In context ↗ - Gut problems
I still get relapses of loose stool from time to time.
In context ↗ - Headaches & migraine
later in the day I would get migraines more often
In context ↗ - Breathlessness
I was unable to walk outside my house without breathlessness
In context ↗ - Anxiety & low mood
I was depressed with anxiety
In context ↗
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