Long COVID with POTS and heavy legs, still symptomatic after salt water and rest
- Condition
- Long COVID
- At worst
- Mild (working or studying, with limits)
- Ill for
- 2 months
- Last post
- Sep 2026
In their words
- Condition: Long COVID
I am concerned that this is evolving into Long Covid from here.
In context ↗ - At worst: Mild
I am working from home and doing less than 1k steps!
In context ↗ - Now: No benefit
I’ve had several 70-80 days but today was back to the usual 115 shenanigans.
In context ↗ - Began after: another virus
I recently had a moderate respiratory virus.
In context ↗
Summary
Five weeks after a moderate respiratory virus in mid-2026, this user developed POTS (standing heart rate up to 115) and heavy, weak 'marathon' legs. They worked from home, walked under 1,000 steps a day, rested from 6pm and all weekend with little change; salt water lowered the heart rate. By mid-September they had several days at 70-80 bpm but were back to 115, still symptomatic and worried about long COVID.
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What they tried
Also tried
Their words about each treatment
- salt water · Helped
New POTS (HR as high as 115 from standing); but with salt water it does go down to 75-95
In context ↗ - aggressive rest · No change
I’ve been trying to rest as much as possible (in bed from 6pm every day, frequent breaks, resting all day on weekends in bed) and it hasn’t changed anything about the situation so far.
In context ↗ - elevating legs overnight · Helped
Elevating legs overnight does appear to bring some relief.
In context ↗
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 chart starts 1 month after onset: the story doesn’t say how ill they were before that. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| onset | moderate respiratory virus that felt like COVID but had more than 15 negative testsI recently had a moderate respiratory virus.In context ↗ | Not stated |
| 2026-08-25 | week 5: new POTS and leaden, weak legs; working from home, under 1k steps a day, resting from 6pm and all weekendI am now in Week 5 since and have been dealing with:In context ↗ | Mild |
| 2026-09-14 | several days with standing heart rate of 70-80, but back to 115 on the day of writingI’ve had several 70-80 days but today was back to the usual 115 shenanigans.In context ↗ | Mild |
Symptoms mentioned
Their words about their symptoms
- POTS & dysautonomia
New POTS (HR as high as 115 from standing)
In context ↗ - Muscle weakness
New ‘Leaden’ or ‘Marathon’ legs which barely change even after aggressive rest
In context ↗ - Pain & fibromyalgia
When they don’t ache, they feel weak.
In context ↗ - Breathlessness
except shortness of breath which was a bit scary
In context ↗