Robyn Dale

Summary

Robyn was prescribed short-term propranolol for heart arrhythmia and palpitations, at doses that were increased despite her objections, short-term zopiclone and diazepam to help her rest, and medium-term amitriptyline for insomnia, mood, and to stop cluster headaches and muscle spasms, with no specific doses stated on the page. Alongside medication she used CBT-based therapy, daily pacing, meditation and positive affirmations, a gratitude practice, 'Yoga with Adriene' videos, an hour of daily dog-walking paired with comedy podcasts, and panic-management techniques such as sitting with her head between her knees and eating biscuits with sugary tea. After an October 2021 COVID infection she crashed severely in mid-December 2021 with a resting heart rate over 190 bpm, uncontrollable shaking, hallucinations, suicidal ideation, and loss of executive function, leaving her bedbound and in near-constant fight-or-flight for weeks. On medication and rest alone she crept to about 30% function, but after finding other people's recovery stories she says she 'shot very quickly...to 60%,' and by around five months post-crash she reports being about 90% and able to 'engage in everything I want to as long as I pace it.' She describes multiple relapses along the way that each 'taught me a limit or a new piece of the long covid puzzle,' and even at her best still has occasional half-day crashes, stating that continued pacing remains necessary.

What they credit

Credits CBT & mindset, POTS medication, Alternative therapies, Pacing, Benzodiazepines and Klonopin, Beta-blockers, CBT and psychotherapy, Meditation, yoga, breathwork, Pacing and the energy envelope, SSRIs and antidepressants.

Symptoms mentioned

Symptoms: Anxiety & low mood, Headaches & migraine, Heart symptoms & palpitations, Pain & fibromyalgia, Sleep problems.