Long COVID
Severe → somewhat betterIll 3 years before improving or writingNeeds ongoing treatment
Bedbound at times with long COVID chest pressure and tachycardia, somewhat better
- Condition
- Long COVID
- At worst
- Severe (mostly bedbound)
- Ill before improving or writing
- 3 years
- Last post
- Jan 2026
In their words
- At worst: Severe
I’m basically bedbound as well
In context ↗ - Now: Somewhat better
The pressure has lessened enough that I can function more, but not so much that I feel functional
In context ↗ - Began after: COVID
I got sick in March 2023 with my first and only known Covid infection.
Read from 50 of their posts and comments; links to the 23 this page draws on
Summary
COVID in March 2023 at 22 left them with constant chest pressure, worse on standing or walking, with tachycardia and breathlessness. They became housebound and at times bedbound; beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, ivabradine, nitrates and ranolazine gave little or no significant relief, and EECP worsened the pain. A January 2025 angiogram found coronary microvascular dysfunction and a myocardial bridge; open heart surgery was planned.
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What they tried
Also tried
magnesium· Helpedpain meds· Helped · wore offdiltiazem· Helpedivabradine· Helpednebivolol· HelpedAdvair· No changealbuterol· No changeomeprazole· No changeprednisone· No changeNSAIDs· No changeresting· No changeiron supplements (Nature Made)· No changeSSRIs· No changenitrates (short acting and long acting)· No changeranolazine· No changebaby aspirin· Worsemetoprolol· Worsemeloxicam· WorseEECP (Enhanced External Counterpulsation)· Much worse
Their words about each treatment
- Advair · No change
all the meds I’ve tried haven’t worked (Advair, albuterol, omeprazole, prednisone, NSAIDs, and probably more that I’m forgetting)
In context ↗ - resting · No change
I’ve been resting for almost 2 months straight with no improvement.
In context ↗ - magnesium · Helped
I take magnesium daily, I had some numbness and tingling on my left side in month 2-3 of LC and magnesium helped resolve that.
In context ↗ - pain meds · Helped
I’ve been on pain meds that significantly reduced the chest pain for a few weeks, but it’s nearly back at full force now even with the max amount of pain meds I can take.
In context ↗ - baby aspirin · Worse
I’ve been taking baby aspirin since. Haven’t had an issue necessarily, but I do suspect it might be exacerbating my symptoms (chest pain/pressure, shortness of breath).
In context ↗ - iron supplements (Nature Made) · No change
The iron supplements I took did boost my ferritin, but the iron supplements didn’t help my long Covid symptoms so I’m not taking them anymore.
In context ↗ - metoprolol · Worse
I’ve been on metoprolol and diltiazem separately and neither have lowered my heart rate (120 resting) ... metoprolol gave me wicked migraines so I stopped it
- diltiazem · Helped
I’ve been on a calcium channel blocker that has been somewhat helpful, but the chest pain is still basically constant.
In context ↗ - ivabradine · Helped
It did lower my heart rate, which has slightly decreased the amount of chest pain I’m in
In context ↗ - nebivolol · Helped
I’ve been taking nebivolol for a little over a month and it’s made movement more tolerable, but still painful.
In context ↗ - SSRIs · No change
beta blockers, SSRIs, and ivabradine all have no impact on my chest pain
In context ↗ - meloxicam · Worse
I took it for several months and it caused horrible mouth ulcers that took weeks to heal and significantly damaged my oral health. It also didn’t reduce my pain at all.
In context ↗ - nitrates (short acting and long acting) · No change
ivabradine, and nitrates (short acting and long acting), all at varying doses and combinations- nothing has helped so far
In context ↗ - ranolazine · No change
nitrates, ivabradine, and ranolazine. None have helped in any significant way.
In context ↗ - EECP (Enhanced External Counterpulsation) · Much worse
I could only make it through a few sessions because it made my chest pain significantly worse.
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. Dates are when they posted. What the levels mean.
Show as a table
| When | What happened | Where they were | After |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 2023 | COVID infection, constant chest pain from the startI started getting chest pain within 24 hours of testing positiveIn context ↗ | Moderate | |
| September 2023 | symptoms worse at the 6 month markI just hit 6 months myself and would agree that my symptoms are worse.In context ↗ | Moderate | |
| December 2023 | basically bedboundI’m basically bedbound as well…In context ↗ | Severe | |
| March 2024 | heart rate and chest pain slightly reducedIt did lower my heart rate, which has slightly decreased the amount of chest pain I’m inIn context ↗ | Moderate | Ivabradine |
| July 2024 | movement more tolerable on nebivololI’ve been taking nebivolol for a little over a month and it’s made movement more tolerable, but still painful.In context ↗ | Moderate | |
| July 2025 | flare after wisdom teeth surgeryI had my wisdom teeth out 1.5 weeks ago under IV anesthesia and I’m still in a flare up.In context ↗ | Moderate | |
| January 2026 | still housebound, awaiting heart surgeryI’m still more or less housebound.In context ↗ | Moderate |
Adverse events
- Aspirin“I do suspect it might be exacerbating my symptoms (chest pain/pressure, shortness of breath)” In context ↗ Made symptoms worse
- Iron infusion / ferritin repletion“Low ferritin, but normal iron so supplements make my iron too high which causes other problems” In context ↗ Side effects
- Metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol)“metoprolol gave me wicked migraines so I stopped it” In context ↗ Side effects
- Meloxicam (Mobic)“it caused horrible mouth ulcers that took weeks to heal and significantly damaged my oral health” In context ↗ Other
- EECP (enhanced external counterpulsation, Flow Therapy)“I could only make it through a few sessions because it made my chest pain significantly worse” In context ↗ Made symptoms worse
- “I had my wisdom teeth out 1.5 weeks ago under IV anesthesia and I’m still in a flare up.” In context ↗ Made symptoms worse
Symptoms mentioned
Anxiety & low moodBrain fogBreathlessnessGut problemsHeart symptoms & palpitationsNeuropathy & tinglingPOTS & dysautonomiaPost-exertional malaise
Their words about their symptoms
- Heart symptoms & palpitations
I also developed tachycardia and shortness of breath with my heart rate reaching 120bpm at rest
In context ↗ - Breathlessness
I get shortness of breath when I have to “exert” myself
In context ↗ - Neuropathy & tingling
I developed numbness/tingling on my left side as well, although that resolved with magnesium supplements.
In context ↗ - Post-exertional malaise
even walking around a grocery store or picking up my meds from the pharmacy can cause a whole lot of pain for hours/days afterwards
In context ↗ - Brain fog
my brain fog is so bad it’s hard to work
In context ↗ - Gut problems
I do technically have IBS too but that’s been well controlled for years before I got Covid.
In context ↗ - Anxiety & low mood
I have CPTSD from before LC and I actually felt like I was healing for a couple months before getting sick.
In context ↗ - POTS & dysautonomia
I think I have some orthostatic intolerance but the tachycardia was bad no matter what I did until I got prescribed ivabradine.
In context ↗