Long COVID
Moderate → relapsedIll 6.5 years before improving or writingNeeds ongoing treatment
Long COVID for over six years; pacing and rest brought 80-90% recovery, then flu relapse
- Condition
- Long COVID
- At worst
- Moderate (mostly housebound)
- Ill before improving or writing
- 6.5 years
- Last post
- Oct 2026
In their words
- Condition: Long COVID
I got long covid in 2020, before it even was a thing.
In context ↗ - At worst: Moderate
I'm on sick leave, not working. I've barely had any social life at all. I only do mild yoga instead of my real workouts. I nap twice a day instead of once.
In context ↗ - Now: Relapsed
after years of managing my LC so well, to now have to come to the conclusion that I am disabled, and may not ever be back to my functional baseline
In context ↗ - Began after: COVID
My first infection in March 2020 is the one that did me in.
Read from 87 of their posts and comments; links to the 37 this page draws on
Summary
Infected in March 2020, they were ill for over six years; they worked part time for 19 months before returning to full hours. They credit pacing, rest and naps, a low-histamine diet, yoga, meditation and stress avoidance for an 80-90% recovery needing daily naps. Reinfections in 2021 and 2023 and a January 2026 flu set them back; the flu brought chronic pericarditis and left them on sick leave and disabled.
Ask Miruvor AI
What they tried
What they credit
Also tried
osteopath· Helped a lotprunes· Helpedsalting everything· HelpedHead and Shoulders shampoo· HelpedPfizer jabs· Worsedaily workouts· Not saidvitamins and supplements· Not saidB12 vitamin· Not saidnicorettes· Not said
Their words about each treatment
- rest and daily naps · Helped
Lots of rest, healthy foods, yoga and meditation
In context ↗ - yoga and meditation · Helped a lot
My cognitive issues started improving after I removed as many stressors as possible from my life, and delved into yoga and meditation.
In context ↗ - word games, memory games, sudoku, learning a new language and crochet · Helped a lot
I rebuilt 90% of my capacity by doing word games, memory games, and sudoku, slowly learning a new language, and learning new manual skills
In context ↗ - acceptance · Helped
The day I decided to roll with it and stop fighting the new (super lame) me, I started getting better.
In context ↗ - daily workouts · Not said
part of me is wondering if the work outs were actually making me worse
In context ↗ - pacing · Helped
I have learned to pace myself and my life
In context ↗ - Pfizer jabs · Worse
The vaccines really messed me up, triggered worse pains and the chronic gastritis.
In context ↗ - low histamine diet · Helped
I'd changed my lifestyle with anti histamine diet and lots of yoga and naps
In context ↗ - prunes · Helped
I had that too and just went the prunes route. It worked.
In context ↗ - salting everything · Helped
I had a really bad bout of low BP after covid 2 but I started salting everything like a mofo and it got better.
In context ↗ - osteopath · Helped a lot
It lasted (severely) for about 9 months, and no doctor had any explanation (except maybe that I was crazy) but my osteopath FIXED IT.
In context ↗ - vitamins and supplements · Not said
I also replenished my vitamins with months of supplements.
In context ↗ - B12 vitamin · Not said
I've never taken another pill than B12 vitamin (important too).
In context ↗ - Head and Shoulders shampoo · Helped
I use head and shoulders and it helps.
In context ↗ - nicorettes · Not said
I'm one of the lucky few who've greatly recovered from their LC and I've been wondering more and more if it's because of the sheer amount of nicorettes I chew per day
In context ↗
Approaches: CBT & mindset · Brain retraining · Diet · Mind-body practices · Pacing · 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. Dates are when they posted. What the levels mean.
Show as a table
| When | What happened | Where they were | After |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 2020 | COVID infection; start of long covidinfected in March 2020, my brain fog was awfulIn context ↗ | Mild | |
| first 6-8 months | worst stretch of the first round, working part time and napping 2-3 times a dayI would take two-three naps a day just to make it and I was shreddedIn context ↗ | Mild | |
| month 19 (late 2021) | back to full-time work after reordering their life around restIt took me 19 months to resume my (high responsibility) job full time.In context ↗ | Mild | Pacing and the energy envelope |
| December 2021 | COVID reinfection: long covid symptoms vanished for four weeks then returned at oncefor 4 weeks my long covid symptoms disappeared entirely. It was like a dream. Until they all returned at once during week 5In context ↗ | Mild | |
| September 2022 | brain fog gone, stable enough to work full time with daily napsI'm able to work full time again, after 19 months of therapeutic part time.In context ↗ | Mild | Pacing and the energy envelope |
| November 2023 | third COVID infection; had to cut activity, tachycardia and breathlessness backI was just infected again last month and since then I've had to reduce my activity levels even more, or I get tachycardia and shortness of breath againIn context ↗ | Mild | |
| May 2024 | stable, about 90% of symptoms gone as long as they paceNow 90% of my symptoms leave me alone, except when I push the envelope on stress/fatigue.In context ↗ | Mild | Pacing and the energy envelope |
| January 2026 | flu triggered the worst relapse yet: neuro symptoms and chronic pericarditisThen in January this year I caught the flu and for some reason that exploded everything. Brain, and now heart too.In context ↗ | Severe | |
| October 2026 | partly recovered from the relapse but disabled, on sick leave, heart problems chronicI went from severe to bearable to mild in about 19 months. Then back to severe, MORE SEVERE, earlier this year, and I'm getting better now.In context ↗ | Moderate |
Adverse events
- “part of me is wondering if the work outs were actually making me worse” In context ↗ Made symptoms worse
- COVID vaccination as treatment“jab #2 gave me chronic gastritis and worsened my neuro pains” In context ↗ Gut side effects
- COVID vaccination as treatment“The vaccines really messed me up, triggered worse pains and the chronic gastritis.” In context ↗ Nerve pain
- Osteopathy“Was incredibly painful and uncomfortable. But the results really spoke for themselves” In context ↗ Side effects
Symptoms mentioned
Anxiety & low moodBrain fogBreathlessnessGut problemsHeadaches & migraineHeart symptoms & palpitationsLight & noise sensitivityLoss of smell or tasteNeuropathy & tinglingPOTS & dysautonomiaPost-exertional malaiseSleep problemsTemperature regulationTinnitus
Their words about their symptoms
- Brain fog
the horrendous brain stuff (brain fog, dissociation, derealization, inability to process any input) is about 80% better from the worst in April-May
In context ↗ - Post-exertional malaise
until my new heart problems I didn't have physical PEM. I don't crash from physical activity, only cognitive and social.
In context ↗ - POTS & dysautonomia
I used to have pots, with episode 1. It's gone now.
In context ↗ - Gut problems
my POTS and gastritis keep quiet
In context ↗ - Neuropathy & tingling
The right side of my face is partly paralyzed and either hurts from the forehead into the ear, or it goes numb.
In context ↗ - Heart symptoms & palpitations
i developed pericarditis in January after catching the flu and its become chronic
In context ↗ - Breathlessness
It got me rid of my POTS, dyspnea, and tachycardia.
In context ↗ - Headaches & migraine
have more frequent headaches, with a small resurgence of brain fog
In context ↗ - Sleep problems
I need between 10 and 12 hours of sleep per day to be functional
In context ↗ - Anxiety & low mood
I had some anhedonia when it all started in 2020
In context ↗ - Tinnitus
My tinnitus came and went.
In context ↗ - Temperature regulation
I stop regulating my temperature
In context ↗ - Loss of smell or taste
my sense of smell, which I'd not lost the first time around in March 2020, but was entirely gone this time
In context ↗ - Light & noise sensitivity
my brain just can't seem to process sensory input properly anymore
In context ↗
Ask Miruvor AI
Similar stories
-
Not enough detail to draw a path
Housebound with ME/CFS after mono, now much better after Lyme and babesia treatment
They were diagnosed with then-CFS after mono in 2003 aged 22, housebound two years, then relapsed in 2012 and were housebound four more years until treatment for Lyme and babesia brought remission. COVID in 2021 and 2024 each triggered long COVID;…
-
Mostly housebound with ME/CFS, now about 50% after LDN and rest
A former nurse with ME/CFS and long COVID after vaccination and a hernia repair, following a 2018 bout after hepatitis A and mono. They were mostly housebound and unable to work, with daily crashes, brain fog and pain. LDN, magnesium, Celebrex and a…
-
Housebound with long COVID, somewhat better after diet and paced exercise
Fell ill with long COVID in September 2022 and was largely housebound with breathlessness, presyncope, head pressure and anxiety. A strict anti-inflammatory diet, iron, B12 and vitamin D, and paced walking and indoor biking brought big gains, but a September…
-
Mostly housebound with long COVID, now recovered after low-histamine diet and pacing
A Reddit user became mostly housebound in summer 2022 after COVID at 21, needing a cane and a urinal jug; 6-9 months in was worst. They improved from about a year, crediting low-histamine diet, electrolytes, antihistamines, pacing, radical rest,…