Long COVID with heavy PEM crashes, now much better but two days in bed after exertion
- Condition
- Long COVID
- At worst
- Mild (working or studying, with limits)
- Ill before improving or writing
- 14 months
- Last post
- Jun 2021
In their words
- Condition: Long COVID
33M very healthy pre covid and 14months later have shaken all symptoms (aka I can feel perfectly fine some days….)
In context ↗ - At worst: Mild
In my first maybe 8 months I dealt with extreme tiredness (sleepiness) every damn day.
In context ↗ - Now: Much better
14months later have shaken all symptoms (aka I can feel perfectly fine some days….) but have these insane PEM crashes too
In context ↗ - Began after: COVID
33M very healthy pre covid
Read from 13 of their posts and comments; links to the 9 this page draws on
Summary
A 33-year-old man fell ill with COVID in April 2020 and was still unwell 14 months later. Early on he had daily extreme sleepiness, palpitations that resolved after four months, poor sleep and heavy PEM crashes. By six months he could strength train every other day, but a couch-to-5k attempt in January 2021 caused a hard relapse. By mid-2021 he felt fine when rested but still spent two days in bed after modest exertion.
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What they tried
What they credit
Their words about each treatment
- strength training and couch to 5k · Worse
felt good enough to start a couch to 5k two weeks ago and after three jogs I relapsed hard
In context ↗ - resting · Helped
am lucky enough to feel really good if I’m insanely rested, not pushing myself to leave the house etc.
In context ↗ - melatonin · No change
I tried 3mg but still got the annoying 3am wake up
In context ↗
Approaches: Pacing
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 |
|---|---|---|
| April 2020 | COVID-19 infectionI got sick last AprilIn context ↗ | Mild |
| 2020-09-14 | able to strength train every other day and add light cardio, with only minor next-day fatigueI’m able to strength train every other day now for 30min, and am working in some light Cardio as well.In context ↗ | Mild |
| January 2021 | relapsed hard after three couch-to-5k jogsI got sick last April, felt good enough to start a couch to 5k two weeks ago and after three jogs I relapsed hard. Back to crazy resting as you say.In context ↗ | Moderate |
| 2021-06-08 | symptoms shaken off but still crashes with PEM after even medium-length walkshave shaken all symptoms ... but have these insane PEM crashes too on the back of really not a lot of exertion aka even medium length walksIn context ↗ | Mild |
| 2021-06-20 | still semi-regular relapses of profound fatigue with two days in bedstill I have semi regular relapses of profound fatigue (bed for two days)In context ↗ | Mild |
Symptoms mentioned
Their words about their symptoms
- Post-exertional malaise
my payback if I ask too much of myself is insane, sometimes puts me in bed for two days
In context ↗ - Brain fog
happy to have gotten over the cognitive hurdle completely
In context ↗ - Heart symptoms & palpitations
My palpitations took maybe 4 months to resolve.
In context ↗ - Sleep problems
Other symptoms resolved except some ongoing poor sleep issues as many have reported.
In context ↗
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