Long COVID with chest pressure, improved with rest, then gym set them back worse than ever
- Condition
- Long COVID
- At worst
- Mild (working or studying, with limits)
- Ill before improving or writing
- 2 years
- Last post
- Aug 2025
In their words
- Condition: Long COVID
I had LC since May 2023
In context ↗ - At worst: Mild
I can walk around 3000-5000 steps a day and then my leg muscles get really really tired and I have to stop.
In context ↗ - Now: Relapsed
From dec.-May 2025 I thought I was getting better (it all started May 2023) then I possibly got reinfected. Everything has been hell so far.
In context ↗ - Began after: COVID
my LC ironically also started in May 2023
- Says they never had: Post-exertional malaise
I don’t seem to have any PEM either
Read from 8 of their posts and comments; links to the 6 this page draws on
Summary
A 35-year-old man developed long COVID in May 2023; over the first year he had chest pressure, high heart-rate episodes, dizziness, muscle aches, finger numbness and tinnitus. He worsened until January 2024, called May 2024 his lowest point, then improved slowly with rest and time until May 2025; supplements did not help. A hard gym session that May set him back to worse than ever with broken sleep and leg tension, and by August 2025 he was still worse than before, with symptoms flaring.
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What they tried
What they credit
Also tried
Their words about each treatment
- supplements · No change
I would try tons of supplements and stuff but that didn’t really have any impact.
In context ↗ - working out at the gym / increasing activity · Much worse
I also started working out super slowly again ... trained to hard ... Since then I‘m worse then ever.
In context ↗ - thiamine · No change
Unluckily for me the high thiamine and the b-complex are not really making any difference.
In context ↗ - time · Helped
Time seems to have been the biggest healing factor ... Time and rest (even though I don’t get PEM) seems to be the only factor that very slowly better my symptoms.
- rest · Helped
Time and rest (even though I don’t get PEM) seems to be the only factor that very slowly better my symptoms.
In context ↗
Approaches: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2023 | long COVID began with chest pressure, heart-rate episodes, nausea and dizzinessI had LC since May 2023In context ↗ | Mild | |
| January 2024 | symptoms worsened through the first year: chest pressure, muscle aches, finger numbness, dizziness, anxietyMy symptoms worsened until January 2024In context ↗ | Mild | |
| May 2024 | lowest point, with erectile dysfunction and low libidoI think my lowest point was in May 2024In context ↗ | Mild | |
| December 2024 | much better and well on the way to recovery; started working out slowly and going out with friendsBut then everything got much better in Dec 2024 and I was well on my way to recoveryIn context ↗ | Mild | Time and spontaneous remission |
| May 23, 2025 | crashed after training too hard at the gym after a stressful week, possibly with a reinfectionRight after the gym I knew I had overdone itIn context ↗ | Mild | |
| August 2025 | still worse than ever, with broken sleep, leg muscle tension and cramping after a few thousand steps, improving very slowlyTime and rest ... seems to be the only factor that very slowly better my symptomsIn context ↗ | Mild | Time and spontaneous remission |
Symptoms mentioned
Their words about their symptoms
- Heart symptoms & palpitations
occasional high heart rate episodes at complete rest
In context ↗ - POTS & dysautonomia
High HR episodes with dizziness
In context ↗ - Pain & fibromyalgia
constant muscle tension (especially in the back and neck)
In context ↗ - Muscle weakness
weakness in my leg muscles
In context ↗ - Neuropathy & tingling
gradually numbness in all my fingers
In context ↗ - Headaches & migraine
That night I had headaches tinnitus
In context ↗ - Tinnitus
a constant mild tinnitus
In context ↗ - Sleep problems
I wake up 2-3 times at night and can’t fall asleep anymore
In context ↗ - Anxiety & low mood
a super strong feeling of anxiety
In context ↗ - Flu-like symptoms
on and off flu symptoms that occur pretty random
In context ↗ - Gut problems
nausea and dizziness
In context ↗
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