Long COVID
Moderate → no benefitIll for 4 months
Long COVID brain fog, breathlessness; no overall benefit from inhaled steroids or Ativan
- Condition
- Long COVID
- At worst
- Moderate (mostly housebound)
- Ill for
- 4 months
- Last post
- Mar 2021
In their words
- Condition: Long COVID
After the acute infection ended I thought I was out of the woods but the last 5 weeks after the acute I have been dealing with the "long hauler" symptoms
In context ↗ - At worst: Moderate
I'm on 12 weeks of pure suffering. I'm on steroid inhalers, 20 mg Prednisone per day and my breathing is still bad.
In context ↗ - Now: No benefit
I'm at 16 weeks on Monday but unfortunately have lost the war. I know this because my personality has changed for the worse
In context ↗ - Began after: COVID
I was diagnosed Covid positive on Dec 7 (with pneumonia).
In context ↗
Read from 8 of their posts and comments; links to the 8 this page draws on
Summary
Comet 59921 caught COVID-19 in December 2020 with pneumonia and was acutely ill for two weeks. Long-hauler symptoms followed: head pressure, brain fog, breathlessness, chest tightness, dizziness and poor sleep. Inhaled steroids eased his breathing somewhat, but after about ten days on low-dose Ativan his brain fog worsened, anxiety began and his personality changed for the worse.
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What they tried
Also tried
Their words about each treatment
- water, compression socks and extra salt · Helped
I have been trying some things which may have helped. ... Wear waist high compression socks
In context ↗ - Ultima Replenisher · Helped
I use "Ultima Replenisher" powder twice a day which was recommended by another long hauler.
In context ↗ - mouth guard · Helped
I started wearing the mouth guard again and it reduced (but not completely eliminated) my sleep apnea incidents significantly.
In context ↗ - Symbicort · Worse
For some reason the Symbicort left me with a "stitch/tightness" feeling in the center of my chest which wore off after 2 days.
In context ↗ - Albuterol · Worse
I had the same "stitch/tightness" feeling with Albuterol on 2 occasions as well.
In context ↗ - Flovent · Helped
I just started Flovent (steroid inhaler 110 mcg 2 puffs 2x a day) about 4 days ago and am seeing some improvement in breathing.
In context ↗ - Prednisone · No change
I'm on steroid inhalers, 20 mg Prednisone per day and my breathing is still bad.
In context ↗ - Omezaprole · No change
I'm on Omezaprole too but I wake up every morning with that burning chest.
In context ↗ - Ativan · Much worse
I was on low dose Ativan (.5 mg daily) for 10 days. It made me super depressed.
In context ↗ - Busperone · Not said
I started taking Busperone yesterday. Supposedly that has no side effects/addiction.
In context ↗ - Advair diskus · Helped
Advair diskus worked for me too. 2 puffs a day (250/500)
In context ↗
Their path
What they say at each step doesn’t fit the worst point or outcome above on the severity scale, so the steps are listed as they describe them. Dates are when they posted.
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| 2020-12-07 | COVID-19 with pneumonia, two weeks acutely illI was diagnosed Covid positive on Dec 7 (with pneumonia).In context ↗ |
| 2021-01-16 | head pressure low and blood pressure with dizziness stabilisedMy BP has stabilized (along w/ the dizziness) within the last week.In context ↗ |
| 2021-02-08 | breathing improved on Flovent; slept through the night twiceI just started Flovent (steroid inhaler 110 mcg 2 puffs 2x a day) about 4 days ago and am seeing some improvement in breathing.In context ↗ |
| 2021-02-22 | breathing still bad despite steroid inhalers and prednisone; chest tightness and burningI'm on 12 weeks of pure suffering. I'm on steroid inhalers, 20 mg Prednisone per day and my breathing is still bad.In context ↗ |
| 2021-03-15 | after stopping Ativan brain fog worse and anxiety beganAfter I got off it the brain fog got worse and I started with the Anxiety.In context ↗ |
| 2021-03-25 | breathing and brain fog minimal but personality changed and constant anxietymy personality has changed for the worse (all my other symptoms like breathing, brain fog) are minimalIn context ↗ |
Adverse events
- Budesonide / formoterol (Symbicort)“For some reason the Symbicort left me with a "stitch/tightness" feeling in the center of my chest which wore off after 2 days.” In context ↗ Side effects
- Albuterol / salbutamol (Ventolin)“I had the same "stitch/tightness" feeling with Albuterol on 2 occasions as well.” In context ↗ Side effects
- Lorazepam (Ativan)“I was on low dose Ativan (.5 mg daily) for 10 days. It made me super depressed.” In context ↗ Mood or psychiatric effects
- Lorazepam (Ativan)“After I got off it the brain fog got worse and I started with the Anxiety.” In context ↗ Withdrawal problems
- Lorazepam (Ativan)“I slept 7 hours (a record) but the next day I cried the most painful tears for the entire day. I cried frequently the next 2 days as well.” In context ↗ Mood or psychiatric effects
- Lorazepam (Ativan)“my mild brain fog had seemed to explode into a full head of debris. I also had new frontal head pressure.” In context ↗ Made symptoms worse
Symptoms mentioned
Brain fogBreathlessnessHeadaches & migraineHeart symptoms & palpitationsPOTS & dysautonomiaPost-exertional malaiseSleep problems
Their words about their symptoms
- Post-exertional malaise
if I do any kind of exercise it comes back very strong
In context ↗ - Brain fog
do have a constant low level brain fog
In context ↗ - POTS & dysautonomia
My blood pressure after the infection fluctuated but at times got pretty low which coincided with my dizziness.
In context ↗ - Sleep problems
I have occasional good nights but they are few and far between.
In context ↗ - Breathlessness
my breathing is still bad
In context ↗ - Heart symptoms & palpitations
chest pain while breathing
In context ↗ - Headaches & migraine
I had really strong head pressure
In context ↗