Mostly in bed with long COVID, now almost back to normal after acceptance and fasting
- Condition
- Long COVID
- At worst
- Severe (mostly bedbound)
- Ill before improving or writing
- 4 years
- Last post
- Jul 2025
In their words
- Condition: Long COVID
I had LC for 4 years, bedridden, PEM, I’m 12 days into a hike as I write this.
In context ↗ - At worst: Severe
I was bedridden for over 3 years after getting Covid in early 2020.
In context ↗ - Now: Near normal
I’ve been on the trail for two weeks now and I feel almost fully healed. ... although I experienced considerable deconditioning from being in bed for so long, my fitness and strength is slowly coming back
In context ↗ - Began after: COVID
getting Covid in early 2020
Read from 11 of their posts and comments; links to the 8 this page draws on
Summary
Island 68500 got COVID in early 2020 and, after a third infection, went from mild to borderline severe: mostly in bed for three years with PEM, adrenergic POTS, MCAS reactions and anxiety spirals. Around four years in they began improving, crediting acceptance and calm over fear, plus intermittent fasting, keto and longer fasts; reinfections knocked them back a week or two each. By mid-2025 they felt almost fully healed, hiking 15 miles with a backpack.
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What they tried
What they credit
Also tried
Their words about each treatment
- low salicylate diet · Helped a lot
until I switched to a low salicylate diet and all my problems went away within 48 hours
In context ↗ - intermittent fasting · Helped
I went from intermittent fasting, then to keto, then to occasional 48 hour fasts, and with each switch my condition has improved
In context ↗ - keto · Helped
then to keto, then to occasional 48 hour fasts, and with each switch my condition has improved
In context ↗ - occasional 48 hour fasts / longer fasts · Helped a lot
Since I was able to get into proper autophagy with short fasts, my CFS has improved dramatically
In context ↗ - meditation · Worse
meditation doesn’t seem to help, if anything (according to my smart watch) it makes me more stressed
In context ↗ - Garmin watch · Helped
I have a Garmin watch which monitors my stress level and if that get’s high I stop and go and lie down.
In context ↗ - pacing · Helped
As long as I pay attention to my watch I can stay in my envelope and that has been (no pun intended) a game changer for me.
In context ↗ - acceptance / letting go of fear · Helped a lot
for the most part I’ve just learned to accept how I’m feeling, and that has been the critical factor in my recovery
In context ↗ - supplements · Helped
I am sure that other things have helped, I cut out alcohol and sugar, I took supplements
In context ↗ - Aspirin · Not said
Ok, will that’s where this started for me, with bad reactions to aspirin!
In context ↗
Approaches: Brain retraining · Diet · 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. 1 step has no time and sits in story order between the steps around it. 1 step says too little to place on the scale and is only in the table. Dates are when they posted. What the levels mean.
Show as a table
| When | What happened | Where they were |
|---|---|---|
| early 2020 | COVID infection, initially mild long COVID/CFShaving had LC since early 2020In context ↗ | Mild |
| after third COVID infection | third infection trashed them; went from mild to borderline severe, mostly in bed three yearswent from mild to borderline severe. Was mostly in bed for 3 years.In context ↗ | Severe |
| four years in | began getting better after letting go of fear of how they feltI just gradually got better to the point where I could go for walks, and then longer walks.In context ↗ | Moderate |
| — | reinfections knocked them back for a week or two each timeSince infection number 4 each new infection has knocked new back for a week or two then I’ve recovered.In context ↗ | Not stated |
| 2025-03 | diet changes; able to do short hikes and only one PEM episode in a yearI’ve been able to do a couple of short hikes ... I have only experienced PEM once in the past yearIn context ↗ | Mild |
| 2025-06 | hiked nearly 200 miles over two weeks and felt almost fully healedI feel almost fully healedIn context ↗ | Near normal |
Adverse events
- Aspirin“Ok, will that’s where this started for me, with bad reactions to aspirin!” In context ↗ Side effects
- Meditation, yoga, breathwork“meditation doesn’t seem to help, if anything (according to my smart watch) it makes me more stressed.” In context ↗ Mood or psychiatric effects
Symptoms mentioned
Their words about their symptoms
- Post-exertional malaise
If I exerted myself at all exactly 12 hours later I would crash
In context ↗ - POTS & dysautonomia
sudden adrenaline rushes that would make my heart go wild, which I now recognise as adrenergic POTS
In context ↗ - Mast cell (MCAS) & allergies
then get rashes, and feel generally like dying, which I now recognise as MCAS
In context ↗ - Heart symptoms & palpitations
sudden adrenaline rushes that would make my heart go wild
In context ↗ - Anxiety & low mood
every time I would go into this spiral of fear and anxiety
In context ↗ - Sleep problems
The best way I can describe it is being too tired to sleep
In context ↗
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