Bedridden with long COVID, now partly better after oxygen and a Paleo diet
- Condition
- Long COVID
- At worst
- Severe (mostly bedbound)
- Ill before improving or writing
- 3.5 years
- Last post
- Jul 2025
In their words
- Condition: Long COVID
I'm 54 and have had long covid since I was 50.
In context ↗ - At worst: Severe
I had begun to slur my words, I was bedridden, the insomnia was just insane.
In context ↗ - Now: Somewhat better
And yes the fatigue Still present And I'm limited and Feel nauseous if I do too much but I'm not jumping out of my own skin anymore
In context ↗ - Began after: COVID
Covid infection in 2021, 4 days, not too bad, but I never recovered.
In context ↗
Read from 21 of their posts and comments; links to the 13 this page draws on
Summary
A woman who caught COVID in 2021 aged 50 never recovered and has had long COVID for around three and a half years, at one point bedridden, with silent hypoxia, crippling insomnia and severe cognitive symptoms. An oxygen concentrator, a Paleo diet, then progesterone, low-dose naltrexone, estrogen and bioidentical thyroid brought large gains. She is far calmer but still paces herself, with fatigue, nausea on overexertion and impaired cognition.
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What they tried
What they credit
Also tried
Their words about each treatment
- a couple of beers · Helped
I have found I can take her for a walk after a couple of beers.... and only after a couple!
In context ↗ - oxygen concentrator · Helped
with extensive use of the oxygen concentrator I'm not dealing with that symptom anymore
In context ↗ - Paleo diet · Helped
my doctor told me to go on the Paleo diet and I eat really clean and it leveled me up about 25%
In context ↗ - potassium · Helped
I have found that upping my potassium is a real tonic for my heart.
In context ↗ - sleep mask · Helped
I've started wearing a sleep mask that is helping me to sleep longer and it's helpful.
In context ↗ - Paxlovid · Helped
My doctor agreed to put me on Pax loving when I was about two and a half years into long covid.
In context ↗ - MSM and DMSO (sulfur) · Helped
I originally started taking msm, sulfur, and I feel like it's having positive effects on everything, subtle but positive.
In context ↗ - low dose Naltrexone · Helped
Progesterone and LDN took about a week to start showing some improvements
In context ↗ - progesterone · Helped
she put me on progesterone and low dose Naltrexone immediately. I was feeling better.
In context ↗ - low dose estrogen patch · Helped a lot
I haven't had to check dosages or do any calibration to feel a profound change
In context ↗ - bioidentical thyroid medication · Helped a lot
I'm now on progesterone, LDN estrogen and bioidentical thyroid and it is an absolute game changer!
In context ↗ - pacing my activity · Not said
I'm still pacing my activity and my cognition is still compromised as well as my endurance
In context ↗
Approaches: Diet · Sex hormones · Thyroid hormones
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. The chart starts 21 months after onset: the story doesn’t say how ill they were before that. 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 | After |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | COVID infection, never recoveredCovid infection in 2021, 4 days, not too bad, but I never recovered.In context ↗ | Not stated | |
| 2023 | bedridden with silent hypoxia and crippling insomniaI had begun to slur my words, I was bedridden, the insomnia was just insane.In context ↗ | Severe | |
| March 2024 | oxygen concentrator cleared the hypoxia symptom; could walk the dog a littlewith extensive use of the oxygen concentrator I'm not dealing with that symptom anymoreIn context ↗ | Moderate | |
| August 2024 | Paleo diet gave about 25% improvementmy doctor told me to go on the Paleo diet and I eat really clean and it leveled me up about 25%In context ↗ | Moderate | Elimination diets (other) |
| July 2025 | progesterone, LDN, estrogen patch and bioidentical thyroid brought major reliefI feel so much better and better than I have in three and a half miserable and unnecessarily miserable years!In context ↗ | Moderate | Low-dose naltrexone |
| July 2025 | calmer but still limited by fatigue, nausea on overexertion and poor cognitionthe fatigue Still present And I'm limited and Feel nauseous if I do too much but I'm not jumping out of my own skin anymoreIn context ↗ | Moderate |
Symptoms mentioned
Their words about their symptoms
- Brain fog
my cognition is still compromised as well as my endurance
In context ↗ - Sleep problems
yes I have crippling insomnia and have had this whole time
In context ↗ - Gut problems
I also had to gut issues like sibo and constipation and those have gotten nothing but worse since long covid
In context ↗ - Heart symptoms & palpitations
Long covid has given me heart issues and I can have elevated blood pressure bigly
In context ↗ - Anxiety & low mood
emotional dysregulation, catastrophic thinking, anxiety, PTSD
In context ↗ - Tinnitus
I'm actually affecting my tinnitus tonight by really working on my Atlas and neck posture
In context ↗ - Light & noise sensitivity
the overstimulation of pushing a cart and having to think about what I need to buy is too much and maybe the lighting?
In context ↗
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