Long COVID insomnia and adrenaline surges, much better at about 80% after pacing
- Condition
- Long COVID
- At worst
- Mild (working or studying, with limits)
- Ill before improving or writing
- 5 years
- Last post
- Oct 2026
In their words
- At worst: Mild
I've had mild long covid, including pem, since 2020. I find the body battery metric on my garmin fitness tracker helpful for pacing.
In context ↗ - Now: Much better
in recent months I've seen this connection with prior exertion weaken. I'm probably at 85% now and sometimes feel almost normal (Woooo).
In context ↗
Read from 237 of their posts and comments; links to the 37 this page draws on
Summary
Infected in March 2020, he developed mild long COVID dominated by two years of severe insomnia and night-time adrenaline surges, while working full time from home. From 2023 he paced strictly, did daily nervous-system work (yin yoga, breathing, meditation, Gupta) and took amitriptyline for sleep plus omeprazole for inflammation. By 2025 he had improved to about 80%, with sleep and pulsatile tinnitus still not fully resolved.
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What they tried
What they credit
Also tried
Their words about each treatment
- omeprazole · Helped a lot
I still take omeprazole (20mg daily) and it continues to help quite alot.
In context ↗ - meditation, mindfulness and breath work · Helped
Doing things to promote the parasympathetic nervous system such as breath work, meditation, mindfulness, yoga, improving gut health, getting outdoors and cold water have helped the most.
In context ↗ - Gupta program · Helped
I've found gupta helpful for reducing symptoms, eg. the somatic exercises, meditations and yoga sessions.
In context ↗ - amitriptyline · Helped
Amitriptyline 20mg before bed currently gets me 6 or 7 hrs of sleep each night with no wake ups.
In context ↗ - yin yoga / restorative yoga · Helped
I'm confident that doing yin yoga for an hour daily over the past 2 years has completely turned this around.
In context ↗ - anti-inflammatory diet · Helped
If you opt for an anti-inflammatory diet you will be helping yourself.
In context ↗ - cold water · Helped
improving gut health, getting outdoors and cold water have helped the most
In context ↗ - tumeric powder · Helped
I tried adding 1/2 tsp tumeric powder (with black pepper mixed in with a dash of olive oil) to a hot drink and it cleared my headache
In context ↗ - melatonin (slow release) · Helped
20mg amitriptyline and 3mg slow release melatonin have helped.
In context ↗ - pacing · Helped a lot
I've done it by staying under my baseline as much as possible (using pacing)
In context ↗ - statin · Helped
I've also started taking a statin which are also anti-inflammatory and have quickly noticed a difference.
In context ↗ - somatic tracking / TMS mind-body work · Helped a lot
Somatic work is what has shifted the needle most for me.
In context ↗ - laxatives (laxido) · No change
Laxatives didn't help at all which was a surprise.
In context ↗ - psyllium husk · Not said
I stopped taking them except for Psyllium.
In context ↗ - squatty potty · Helped
Stopping all laxatives actually helped as well as using a squatty potty.
In context ↗ - mirtazapine · Worse
Mirtazapine gave me nausea the next day, so I've just returned to amitriptyline
In context ↗ - cetirizine · Helped
I take 20mg amitriptyline + 10mg cetirizine which makes a big difference
In context ↗ - TRE exercises · Helped
I've been trying it recently and it does seem to work
In context ↗ - walking / low impact exercise · Helped
I also use yin yoga and walking as my main rehab practices.
In context ↗ - low dose aspirin · Not said
I take low dose aspirin without any side effects.
In context ↗ - low histamine diet · Helped
I find it really difficult to sustain a low histamine diet, so I mainly watch out for particular foods to avoid or limit.
In context ↗ - not eating within 3 hours of going to bed · Helped
Not eating within 3 hours of going to bed seems to be helping me.
In context ↗ - luteolin · Helped
Luteolin is a mast cell stabilizer. It works for me.
In context ↗ - magnesium glycinate · Helped
At night I take the following meds which make a difference: Omeprazole, cetrizine, luteolin, amitriptyline, magnesium glycinate.
In context ↗
Approaches: Proton pump inhibitors · Alternative therapies · Brain retraining · Exercise and activity · Mind-body practices · Pacing · Statins
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 2020 | mild COVID infection; stress and insomnia beganDuring my only covid infection in 2020 stress was the worst symptom - it was off the charts.In context ↗ | Mild | |
| 2020-2021 | worst insomnia and night-time adrenaline surges while working full timeI had full on covidsomnia for 2 years after covid in 2020In context ↗ | Mild | |
| 2023 | paced strictly with somatic meditation, restorative yoga and breathing; after about 8 months could tolerate everyday stress againI decided to pace more strictly in order to avoid crashes (pem) ... After about 8 months I noticed the dial shiftIn context ↗ | Mild | Pacing and the energy envelope |
| 2025 | improved from about 60% to 80% with pacing and low-impact exerciseProbably have improved from 60% to 80% now using pacing and low impact exercise (walking, yoga).In context ↗ | Mild | Pacing and the energy envelope |
| 2026-10 | sleep much improved but not fully; still avoids strenuous exercisenowadays my sleep is improved but not fullyIn context ↗ | Mild |
Adverse events
- Mirtazapine (Remeron)“Mirtazapine gave me nausea the next day” In context ↗ Gut side effects
Symptoms mentioned
Their words about their symptoms
- Sleep problems
Sleep disruption has been my most problematic symptom.
In context ↗ - Post-exertional malaise
I still get PEM in the form of sleep disturbance after over doing it.
In context ↗ - Tinnitus
I've had quite strong tinnitus (pulsatile variety) to reliably wake me up, however, it has weakened significantly now.
In context ↗ - Gut problems
I had 6 months of constipation while on the long covid train.
In context ↗ - Heart symptoms & palpitations
I would wake up with my heart racing but this has subsided.
In context ↗ - Anxiety & low mood
I've had this post covid anxiety following getting covid in 2020 but milder than your experience
In context ↗ - Flu-like symptoms
I used to get flu symptom but no longer
In context ↗ - Headaches & migraine
I tried adding 1/2 tsp tumeric powder (with black pepper mixed in with a dash of olive oil) to a hot drink and it cleared my headache
In context ↗ - Pain & fibromyalgia
I've seen less frequent back pain, better sleep and improved digestion in the past year.
In context ↗ - POTS & dysautonomia
My long covid experience over the past 5 years has involved symptoms of ANS dysregulation (insomnia, cold feet/hands, slow digestion, and others)
In context ↗ - Mast cell (MCAS) & allergies
Sometimes reacting to food which is more due to histamine intolerence than nervous system over reaction.
In context ↗ - Breathlessness
Mild shortness of breath after walking too long with the dog.
In context ↗
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