Long COVID with brain fog, fatigue and PEM; low-dose naltrexone helped, then relapsed
- Condition
- Long COVID
- At worst
- Not stated
- Ill before improving or writing
- 4 years
- Last post
- Feb 2026
In their words
- Condition: Long COVID
I’m just hitting my 4 year mark from my Covid infection that left me with long covid.
In context ↗ - Now: Relapsed
In 2025, i had a solid 6 months where i felt mostly recovered. I slowly started deteriorating again about 4 months ago.
In context ↗ - Began after: COVID
I am 2 years post initial COVID infection, and still suffering from brain fog and fatigue mostly.
In context ↗
Read from 19 of their posts and comments; links to the 14 this page draws on
Summary
Plover 52841 developed long COVID after a COVID infection in January 2022, with brain fog, fatigue, PEM and dysautonomia. Symptoms improved in waves, reaching about 85% of their old self for months, and a third infection in December 2023 gave a good month before a flare. They credited low-dose naltrexone with helping them recover, but after six months at 80%+ they relapsed in late 2025 and remained unwell in early 2026.
Ask Miruvor AI
What they tried
What they credit
Also tried
Their words about each treatment
- cannabis · Helped
I was doing so much better and then I stopped using cannabis, and now all of my symptoms that had been managed (at least somewhat) for so long are back.
In context ↗ - Effexor · Worse
Effexor is the worst medication I’ve ever tried, and going off of it was brutal.
In context ↗ - LDN · Helped a lot
I took it for a year, and I am convinced it is what helped me recover.
In context ↗ - naturopath · Not said
I am now working with a naturopath in the last 8 months. We have identified low iron, hypothyroid, and leaky gut.
In context ↗ - iron · Not said
I was treating other issues at the time (iron and thyroid)
In context ↗ - GLP 1 · Not said
I am on a GLP 1 and have struggled with appetite and nausea.
In context ↗ - Fairlife chocolate protein shakes and clear protein drinks · Helped
Fairlife chocolate protein shakes and clear protein drinks ... have really helped me consume more protein.
In context ↗ - Melatonin · Helped
2mg Melatonin (I was never someone to take this but my sleep got worse recently and that was the only thing I changed before seeing deep sleep increase in smart watch)
In context ↗ - white noise · Helped
Things that make a meaningful difference in my sleep ... White noise (my air purifier up high)
In context ↗ - reading on a Kindle before bed · Helped
I’ve turned to reading very light hearted novels on my kindle when I can’t sleep ... it does shift my focus away from the midnight anxiety to the story.
In context ↗
Approaches: Other drugs and medicines
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 23 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 2022 | COVID infection followed by long COVIDI am 2 years post initial COVID infection, and still suffering from brain fog and fatigue mostly.In context ↗ | Not stated | |
| December 2023 | third COVID infection; felt much better for about a monthCaught COVID for a third time last December, and about a week after felt so much better! It lasted for a good month before a flair up happened.In context ↗ | Mild | |
| February 2024 | two years in, brain fog and fatigue improved but still dailyMine have improved, but symptoms are still very much a part of my day to day life.In context ↗ | Mild | |
| March 2024 | flare-up after stopping cannabis; previously managed symptoms returnedI was doing so much better and then I stopped using cannabis, and now all of my symptoms that had been managed (at least somewhat) for so long are back.In context ↗ | Moderate | |
| July 2024 | months at 85% of old self, then crashes againI’ve had months at a time where I felt at 85% of the old me…but inevitably it always comes back.In context ↗ | Mild | |
| 2025 | solid six months feeling mostly recovered; went back to school and applied for jobsIn 2025, i had a solid 6 months where i felt mostly recovered.In context ↗ | Mild | Low-dose naltrexone |
| November 2025 | flare-up after six months at 80%+; had to stop schoolI could not continue with school once the flair up started.In context ↗ | Moderate | |
| January 2026 | four years in, in a low place with more severe dysautonomia; restarting LDNI’m in a low place because of it, but if I’ve learned anything in the last 4 years, it is that the severity ebbs and flows.In context ↗ | Moderate | Low-dose naltrexone |
Adverse events
- Venlafaxine (Effexor)“Effexor is the worst medication I’ve ever tried, and going off of it was brutal.” In context ↗ Side effects
- Venlafaxine (Effexor)“and going off of it was brutal” In context ↗ Withdrawal problems
- GLP-1 drugs (unspecified)“I am on a GLP 1 and have struggled with appetite and nausea.” In context ↗ Gut side effects
- Low-dose naltrexone“I started out taking it before bed, but it caused insomnia so I now take it around 9am” In context ↗ Insomnia from treatment
Symptoms mentioned
Their words about their symptoms
- Brain fog
still suffering from brain fog and fatigue mostly
In context ↗ - Post-exertional malaise
I always revert back to fatigue, brain fog, PEM.
In context ↗ - POTS & dysautonomia
I am experiencing more severe disautonomia.
In context ↗ - Tinnitus
dizziness, tinnitus, shortness of breath
In context ↗ - Breathlessness
shortness of breath
In context ↗ - Sleep problems
my sleep got worse recently
In context ↗ - Anxiety & low mood
Most days I feel like I have accepted my limitations, but some days the depression still creeps in.
In context ↗
Ask Miruvor AI
Similar stories
-
Housebound and in a wheelchair with long COVID, much better after leaving mould and Xolair
Bramble 45719 fell ill with long COVID in January 2022 and was housebound and in a wheelchair for months, with PEM, GI and mast-cell problems. A prednisone course briefly restored walking but faded; LDN, cannabis, fasting and a carnivore diet helped him…
-
Not enough detail to draw a path
Largely bedbound with ME/CFS for five years, now moderate after LDN and medical cannabis
Pond 45674 fell ill at 15, with symptoms from May 2018, and was largely bedbound for about five years, needing help with washing and meals. After a year of aggressive rest she started LDN in March 2025 and medical cannabis later, improving to moderate and…
-
Bedbound with severe ME/CFS, now back to mild after stellate ganglion blocks and rest
Beech 14261 fell ill after a viral infection and became bedbound with severe ME/CFS, unable to digest food for a year and losing muscle fast. Over about two years of stellate ganglion blocks, peptides, supplements, LDN, protein and rest they worked back to…
-
Just shy of bedbound with ME/CFS, now much better with pacing and low-dose naltrexone
Disabled by a March 2020 COVID infection and a 2021 reinfection, they spent over a year just shy of bedbound with ME/CFS, hyperadrenergic POTS and slow digestion. They credited pacing and radical rest, low-dose naltrexone, THC and therapy for slowly climbing…