Housebound nine months with long COVID, much better after an antidepressant and pacing
- Condition
- Long COVID
- At worst
- Severe (mostly bedbound)
- Ill before improving or writing
- 2 years
- Last post
- May 2024
In their words
- Condition: Long COVID
Back in 2022 when this all started for me, food allergies and PEM were the first “WTF is wrong with me” sxs.
In context ↗ - At worst: Severe
A year ago I couldn’t make it down the hallway, so there’s that.
In context ↗ - Now: Much better
I fluctuate between 75 and 90 percent recovery. Got there after a year, still have flares but nothing like that first year.
In context ↗ - Began after: COVID
Back in 2022 when this all started for me
Read from 9 of their posts and comments; links to the 7 this page draws on
Summary
Ridge 65725 got long COVID in 2022 and was housebound for nine months, unable even to walk down the hallway. After about a year they reached 75–90% of their old self, crediting an antidepressant plus healthy eating, no alcohol, pacing, sleep hygiene and meditation. A binge-drinking relapse in January 2024 set them back, and stress caused a May 2024 flare; before that flare they had been at about 75–80% for a year. Supplements wasted money and caused an allergic reaction.
Ask Miruvor AI
What they tried
What they credit
Also tried
Their words about each treatment
- Welbuterin · Helped a lot
Welbuterin was my ticket (mostly) out. If the effects of lexapro fade, it’s worth a try.
In context ↗ - rest/pacing · Helped
rest/pacing, minimizing stress (meditation), time, time, time.
In context ↗ - meditation · Helped
minimizing stress (meditation)
In context ↗ - cut out everything / diet control · Helped
I had to cut out everything before I got a handle on it.
In context ↗ - time · Helped
time, time, time.
In context ↗ - Benadryl and Zyrtec · Helped
Pre game Benadryl can be helpful ... slowly started adding foods back in with Benadryl, famotadine and Zyrtec in tow.
- famotadine · Helped
After about 8 months I slowly started adding foods back in with Benadryl, famotadine and Zyrtec in tow.
In context ↗ - supplements · Worse
The supplements have done nothing much more than waste my money and give me another allergic reaction room to ponder over.
In context ↗ - sleep hygiene · Helped
Treating my body right (eating healthy, no booze, minimal sugar, sleep hygiene)
In context ↗
Approaches: H1 antihistamines · H2 blockers · Diet · Mind-body practices · Other antidepressants · Pacing · Radical rest
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 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Long COVID; housebound nine monthsI was house bound for 9 months in 2022In context ↗ | Severe | |
| 2023 | reached 75-90% after a yearGot there after a year, still have flares but nothing like that first year.In context ↗ | Mild | Bupropion (Wellbutrin) |
| January 2024 | relapse after binge drinkingI was house bound for 9 months in 2022 and relapsed in January of this year. Why you ask??? Binge drinking.In context ↗ | Not stated | |
| 2024-02-25 | back to 75% of old selfthankful that I am back at my 75% of old me status. A year ago I couldn’t make it down the hallwayIn context ↗ | Mild | Bupropion (Wellbutrin) |
| 2024-04-17 | fluctuating 75-90% recovery with flaresI fluctuate between 75 and 90 percent recovery.In context ↗ | Mild | |
| 2024-05-15 | flaring after anger; baseline 75-80%I have been at about a solid 75-80% for the last year.In context ↗ | Mild |
Adverse events
- “The supplements have done nothing much more than waste my money and give me another allergic reaction room to ponder over.” In context ↗ Allergic reaction / anaphylaxis
Symptoms mentioned
Their words about their symptoms
- Post-exertional malaise
food allergies and PEM were the first “WTF is wrong with me” sxs
In context ↗ - Mast cell (MCAS) & allergies
Skin products and detergents are a big one for me too
In context ↗ - Headaches & migraine
all the usual PEM, overwhelming fatigue, RLS, acne (which I had never had in my life) headaches
In context ↗
Ask Miruvor AI
Similar stories
-
Bedridden with long COVID, much better and less housebound after acupuncture and diet
They caught COVID at Christmas 2020 and deteriorated in February 2023 to bedridden with severe pain, using a wheelchair since. Weekly acupuncture, a strict diet and H1/H2 antihistamines eased the pain, but progress was slow and non-linear. In January 2025…
-
Not enough detail to draw a path
Long COVID with tremors and insomnia, much better after low-histamine diet, antihistamines
After a COVID-19 infection in September 2021, long COVID began a month later with throat tightness and gut problems, then palpitations, tremors, head pressure and insomnia. A naturopath-guided low-histamine diet, H1/H2 antihistamines, low-dose naltrexone,…
-
Severe fatigue and panic in long COVID, nearly back to normal with rest and antihistamines
After a second Pfizer dose in April 2021, this 39-year-old executive developed fasciculations, panic attacks, insomnia and severe fatigue, and for two months could not work or tie his shoes. Rest, antihistamines and bupropion added to sertraline brought him…
-
Long COVID brain fog and crashes, now nearly back to normal after pacing and diet
Kite 27525 caught COVID in March 2020 and long-haul symptoms began a month later; by month five they were at about 50% of their usual health with brain fog, fatigue and crashes. Pacing, restorative yoga, a low-histamine diet, H1/H2 antihistamines and…