Long COVID with fatigue and brain fog, somewhat better after thiamine and molybdenum
- Condition
- Long COVID
- At worst
- Mild (working or studying, with limits)
- Ill before improving or writing
- Not stated
- Last post
- Mar 2025
In their words
- Condition: Long COVID
r/covidlonghaulers
In context ↗ - At worst: Mild
before I had significant daytime fatigue ... lowered brain fog (used to be quite bad)
In context ↗ - Now: Somewhat better
my symptoms improved. Shortness of breath, low energy, poor short term memory, irritability and anxiety. All got better.
In context ↗
Read from 19 of their posts and comments; links to the 14 this page draws on
Summary
A Reddit user in long-COVID and ME/CFS forums described fatigue, brain fog, anxiety, stiffness and histamine-like reactions. Flush niacin, 500 mg daily, gave more energy and less brain fog, but the benefits faded within days of stopping. Thiamine, then benfotiamine up to 600 mg, improved breathlessness, memory and anxiety, though it caused insomnia and kidney pressure. Molybdenum later reduced histamine reactions and hair loss.
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What they tried
What they credit
Also tried
Their words about each treatment
- Quercetin · Helped
my inflammation would go down to zero
In context ↗ - methylfolate · Not said
When I first took methylfolate (months ago, don’t take it now)
In context ↗ - Niacin (nicotinic acid) · Helped
increased energy levels ... lowered brain fog (used to be quite bad)
In context ↗ - Thiamine (thiamine HCl) and benfotiamine · Helped
my symptoms improved. Shortness of breath, low energy, poor short term memory, irritability and anxiety. All got better.
In context ↗ - B Complex · Not said
I do feel that taking B1 separately plus a B Complex is better, to avoid other B deficiencies
In context ↗ - unflavoured BCAA · Not said
I recently (today actually) started taking unflavoured BCAA, just out of curiosity and I’m not experiencing any symptoms.
In context ↗ - B5 (pantothenic acid) · Helped
I had a similar experience with B5.
In context ↗ - molybdenum · Helped
In the last 2-3 weeks, I have experimented with molybdenum. So far, I would say that my histamine-like reactions diminished.
In context ↗ - low-histamine diet · Helped
nowadays I control my symptoms with my diet and lifestyle
In context ↗ - daily low-mid intensity workouts · Not said
I also made lots of changes in my lifestyle, like daily low-mid intensity workouts, unprocessed foods and meditation.
In context ↗ - warm showers before bed · Helped
Warm showers before bed help as well.
In context ↗
Approaches: Diet · Supplements
Their path
They say too little about how ill they were at each step to draw it on the severity scale, so the steps are listed as they describe them. Dates are when they posted.
| When | What happened | After |
|---|---|---|
| — | chronic fatigue, brain fog, anxiety and histamine-like symptomsI've been struggling with histamine-like symptoms in the last few years.In context ↗ | |
| 2023-02-22 | flush niacin raised energy, cleared brain fog, lowered anxiety and stiffnessincreased energy levels (before I had significant daytime fatigue)In context ↗ | |
| 2023-03-02 | benefits faded days after stopping niacinall the benefits started fading out 4 days after I stopped niacin, but not completelyIn context ↗ | |
| 2023-05-16 | about 1 g thiamine raised energy and lowered anxiety but caused insomniaI increased the dosage to 1 gram or so which increased my energy levels, but it gave me insomnia.In context ↗ | Thiamine / benfotiamine |
| 2023-12-16 | benfotiamine improved breathlessness, memory, irritability and anxietymy symptoms improved. Shortness of breath, low energy, poor short term memory, irritability and anxiety. All got better.In context ↗ | Thiamine / benfotiamine |
| 2025-03-19 | molybdenum reduced histamine-like reactions and hair problemsI have experimented with molybdenum ... my histamine-like reactions diminishedIn context ↗ |
Adverse events
- “I get immediate brain fog when I take a protein powder that contains sucralose and flavourings.” In context ↗ Made symptoms worse
- Thiamine / benfotiamine“First time ever my face got inflammed and I decided not to take it anymore. That lasted for two days or so.” In context ↗ Autoimmune or inflammatory flare
- Thiamine / benfotiamine“I increased the dosage to 1 gram or so which increased my energy levels, but it gave me insomnia.” In context ↗ Insomnia from treatment
- Thiamine / benfotiamine“When I take 600 mg I feel some kidney pressure and I get really thirsty because probably my body wants to excrete what it cannot process.” In context ↗ Liver or kidney problems
- Niacin (vitamin B3)“if my diet is somewhat high in histamines, the flush will amplify my usual histamine sensitivity symptoms during a flush” In context ↗ Made symptoms worse
Symptoms mentioned
Their words about their symptoms
- Brain fog
lowered brain fog (used to be quite bad)
In context ↗ - Anxiety & low mood
Anxiety and overall emotional tension plummented.
In context ↗ - Sleep problems
it gave me insomnia
In context ↗ - Breathlessness
Particularly shortness of breath and poor short term memory and brain fog. These two improved significantly.
In context ↗ - Mast cell (MCAS) & allergies
I have both histamine intolerance (MCAS like, symptoms triggered by stimuli, when my diet is not very low in histamines)
In context ↗ - Hair loss
specifically itchiness, frizziness and hair loss
In context ↗
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