Long COVID relapse left them unable to walk to the bathroom; Paxlovid helped briefly
- Condition
- Long COVID
- At worst
- Severe (mostly bedbound)
- Ill before improving or writing
- Not stated
- Last post
- Dec 2023
In their words
- Condition: Long COVID
my old LC symptoms came back almost immediately
In context ↗ - At worst: Severe
first I had to stay in bed constantly
In context ↗ - Now: Relapsed
went from being nearly 80-90% recovered to not being able to walk to the bathroom without my heart rate spiking
In context ↗ - Began after: COVID
I got reinfected a few weeks ago and my old LC symptoms came back almost immediately
Read from 1 of their posts and comments; links to the one this page draws on
Summary
A Reddit user with long COVID who had relapsed and recovered twice before was back to nearly 80-90% of normal. A reinfection in late 2023 returned old symptoms and left them unable to walk to the bathroom without heart rate spikes. Paxlovid briefly restored them to nearly 100%, but it faded after stopping and a repeat course was refused. At 2.5 weeks out they were slowly improving with fatigue and swollen lymph nodes.
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What they tried
What they credit
Their words about each treatment
- Paxlovid · Helped a lot
Paxlovid got me to nearly 100% but that went away soon after I stopped, and I was refused a second round.
In context ↗
Approaches: Antivirals
Their path
How ill they were on the ME/CFS severity scale, estimated from what they describe at each point, in the order they describe; they don’t give enough times to place each step. Hover or tap a point. 2 steps say too little to place on the scale and are only in the table. Dates are when they posted. What the levels mean.
Show as a table
| When | What happened | Where they were | After |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | long COVID after COVID infectionI've been through this twice beforeIn context ↗ | Not stated | |
| — | in bed constantly during the first episodefirst I had to stay in bed constantlyIn context ↗ | Severe | |
| — | recovered to about 80-90% after a year; later reinfections resolved in weeksnearly 80-90% recoveredIn context ↗ | Near normal | |
| a few weeks before 2023-12-14 | reinfected; old symptoms returned and heart rate spiked on the walk to the bathroomwent from being nearly 80-90% recovered to not being able to walk to the bathroom without my heart rate spikingIn context ↗ | Severe | |
| — | Paxlovid brought them to nearly 100%Paxlovid got me to nearly 100% but that went away soon after I stoppedIn context ↗ | Near normal | Paxlovid / nirmatrelvir |
| — | benefit faded after stopping Paxlovid and a second round was refusedthat went away soon after I stopped, and I was refused a second roundIn context ↗ | Not stated | |
| about 2.5 weeks out (2023-12-14) | adrenaline dumps and PEM fading into lethargy, exercise intolerance and swollen lymph nodesnow that is slowly fading as I move on to lethargy and fatigue with lingering exercise intolerance and very swollen lymph nodes at about 2.5 weeks outIn context ↗ | Moderate |
Symptoms mentioned
Their words about their symptoms
- POTS & dysautonomia
the adrenaline dumps
In context ↗ - Heart symptoms & palpitations
not being able to walk to the bathroom without my heart rate spiking
In context ↗ - Flu-like symptoms
very swollen lymph nodes
In context ↗
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