Off work two months with long COVID, now much better after antibiotics and lidocaine
- Condition
- Long COVID
- At worst
- Moderate (mostly housebound)
- Ill before improving or writing
- 3 years
- Last post
- Apr 2026
In their words
- Condition: Long COVID
Having dealt with one long-term illness and now LC
In context ↗ - At worst: Moderate
Coughing hundreds of times per day since, until about 5 months ago. Damaged vocal cords, changes in career due to inability to perform duties, went from running marathons to getting light-headed walking down the hall.
In context ↗ - Now: Much better
I’m not ‘healed’ fully but I’m leaps and bounds better than I was.
In context ↗ - Began after: COVID
Covid Nov ‘22.
Read from 16 of their posts and comments; links to the 12 this page draws on
Summary
Falcon 33282 developed long COVID after a COVID-19 infection in November 2022, with coughing, breathlessness, brain fog and exhaustion, and was off work for two months. Respiratory treatments brought some improvement, then six antibiotics left them 'a different person ... still sick but better'. Nebulised lidocaine from early 2025 controlled the cough; by December 2025 they were leaps and bounds better but not fully healed.
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What they tried
What they credit
Also tried
Their words about each treatment
- Gallbladder removal · Helped a lot
Next day woke up to no symptoms.
In context ↗ - VSL3 (Visbiome) · Helped
If I take it daily, my stools are museum quality amazing.
In context ↗ - traumaprevention.com (TRE) · Not said
I admittedly haven’t been consistent enough to note any changes
In context ↗ - Mullein tincture and tea · Helped
Something that helped my lung tightness was Mullein Tincture and Mullein Tea.
In context ↗ - Chlorpheniramine · Not said
Chlorpheniramine 4g 3x daily
In context ↗ - Mucinex DM · Not said
Mucinex DM when AQI is over 50-60ish
In context ↗ - Fluticasone (Flovent) · Helped
Currently on both Flovent and Albuterol which helps keep some of it at bay.
In context ↗ - Showers with eucalyptus essential oil · Helped
That along with hot showers with drops of eucalyptus oil and I coughed up what could only be known as an alien.
In context ↗ - CPAP · Not said
CPAP for day and night as needed
In context ↗ - Wellue CheckMe wearable blood oxygen meter · Helped
it has helped me regulate more so the lows aren’t as long-lasting
In context ↗ - Nauzene · Helped
For nausea I use Nauzene, it’s been a game changer!
In context ↗ - THC honey (cannabis) · Helped
THC honey helps relieve my lung tightness.
In context ↗ - Welltory App · Helped
I noticed that it was helping me predict my recovery
In context ↗ - 6 different antibiotics · Helped
6 different antibiotics later and I feel like a different person. Still sick but better.
In context ↗ - Speech therapy · Not said
The speech therapist had me try a few other things but nothing stuck like these too.
In context ↗ - Pacing / monitoring with chopsticks and military-time clocks · Helped
Slow and steady works for me now.
In context ↗ - Nebulized lidocaine · Helped a lot
Can confirm: nebulized lidocaine worked for me.
In context ↗
Approaches: Antibiotics · Pacing · Surgery & structural
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 2022 | COVID-19; off work until JanuaryCovid Nov ‘22. ... I had covid last Nov and didn’t go back to work til January, have had issues since. | Moderate | |
| September 2023 | improvements with mullein, inhalers and other measures; back in the office five days in a rowHere’s what I’ve been doing, improvements seen but definitely not yet healed. ... I’m at work today and made it 5 days in a row at the office for the first time since last Nov.In context ↗ | Mild | |
| December 2023 | felt like a different person after antibiotics, still sick but betterInflammation blood tests were off the scale. 6 different antibiotics later and I feel like a different person. Still sick but better.In context ↗ | Mild | Antibiotics (unspecified) |
| December 2025 | nebulised lidocaine brought the cough under controlI’m not ‘healed’ fully but I’m leaps and bounds better than I was. ... On a scale of 1-10, I started at -9 and am close to -2 or even -1 now.In context ↗ | Mild |
Symptoms mentioned
Their words about their symptoms
- Breathlessness
I have episodes of chest tightness, shortness of breath, but mainly exhaustion.
In context ↗ - Brain fog
Brain fog has crept in and I’m starting to think it’s worse than I realize.
In context ↗ - Headaches & migraine
My symptoms were coughing and fatigue, some migraines but guessing mainly cough related.
In context ↗ - POTS & dysautonomia
went from running marathons to getting light-headed walking down the hall
In context ↗ - Gut problems
Pre-LC I suffered from gut stuff for decades.
In context ↗
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