Long COVID with brain fog and PEM, now almost back to normal after rest and time
- Condition
- Long COVID
- At worst
- Mild (working or studying, with limits)
- Ill before improving or writing
- 8 months
- Last post
- Mar 2022
In their words
- Condition: Long COVID
Got Covid in June 2020, had LH for over a year afterwards.
In context ↗ - At worst: Mild
I’d be alright one day and then the next just get slammed, be in pain, unable to work, awful, for seemingly no reason.
In context ↗ - Now: Near normal
I wouldn’t say I’ve made it to 100% still, but I’ve been reincorporating some things I took a break from (workouts, caffeine, etc) with no issues.
In context ↗ - Began after: COVID
Then I was diagnosed with Covid on June 17th, 2020.
Read from 37 of their posts and comments; links to the 13 this page draws on
Summary
A male athlete who was 27 in 2021 got COVID-19 in June 2020, then long-COVID symptoms in late August: racing heart, chest pain, brain fog, breathlessness, panic attacks, PEM. Months 3-6 were worst. He credits stopping workouts to rest, antihistamines, vitamin C, D, magnesium and niacin, diet, remote work, naps and above all time. By September 2021 he was 95% healed with slight fatigue; in March 2022 he still felt much better but not fully 100%.
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What they tried
What they credit
Also tried
Their words about each treatment
- Antihistamines (Allegra / fexofenadine) · Helped
They helped to a degree with all of them.
In context ↗ - Lexapro · Helped
they moved me to Lexapro which was an everyday med. It numbed my mind a bit, which helped
In context ↗ - Xanax · Not said
First was prescribed Xanax as needed, but bc I was needing it constantly
In context ↗ - Cutting out workouts and resting · Helped
Cut out all workouts and just rested (I kept trying to tough it out for a long time)
In context ↗ - Working out / pushing through exercise · Worse
Workouts almost always brought the worst LH symptoms
In context ↗ - Vitamin D · Helped
Vitamin C, D, Magnesium, Niacin
In context ↗ - Cleaning up the diet · Helped
Clean up the diet
In context ↗ - Staying super hydrated · Helped
Stay super hydrated
In context ↗ - Pfizer vaccine · No change
I did get the Pfizer vaccine in April 2021 ... I did not really notice any change one way or the other
In context ↗ - Time · Helped a lot
In my experience, TIME is the most important factor.
In context ↗
Approaches: H1 antihistamines · POTS medication · Diet · Pacing · Supplements
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| late August 2020 | long-COVID symptoms began two months after COVID-19Got better and then my long-haul symptoms hit hard out of nowhere in late August (a full 2 months later).In context ↗ | Mild | |
| Christmas 2020 | worst months 3-6: relapses, pain, chest pain, darkest pointMonths 3-6 were the absolute worst and around Christmas 2020, I was in the darkest place I’ve ever been in My life.In context ↗ | Mild | |
| April 2021 | first signs of improvement but still fragileAround at 8 months I was seeing signs of improvement, I just remember feeling very fragile.In context ↗ | Mild | Time and spontaneous remission |
| around July 2021 | flare up, milder than the early onesProbably 2ish months since a flare up. But even that flare up was nothing compared to how they were during the first 6 monthsIn context ↗ | Mild | |
| September 2021 | 95% healed, back to almost all of his old lifeI can finally say with a solid degree of confidence that I am healed, almost all the way back to what I wasIn context ↗ | Near normal | Time and spontaneous remission |
| March 2022 | still much better, not fully 100%Feeling much better these days, wouldn't say all the way 100% though.In context ↗ | Near normal |
Adverse events
- Escitalopram (Lexapro)“It numbed my mind a bit, which helped, but I knew it wasn’t addressing the main root issue” In context ↗ Side effects
- Escitalopram (Lexapro)“It was a little tough to get off of those meds since I had been using it as a bit of a crutch, but it helped that I didn’t stop cold turkey.” In context ↗ Withdrawal problems
Symptoms mentioned
Their words about their symptoms
- Heart symptoms & palpitations
Chest pains was always my most persistent symptom.
In context ↗ - Brain fog
Most common was racing heart, palpitations, brain fog, fatigue, trouble sleeping.
In context ↗ - Sleep problems
In the very very beginning I had a few crazy nights of back to back 2 hours of sleep.
In context ↗ - Breathlessness
I also experienced shortness of breath, panic attacks, throat tightening, etc. on a less frequent basis.
In context ↗ - Anxiety & low mood
On top of the physical pain, the mental toll of knowing nothing, second guessing everything, the anxiety, and feeling like I was going crazy was really hard.
In context ↗ - Post-exertional malaise
I did experience PEM a lot, that was why I ultimately decided to stop trying to push thru with workouts or walks
In context ↗ - Pain & fibromyalgia
the next just get slammed, be in pain, unable to work, awful
In context ↗
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