Long COVID with depression, anxiety, poor sleep; somewhat better with mirtazapine and surgery
- Condition
- Long COVID
- At worst
- Mild (working or studying, with limits)
- Ill before improving or writing
- 2 years
- Last post
- May 2025
In their words
- Condition: Long COVID
Depression, anxiety, and metal health worse since Covid/long term
In context ↗ - At worst: Mild
My doctor gave me Xanax and it knocks me out till 415 when I get up for work.
In context ↗ - Now: Somewhat better
I am better now, but stress can still trigger it, just not as severe.
In context ↗ - Began after: COVID
I got Covid back in Feb 2023.
In context ↗
Read from 9 of their posts and comments; links to the 7 this page draws on
Summary
Beacon 50997 caught COVID in February 2023 and developed long COVID with worsening depression, anxiety, irritability, sleep problems and headaches. Mirtazapine prescribed for sleep improved their sleep and made headaches and pain less frequent, while Prozac, Wellbutrin and Buspirone helped only partly. Vascular surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome eased shoulder and neck pain some, and they were still working in March 2025.
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What they tried
What they credit
Also tried
Their words about each treatment
- Paxlovid · Helped a lot
I took Paxlovid, and it really helped me feel better.
In context ↗ - Xanax · Helped
My doctor gave me Xanax and it knocks me out till 415 when I get up for work.
In context ↗ - Mirtazapine · Helped
He prescribed Mirtazapine to help me sleep and not worry as much.
In context ↗ - sleep schedule retraining · Helped a lot
he suggested trying to stay up till midnight for a few nights, then try staying up till 11:30 and so on. It is supposed to help retrain your internal clock. It helped me a lot.
In context ↗ - surgery on the right shoulder and neck · Helped
I had surgery on the right shoulder and neck it helped some.
In context ↗
Approaches: Antivirals
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. The chart starts 20 months after onset: the story doesn’t say how ill they were before that. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| February 2023 | caught COVID-19I got Covid back in Feb 2023.In context ↗ | Not stated | |
| 2024-10-28 | mental health at its worst, on three antidepressants and Xanax for sleep while still workingSince I have had Covid I noticed that my mental health has been so much worse than ever before.In context ↗ | Mild | |
| 2024-11-08 | sleeping better on mirtazapine, headaches and pain less oftenThe headaches have gotten better due to sleeping better. ... The headaches and pain are less often than they were.In context ↗ | Mild | Mirtazapine (Remeron) |
| 2025-05-14 | vascular TOS surgery helped shoulder and neck pain some; still workingI had surgery on the right shoulder and neck it helped some.In context ↗ | Mild | Other surgery (adrenal, lung, venoplasty) |
Adverse events
- Mirtazapine (Remeron)“It helped, but I the side effects of heartburn was bad enough to stop the meds.” In context ↗ Side effects
- Paxlovid / nirmatrelvir“Have they checked you for thrush? I had it 2x after the antivirals for Covid.” In context ↗ Other
- Paxlovid / nirmatrelvir“The only problem I had from take it was a metallic taste in my mouth” In context ↗ Side effects
Symptoms mentioned
Their words about their symptoms
- Anxiety & low mood
my depression is worse. (Sometime I will start crying for no reason.)
In context ↗ - Sleep problems
I also have to take Xanax to help get to sleep almost daily to shut my mind down.
In context ↗ - Headaches & migraine
The headaches and pain are less often than they were.
In context ↗ - Pain & fibromyalgia
I have that, and it hurts where you are referring to.
In context ↗
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