Mostly bedbound with long COVID, now much better; fasting and cold plunges helped
- Condition
- Long COVID
- At worst
- Severe (mostly bedbound)
- Ill before improving or writing
- 5.5 years
- Last post
- May 2026
In their words
- Condition: Long COVID
I’m (F25) on year three of LC
In context ↗ - At worst: Severe
In my absolute worst state I also did ADF (36h of fasting, I started with less but only this much made a difference). I went from having a high fever every evening, insane pain every day and barely being able to get out of bed
In context ↗ - Now: Much better
I was also able to go back to school after a while on medication, but safe to say there has been a lot of trial and error in that department and I’m still really struggling to finish my studies.
In context ↗ - Began after: COVID
I (F24) got covid at the end of October 2020
In context ↗
Read from 27 of their posts and comments; links to the 17 this page draws on
Summary
She caught COVID in October 2020 and was ill for more than five years, kept from school for a year by heart and lung damage, memory loss, pain and severe brain fog, and mostly bedbound after a bad relapse in autumn 2022. Alternate-day fasting made her pain-free for a stretch, cold plunges and ADHD stimulants helped too, and she went back to studying. In her sixth year symptoms still come and go in waves.
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What they tried
What they credit
Also tried
Their words about each treatment
- double Pfizer · Helped
After my second dose I started to notice that I recovered more quickly
In context ↗ - Magnesium · Helped
Magnesium has helped me too! Sometimes it’s too bad for it to make a difference but if you consistently eat it it might help!!
In context ↗ - asthma inhalator · Helped
difficulty breathing (my asthma inhalator has been a life saver)
In context ↗ - breathing exercises · Helped
the only thing that helped was just doing breathing exercises to prevent panic attacks and writing positive affirmations
In context ↗ - alternate day fasting (ADF) · Helped a lot
I’m trying alternate day fasting now and it has miraculously eased my pain and I’ve been way less fatigued.
In context ↗ - cold plunges · Helped
The exhaustion was worth the improved immune system and now I’m actually doing better overall!
In context ↗ - pacing · Not said
Pacing, taking care of yourself, eating well or just remembering to eat/drink
In context ↗ - Concerta and Elvanse/Vyvanse · Helped a lot
Getting medication honestly changed my life, also my LC.
In context ↗ - MilaMend (inositol) · Helped
a PCOS supplement called MilaMend. It’s an expensive supplement though, but it really did so much for my pcos!
In context ↗ - eating enough protein · Helped
The things that helped me the most were lifestyle changes like eating enough protein, managing my cortisol in the morning and a PCOS supplement called MilaMend.
In context ↗ - Acupuncture · Not said
I do get very very tired after a session though ... sometimes I have lingering symptoms
In context ↗
Approaches: Alternative therapies · Stimulants · Vaccination
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 9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| end of October 2020 | COVID-19 infectionI (F24) got covid at the end of October 2020In context ↗ | Not stated | |
| August 2021 | Pfizer vaccination; energy felt reset each morningafter the vaccine I started to feel re-set in the morningIn context ↗ | Mild | COVID vaccination as treatment |
| December 2021 | almost back to normal and back at the gymup until one month ago when I finally started to feel normal againIn context ↗ | Near normal | |
| Christmas 2021 | omicron reinfectionI got infected with omicron during ChristmasIn context ↗ | Moderate | |
| January 2022 | back to pre-omicron baselineSeem to be going back to the baseline I had beforeIn context ↗ | Mild | |
| summer 2022 | about 70% back to her old selfI was about 70% back to my old self this summerIn context ↗ | Mild | |
| autumn 2022 | severe relapse, mostly bedboundduring the fall I relapsed really badly and I’m once again mostly confined to my bedIn context ↗ | Severe | |
| June 2023 | alternate-day fasting eased pain and fatigueI’m trying alternate day fasting now and it has miraculously eased my pain and I’ve been way less fatiguedIn context ↗ | Moderate | Intermittent fasting |
| March 2024 | cold plunges; doing better overallThe exhaustion was worth the improved immune system and now I’m actually doing better overallIn context ↗ | Moderate | Cryotherapy and cold exposure |
| October 2025 | ADHD stimulants helped brain and pain; back to schoolstimulants work well for me (mostly) and has really helped my brain get better again and helped with the chronic painIn context ↗ | Mild | |
| May 2026 | sixth year, symptoms still fluctuatingI also have PCOS and obviously long covid, on my sixth yearIn context ↗ | Mild |
Adverse events
- COVID vaccination as treatment“luckily all went well with both doses after feeling a bit worse for a few days around the injection” In context ↗ Made symptoms worse
- Cryotherapy and cold exposure“depending on your state the stress on your body can be exhausting ... The exhaustion was worth the improved immune system” In context ↗ Side effects
- Methylphenidate (Ritalin, Concerta)“I don’t feel my limits as much so I risk going over them for a longer period of time and then crashing really hard” In context ↗ Made symptoms worse
- Methylphenidate (Ritalin, Concerta)“just 18 mg or lower gives me more anxiety than anything else” In context ↗ Mood or psychiatric effects
- Lisdexamfetamine (Vyvanse, Elvanse)“my body couldn’t handle the stress of Elvanse/Vyvanse the first year and it just made me really anxious” In context ↗ Mood or psychiatric effects
- Intermittent fasting“Unfortunately it also messed with my hormones a LOT ... I eventually stopped because of what it was doing to my hormones” Side effects
- Acupuncture“I do get very very tired after a session though ... sometimes I have lingering symptoms” In context ↗ Side effects
- Methylphenidate (Ritalin, Concerta), Lisdexamfetamine (Vyvanse, Elvanse)“it’s an awful mix of complete body fatigue and my pulse being 160bpm” In context ↗ Heart rhythm problems
Symptoms mentioned
Their words about their symptoms
- Post-exertional malaise
if I took a walk that was too long on Tuesday, I’d be down the rest of the week
In context ↗ - Brain fog
really bad cognitive issues which kept me from school for a year
In context ↗ - Heart symptoms & palpitations
I still get out of breath and have some heart palpitations
In context ↗ - Breathlessness
I still get out of breath and have some heart palpitations and muscle soreness
In context ↗ - Pain & fibromyalgia
a lot of phantom pain for lack of a better word
In context ↗ - Headaches & migraine
sore throat, cold, mild coughing, fever, body ache, headache
In context ↗ - Gut problems
I constantly have the feeling of extreme nausea and that I will throw up if I don’t eat within one minute
In context ↗ - Sleep problems
Sensory overwhelm, lack of dopamine, insomnia and being very emotional are all traits I had
In context ↗ - Anxiety & low mood
specifically the intrusive thoughts got a lot better and now it’s only rarely an issue
In context ↗ - Temperature regulation
I went from having a high fever every evening, insane pain every day and barely being able to get out of bed
In context ↗ - Flu-like symptoms
My symptoms with omicron have been: sore throat, cold, mild coughing, fever
In context ↗
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