Long COVID, walking three minutes a day, much better after gradual exercise and iron spray
- Condition
- Long COVID
- At worst
- Severe (mostly bedbound)
- Ill before improving or writing
- Not stated
- Last post
- Jun 2026
In their words
- Condition: Long COVID
I have POTS and Long Covid
In context ↗ - At worst: Severe
when I could hardly do anything (3 minutes walk a day)
In context ↗ - Now: Much better
I'm now walking 50 minutes per day and I'm even back at the gym for a few minutes per day
In context ↗ - Began after: COVID
I have POTS and Long Covid
In context ↗
Summary
A Reddit user with long COVID and POTS stopped the Visible app because it made them anxious about their high heart rate. They increased exercise very slowly, taking about a year with ups and downs to go from walking three minutes a day to 50 minutes daily plus a few minutes of gentle gym work. They found an oral iron spray more effective than tablets, which upset their stomach; their ferritin went from about 30 to 64, and they had fatigue and hair loss.
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What they tried
What they credit
Their words about each treatment
- Visible · Worse
I stopped because it made me too anxious about my high heart rate
In context ↗ - increased my exercise regime very, very slowly · Helped a lot
as long as I increased my exercise regime very, very slowly, it didn't matter if my heart rate was a bit (or a lot) higher some days
In context ↗ - FerroEss · Not said
I started off with a high-dose iron liquid called FerroEss for a month or so
In context ↗ - gentle iron tablets · Worse
I then used gentle iron tablets, but they messed with my stomach
In context ↗ - BetterYou Oral Iron Spray · Helped
I've discovered an oral iron spray that's low dose but more effective for me than tablets
In context ↗
Approaches: Physiotherapy and rehab · Supplements
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. Dates are when they posted. What the levels mean.
Show as a table
| When | What happened | Where they were | After |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | could hardly do anything, walking three minutes a dayit was useful in the very first period, when I could hardly do anything (3 minutes walk a day)In context ↗ | Severe | |
| 2026-06 | walking 50 minutes a day and back at the gym for a few minutesI'm now walking 50 minutes per day and I'm even back at the gym for a few minutes per day, doing some very gentle muscle training.In context ↗ | Mild | Graded rehab and self-made programmes |
Adverse events
- Symptom-tracking apps and wearables (Visible)“I stopped because it made me too anxious about my high heart rate” In context ↗ Mood or psychiatric effects
- Iron infusion / ferritin repletion“tablets (which give me horrible constipation and, therefore, piles)” In context ↗ Gut side effects
- Iron infusion / ferritin repletion“gentle iron tablets, but they messed with my stomach” In context ↗ Gut side effects
Symptoms mentioned
Their words about their symptoms
- POTS & dysautonomia
I have POTS and Long Covid
In context ↗ - Hair loss
I was losing lots of hair and was fatigued
In context ↗
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