Long COVID: 2-4 waking hours a day, now recovered after fitness/diet and two Pfizer doses
- Condition
- Long COVID
- At worst
- Severe (mostly bedbound)
- Ill before improving or writing
- 3 months
- Last post
- Aug 2021
In their words
- Condition: Long COVID
I thought I was experiencing long covid.
In context ↗ - At worst: Severe
I was awake maybe 2-4 hours a day and I was too tired during my waking hours to really even do anything.
In context ↗ - Now: Recovered
I’m fully recovered these days, even the brain fog is gone now.
In context ↗ - Began after: COVID
27M, caught covid, it did a number on my brain, lungs, energy levels, appetite, etc.
Read from 35 of their posts and comments; links to the 13 this page draws on
Summary
Shore 27456, 27 and living in the US, caught COVID and for months could stay awake only two to four hours a day, with brain fog, lost lung capacity, joint pain and a racing heart. He began with short walks, then jogging and weight training, and credits a strict fitness and diet routine plus two Pfizer doses with carrying him past his pre-illness baseline. His brain fog cleared about a week and a half after the second shot.
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What they tried
What they credit
Also tried
Their words about each treatment
- Fitness: short walks progressing to jogging and weight training · Helped a lot
The fitness took me to the halfway point and the vaccines are what took me the rest of the way in my recovery
In context ↗ - Pfizer vaccine, two doses · Helped a lot
I credit the vaccine with getting me over the final hump.
In context ↗ - Balanced gut-health focused diet · Helped
I credit fitness with the bulk of my recovery. The rest of it was putting serious focus into gut health.
In context ↗ - Daily multivitamin · Helped
The most important part of that diet is a regular daily multivitamin
In context ↗ - Daily probiotic (kombucha/yoghurt) · Helped
daily consumption of one probiotic product, whether it’s yoghurt or kombucha
In context ↗ - Going 100% sober (no alcohol, no weed) · Helped
Going 100% full sober: No more alcohol, no more weed.
In context ↗ - Mental focus activities (reading, video games) · Helped
I make an active effort to read every day, I spend time playing video games
In context ↗ - Consistent sleep schedule · Helped
Sleep: I try to get between 7-9 hours of sleep a night.
In context ↗
Approaches: Physiotherapy and rehab · Radical rest · Supplements · 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. Dates are when they posted. What the levels mean.
Show as a table
| When | What happened | Where they were | After |
|---|---|---|---|
| onset | COVID-19 infection; bedbound for the first two weeksFor the first two weeks after onset of symptoms, I was so fatigued that I hardly even moved from the bed or couch.In context ↗ | Severe | |
| about 2 months in | awake only 2-4 hours a day, sitting or sleeping the restI was awake maybe 2-4 hours a day and I was too tired during my waking hours to really even do anything.In context ↗ | Severe | |
| 1 month after starting light activity | built up from short walks to walking 1-3 miles daily1 month after onset of light activity, I found myself walking 1-3 miles daily.In context ↗ | Mild | Graded rehab and self-made programmes |
| month 3 of activity | jogging and weight training, brain fog lingeringOn month 3 Some of the brain fog still lingered, I still struggled with speech a bit, I was jogging, my mile was cut down to 7 minutes on a good day at this pointIn context ↗ | Mild | Graded rehab and self-made programmes |
| about month 7, June 2021 | two Pfizer doses; brain fog and fatigue clearedabout a month out from full vaccination I felt like back before I ever got sickIn context ↗ | Near normal | COVID vaccination as treatment |
| 2021-08-04 | back at full-time work and training, better than before the illnessCurrently a few months later I feel mental clarity on par or possibly even better than before I was ever infected.In context ↗ | Recovered |
Adverse events
- Graded rehab and self-made programmes“It all started with literally 5 minute walks that would leave me feeling debilitated.” In context ↗ Made symptoms worse
- COVID vaccination as treatment“the vaccine gave me pretty bad migraines the day immediately after, and shoulder pain at the site of injection.” In context ↗ Side effects
Symptoms mentioned
Their words about their symptoms
- Brain fog
I was in such an intense state of brain fog that I couldn’t even focus on scrolling through Reddit, or form coherent speech a lot of the time.
In context ↗ - Breathlessness
I couldn’t handle much at first, my lungs were heavy.
In context ↗ - Heart symptoms & palpitations
my heart rate was off the charts
In context ↗ - Pain & fibromyalgia
I was having joint pains
In context ↗ - Sleep problems
I was sleeping for most hours of the day
In context ↗ - Anxiety & low mood
I was also experiencing new and intense anxiety
In context ↗
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