Long COVID brain fog and exertional crashes, much better with heart-rate pacing and sleep
- Condition
- Long COVID
- At worst
- Mild (working or studying, with limits)
- Ill before improving or writing
- 3.5 years
- Last post
- Nov 2023
In their words
- Condition: Long COVID
I also got ill with probably covid in mid march
In context ↗ - At worst: Mild
Currently I do 5000-8000 steps a day and will gradually increase this number as long as my symptoms get no worse.
In context ↗ - Now: Much better
I built up with much low HR road cycling over a year and now I seem pretty good. On a ski holiday that has been tolerated fine.
In context ↗ - Began after: COVID
I also got ill with probably covid in mid march
In context ↗
Read from 27 of their posts and comments; links to the 15 this page draws on
Summary
Badger 60775 fell ill with probable COVID in March 2020; they had early tingling and for months brain fog that left them completely useless, plus poor sleep and crash-inducing exertion. They credit heart-rate pacing, good sleep, more fibre and gradually built-up low-intensity cycling; by 2023 long walks, slow rides and a ski holiday were fine. They still avoided vigorous exercise, and climbing occasionally caused days of grogginess; they stopped working in 2020.
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What they tried
What they credit
Also tried
Their words about each treatment
- heart rate pacing with a heart rate monitor · Helped
keeping a HR of less than 120 and monitoring my steps per day is a good way of doing so
In context ↗ - sleep hygiene / consistent sleep · Helped
heart rate pacing and good sleep are the only things that have helped
In context ↗ - low-intensity walking and road cycling · Helped
What has mattered most is keeping active and eating / sleeping well without doing anything too exerting
In context ↗ - climbing · Worse
I tried going climbing twice early on and had awful brain fog for a week both times
In context ↗ - ibuprofen · Not said
Ibuprofen when I have a headache
In context ↗ - cold showers · Helped
cold showers work to make you get through the grogginess faster in the morning
In context ↗ - more fibre (beans and lentils) · Helped
I genuinely think that eating more fibre in the form of Beans and lentils has helped.
In context ↗ - supplements · No change
No supplement ever had a noticeable effect
In context ↗
Approaches: Exercise and activity · Pacing
Their path
What they say at each step doesn’t fit the worst point or outcome above on the severity scale, so the steps are listed as they describe them. Dates are when they posted.
| When | What happened | After |
|---|---|---|
| March 2020 | fell ill with probable COVID; brain fog made them useless and they were hospitalisedI also got ill with probably covid in mid marchIn context ↗ | |
| 2020-08-04 | back to a few hours of work a day after fixing sleep and capping heart rateI'm four months on and working a few hours a day for a couple of weeks now.In context ↗ | Pacing and the energy envelope |
| 2020-09-14 | stopped working; crashes rare and mild but still bad daysYeah, I've been physically pacing and stopped working quite a while ago. Crashes are pretty rare for me now but are pretty mild by the standard of most.In context ↗ | |
| 2022-03-06 | getting on with life more and less depressed about exercise limitsNot really, but getting on with life a lot more. Exercise is still a no no but I am not so depressed about itIn context ↗ | |
| 2023-03-16 | built up low-heart-rate road cycling over a year; a ski holiday was toleratedI built up with much low HR road cycling over a year and now I seem pretty good. On a ski holiday that has been tolerated fine.In context ↗ | Everyday exercise and activity |
| 2023-11-05 | long slow walks and bike rides tolerated; still avoids vigorous exercise and climbing leaves them groggyI still avoid vigorous exercise but get away with doing long walks and bike rides at a slow pace.In context ↗ |
Symptoms mentioned
Their words about their symptoms
- Brain fog
brain fog had previously made me completely useless
In context ↗ - Post-exertional malaise
Spending more than 10 mins or so with a heart rate above 120 will normally result in PEM that lasts about four days
In context ↗ - Sleep problems
I'm having issues with sleep, and I think the typical sleep hygiene advice is a good start.
In context ↗ - Headaches & migraine
Ibuprofen when I have a headache, but that's separate to the brain fog.
In context ↗ - Neuropathy & tingling
I had numbness/tingling after my initial infection that made me see a neurologist, nothing abnormal detected and no issues since then.
In context ↗ - Anxiety & low mood
But really the battle is the mental one of re-adjusting expectations and goals without getting depressed
In context ↗
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