Long COVID with 35% weight loss and unable to read, now almost back to normal
- Condition
- Long COVID
- At worst
- Severe (mostly bedbound)
- Ill before improving or writing
- 3.5 years
- Last post
- Jul 2025
In their words
- Condition: Long COVID
three years since first infection
In context ↗ - At worst: Severe
Couldn't read at all for a long time. ... I could not identify the light switch
In context ↗ - Now: Near normal
It got better for me. I can read all I want now, unless I've overdone it for a few days in a row
In context ↗ - Began after: COVID
before first infection in '22
In context ↗
Summary
A Reddit user infected with COVID in 2022 lost 35% of their body weight over the first two years and could not read at all for a long time, once not recognising the light switch in their bedroom. By early 2025 they were back to a healthy weight, and by mid-2025 could read freely, play chess and hold conversations for a couple of hours, though overdoing it for several days brings the cognitive trouble back. They still find eating difficult.
Ask Miruvor AI
What they tried
Also tried
Their words about each treatment
- starvation diet · Much worse
I was on what's called a starvation diet for way too long ... Starving made everything much, much worse!
In context ↗ - avoiding foods high in histamine · Helped
what helps me manage is eating as clean as possible, avoiding foods high in histamine
In context ↗ - eating as clean as possible, avoiding sugar and empty carbs · Helped
eating as clean as possible, avoiding foods high in histamine, avoiding sugar and empty carbs, and limiting each meal to about 300kcal
In context ↗ - meal replacements · Helped
I ended up using meal replacements to hit calorie goals while I figured out what was safe to eat.
In context ↗
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 12 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | first COVID infectionbefore first infection in '22In context ↗ | Not stated |
| first two years of illness | lost 35% of body weight, could not read or recognise objectsI dropped 35% of my body weight over the first two years.In context ↗ | Severe |
| 2025-02-25 | back to a healthy weightI'm back up to a healthy weight now, three years since first infection.In context ↗ | Mild |
| 2025-07-29 | reading, chess and conversations again, with limits after overdoing itIt got better for me. I can read all I want now ... I am back into chessIn context ↗ | Near normal |
Symptoms mentioned
Their words about their symptoms
- Brain fog
I can read all I want now, unless I've overdone it for a few days in a row
In context ↗ - Post-exertional malaise
unless I've overdone it for a few days in a row
In context ↗ - Gut problems
I still have difficulty eating
In context ↗