Long COVID: mostly on the sofa, now much better with pacing and escitalopram
- Condition
- Long COVID
- At worst
- Severe (mostly bedbound)
- Ill before improving or writing
- 3.5 years
- Last post
- Aug 2024
In their words
- Condition: Long COVID
I could work full time for a year after I got covid.
In context ↗ - At worst: Severe
mostly lying in my sofa and not being able to be social with more then one person for around 1 hour
In context ↗ - Now: Much better
I have gone from mostly lying in my sofa ... to be able to do longer walks (1-2h), be social with a couple of people for some hours and can do some shopping and eating out if its calm.
In context ↗ - Began after: COVID
I could work full time for a year after I got covid.
In context ↗
Summary
Marsh 27757 got COVID in March 2021 and worked full time for a year before two crashes, from work stress and from physiotherapy exercise advice, left them mostly on the sofa able to see one person for an hour. By August 2024 they could walk one to two hours and socialise for several hours, hoping for part-time work. They credited pacing, escitalopram, gabapentin, ivabradine, statins and yoga nidra; training, saunas and lion's mane worsened.
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What they tried
What they credit
Their words about each treatment
- Pacing · Helped
Pacing, escitalopram
In context ↗ - escitalopram · Helped
escitalopram (towards the general long covid symtoms)
In context ↗ - gabapentin · Helped
gabapentin (nerve pain)
In context ↗ - ivabrandine · Helped
ivabrandine (POTS)
In context ↗ - statins · Helped
statins (general)
In context ↗ - yoga nidra · Helped
yoga nidra (general) have helped me the most
In context ↗ - Training · Worse
Training, cold showers, saunas, Lions Mane and stress have had the worst effect for me.
In context ↗ - cold showers · Worse
cold showers, saunas
In context ↗ - Lions Mane · Worse
Lions Mane and stress have had the worst effect for me
In context ↗
Approaches: POTS medication · SSRIs · Mind-body practices · Other drugs and medicines · Pacing · Statins
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 2021 | got COVID-19Got sick in March 2021.In context ↗ | Mild | |
| about a year after covid | crash from work stress; mostly on the sofaBut got two tough crashes after that, one from stress from workIn context ↗ | Severe | |
| after the crashes | crash after following physiotherapy exercise advicethe other one from when I was listening to physios recomendations of exercisingIn context ↗ | Severe | |
| 2024-08-24 | longer walks, socialising and shopping againto be able to do longer walks (1-2h), be social with a couple of people for some hours and can do some shopping and eating out if its calm. Hoping to get back to work part time in the autumn.In context ↗ | Mild | Pacing and the energy envelope |
Adverse events
- Graded rehab and self-made programmes, Cryotherapy and cold exposure, Hyperthermia and sauna, AHCC and medicinal mushrooms (reishi, shiitake, maitake)“Training, cold showers, saunas, Lions Mane and stress have had the worst effect for me.” In context ↗ Made symptoms worse
- Cryotherapy and cold exposure“Training, cold showers, saunas, Lions Mane and stress have had the worst effect for me.” In context ↗ Made symptoms worse
- Hyperthermia and sauna“Training, cold showers, saunas, Lions Mane and stress have had the worst effect for me.” In context ↗ Made symptoms worse
- AHCC and medicinal mushrooms (reishi, shiitake, maitake)“Training, cold showers, saunas, Lions Mane and stress have had the worst effect for me.” In context ↗ Made symptoms worse
- Graded rehab and self-made programmes“got two tough crashes after that, one from stress from work and the other one from when I was listening to physios recomendations of exercising.” In context ↗ Made symptoms worse
Symptoms mentioned
Their words about their symptoms
- Post-exertional malaise
But got two tough crashes after that
In context ↗ - POTS & dysautonomia
ivabrandine (POTS)
In context ↗ - Neuropathy & tingling
gabapentin (nerve pain)
In context ↗
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