Over a year of long COVID symptoms, now nearly back to normal after getting a puppy
- Condition
- Long COVID
- At worst
- Moderate (mostly housebound)
- Ill before improving or writing
- 17 months
- Last post
- Feb 2025
In their words
- At worst: Moderate
Moving around still hurts a lot and if I do something like a walk I’ll end up having a very long nap.
In context ↗ - Now: Near normal
My taste and smell are recovering but I suspect my tinnitus is permanent, but overall I’m doing really well.
In context ↗ - Began after: COVID
I caught covid in Oct 2020
In context ↗
Read from 32 of their posts and comments; links to the 20 this page draws on
Summary
Tundra 23074 caught COVID-19 in October 2020 and spent over a year with body aches, lost taste and smell, tinnitus, insomnia, anxiety and relapses after each Pfizer dose and a suspected Delta reinfection. Their recovery began around March 2022, which they linked to getting a puppy, and by mid-2022 most symptoms had gone. They had their original life back, though tinnitus and taste and smell loss remained.
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What they tried
What they credit
Also tried
Their words about each treatment
- fixing my sleeping schedule · Helped
before I fixed my sleeping schedule I was an insomniac for 4 months and it was the most depressed I’ve ever been
In context ↗ - nose plug · Helped
I have to eat with a nose plug ... It’s what I do because I have the same problem.
- more fibre · No change
even after I started eating more fibre it still felt awful and the blood still persisted
In context ↗ - doing whatever I want · Much worse
I tried that and relapsed so hard.
In context ↗ - CBT · Not said
I’m going through CBT but it’s my body that makes me feel terrible
In context ↗ - smoking to help me eat · Worse
I’d smoke to help me eat but then the racing heart symptom kicked in and I had to stop
In context ↗ - skincare products · No change
None of my skincare products worked so I just stopped apart from applying cleanser, moisturiser and sunscreen
In context ↗ - getting a puppy · Helped
My recovery started when I got my puppy.
In context ↗ - time · Helped a lot
they just went away on their own
In context ↗ - COVID vaccination as treatment · Worse
I ended up relapsing really badly for 2 weeks because of the first vaccination- it was pure exhaustion, swollen lymph nodes and I found it difficult 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 7 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 |
|---|---|---|
| October 2020 | COVID-19; start of long COVIDI caught covid in Oct 2020In context ↗ | Not stated |
| May 2021 | housebound, pain on moving, long naps, 12-14 hours of sleep a dayMoving around still hurts a lot and if I do something like a walk I’ll end up having a very long nap.In context ↗ | Moderate |
| June 2021 | bad two-week relapse after first Pfizer doseI’m 9 months in and I’m going through a really bad relapseIn context ↗ | Severe |
| October 2021 | reinfected, probably Delta; felt terrible all over againmonth 12 I got reinfected with I believe Delta and recovered but I feel terrible all over again.In context ↗ | Moderate |
| March 2022 | recovery accelerated after getting a puppyThe period of March-June 2022 was like an exponential curve in terms of recovery.In context ↗ | Mild |
| May 2022 | most symptoms gone; sleeping 10-12 hours and tiring easilyMost of my symptoms have gone and the only thing I suffer from is 10-12 hours of daily sleeping and falling tired easily.In context ↗ | Mild |
| October 2022 | no long covid symptoms anymoreI don’t have long covid anymore! ... I have no long covid symptoms anymore!In context ↗ | Near normal |
| May 2024 | original life back; taste and smell recovering, tinnitus likely permanentMy taste and smell are recovering but I suspect my tinnitus is permanent, but overall I’m doing really well.In context ↗ | Near normal |
Adverse events
- COVID vaccination as treatment“I slept after for around 6 hours and my arm was in pain for roughly 5 days.” In context ↗ Side effects
- COVID vaccination as treatment“I ended up relapsing really badly for 2 weeks because of the first vaccination- it was pure exhaustion, swollen lymph nodes and I found it difficult to eat.” In context ↗ Made symptoms worse
- COVID vaccination as treatment“I slept for around 4 hours after and my arm was only in pain for 2 days.” In context ↗ Side effects
- COVID vaccination as treatment“All the replica of long haul symptoms ... I did relapse but it was only for around 4 days.” Made symptoms worse
- “I’d smoke to help me eat but then the racing heart symptom kicked in and I had to stop.” In context ↗ Heart rhythm problems
Symptoms mentioned
Their words about their symptoms
- Post-exertional malaise
I pay for it the next day where I struggle to move out of my bed for hours.
In context ↗ - Brain fog
I still have brain fog and fatigue
In context ↗ - Sleep problems
I can sleep 12-14 hours a day
In context ↗ - Pain & fibromyalgia
No more muscle symptoms! I used to wake up with absolutely aching muscles everyday
In context ↗ - Headaches & migraine
When I used to read it would give me really bad headaches
In context ↗ - Gut problems
severe constipation
In context ↗ - Breathlessness
I would actually become out of breath which scared me
In context ↗ - Heart symptoms & palpitations
my heart beat races so fast and I’m out of breath
In context ↗ - Muscle weakness
my whole body feels so heavy
In context ↗ - Neuropathy & tingling
I still feel as if bugs are crawling under my skin
In context ↗ - Flu-like symptoms
I still get swollen lymph nodes and fever
In context ↗ - Loss of smell or taste
I can’t taste flavours though but I’m overall okay
In context ↗ - Tinnitus
I suspect my tinnitus is permanent
In context ↗ - Hair loss
my hair fell out in chunks and ruined my hairline
In context ↗
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