How it went
Did it last?
- 2 of 7 said the benefit wore off.
- No one said they needed to keep it up to stay well.
Read from what people wrote. A story that ends without a follow-up counts as lasting, so treat these as minimums.
| Outcome described | Accounts | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Full recovery | 2 | 29% |
| Near-full | 1 | 14% |
| Substantial | 1 | 14% |
| Partial | 3 | 43% |
| Relapsed | 0 | 0% |
| No benefit | 0 | 0% |
Only 7 accounts. Treat these percentages as anecdotes, not rates.
By how ill people were
| Severity at worst | How it went | n | Recovered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moderate | 1 | 100% | |
| Severe | 2 | 50% | |
| Very severe | 1 | 100% |
3 accounts don’t say how ill the person was.
Who published these accounts
Right-hand number: share describing a full or near-full recovery. Pages that sell something, and advocacy sites, tend to publish only the successes.
How often it comes up
Posts that mention JAK inhibitors (Rinvoq, baricitinib), per 1,000 posts each year. Hover a point for the count.
Show as a table
| Year | Posts mentioning it | All posts | Per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 0 | 184 | 0.0 |
| 2010 | 0 | 682 | 0.0 |
| 2011 | 0 | 704 | 0.0 |
| 2012 | 0 | 1,491 | 0.0 |
| 2013 | 0 | 1,708 | 0.0 |
| 2014 | 0 | 2,352 | 0.0 |
| 2015 | 0 | 2,158 | 0.0 |
| 2016 | 0 | 1,431 | 0.0 |
| 2017 | 4 | 3,110 | 1.3 |
| 2018 | 0 | 2,201 | 0.0 |
| 2019 | 2 | 1,075 | 1.9 |
| 2020 | 1 | 2,581 | 0.4 |
| 2021 | 0 | 1,867 | 0.0 |
| 2022 | 0 | 1,166 | 0.0 |
| 2023 | 2 | 1,000 | 2.0 |
| 2024 | 19 | 1,237 | 15.4 |
| 2025 | 34 | 1,019 | 33.4 |
| 2026 (so far) | 1 | 840 | 1.2 |
Posts in the forum threads we archived, 26,806 in all, counted per year. A mention means the post names the treatment, not that the writer took it. These threads all contain a recovery story, so they show what those communities discussed, not everyone with ME/CFS or long COVID. All trends
All 7 accounts
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Monoclonal antibodies article comments (Chris)
Chris is participating in a Vanderbilt clinical trial of baricitinib for long COVID, having started the drug on October 18, 2025. He reported feeling "the best I have since I got Covid," becoming functional though still limited. As of his comment he was…
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Filgotinib (JAK1 inhibitor) - future of CFS/ME treatment
Took filgotinib 200mg for three days in early 2023, after about three years of suspected ME/CFS that at its worst left him housebound, able to walk ten minutes before needing hours of rest and to sit upright only twenty minutes at a stretch while working…
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Three clinical trials for Long COVID are testing JAK inhibitors (unnamed)
Credits upadacitinib. An unnamed patient had long COVID and reports a substantial improvement. Other two on the same drug worsened over six weeks.
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Three clinical trials for Long COVID are testing JAK inhibitors (Jen)
Jen took the JAK inhibitor upadacitinib (Rinvoq) for 66 days starting December 2023 before stopping early due to profound weakness and paralyzing fatigue with no apparent benefit while on the drug. She had suffered from severe myalgic encephalomyelitis for…
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JAK1 inhibitor Rinvoq quickly returns severely ill ME/CFS patient to health - Parts I and II
Took Rinvoq (upadacitinib) for two months without stating a dose, and describes it as not an easy drug to take. The gains were concentrated in the autonomic nervous system: orthostatic intolerance normalised with no further blood pressure drop or pre-syncope…
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From Severe ME/CFS to Healed: Jen's Remarkable Rinvoq ME/CFS Recovery Story
Jen, bedbound 90% of the time for 18 years with severe PEM and dysautonomia, took Rinvoq 15mg daily for 2 months until it was stopped due to a dangerously low white-cell count. She initially felt no better, but a few weeks after stopping the drug her…
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From Skeptic to Advocate: Wes Ely, Long COVID and his Baricitinib Trial
Nik took baricitinib for a few months as part of long-COVID treatment; the page does not say how long or how severely Nik had been ill beforehand. The drug worked well, reducing both post-exertional malaise and brain fog. Nik had to stop taking it, though,…