• Welcome to Phoenix Rising!

    Created in 2008, Phoenix Rising is the largest and oldest forum dedicated to furthering the understanding of and finding treatments for complex chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia (FM), long COVID, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and allied diseases.

    To become a member, simply click the Register button at the top right.

Who has had Covid-19?

Messages
73
I have long Covid (into my 5th week now), and I wanted to see if I could learn from the experiences of others here. I was not well before I got Covid. No CFS diagnosis, but definitely fit the profile. Also important possibly: this is my second time with Covid. The first time was somewhat mild. I took two days worth of Ivermectin that time, so that could have helped some. But I could not continue with it as it gave me serious side effects. This one has been much worse than the last time I had it.

My biggest problem is that the infection seems to have attacked my brain and nervous system. I have severe anxiety, insomnia, tachycardia, brain fog, muscle jerks, air hunger, and pain. Almost anything I take to try to treat it actually makes me worse because the anxiety and insomnia become unbearable. The only supplements I've been able to hang on to are vitamin C, magnesium, calcium d-glucarate, quercetin, and an herbal lung support formula. But anything that aggressively goes after the virus such as black seed oil or olive leaf extract will make the neurological symptoms much worse. Early on I tried azythromycin and that sent me into a tailspin.

I bought some vitamin B1 and some niacin in hopes those will be tolerable and help me to make some headway against this thing, but I don't have very high hopes that I will be able to take them.
 

Wishful

Senior Member
Messages
5,679
Location
Alberta
I picked up a flu virus last Thursday, on a trip to town. Just three stores, quick in-and-out, wore my mask, had my second vaccine last month, but still picked something up. Yesterday I felt the usual whole-body, bone-deep aches so familiar from previous flu infections. When I was sure that it was a flu, I took two elderberry gummies, which are my go-to for boosting my t-cells. My temperature peaked at 37.7 at 3 AM, but is back to normal today, and the aches are noticeably reduced.

I don't know what flu virus this is, since it didn't come labelled.
 

Judee

Psalm 46:1-3
Messages
4,461
Location
Great Lakes
Boswellia seems to take my swollen brain feeling down. Not sure it would work in this case but it is supposed to be "neuroprotective."

Also it goes without saying but I'll say it anyway...AGGRESSIVE REST THERAPY.

Rest in bed until you are bored out of your mind and then when you think you've had enough rest...rest some more. :)
 

Wishful

Senior Member
Messages
5,679
Location
Alberta
Whew, I feel like I dodged a bullet, or maybe a nasty barbed&poisoned harpoon. As the flu symptoms increased, I wondered if I'd be one of those in an ICU or develop long-covid. Nope, I felt pretty good this morning, and felt up to a nice walk in the woods. There's still a slight trace of flue-aches, but that's about it. If it was Covid, hopefully I'm now even more immune. :)

Yesterday, when my flue aches were quite bad, I realized that they felt exactly like the muscle aches I felt from my ME years ago, which I successfully blocked with LDN. I still had some (5 years past expiry date :wide-eyed:) and took a capsule. The aches started fading an hour or two later. I can't be certain that the LDN was responsible, but if anyone gets frequent viral infections with bad aches, I suggest considering giving LDN a try. Taking NSAIDs for the pain seems like a bad idea, since infection is your immune system battling the virus, so why would you intentionally cripple your soldiers?

I also highly recommend elderberries (real or extract products) when you feel a viral infection starting up. Maybe they don't boost everyone's t-cells as strongly as they do mine, but elderberries aren't expensive or dangerous, so why not give them a try? BTW, there's a version of Sambuca (liquor) made from elderberries, so if you feel a need for an excuse for an alcoholic drink, you can say it's antiviral. ;)
 

pamojja

Senior Member
Messages
2,384
Location
Austria
I have long Covid (into my 5th week now), and I wanted to see if I could learn from the experiences of others here. I was not well before I got Covid.

How you are now? Don't think my experience will help you much, but here it is for perspective:

Had a running nose on Monday evening the 20th September, when I used up a dozen hankerchiefs. Next day gone again. Wednesday took an antigen and a PCR for 2 events requiring testing. Antigen negative, PCR with a CT-value of 37.8 (above 30 considered very unlikely infectious to others) the next day positive. Been in self-isolation since (7 days) with absolutely no symptoms and the isolation terminated earlier today due to a second PCR without dedectible levels.

Means I'm considered 'recovered' now, and therefore for 6 months excempted from having to be tested for public events, restaurants, or crossing the border. Also weekly at my working-place. Which is a relieve, but in this way also the case with the majority of covid patients. However, considering the vaccine-failure now occuring in one of the earliest and most vaccinated countries like Israel (limiting there the validity of full vaccination to already half a year only), it would be realy scarry. Because here vaccinated don't have to test even for up to 1 year (an positive antibody test is valid for 3 months).

However, looking at overall excess mortality from an official Eurpean monitoring site: https://www.euromomo.eu/graphs-and-maps there hasn't been any of any of the 29 monitored regions in most of Europe already since April.

What helped in my case - if it wasn't as I suspect one of those many false positves or simply too mild as the vast majority - was comprehensive supplementation and life-style changes, with already caused remission of COPD in 2013, of a walking-disabilty from PAD in 2017, and remaining post-exertional malaise 2 years later. More about that here: https://www.longecity.org/forum/stacks/stack/111-pad-and-additional-remissions/

I too thought had caught covid in February/March '20 with much lasting symptoms of a cold (weeks), like throat-pain and that bad, I stayed out of tropical ocean waters during my vacations for 1 week. Additionally I've been sleeping for hours right beside a Chinese couple caughing all the time just before at Oman Airport. However, an antibody test this March showed negative.

Did you do any testing for your 2 covids?