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Introduction: Welcome to Long Covid Tips

Background

Thank you for visiting my web site.  Like millions of others, a couple of months after I caught COVID in early 2020, I came down with a collection of life changing and seemingly random debilitating symptoms.  If you have heard of long-COVID, long-haulers, chronic fatigue syndrome, CFS, etc., my story may seem familiar.  In this blog I will share the methods, treatments and supplements that I use to manage my continuing long COVID symptoms and fight for a better life. 

Intended Audience

This site will be of most interest to people experiencing Long-COVID, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or similar post-viral issues. (It may surprise some to realize that chronic brain fog, fatigue, POTS, migraines and more trouble countless people after influenza and other viral infections.)  It will also be useful to anyone who knows a Long-COVID or CFS patient and would like to know more about the condition and understand that this is indeed a legitimate illness recognized by science, medical research hospitals, The American Medical Association, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Social Security Administration.

Format and Frequency

Articles will be written from my perspective with deliberate avoidance of persuasive language such as “you should…”. While I hope my comments give others helpful ideas, I am not a medical professional and am not qualified to tell others what to do aside from consulting with their doctors before trying anything.  Articles will be 1-2 pages in length, published at least monthly and when possible, will include links to things that help me and studies to support them. The focus will be on positives and things that help, rather than difficulties.

Symptoms I Am Learning to Manage

To help people relate to my situation and determine if it is relevant to their own, I will share some of my symptoms here in a big list this one time.  However, future articles will focus on how I fight these symptoms and not the misery that they cause:

  • Fatigue and exhaustion making it difficult to function and impossible to exercise 

    • Post-viral fatigue, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), long-COVID, long-haul COVID, post-COVID-19 (PCC), etc.

  • Permanent excruciating migraine headache so intense as to make thinking difficult

    • Post-viral intractable migraine with status migrainosus

  • Brain fog: feeling as if I am sedated or having my thoughts jammed, making it difficult to concentrate and find words or follow spoken conversations

  • Tinnitus: torturous high-pitched ringing sounds that come and go in both ears

  • Tachycardia and arrhythmia: ridiculously fast and erratic heart rate

  • Myalgia: intermittent intense deep muscle/bone aches with no apparent cause

  • Dizziness after changing postures or prolonged standing

  • Memory issues: I went from having an exceptional memory to struggling to remember to take pills or recall what I discussed 10 minutes ago unless I write it down

  • Nausea: it often has me dry-heaving between work calls and keeps me up at night

  • Shortness of breath and dry coughs

  • Pins and Needles: sharp stabbing pains like bee stings in feet and hands

  • Anxiety and inability to relax: long-COVID patients often have their fight or flight and adrenal response dialed up too high

Like many others, years later I still wake to discover which symptoms I will have that day, and at which levels of intensity.  I have seen practitioners of Pulmonology, Cardiology, Neurology, Immunology, Speech Language Pathology, general medicine, ER doctors and urgent care providers.  I have also enrolled in a long COVID recovery program with one of the nation’s best research hospitals.

Impacts of Long COVID

I was forced to reduce my work hours to remain functional and thus far have rejected medical advice to end my career and apply for disability.  While I do not know how much longer I can work, I want to remain productive and feel like I have something of value to offer.  This means that I spend most of time working, sleeping or researching ways to recover from Long COVID.

Purpose of www.LongCovidTips.com

I combined my science background, research skills and advice from an extensive medical team to identify an amalgam of medicines, treatments, supplements, and practices to help me hold it together and fight long COVID.  I am certain that without them I would have lost my career years ago.

I hope that by sharing here, I will help other long haulers feel less alone.  If I am lucky, my effort might spark ideas for other patients to discuss with their doctors.  And finally, I hope that by discussing these topics frankly and openly, others will share their helpful tips and positive experiences in the comments section.

© 2023 All rights reserved. This blog reflects the personal experience and opinions of a long COVID and CFS survivor and is not qualified medical advice. Consult a doctor for your situation.

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Comments

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I invite on-topic, helpful comments from readers with free Google accounts. I am especially interested in comments that share useful tips for fighting long-COVID, Chronic Fatigue, Chronic Pain and Migraines. Off-topic comments, comments that name other sites or products without including much relevant textual explanation, and comments disparaging any person or group will be deleted. As I am trying to keep this a positive place, I may also delete comments in a despairing tone that focus only on symptom misery rather than helpful ways to combat it. Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts and helpful tips!

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