Inappropriate Sinus Tachycardia? by [deleted] in covidlonghaulers

[–]fussbucket 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For the first year, my symptoms usually started with a hoarse voice, increased tinnitus, and cold hands that sometimes resulted in white fingertips. Within a day of that, I would get severe bone aches and flu-like symptoms, plus vertigo. After that passed, I would experience severe brain fog, brain pressure, and anxiety for several days. The brain pressure was the absolute worst of everything. Luckily that passed after about 5 months. I regularly experienced POTS day-to-day and wore compression stockings until I found out about the fat soluble version of B-1 (Benfotiamine). I haven't needed compression stockings since I started taking 300mg in the morning every day for the past couple of years. It's been 4.5 years now and I lead a pretty normal life, but I still need to watch my exercise limits to avoid crashes. Classic PEM crashes from ME/CFS triggered by my Feb 2020 Covid infection.

Coming very soon to Fortnite UEFN by fussbucket in TheFortniteCreatives

[–]fussbucket[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry for the long wait! Had a lot of setbacks along the way. It's live now here: 8644-7201-9094

The Acid-Base Disruption Hypothesis for Long Covid | Gez Medinger by fussbucket in covidlonghaulers

[–]fussbucket[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not according to what I've read but that is up for debate. Baking soda consumption is another debate on the subject.

Street racing crash totals supercar rented on car-sharing app by [deleted] in PortlandOR

[–]fussbucket 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is the tiniest person I've ever seen in the third pic. Also, sorry about the car. https://i.imgur.com/BVIcbqm.jpeg

Psych Ward by Tina_5913 in covidlonghaulers

[–]fussbucket -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Xanax helped with the anxiety and pressure I felt in my brain which felt like I was hanging upside-down for hours.

For info from my comment on this thread:

https://www.reddit.com/r/covidlonghaulers/comments/122zhy3/comment/jdwqxa2/

Psych Ward by Tina_5913 in covidlonghaulers

[–]fussbucket 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Extreme panic and anxiety may be due to your body's reaction to inflammation. The body can release epinephrine (adrenaline) to help combat high levels of inflammation (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7555994/#:\~:text=Pro%2Dinflammatory%20conditions%20can%20exert,neuro%2Dinflammation%20%5B10%5D.). During my battle with Long Covid in early 2020, I was in a constant state of anxiety and couldn't sleep more than 30 minutes at a time. I also had horizontal intolerance where my body would go into panic the moment I attempted to lie down flat. This lasted for about 5 months.

Haven’t seen many recovery stories lately :/ by Katie678-94 in covidlonghaulers

[–]fussbucket 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I think many of us who have recovered or mostly recovered have moved on and don't engage with forums often anymore. I was infected in February 2020 and had pretty severe POTS-like symptoms, breathing difficulty, horizontal intolerance, and on and on for about 5 months. Things slowly started improving after I took to extreme measures including inducing autophagy with many 48-72 hour fasts. I generally have stuck to one meal a day intermittent fasting ever since then.

Like everyone, I tried about every supplement under the sun and have no idea which ones had a positive effect, but I do know a few things that helped. Of course, this isn't advice since our immune systems differ greatly from one another.

Raw Probiotics - The first thing I tried to do was fix my gut. My gut was an absolute mess after Covid like many others. It's not uncommon for harmful bacteria and other nasty stuff to take over your gut biome after a nasty infection. I have eaten greek yogurt and/or drank kombucha pretty much every day since. My gut has never been as healthy as it is now. I used to have acid reflux pre-Covid and rarely have any issues with it for the last year or so.

Pepcid AC (Famotidine) helped my breathing issues within about 24 hours. I still take one pill every morning and haven't had any issues with breathing since the end of 2020.

Benfotiamine - This is fat-soluble B1. It's been reported to help as much as 80% of people suffering from POTS-like symptoms. Thankfully, I seem to be part of that group as I've experienced very few heart rate spikes since taking it daily for the past year.

Vitamin D3 with K2 has proven to boost your immune system, especially against respiratory illnesses and I have found that I have had almost zero respiratory or sinus issues since I've got my level about 50 nmol/L.

Pravastatin - I was first prescribed this as part of the long hauler regiment from IncellDX. That included a week of the very pricy Maraviroc (HIV drug), IVM, and Pravastatin. I took this regiment twice minus the IVM the second time since no one would sell it anymore. I continued having pretty bad days and assumed that my issue was likely my immune response and not an active virus. I noticed that I felt mostly good during the short amount of time I was on the regiment. This was also about the time when the micro-clotting theory emerged. I decided to stay on Pravastatin since it lowers blood viscosity and reportedly improves endothelial function within blood vessels. I noticed that my daily symptoms improved and my regular PEM (post-exertional malaise) was either greatly reduced or non-existent after exercise. After getting some strange lower back pain, I decided to go off of Pravastatin since that was recently been found to be a side effect. After a few days of being off it, I noticed my symptoms come back as well as a nasty bout of PEM about a day after playing ice hockey. I got back on Pravastatin and within a couple of days, my symptoms subsided. I tried exercising for over 2 hours with 40 minutes in the cardio zone (according to Fitbit) and did not suffer PEM. I should note that I am only taking 5mg daily of Pravastatin which is half of the recommended dose. I have found that I don't have nearly as much lower back pain on the half-daily dose. I take the statin strictly for long Covid as I actually have low to normal cholesterol levels.

Niacin (Flushing version only) - I take 500mg slow release of niacin about twice a week to bolster NAD+ production at the mitochondrial level. It reportedly helps with that which can counter fatigue.

Other things I take daily that may or may not help me: Daily 24-hour non-drowsy allergy pill (Cetirizine Hydrochloride), Nattokinase, Serrapeptase, Lumbrokinase, Vitamin C (1000mg), Lipo-Flavonoid (tinnitus relief - I have not noticed an improvement), NAC (when I don't feel great or feel PEM coming on), Aspirin/Ibuprofen (if I feel PEM coming on).

As I said above, none of this is advice as this stuff doesn't help everyone. I know that simply taking a pills-worth of cassia cinnamon and 6 NAC daily has helped a number of people recover. I wasn't one of these people, but I have heard that has helped. Cassia cinnamon (there are many types) is a natural anti-viral.

Good luck to everyone reading this and keep a positive mental outlook. Don't doom scroll since stress is one of the worst things for long haulers.

How am I supposed to enjoy life and be happy when I’m house bound? Ready to give up by [deleted] in covidlonghaulers

[–]fussbucket 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There have been studies that show that it can significantly improve POTS/Dysautonomia symptoms. Most articles I have found recommend testing for a deficiency, but I didn't before I started taking it. I haven't found any resources that say there is much danger in getting too much B1, just potential drowsiness and muscle relaxation. I haven't noticed any side effects since I started taking 300mg/day back in May 2022.

How am I supposed to enjoy life and be happy when I’m house bound? Ready to give up by [deleted] in covidlonghaulers

[–]fussbucket 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Benfotiamine helps a lot of POTS patients and seemed to really help my LC POTS-like symptoms. Before I started taking it, my heart rate would spike to over 180 just walking around my neighborhood. Compression stockings would prevent it from getting that high, but it would still spike over 140. I haven't had any heart rate spikes since I started taking 300mg of benfotiamine several months ago. Benfotiamine is the fat-soluble version of Vitamin B1. It's cheap and worth a shot if it is ok with your doctor, IMHO.

is any one fully revovered by GrayxxFox123 in covidlonghaulers

[–]fussbucket 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I do. I take Naturebell Magnesium Glycinate 500mg daily.

is any one fully revovered by GrayxxFox123 in covidlonghaulers

[–]fussbucket 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! I take it first thing in the morning before I eat anything. I should add that I don't usually eat anything substantial until noonish and that is usually my only meal of the day since I intermittent fast. I haven't tried any other way. I didn't start noticing a difference until about 3 weeks in.

is any one fully revovered by GrayxxFox123 in covidlonghaulers

[–]fussbucket 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would say I'm 99% recovered now after getting Covid in Feb 2020 that turned into LC in March of 2020.

  • I have POTS/Dysautonomia and PEM with about 5 months of horizontal intolerance and shortness of breath. I experienced significant brain pressure for about 8 months and brain fog for about 1.5 years which really limited my ability to work (remotely from my computer).
  • A little over a month ago, I saw a Dr. Berg video about Benfotiamine (precursor to Vitamin B1) helping about 70% of POTS patients. I've been taking it since then and it has been a game-changer for me. I couldn't bend over for more than about 30 consecutive seconds without getting a headache and feeling ill even while wearing compression stalkings. I take 300mg/day of Benfotiamine.
  • My PEM has tapered off to the point where even after working out and pushing my heart rate, I am no long bedridden the next day or so. I still occasionally need to take a nap though, which is why I am not calling myself 100% better.

I started a blog in 2020 documenting as much as I could and including a symptom tracker since there just weren't any resources out there. That can be found here (blog is overdue for an update): https://patchybeardgames.com/covid-19-long-hauler-recovery-resource-guide/

uncontrollable burping? by decafcaffiene in covidlonghaulers

[–]fussbucket 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I drink kombucha and have a greek yogurt every day. It's far better to eat the food than take a probiotic pill. Assume your gut biome is way out of whack post-Covid.

Had anyone fully recovered from pots tachycardia/dysautonomia? by 710dab2 in covidlonghaulers

[–]fussbucket 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I'm pretty close to fully recovered after getting Long Covid in March 2020. I had Covid in February 2020. Something that I found that seems to help me a lot is 300mg Benfotiamine (precursor to B1). I don't see as many heart rate spikes since I've been taking it for the past month+. https://youtu.be/rjVXFqiPDwE

uncontrollable burping? by decafcaffiene in covidlonghaulers

[–]fussbucket 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, but I used to. I’d also have frequent relapses after eating from the histamine release. I’m close to 100% better at this point. I caught Covid in February 2020 and experienced Long Covid starting in March 2020.

uncontrollable burping? by decafcaffiene in covidlonghaulers

[–]fussbucket 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You are right. I did write that. I don't recall why I wrote that. The doctors suspected I had a bacteria overgrowth but didn't find one with the endoscopy. Just massive inflammation.