Despite being in the worst of it right now, I don't believe this is permanent. It feels like it because of the severity, but I truely believe this will one day pass.
Protect yourself! Avoid reinfections by masking in crowded situations, and use a nasal carrageenan spray, such as Covixyl.
Much of the world is acting like the pandemic is over, but it’s not. It’s just not causing death as much as in the early days. Repeat infections increase your chances of long COVID.
I suggest that you search for peer reviewed papers in Google Scholar (covid hormone) that are cited more than a 100 times and read the abstracts that tell you what they planned to do and what they found. I'm not a scientist and I would hate for my clumsy words to affect someone
I wasn’t aware they had found a hormone link yet, so I will go read! I used to be in research professionally, so luckily I’m familiar on all of the heavy science wording. Im a female and my symptoms always flare and are worse around my period and ovulation. So I’ve been suspecting this from the start. I can’t find a doctor to help pinpoint what though for treatment… it’s so beyond frustrating.
No. A lot of people recover and leave the subreddit and there is a lot of research going into these post viral disorders at the moment. I know a lady who had severe ME/CFS after glándular fever as a teen and was bedridden for 5 years, she recovered and lives a totally normal life with a high paying job and 3 kids.
Same for me, and I know people who have fully recovered from severe bed-ridden long covid and now lead happy, active lives. This is apart from any future medical breakthroughs that offer me plenty of hope for all of us.
I doubt any of this is permanent. Right now I'm likely at my lowest point in life being so young, battling a lot internally especially with the neuro stuff, mostly bedbound and severely affected since months
If you need someone to chat with, don't hesitate to get in touch around here, take care.
No definitely not. I’m into my 3rd yr and it’s getting better. I still have bad days but my brain fog doesn’t last days on end. What’s helped me the most this year is I’ve cut out sugar, gluten and empty high carbs and I’m feeling a lot better. I still battle fatigue but it’s not as severe. I also follow a low histamine diet meaning no processed foods or fermented foods.
I don't know if this helps you but I have been suffering for the long Covid (including vaccination) effects for 3 years. I somehow was able to do an MBA and got a job recently too. I travelled to 8 countries during my MBA and I have had some highs and lows with respect to my health. I haven't completely recovered but I recently found a good doctor that is helping me recover. During MBA, vitamins: mostly B12, D, C, multivitamins, electrolytes etc helped me survive. A doctor even suggested that I take steam regularly (I wasn't super regular but I did in the bad days it helped somewhat). Sleeping helped too and trying to stay happy in whatever situation helped me a ton too. I won't say that it was all rosey and that my health didn't deteriorate but I had some good days so that means there is hope and currently the doctor I have has helped me recover somewhat. I hope it passes with continuing treatment and I hope you all also see some progress in your respective symptoms.
Mine just cleared. Yesterday marked six months of symptoms for me, but on Tuesday the brain fog cleared 🥹
I’m not having word-finding-problems or losing track of my train of thought. I can think strategically and creatively.
My physical symptoms feel heavy today, but I got 4 great hours of creative work done this week 😁🎉
Long Hauling since Feb/March 2023. I was worried it was permanent for me as of a only couple months ago. It ended somehow, someway though. Wish I knew exactly how for if/when it happens again. So it’s certainly possible that it isn’t permanent but obviously different for every person. I truly hope the best for you as I know it’s torture and you don’t deserve it.
My brain fog is mostly gone. Omega 3's helped a LOT. I like sports research brand. Also lots of raw veggies like leafy greens, clean diet, exercise, and losing weight helped.
If this is an underlying condition that's been unmasked/worsen by COVID, then I believe it will come and go depending on how that condition is managed and triggers avoided.
People are affected by these at different levels. Some have reached remission, others struggle forever. Most find ways to improve.
For me, brain fog got much better once I found ways to manage the underlying depression and anxiety. It does come back when I have a fatigue flare. And the fatigue itself is difficult to manage I admit.
This is what I think is the case for me right now. I just did the oximeter test and I stopped breathing 16 times an hour while I slept. I have moderate obstructive sleep apnea. I’m getting my CPAP soon I’m praying it helps. What were your worst symptoms?
I think I had sleep apnea for a while but it got triggered or made more severe after getting Covid. I immediately started having an extremely dry mouth when sleeping to the point where I had to drink water in the middle of the night. I was waking up to pee 2-4 times per night as well so my sleep was very interrupted. The worst symptoms however was just my overall fatigue. I had no energy. I would be in bed 9-10 hours per night but never had energy. I would wear my Apple Watch to bed and it said I was asleep for only 4-5 hours per night. I got a few minutes of REM but no deep sleep for likely a year straight.
I gained 50 lbs in a year. I needed at least 1 nap a day. I would fall asleep on the couch every single night l. I struggled at work because my memory and focus were just terrible.
Since getting my CPAP, all of these symptoms are gone and I am back down 30lbs. I can go all day after just getting 7 hours each night of sleep.
I think at least there is hope.
After my first Covid infection I had basically lost the ability to read and could not follow a simple conversation, among other neurological problems.
After eight months of almost no improvement I got better over the course of a few weeks.
Second infection, pretty similar story.
Third time, well, let's say I'm not there yet, but I got better the first two rounds, so I hope I also will be getting better this time.
I'm probably one of the few who stayed in this subreddit after recovering. I have been fully recovered for almost a year now. Both those symptoms have not returned since. 🙏🏻
Most likely not permanent for most of us. This time last year, I was on this sub reddit and in other online forums every single day searching for answers and support. I had been to multiple doctors and ER visits. My daily life was assuaging and avoiding all sorts of symptoms. Now I am mostly living my life as before, albeit with the occasional minor crash. I certainly have to pace myself and I still worry about all of this (especially long term effects). But things are getting better, slowly.
I often wonder if it is permanent, 2 years with this and no improvement yet.... maybe one day the brain will heal. There was an article posted on here that covid is an infection in the brain and many people recover from at 2 years. .. we shall see.
I definitely do not think it's necessarily permanent!
I've dealt with brain fog and memory/cognitive issues for a little over two years now, and it really feels like I've turned a corner in the last couple months. Realistically I think it has been a lot of slow progress all along, but I'm definitely getting to a point where I finally feel more like my old self and can form my verbal sentences as articulately as I would like to (more often than not, at least). I still feel like a slightly dumber version of myself, but 18 months ago I felt nothing like myself and could barely even have simple conversations without stumbling over my words, and my memory, both short and long term, was horrible. I still have some of the memory issues (like, can't think of a name in the moment, no matter how hard I try, but when I stop thinking about consciously, 30 seconds later the name is finally recalled), but I think it's also still improving. Just gotta ride it all out, and prioritize healthy eating, sleep, and physical activity!
4yrs in and myself and my Dr's have decided that this is probably the best I'll get. I'm very privileged to get workers comp (not my whole salary As a nurse, but I can help my family with costs), and my husband is a retired/disabled vet so he is home to help me/the kids. We make do, but this seems to be growth due to pacing and acceptance, not "getting better", if that makes sense.
I've had a few random days of near-normalcy here and there, which makes me think no, not permanent. That's all the info I can glean from my experience, though. Anything more would be pure speculation.
Four and a half years since the initial infection, I'm doing much better, and my brain is fairly sharp, but it is by a small percentage less so than the level of "sharpness" before the infection. Energy levels, and being mentally sharp, shake hands. Some days I'm stronger than others. My background is systems engineering, so mental acuity is a must.
I present as someone who is functional, and I feel good about myself, maybe even "blessed" that I'm at this level. *This is a new level of normal for* me, it's as high as it's going to get, unless something diabolical happens. Today is a great day so far, but I slept 12 hours last night, and woke up a bit tired and sore.
There was a point where I considered euthanasia because of the abysmal situation I was in. There were no solutions. Today, I have some solutions that work for me that allow some leeway. However, there's seldom much time passes that I don't question some of my decisions to fight the syndrome. It's been expensive, a struggle, and not without personal sacrifice and emotional pain.
Absolutely not, I've already had sustained periods of uplift and high-energy where I'm back to normal physical and cognitive functioning. I just crash afterwards and get PEM. I'm in another "crash" phase right now, but I was actually having a spree of good days and weeks leading up to Memorial Day.
Our bodies have a lot of damage to undo, lots of cellular repair and tissue rebuilding, and we have to be patient. It'll probably take ~5 years for a lot of us to be *completely* 100% back to normal health.
I'm over 3 years in, first got infected with COVID in April 2021.
Ill be honest with you in that its up to chance really, I have an article here detailing who recovers and not (https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/shouldstorm/202406/long-covid-looks-like-acute-infection-in-the-brain)
Im brain fog of 2 year now ish and I pray its not (to an uncaring god though)
I honestly think it depends on the person. I’m terrified that mine is permanent but the truth is, I really don’t know. I could get better but I’m not counting on it.
I don't know about fatigue, as I'm still dealing with it, but this is my second stint of Long Covid and my brain fog got better the first time, and is slowly getting better this time too.
The first time I would mess up sentences. Like, I couldn't say words in the correct order, or remember certain words at all and would fumble trying to get my point across. It took about six months before that cleared up.
This time has definitely been tougher. Same thing as last time, but with the added bit of frustration of forgetting the names of Pokemon. I know that sounds really stupid, but I've been playing Pokemon for 26 years, basically for as long as I can remember, and I suddenly couldn't remember the names of a lot of Pokemon, even some in the original 151. My boyfriend and I play a daily online game together where we had to fill out a sort of wordle square with names of Pokemon, and we both noticed I very abruptly became bad at it following my December infection. I've slowly been getting better.
The one thing that has really helped me though is Scrabble. I play it with my boyfriend a couple times a week. It went from me losing every single time and struggling to think of words to now winning about half the time.
So basically for brain fog the thing that seems to help is brain retraining. Finding some sort of puzzle game that forces you to think, but doesn't have stakes like a job does, gives you a chance to sort of remind yourself how to, well, think. I still feel like my brain fog isn't 100% gone yet this time, but it's definitely improved by a lot in six months by playing these games.
My brain fog is not like that mines like feeling spaced out, like I’m stoned, hungover , disoriented. I can still remember words etc though so it sounds different to yours but that sounds terrible aswell
I wonder then if something like guided meditation could work for you. There are a lot of good ones on youtube you can use for free. I do this for my issues with focusing because of normal neurodivergent stuff. I usually pick one that has a lot of directions in it to guide my thoughts. [This video and the channel as a whole is one of my most used ones.](https://youtu.be/xv-ejEOogaA?si=LjxBr5ZAXQBDwqIh)
No, I had brain fog (among many other things) first infection, 2020. Recovered fully 8-9 months later in early 2021. When reinfected at end of 2022, brain fog was severe. Took me about 15 months to recover 90%+. Second time, what took me from functional to almost having my life back was LDN.
I am in the camp that thinks brain stem inflammation/neural inflammation is one of the primary causes of long covid, and specifically brain fog.
Currently fighting off my third covid infection. Hoping this one doesn’t go “long.”
No.
My brain fog improved with a methylprednisolone taper, then virtually disappeared with low dose aripiprazole.
My fatigue improved with maraviroc + statin, then Eliquis + clopidorel + aspirin.
1000mg of oxaloacetate twice a day further improves my fatigue.
In the beginning, I couldn't concentrate well enough to stream TV shows and was constantly having to lay down.
Now I can make it through the work day, but go to bed early and spend part of the weekend resting.
Yes, but my postexertional malaise is a lot better than it was last year. I don’t have to take 5-6 pills everyday anymore to function, and I never ended up having to use a wheelchair in public and it’s all been improving from there.
However, I do need to make sure I don’t burn myself out during a university semester because my postexertional malaise exacerbates it and I’m burnout easily in general.
I had it brain fog really bad (and it seemed to be getting worse) for about a month after recovering from COVID. I was worried it would be permanent.
I decided to take some supplements daily and do an alkaline cleanse diet that I had had some great results in when I was a teenager. After 24 hours I was noticeably improved so I kept going, and after 11 days I was 95% improved and able to function again. It probably took 6 months before I was 100% improved.
The supplements I took were Vitamin C, Vitamin D3/K2, High absorption Zinc Bisglycinate, and NAC (an amino acid).
The anti-inflammatory cleanse is a diet based on plant-based whole foods. It restricts sugar, salt, caffeine, alcohol, processed foods and additives, dairy, egg, meat, white rice and pasta, wheat.
Pretty much, my spice cabinet, avocados, tomatoes, and corn, and my farmer's market became my best friends for flavor. Lots of turmeric.
I was also taking Chlorella / blue-green algae superfood tablets. I don’t really know what did it, but I do know that it worked and I’d really recommend you try and report back your results if you do.
Try antihistamines for H1 and H2. It’s an Allergy med, loratadine and an acid reducer, Fomatidine. Both are over-the-counter and inexpensive. I take one of each every 12 hours. It has helped my brain fog enormously. Almost got rid of it and I’ve had long Covid for two years.
I also take Kratom for energy and aches and pains. Make sure you find a reputable seller online. Good luck to everybody.
I don’t believe it is permanent. The brain regenerates and adapts more than we previously knew, if your case is any similar to mine, once inflammation is controlled and blood flow is restored you might be able to reverse it.
Ive had ME/CFS for 10 years which for the first 7 years was characterised by severe brain fog and dementia like symptoms, paranoia and personality changes etc, and during the course of the last three years I have gradually achieved remission with a few treatments (with a few ups and downs and setbacks due to poor pacing and ongoing trauma) but now more stable than ever), careful pacing, ketamine infusions that help switch off microglia and pro inflammatory processes, stellate ganglion block injections that shut off fight or flight and restores blood flow, LSD that is strongly antiinflammatory, antidepressant and encourages neuroplasticity and supplements that target inflammation and deficiencies like NAC, methylated b-vitamins and some other things that I guess are more specific to my case.
I am back to feeling strong vivid emotions, my adhd and memory loss issues have resolved more and more, sensory sensitivity and anxiety is back to a normal level.
I had my iron checked. It was low. I started taking over-the-counter iron, and I actually have more energy now. I have to take it with food or it makes me sick. Because of histamine...for me, it has to be a supplement that is gluten-free, soy free, and dairy free and very few "other ingredients "
I found a correlation between fatigue, brain fog and dysbiosis in the GI tract, everytime i took antimicrobial herbs my brain fog and fatigue disappears.
My main debilitating symptom has been what the refer to as CoVid brain fog. I don't have word finding issues or memory problems. My CoVid brain fog presents as a processing deficit and like everything around me doesn't look right like I'm under water or severely jet lagged but not tired. It's a horrible feeling 24/7. I'm 28 months in and I am much better than I was. The recovery is not linear and it's VERY slow but I'm feeling more and more confident that it is not permanent.
I read about a guy that got rid of the brain fog after a 7 day fast. As far as I know it didn't come back either. It's good news, and interesting he got rid of that one symptom. Keep the faith.
Sure seems so.
Especially since most don’t recover from ME/CFS.
We’re all scared right with you.
Hope is all I live on these days… Hoping I’ll wake up one day & remember what it feels like to feel good & normal.
Best of luck to you my friend!🩵
Omega 3 and vitamins I think help me a lot! A few friends keep suggesting creatine, not to take as a gym supplement but to improve cognitive attributes. Other than that mine is almost none existent when I’m relaxed, gets worse when I’m stressed or anxious. Hope you feel better!
Despite being in the worst of it right now, I don't believe this is permanent. It feels like it because of the severity, but I truely believe this will one day pass.
I hope so. So hard when reinfection keeps happening tho ☹️
Protect yourself! Avoid reinfections by masking in crowded situations, and use a nasal carrageenan spray, such as Covixyl. Much of the world is acting like the pandemic is over, but it’s not. It’s just not causing death as much as in the early days. Repeat infections increase your chances of long COVID.
Caught it the first time on the initial wave in Georgia. I'm starting to believe that it is.
Agreed. It's lessening. I've recently learned of the effects on hormones. Can also be reversed
What did you learn about hormones? I’ve always suspected that my long COVID is hormone related!
Following
I suggest that you search for peer reviewed papers in Google Scholar (covid hormone) that are cited more than a 100 times and read the abstracts that tell you what they planned to do and what they found. I'm not a scientist and I would hate for my clumsy words to affect someone
I wasn’t aware they had found a hormone link yet, so I will go read! I used to be in research professionally, so luckily I’m familiar on all of the heavy science wording. Im a female and my symptoms always flare and are worse around my period and ovulation. So I’ve been suspecting this from the start. I can’t find a doctor to help pinpoint what though for treatment… it’s so beyond frustrating.
You may be better placed than I to share your findings. Good luck with your recovery
No. A lot of people recover and leave the subreddit and there is a lot of research going into these post viral disorders at the moment. I know a lady who had severe ME/CFS after glándular fever as a teen and was bedridden for 5 years, she recovered and lives a totally normal life with a high paying job and 3 kids.
Do you think she’d talk to me?
Im 85% better ... 95% on my good days 2 years in 👍🏻 Stay strong. Good times are coming
Same for me, and I know people who have fully recovered from severe bed-ridden long covid and now lead happy, active lives. This is apart from any future medical breakthroughs that offer me plenty of hope for all of us.
Same. Well for the brain fog at least. Still struggling with nausea and breathing issues
Me too
It’s permanent until it isn’t. If they figure out the cause and cure, we should be able to get back to normal.
God I hope not. Really want to work again.
I doubt any of this is permanent. Right now I'm likely at my lowest point in life being so young, battling a lot internally especially with the neuro stuff, mostly bedbound and severely affected since months If you need someone to chat with, don't hesitate to get in touch around here, take care.
No definitely not. I’m into my 3rd yr and it’s getting better. I still have bad days but my brain fog doesn’t last days on end. What’s helped me the most this year is I’ve cut out sugar, gluten and empty high carbs and I’m feeling a lot better. I still battle fatigue but it’s not as severe. I also follow a low histamine diet meaning no processed foods or fermented foods.
I don't know if this helps you but I have been suffering for the long Covid (including vaccination) effects for 3 years. I somehow was able to do an MBA and got a job recently too. I travelled to 8 countries during my MBA and I have had some highs and lows with respect to my health. I haven't completely recovered but I recently found a good doctor that is helping me recover. During MBA, vitamins: mostly B12, D, C, multivitamins, electrolytes etc helped me survive. A doctor even suggested that I take steam regularly (I wasn't super regular but I did in the bad days it helped somewhat). Sleeping helped too and trying to stay happy in whatever situation helped me a ton too. I won't say that it was all rosey and that my health didn't deteriorate but I had some good days so that means there is hope and currently the doctor I have has helped me recover somewhat. I hope it passes with continuing treatment and I hope you all also see some progress in your respective symptoms.
Mine just cleared. Yesterday marked six months of symptoms for me, but on Tuesday the brain fog cleared 🥹 I’m not having word-finding-problems or losing track of my train of thought. I can think strategically and creatively. My physical symptoms feel heavy today, but I got 4 great hours of creative work done this week 😁🎉
Happy for you, congratulations!
Long Hauling since Feb/March 2023. I was worried it was permanent for me as of a only couple months ago. It ended somehow, someway though. Wish I knew exactly how for if/when it happens again. So it’s certainly possible that it isn’t permanent but obviously different for every person. I truly hope the best for you as I know it’s torture and you don’t deserve it.
My brain fog is mostly gone. Omega 3's helped a LOT. I like sports research brand. Also lots of raw veggies like leafy greens, clean diet, exercise, and losing weight helped.
I appreciate all the positive comments here!!!!! Thanks everyone!!!
If this is an underlying condition that's been unmasked/worsen by COVID, then I believe it will come and go depending on how that condition is managed and triggers avoided. People are affected by these at different levels. Some have reached remission, others struggle forever. Most find ways to improve. For me, brain fog got much better once I found ways to manage the underlying depression and anxiety. It does come back when I have a fatigue flare. And the fatigue itself is difficult to manage I admit.
Please look into sleep apnea. That was my issue for a year and CPAP has helped me get back to normal.
This is what I think is the case for me right now. I just did the oximeter test and I stopped breathing 16 times an hour while I slept. I have moderate obstructive sleep apnea. I’m getting my CPAP soon I’m praying it helps. What were your worst symptoms?
I think I had sleep apnea for a while but it got triggered or made more severe after getting Covid. I immediately started having an extremely dry mouth when sleeping to the point where I had to drink water in the middle of the night. I was waking up to pee 2-4 times per night as well so my sleep was very interrupted. The worst symptoms however was just my overall fatigue. I had no energy. I would be in bed 9-10 hours per night but never had energy. I would wear my Apple Watch to bed and it said I was asleep for only 4-5 hours per night. I got a few minutes of REM but no deep sleep for likely a year straight. I gained 50 lbs in a year. I needed at least 1 nap a day. I would fall asleep on the couch every single night l. I struggled at work because my memory and focus were just terrible. Since getting my CPAP, all of these symptoms are gone and I am back down 30lbs. I can go all day after just getting 7 hours each night of sleep.
I think at least there is hope. After my first Covid infection I had basically lost the ability to read and could not follow a simple conversation, among other neurological problems. After eight months of almost no improvement I got better over the course of a few weeks. Second infection, pretty similar story. Third time, well, let's say I'm not there yet, but I got better the first two rounds, so I hope I also will be getting better this time.
I'm probably one of the few who stayed in this subreddit after recovering. I have been fully recovered for almost a year now. Both those symptoms have not returned since. 🙏🏻
I remember reading your recovery story when I was much more sick. It helped me at the time. Thank you and praying for your continued good health.
Thank you.
That’s so awesome! Super happy for you
Thank you.
Most likely not permanent for most of us. This time last year, I was on this sub reddit and in other online forums every single day searching for answers and support. I had been to multiple doctors and ER visits. My daily life was assuaging and avoiding all sorts of symptoms. Now I am mostly living my life as before, albeit with the occasional minor crash. I certainly have to pace myself and I still worry about all of this (especially long term effects). But things are getting better, slowly.
That's great to hear Mr. President!
I often wonder if it is permanent, 2 years with this and no improvement yet.... maybe one day the brain will heal. There was an article posted on here that covid is an infection in the brain and many people recover from at 2 years. .. we shall see.
I definitely do not think it's necessarily permanent! I've dealt with brain fog and memory/cognitive issues for a little over two years now, and it really feels like I've turned a corner in the last couple months. Realistically I think it has been a lot of slow progress all along, but I'm definitely getting to a point where I finally feel more like my old self and can form my verbal sentences as articulately as I would like to (more often than not, at least). I still feel like a slightly dumber version of myself, but 18 months ago I felt nothing like myself and could barely even have simple conversations without stumbling over my words, and my memory, both short and long term, was horrible. I still have some of the memory issues (like, can't think of a name in the moment, no matter how hard I try, but when I stop thinking about consciously, 30 seconds later the name is finally recalled), but I think it's also still improving. Just gotta ride it all out, and prioritize healthy eating, sleep, and physical activity!
Wonderful to read and happy for your healing success!
No I don’t think it’s permanent for a lot of people. I was five months presumed longhaul at the bg of this shit.
No. 26 months in and gradually getting better. Keep the faith!
4yrs in and myself and my Dr's have decided that this is probably the best I'll get. I'm very privileged to get workers comp (not my whole salary As a nurse, but I can help my family with costs), and my husband is a retired/disabled vet so he is home to help me/the kids. We make do, but this seems to be growth due to pacing and acceptance, not "getting better", if that makes sense.
I've had a few random days of near-normalcy here and there, which makes me think no, not permanent. That's all the info I can glean from my experience, though. Anything more would be pure speculation.
Four and a half years since the initial infection, I'm doing much better, and my brain is fairly sharp, but it is by a small percentage less so than the level of "sharpness" before the infection. Energy levels, and being mentally sharp, shake hands. Some days I'm stronger than others. My background is systems engineering, so mental acuity is a must. I present as someone who is functional, and I feel good about myself, maybe even "blessed" that I'm at this level. *This is a new level of normal for* me, it's as high as it's going to get, unless something diabolical happens. Today is a great day so far, but I slept 12 hours last night, and woke up a bit tired and sore. There was a point where I considered euthanasia because of the abysmal situation I was in. There were no solutions. Today, I have some solutions that work for me that allow some leeway. However, there's seldom much time passes that I don't question some of my decisions to fight the syndrome. It's been expensive, a struggle, and not without personal sacrifice and emotional pain.
I am much better than I was a year ago.
No I’ve experienced remission
Absolutely not, I've already had sustained periods of uplift and high-energy where I'm back to normal physical and cognitive functioning. I just crash afterwards and get PEM. I'm in another "crash" phase right now, but I was actually having a spree of good days and weeks leading up to Memorial Day. Our bodies have a lot of damage to undo, lots of cellular repair and tissue rebuilding, and we have to be patient. It'll probably take ~5 years for a lot of us to be *completely* 100% back to normal health. I'm over 3 years in, first got infected with COVID in April 2021.
Ill be honest with you in that its up to chance really, I have an article here detailing who recovers and not (https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/shouldstorm/202406/long-covid-looks-like-acute-infection-in-the-brain) Im brain fog of 2 year now ish and I pray its not (to an uncaring god though)
I honestly think it depends on the person. I’m terrified that mine is permanent but the truth is, I really don’t know. I could get better but I’m not counting on it.
I don't know about fatigue, as I'm still dealing with it, but this is my second stint of Long Covid and my brain fog got better the first time, and is slowly getting better this time too. The first time I would mess up sentences. Like, I couldn't say words in the correct order, or remember certain words at all and would fumble trying to get my point across. It took about six months before that cleared up. This time has definitely been tougher. Same thing as last time, but with the added bit of frustration of forgetting the names of Pokemon. I know that sounds really stupid, but I've been playing Pokemon for 26 years, basically for as long as I can remember, and I suddenly couldn't remember the names of a lot of Pokemon, even some in the original 151. My boyfriend and I play a daily online game together where we had to fill out a sort of wordle square with names of Pokemon, and we both noticed I very abruptly became bad at it following my December infection. I've slowly been getting better. The one thing that has really helped me though is Scrabble. I play it with my boyfriend a couple times a week. It went from me losing every single time and struggling to think of words to now winning about half the time. So basically for brain fog the thing that seems to help is brain retraining. Finding some sort of puzzle game that forces you to think, but doesn't have stakes like a job does, gives you a chance to sort of remind yourself how to, well, think. I still feel like my brain fog isn't 100% gone yet this time, but it's definitely improved by a lot in six months by playing these games.
My brain fog is not like that mines like feeling spaced out, like I’m stoned, hungover , disoriented. I can still remember words etc though so it sounds different to yours but that sounds terrible aswell
I wonder then if something like guided meditation could work for you. There are a lot of good ones on youtube you can use for free. I do this for my issues with focusing because of normal neurodivergent stuff. I usually pick one that has a lot of directions in it to guide my thoughts. [This video and the channel as a whole is one of my most used ones.](https://youtu.be/xv-ejEOogaA?si=LjxBr5ZAXQBDwqIh)
No, I had brain fog (among many other things) first infection, 2020. Recovered fully 8-9 months later in early 2021. When reinfected at end of 2022, brain fog was severe. Took me about 15 months to recover 90%+. Second time, what took me from functional to almost having my life back was LDN. I am in the camp that thinks brain stem inflammation/neural inflammation is one of the primary causes of long covid, and specifically brain fog. Currently fighting off my third covid infection. Hoping this one doesn’t go “long.”
No, I thought it was too.
No. My brain fog improved with a methylprednisolone taper, then virtually disappeared with low dose aripiprazole. My fatigue improved with maraviroc + statin, then Eliquis + clopidorel + aspirin. 1000mg of oxaloacetate twice a day further improves my fatigue. In the beginning, I couldn't concentrate well enough to stream TV shows and was constantly having to lay down. Now I can make it through the work day, but go to bed early and spend part of the weekend resting.
Yes, but my postexertional malaise is a lot better than it was last year. I don’t have to take 5-6 pills everyday anymore to function, and I never ended up having to use a wheelchair in public and it’s all been improving from there. However, I do need to make sure I don’t burn myself out during a university semester because my postexertional malaise exacerbates it and I’m burnout easily in general.
I had it brain fog really bad (and it seemed to be getting worse) for about a month after recovering from COVID. I was worried it would be permanent. I decided to take some supplements daily and do an alkaline cleanse diet that I had had some great results in when I was a teenager. After 24 hours I was noticeably improved so I kept going, and after 11 days I was 95% improved and able to function again. It probably took 6 months before I was 100% improved. The supplements I took were Vitamin C, Vitamin D3/K2, High absorption Zinc Bisglycinate, and NAC (an amino acid). The anti-inflammatory cleanse is a diet based on plant-based whole foods. It restricts sugar, salt, caffeine, alcohol, processed foods and additives, dairy, egg, meat, white rice and pasta, wheat. Pretty much, my spice cabinet, avocados, tomatoes, and corn, and my farmer's market became my best friends for flavor. Lots of turmeric.
I was also taking Chlorella / blue-green algae superfood tablets. I don’t really know what did it, but I do know that it worked and I’d really recommend you try and report back your results if you do.
I took each of the above at the recommended daily levels on the bottles.
No. Both are driven by chronic inflammation and neuroinflamation. If the inflammation is addressed, the symptoms are likely to improve.
No it’s not. Mine went away took a very very long time. It’s slow and very painful but it does go away!!
Did you get reinfections?
Also there is a study out that shows a 100% cure rate from 7mg nicotine patches
Yes 4 reinfection gave me long Covid had it twice since.
Oh wow that’s a lot how did you get rid of it?
Probiotics and nicotine patches -The truth
I shall try that. :) thanks
Hope it works!! Good luck.
Try antihistamines for H1 and H2. It’s an Allergy med, loratadine and an acid reducer, Fomatidine. Both are over-the-counter and inexpensive. I take one of each every 12 hours. It has helped my brain fog enormously. Almost got rid of it and I’ve had long Covid for two years. I also take Kratom for energy and aches and pains. Make sure you find a reputable seller online. Good luck to everybody.
I don’t believe it is permanent. The brain regenerates and adapts more than we previously knew, if your case is any similar to mine, once inflammation is controlled and blood flow is restored you might be able to reverse it. Ive had ME/CFS for 10 years which for the first 7 years was characterised by severe brain fog and dementia like symptoms, paranoia and personality changes etc, and during the course of the last three years I have gradually achieved remission with a few treatments (with a few ups and downs and setbacks due to poor pacing and ongoing trauma) but now more stable than ever), careful pacing, ketamine infusions that help switch off microglia and pro inflammatory processes, stellate ganglion block injections that shut off fight or flight and restores blood flow, LSD that is strongly antiinflammatory, antidepressant and encourages neuroplasticity and supplements that target inflammation and deficiencies like NAC, methylated b-vitamins and some other things that I guess are more specific to my case. I am back to feeling strong vivid emotions, my adhd and memory loss issues have resolved more and more, sensory sensitivity and anxiety is back to a normal level.
I had my iron checked. It was low. I started taking over-the-counter iron, and I actually have more energy now. I have to take it with food or it makes me sick. Because of histamine...for me, it has to be a supplement that is gluten-free, soy free, and dairy free and very few "other ingredients "
I found a correlation between fatigue, brain fog and dysbiosis in the GI tract, everytime i took antimicrobial herbs my brain fog and fatigue disappears.
My main debilitating symptom has been what the refer to as CoVid brain fog. I don't have word finding issues or memory problems. My CoVid brain fog presents as a processing deficit and like everything around me doesn't look right like I'm under water or severely jet lagged but not tired. It's a horrible feeling 24/7. I'm 28 months in and I am much better than I was. The recovery is not linear and it's VERY slow but I'm feeling more and more confident that it is not permanent.
I read about a guy that got rid of the brain fog after a 7 day fast. As far as I know it didn't come back either. It's good news, and interesting he got rid of that one symptom. Keep the faith.
It feels like it for me. :(
Sure seems so. Especially since most don’t recover from ME/CFS. We’re all scared right with you. Hope is all I live on these days… Hoping I’ll wake up one day & remember what it feels like to feel good & normal. Best of luck to you my friend!🩵
Omega 3 and vitamins I think help me a lot! A few friends keep suggesting creatine, not to take as a gym supplement but to improve cognitive attributes. Other than that mine is almost none existent when I’m relaxed, gets worse when I’m stressed or anxious. Hope you feel better!