Thread by @doctorasadkhan

A number of you have asked me how I did with #Paxlovid which I took for recent re-infection. Prior to re-infection, I was doing well on triple anticoags along with platelet/endothelial stabilisers (sertraline, rupatadine, rosuvastatin & a course of colchicine). 1/n

I was noticing an improvement in mobility, orthostatic symptoms & recovery time after #PESE. My re-infection was a clinical diagnosis based on symptoms & microscopy which showed multiple new microclots; I was negative on PCR & LFT, as many seem to be with the new strains 2/n

My physician prescribed a course of Paxlovid. Unfortunately I suffered severe orthostatic symptoms, fatigue, nausea & metallic taste. I managed to complete the course, & within 24 hrs side-effects disappeared & I was back to the previous baseline 3/n

My Dr remained concerned about residual infection, & I had another course. The response was identical to the first course. It's been a week since I finished, & I'm back to my usual drug regime and pre-reinfection baseline. 4/n

The reports of people benefiting are encouraging, & there is no doubt we need a trial of this drug in #LongCovid using an extended duration. Even an n=50 study would be informative. This needs to happen ASAP. 5/n

For me, unanswered questions are- could the almost immediate benefit some are noticing be due to the anti-inflammatory effect of antiretrovirals, rather than antiviral effect? Also clearly, in pure vax longhaul there will be a different mechanism. 6/n

Please also note this is a highly toxic drug with multiple interactions with many drugs longhaulers may already be on, & should only be taken under expert supervision. DO NOT SELF-MEDICATE. Also the above is just my experience, & is not necessarily generalisable.

Interested to hear from anyone who has had a lasting improvement from baseline.