1/ A milestone I had hoped not to mark. Today is 6 months since my COVID infection, and I’m still on my #LongCovid journey. Time for a few thoughts. Longish 🧵👇🏽
2/ TLDR version: it’s rough as hell, don’t get COVID, if you do get COVID then do what you can to stop it going long (there are things), if it does go long then rest, take care of your body and mind, you’re not alone & there is hope
3/ #LongCovid is a journey well worth avoiding. While everyone’s experience will be different, there are no good options. My own has featured a rolling banquet of deeply unpleasant fatigue – very unlike normal tiredness; chest pains; weird tingling throughout body …
4/ … brain fog (problems focusing, concentrating, finding words, remembering things); gastric problems; tinnitus; sore eyes (!) – plus the inevitable anxiety and depression. nhs.uk/conditions/cor…
5/ There’ve been several false dawns when things improved quite a lot, only for the symptoms to roar back. I can and do work, but certainly not at full capacity – and exercise / active social life is out of the question.
6/ So, do your best to avoid getting COVID, and if you do get it, do your best to stop it going long. The main thing to do is *rest*, & keep resting even after you feel better from the acute infection. Ideally, rest for about a month post-infection. (Not easy, I know)
7/ This video from @gezmedinger set out in great detail how best to avoid #LongCovid – if there’s one thing I wish I’d seen when I was initially struck down, it is this.
8/ Even if your infection was mild, even if you felt better, even if you’ve been vaccinated, even if it was omicron, #LongCovid is still a big risk. A recent @NatureMedicine paper estimates that vaccines only reduce the risk of #LongCovid by about 15% nature.com/articles/s4159…
9/ Nor does being young or previously fit/active guard against #LongCovid. In short, the factors that predispose for severe acute COVID are not that relevant for predicting #LongCovid, & 10-30% of people who get COVID will go long. longcovid.org/about/what-is-…
10/ Try not to get re-infected! While for a small minority reinfection seems to improve things, for most, their #LongCovid symptoms either stay the same or get worse. Here’s @gezmedinger again
11/ If #LongCovid does come to visit, then what? I’m not medically qualified, so my thoughts below are purely my opinion (informed by others more knowledgeable) and should be treated as such.
12/ Resting remains the most important thing to do. Know your limits, and stay within them – don’t push them. I’ve found this incredibly hard to do, and it remains a struggle. Active resting is not easy, unless you’re a cat 
13/ To keep a lid on inflammation, try antihistamines: both Type 1 (e.g., cetirizine hydrochloride) and Type 2 (e.g., famotidine) – the latter may be especially helpful: pharmaceutical-journal.com/article/featur…
14/ Try a low histamine diet – again something I’ve found a real struggle (healthline.com/health/low-his…). Avoid caffeine and alcohol. (Also very difficult …. Thank heavens for Rooibosch tea). Probiotics and prebiotics may help too.
15/ There are any number of additional supplements one can take, and other things to try too (e.g., vagus nerve stimulation, acupuncture) but the lifestyle adaptations are probably the most important.
16/ It’s easy to lose hope as the weeks turn into months. Look after your mind as well as your body, and try to stay positive. There are many stories of recovery, and it is still early days.
17/ If you know someone with #LongCovid, THINK TWICE before sending them whatever latest research or news you happened upon. Is it good news? Will it help them to read it? We need Good News stories (see above re mind).
18/ With time, many people do seem to improve. And there is a great deal of promising research out there, including new treatments. This is cause for real hope, but it needs to be supported and promoted.
19/ @resiapretorius (Stellenbosch University) & Doug Kell (@dbkell, Liverpool) are leading fantastic research on the role of microclotting in #LongCovid – you can support their work here: kernls.com/projects/diagn…, and read a review here: portlandpress.com/biochemj/artic…
20/ The Stimulate-ICP trial, led by @amibanerjee1 of @ucl, is trialling three different compounds for #LongCovid therapy stimulate-icp.org
21/ Betty Raman @BR_CMR, an Oxford-based cardiologist, is investigating mitochondrial dysfunction in #LongCovid, and trialling a potential treatment (#AXA1125) stx.ox.ac.uk/article/dr-bet…
22/ Danny Altmann @Daltmann10 of @IndependentSage is doing great work looking into the immunology of #LongCovid
23/ There’s also a genetic study of #LongCovid from @sanogenetics, which aims to look at genetic influences on #LongCovid with implications for risk and treatment – I’ve signed up for this one here: sanogenetics.com/study/gold/
24/ There’s plenty of help out there. Check out longcovid.org - but be wary of mainlining social media because, at least in my experience, it can tend to catastrophise.
/🧵 Finally, look out for The Long Covid Handbook, coming in October 2022 – by @gezmedinger & @Daltmann10 – I’ll be getting a copy for sure penguin.co.uk/books/1453380/…
🧵+1/ If you came for the #LongCovid but are still around, why not check out my book on consciousness and the self – Being You – a Sunday Times Bestseller and multiple book-of-the-year listee anilseth.com/being-you/
🧵+2 And if you’re near London, Cardiff, Edinburgh, or Belfast – check out @dreamachine, a unique collective immersive experience “I realise we have all experienced something unearthly and sublime” says @guardian (5* review) – all tix are free - dreamachine.world
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