u/thaw4188

debated sharing this as it's personal but it's so bonkers I need to learn more

so it's been six years of absolute hell getting worse each year

for perspective my symptoms are most like fibromyalgia with wild nerve-pain but I don't think it's real fibromyalgia, there is extreme fatigue and exhaustion constantly from the moment I wake up and I now have to lay down often to recovery temporarily

I've tried almost every supplement and many medications, barely any treatment, definitely no cures

but this past month because of a dental emergency with insane levels of pain I was given a small prescription of tramadol so I could at least sleep a little

and I don't believe this but when I woke up the next morning after the first pill it was like I didn't have long-covid anymore, well my body was still a little stiff but I could actually move and walk normally without pain, I could think clearly and it was like I was never sick

I had forgotten what that was like, it was crazy

of course all that faded away and long-covid is back with a vengeance now

ChatGPT thinks it wasn't the opioid mechanism but rather the SNRI mechanisms of tramadol

and sure enough when I check Tramadol is sometimes used for emergency cases in Fibromyalgia

and then the non-opioid equal is supposedly Duloxetine

> "Duloxetine enhances communication between nerve cells by inhibiting the reuptake of serotonin and norepinephrine"

and Duloxetine is used for Fibromyalgia too

but the side-effects for Duloxetine seem insane, during trials half the people drop out because they cannot deal with it

if anyone has quality feedback on any of this I'd love to hear it

was the strangest "vacation" I've had from long-covid

maybe they need to study that as a cure but if it was that "simple" I guess they would have figured it out already

Going to make this short, everyone here knows how much this sucks and how help is never coming, certainly not this decade

There is one thing I don't see mentioned for people who are still sick since 2020

Even if you are still barely functional now, you need to prepare for becoming completely bed bound

No-one wants to hear that but you need to listen

Because I am becoming worse and worse each year

I can barely walk across my apartment anymore and I have to lay down constantly in utter exhaustion despite sleeping 10 hours a day

I've tried every supplement and most known medications, absolutely nothing is a cure and barely anything is a weak treatment

If you have someone to take care of you, feel fortunate and treat them well

If not, you need to prepare yourself, it's going to get worse in very subtle but steady ways

I can't take any more horrible news about our country and the world so I've re-watched like every PBS Space Time twice now, some three or four times because it's my "happy place" and so amazing

But I'm burning out, who else is out there?

I found Dr. Becky and LookingGlassUniverse

is there anything else recommended?

BTW is there really only one short episode on Strange Matter because I find that utterly fascinating (2017, Season 3, Episode 4 youtu .be/u4RNGRyzt10 )