My Story
Table of Contents
My Story
I created this site to share my own experience with long covid, as well as the latest news on research and treatments.
My journey starts early March 2022. After a short, mild Covid infection, I felt relatively fine for a couple of weeks.
Then it hit me. I started experiencing chest pain, shortness of breath, heart palpitations among many other symptoms. I was diagnosed with long covid on 29 July 2022.
I went through a gamut of tests, including blood tests, ECGs, lung function tests and a gastroscopy.
Then, for a long time I was on a cocktail of medications:
- Beta Blockers (Bisoprolol)
- PPIs
- Motilium (Domperidone)
- Gen2 Antihistamine
Medical Trial
From April 2023 - Dec 2023 I was a participant a Microclotting study and Triple therapy trials ran by Prof. Resia Pretorius and Dr. Jaco Laubscher. The study found that I had a high level of "microclots" in my blood.
For more information see Understanding micro clots with Dr. Jaco Laubscher and Prof. Resia Pretorius (opens in a new tab)
Triple therapy was a combination of:
- Aspirin
- Clopidogrel
- Apixaban
During this time I was also on a strict diet, avoiding all inflammatory foods, and taking a range of supplements.
In Nov 2023 I visited a cardiologist, who diagnosed me with pericarditis. After sonar and a CT scan cleared me of any effusion or calcification, I was prescribed a course of colchicine and 2.5mg Cardicor (Bisoprolol). I was already on Cardicor for about a year and a half at that point.
In Dec 2023, after 9 months on triple therapy, my last blood work came back completely clear, indicating that the triple therapy had worked. I was taken off triple therapy in Jan 2024.
Unfortunately, I still had some ongoing symptoms, including heart racing, chest pain, shortness of breath, sleep disturbances, brain fog,histamine intolerance, inflammation, pericarditis and tachycardia(when not on beta blockers).
These symptoms seem to be aggravated by various triggers, such as stress(be it cognitive, emotional or physical), certain foods, exercise and especially environmental factors. For example, Johannesburg, where I live, recorded the worst air quality in the world in late 2023.
Right now, I have been able to completely taper off all medications, except for the beta blockers and colchicine.
My symptoms
Resolved
- Nausea
- Stomach pain
- Digestion problems
- Anxiety
- Mood Changes
Ongoing
Most of these symptoms are greatly improved, but still linger:
- Heart racing
- Chest pain
- Shortness of breath
- Air hunger
- Sleep disturbances
- Brain fog
- Histamine intolerance
- Inflammation
- Pericarditis
- Tachycardia
- Costochondritis
It is my hope that through my Kitchen Sink Protocol I will be able to resolve these lingering symptoms as well.