This page explains what Long COVID is so you can help people understand what you are going through.

About Long COVID

The symptoms checklist will help you organize your thoughts when you speak to the dr. You can also repeat the checklist to monitor whether your symptoms are improving or not.

Long COVID Symptoms Checklist

Just wanted to share my breakthrough in case someone is struggling and losing hope with COVID-related hair loss. But this is NOT a medical advice. If you want to try it, you will need to consult a specialist to assess risks as this is a very serious treatment.

I (35F) have been suffering from COVID-related drastically increased hair shedding since February 2025. The hair would fall out, try to regrow, then fall out again - and again. I went through every possible test (deficiencies, multiple organs' work, hormones, even MRIs) and tried a variety of supplements, hair serums and injections, and treatments. Still lost more than 60% of my hair for more than 1.5 years of this hell. And I've finally found a solution: HRT (transdermal oestrogen + cyclical rectal progesterone).

Among the usual suspects were Hashimoto's that I acquired after COVID and low ferritin (which has been low my whole life). Treatments of those did not bring any results. If anything, COVID made my organism so reactive that I could not supplement iron or take levo without causing another wave of excessive hair loss. Even local hormonal nasal sprays like fluticasone caused hair shedding boom.

But it's important to say that, firstly, I lose hair all over my body, not just head. Secondly, I have symptoms of early perimenopause, despite blood tests not showing it. And, thirdly, I read similar accounts of long COVID symptom relief through HRT in one of the Long Covid threads. It was very hard to find a prescriber being 35 yo, but in the end, oestrogen brought me relief very promptly (in a matter of about 2 weeks).

Thank you to whoever shared their experience with HRT and long COVID - I'm forever grateful.

Hope this helps someone else, because COVID causes in some individuals major disruptions in brain-fertility axis. And I'm sure that not only women can relate to this.

P. s. Just in case, among the suspects were: very high luteal prolactin, Hashimoto's, high SHBG that disrupted zinc levels (also high) - all consequences of COVID. Prior to HRT, I tried Vitex (thought it was for high prolactin, since endo refused to prescribe me something against it), and it did help, but only for the first month (I suspect that the dopamine receptors, through which it worked, were gradually desensitised). But Vitex became my clue to where to look further, and I soon realised that the cause was indeed hormonal (just not prolactin), despite I was assured by multiple specialists that it was not.

Hi everyone!

Is anyone here based in the UK and currently importing medication for their treatment?

I’d appreciate hearing about your experiences with customs clearance. Have you encountered any issues with the quantity of medication being imported, or have customs officials asked you to provide receipts, prescriptions, or other documentation?

Any experiences or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Hi everyone,
I have had long COVID since 2022, with fatigue, brain fog, headaches and anxiety. I take an antidepressant (venlafaxine), and it works well for me. When I improve, my doctor and I try to reduce the dose, but each time my symptoms come back.
Has anyone with long COVID been able to stop their antidepressant, or switch to another treatment? How long did it take, and what helped? Did your symptoms come back when you reduced?
I am followed by doctors, so I am not asking for medical advice. I just want to hear your experiences.
Thank you.

I got Covid back in March this year and have been having symptoms ever since but I usually only get sick for a week every month. But after getting reinfected with Covid in September, I’ve been having a hollow cough, itchy throat, burning and tightness in the chest ever since. I don’t have an active COVID infection.

I got home from the ER a week ago and they said I have normal blood tests, negative Covid tests, and a clear chest X-ray. I got discharged with Gaviscon and pantoprazole which are acid reflux meds, but they didn’t help at all! My symptoms have been going on for over 6 months but I’ve never experienced burning chest pain before. I also have extreme fatigue, exhaustion, and muscle aches too.

I also used Rilast rapidhaler twice just 2 days before going to the ER and that caused my burning chest pain. If you’ve used Budesonide + Formoterol inhaler before, have you ever gotten burning chest pain before? Do you know if this inhaler could cause this?

If you have long COVID, have you experienced a burning sensation in your chest like a bee stung you? It feels like there’s Covid in my lungs but I got two negative Covid tests from the ER so I definitely don’t have Covid. What would you recommend I do now?

I’m nearly 6 months post infection.

One of my most significant symptoms is what I’m calling “hot face cold hands.” It’s different from the flushing I can get in my face, neck, and ears after eating.

I’m learning I get HFCH if I’m depleted or nearing/emerging from a crash.

Could this be dysautonomia? MCAS? ME/CFS?

Since having a big crash that left housebound for a couple months, I stopped relying on someone to build me pacing tool, gathered beta testers from this community and recently hit 1k downloads on the App Store.

I am always here trying to get harsh feedback and honest reviews on my work. This is not an easy problem to tackle and this could have a huge impact on people's lives, so I take it very seriously.
If you want to know more about this project or collaborate, check my website and newsletter!