Every day is Groundhog Day.
I wake up, and after taking at least five supplements (one to activate my thyroid, two enzymes to break blood clots, three Tollovids, an American-made Chinese herb – to keep my viral load low), I wait.
How would you describe the sheet of fatigue that envelops me shortly after I start my day? As the exhaustion sets in, so does the feeling of my blood pressure crashing.
I’m also dizzy and confused now; even something as simple as returning an Amazon item is beyond me. It’s not even 9 o’clock yet.
By 11 a.m. I’m back in bed and resting until lunch. I eat like medicine, I haven’t had an appetite since this ordeal began. I have used at least six antioxidants, herbal antivirals, minerals and mushroom derivatives.
Covid, which affects 65 million people worldwide, has long been called the greatest “mass disabling event in modern history” by The New York Times. The fact that new variants of the virus keep emerging means an inevitable wave of reinfections, and even mild cases can cause serious long-term covid.
My own battle started in February 2020 when I caught a common cold/flu. Pictured: Helen receives neurofeedback therapy to train her brain
My own battle started in February 2020 when I caught a common cold/flu. It took me longer than usual to shake off, but in March, like many lockdownrs, I was busy baking bread and pottering about in the garden.
Then strange things started to happen. I would get extremely hot, exhausted and dizzy and go to bed for the day. Cold sores popped up on my lips every few weeks, followed by a sinus infection. In May, the day I was tested for antibodies (which I had in abundance), the disorientation set in: When I turned my head, the room moved.
Holding the kettle became a mammoth task requiring two hands, followed by bed rest. That same week I drove to London with a miserable feeling to pick up my youngest son.
On the way back I had to pull into a garage and put down a bag of cookies because I was shaking so bad. At the intersection, I was so confused that I went the wrong way and pointed the car briefly at oncoming traffic before my son cried out.
Outwardly I look good. Some might even say good, because the 30 or so supplements I take, including vitamin C and l-glutathione, also help my skin (as does quitting alcohol).
But a good day now is one where I don’t have to lie in bed for part of the day and my brain actually finds the word I’m looking for. My family says things like “if you feel like it” like I’m a little jet lagged.
They mean well, but apart from the person with lung Covid, no one knows what it really feels like. I’m not exaggerating when I say that if it weren’t for my husband, I probably would have been evicted.
In July 2020 I was introduced to Koniver Wellness functional medicine physician and fellow long Covid patient Dr. Tamsin Lewis, who started treating me.
When I checked in, the atmosphere was more like a five star hotel than a hospital. In the photo: the clinic in Spain
People always ask me, “What have you tried?” What haven’t I tried? I bought a £200 leash designed for horses that sends electric currents down your leg (nothing happened).
I’ve spent weeks of my life in a hyperbaric chamber (which simulates being underwater to get oxygen into cells, at £100 a pop). I have starved, I have purified, I have sung with gongs and thanked the universe for my blessings.
I made myself sick by self-medicating and even sicker by taking drugs like Fluvoxamine, a powerful SSRI antidepressant that can make some people violent (it did).
Long Coviders all share tips and many discussions revolve around the gut biome, which disrupts Covid. Having had stomach problems all my life, I wondered if this might be a path that should be explored.
Finally, after hearing about its reputation for treating serious medical conditions, I checked into SHA Wellness Clinic in Alicante, Spain for Christmas 2022. Favored by the super rich, it offers state-of-the-art long Covid treatments, including stem cell therapy which some of my colleagues have tried (mostly unsuccessfully).
Before I was admitted, I was interviewed by the chief physician, Vicente Mera. He was in good spirits – not something I see much in my circles – and felt that a week’s stay could really help me.
When I checked in, the atmosphere was more like a five star hotel than a hospital. There was so much white marble and chrome decor that I kept running into walls. I was seen by Dr Mera whose first comment was ‘your biggest problem is you can’t get covid anymore’.
The damage is cumulative, he said, before proposing to try a drug normally used for cirrhosis that helps stop the replication of the spike protein (Covid’s main culprit).
Currently, the medical community is more or less in agreement that long Covid is caused by viral persistence, coupled with blood clots and an autoimmune-like response that causes the plethora of persistent symptoms – from fatigue and brain fog to allergies, palpitations, anxiety, insomnia. and lung, heart, and stomach ailments. Faced with such a list, you understand why GPs are often stunned.
“It’s important to identify what type of long Covid you have and what organs are affected,” Dr Lewis said when I checked in with her after my visit. ‘Otherwise a generalized approach with medicines will not help. The priority is to get the body to a place where it can repair itself.”
After blood tests and an ultrasound, I was put on a schedule of treatments aimed at flushing out the remaining virus (ozone therapy and intestinal irrigation) and reducing inflammation (vitamin C, antioxidant infusions, acupuncture and massage), followed by lymphatic drainage.
Dr. Mera had my brain function tested — I was quite excited compared to most, he said — and sent me to the internal bowel specialist.
The SHA’s diet is heavily probiotic, which helps repair a fragile gut biome that cannot absorb nutrients. I was given lion’s mane mushroom extract and probiotics before meals, followed by l-glutamine. Dr. Mera urged me to try some exercise, citing the risks of deconditioning.
This is a fine line to tread: too much effort can lead to relapse; too little and we become even stiffer and more tired.
On day five I crashed. I felt every ounce of energy drain away, bad enough to think I might collapse.
Weird things started to happen. I would get extremely hot, exhausted and dizzy and go to bed for the day
Dr. Mera suspected this could be a response to many pathogens being shed at once, which can cause flu-like symptoms. He also discovered that I had high cholesterol and low vitamin B12 levels.
For some, a week at the SHA is enough to reset. For me, after a few days of absolute rest, I noticed that my digestive system was finally working.
Viral waste products must be excreted or they recirculate, which is why anyone with long Covid should also explore the osteopathic Perrin technique.
Its inventor, Dr. Raymond Perrin, believes that long-term covid and ME patients do not detoxify well.
While many wellness centers claim to be medical but are really just pushing supplements, the SHA is a bona fide medical clinic.
However, is it worth the £10,000 a week price tag? Well, because it’s hugely beneficial to have so many things under one roof. Long-term Covid patients are simply too exhausted to travel to endless appointments.
Of course, few can afford such clinics and treatments, but I have found that some things that help do not cost anything. For example, cold showers, early morning light exposure, nature walks, slow stretching, breathwork, and fasting.
And the depletion of vital nutrients due to Covid can be counteracted with supplements. Many also respond to low dose naltrexone, which is available from the NHS. Until we have an approved medical protocol we have to make do with what is available.
It has now been five months since I stayed at the SHA and I have had many good days. I’ve even made it to the Alps in winter and skied in the morning (and then recovered all afternoon). I found that using methylene blue (which carries oxygen to cells and is used in hospitals) as an infusion gave me an instant lift.
I’m also working with a naturopath who found an active virus and bacteria in my blood, both of which he promises to eradicate with his natural protocol. In the meantime, my now-functioning gut means I’m finally flushing things out.
I still have bed days, but I’m also aware that I need to retrain my brain to believe I’ll recover, which in turn will lead them to find new ways to make this happen.
This is called neuroplasticity and I’m sure it’s the missing piece of my puzzle. That, and turning away from the misery forums on my social media feed.
- For more information, visit shawellness.com/en