Could the vaccine help my long Covid?

[CovidConfused123]

Anyone?
I’ve been terrified of having the vaccine and now have been suffering for months with long Covid so now feel I have no choice.
Any positive or negative experiences welcome, thank you

She was a very active and healthy 16 year old when she caught covid.

16? I am so sorry
I could honestly sleep every day all day and night if I could
It’s so good to hear of some positive stories although I could kick myself for not having f the vaccine a month after I had Covid but I was so unwell I didn’t know what was wrong and having so many tests I didn’t want to rock the boat with a vaccine on top
That was the wrong decision clearly

A friend of mine had long covid, symptoms improved dramatically after the vaccine. Heart pain and palpitations disappeared. She's part of a research study into this phenomenon although she tells me there is still not enough evidence to say conclusively if it was the vaccine that helped or just coincidence. Unfortunately 18 months on from having covid my friend now walks with a limp, before covid, she was a regular at Parkrun. She didn't even have could very bad.

@CovidConfused123

Anyone? I’ve been terrified of having the vaccine and now have been suffering for months with long Covid so now feel I have no choice. Any positive or negative experiences welcome, thank you

I think these are two seperate things OP

In terms of preventing re-infection, it would be better for you to be vaccinated than not, as recommended. I don't think we have enough data to understand whether someone with long COVID is at more risk of severe complications again if they're re-infected though.

There's no evidence that the vaccine will make symptoms of long COVID worse, or that it improves them, so I think that shouldn't be a factor in your decision making.

Hi OP, my worst symptoms when I caught covid back in July 2021 (and double jabbed at the time) were exhaustion and back pain. Ended up with long covid. I was very anxious tbh about having my booster but u definitely felt an improvement in myself, which I really was not expecting. Had my jab in November though and end of December had a bad flare up of long covid again to the point I was convinced I'd caught covid again. I'm still struggling now. Constantly exhausted and my back ache is just awful. People just do not understand. All I get is "its just your age" when I complain about my back. I'm 36! I honestly think getting the vaccine is your best bet. Really do feel for you.

Are you able to work with the exhaustion and pain?
I just don’t know how I’ll ever be able to function normally again
The back pain is like nothing else I’ve ever experienced but the fatigue knocks me off my feet so I couldn’t actually say which is worse.
Considering how bad it is now even a flare up couldn’t feel that much worse although at the minute I can walk so I have been worried the vaccine could cause a flare up so much so that I couldn’t.
But if it could have helped me and I don’t do it I’ll regret that too.
I think being so unwell has made me lose my own judgment somewhat.

I

With my post viral thing I just felt constantly that I was never getting any better and every day there was a set back I felt worse. I had to start looking at it - how bad did I feel 6 months ago? How bad was I a year ago? By doing that I could see there was an improvement and so stopped trying to look at every bad day or bad week as a set back. You have to concentrate on improving not thinking about how you were before covid- it's natural but it doesn't help.
In the end I started to exercise more despite being told to rest. I had been v fit and hated how unfit I had become. I knew that every 20 mins on the exercise bike would make me feel shit and I'd have to lie down. But I just kept at it every day increasing it slowly eventually my fitness returned and I started to get my life back. I was 32 when it happened to me and I understand how pyschologically dreadful it is to have something noone can see or understand.

Thank you for your comment
I’m just in pain and tired the whole entire time from the minute I wake up
The thought of a 10 minute walk makes me want to lie down

Were you able to work?
Very worried I’ll lose my job through this

No I had to give up work which was a nightmare as I was at a critical point inmy career but DH was good about it. I was an academic on temporary contracts so I didn't have any job security. My main symptom was dreadful constant vertigo and dizziness. I wasn't able to read for more than a few minutes at a time. It also made me very fatigued.

The good news is that long covid is now a recognised thing and therefore you will find doctors and employers a lot more sympathetic. There will also be a lot more help out there both informally in support groups and formally in long covid clinics. There's good research being done on it the way there wasn't on post viral things in the past. I would keep pushing your GP all the time to see if they can get you help. Be a PITA - there is stuff out there but you will probably have to chase it yourself. A lot of the battle is pyschological - staying positive, counting your blessings in the face of what is a properly shit thing to happen. You have all my sympathies.

I caught Covid March 2020. I developed Long Covid.

Had AZ vax Feb 2021, it didn’t help with the Long Covid noticeably & indeed gave me headaches for 6 months afterwards.

Just had my second jab Jan ‘22 (Pfizer, no way was I having a second AZ). Still have Long Covid issues: fatigue, mild breathing issues, dry coughing. These wax & wane and are not constant.

So, my experience is no, the vaccines don’t do much.

Can I ask you what your long Covid symptoms are?
Have you noticed no change at all since the Ptizer?

Hi, Long Covid symptoms are

Fatigue & chills - like a (milder) flu aching. The chills usually last a few hours, the fatigue can last anything from a few hours to a few days.

Slightly laboured breathing, though not as intense as the original Covid infection, coupled with a cough not unlike the very end of a bout of acute bronchitis, dry & unproductive.

Chest pain on my upper left side, cardiac causes have pretty much been ruled out, they have suggested it could be ongoing Costochondritis caused by the virus.

AZ definitely didn’t do much for my Long Covid.

Too early to say on Pfizer yet, I only had it a week ago ;)

Gosh I’m so sorry to hear about your LC symptoms, they sound awful.
I really hope the second vaccine does help you - I know how it feels to be literally willing to try anything at all