The biggest impact I've made on my brain fog (post COVID) is using nicotine. Even 2mg a day makes a big difference for me.
What do you do for managing dependency / tolerance?
Go in cycles. Ween dose down to zero for 1-N weeks then restart.
The Molecular Basis of Long Covid Brain Fog
11–20 of 53 posts
Re: The Molecular Basis of Long Covid Brain Fog
#12There's so much we don't know about this yet. It's great to see new knowledge being generated! I had Covid last February (vaccinated and boosted, thankfully). It was a mild course, but I wound up sensitized to caffeine for three to four months after. I normally drink 100-150mg/day, but I had to cut that back to 50-60mg and only in the morning. It seems to have passed, so I'm back on my drip.
Mine has never recovered. I have to drink decaf now!
I feel a small amount of relief that I'm not alone.
Re: The Molecular Basis of Long Covid Brain Fog
#13There's so much we don't know about this yet. It's great to see new knowledge being generated! I had Covid last February (vaccinated and boosted, thankfully). It was a mild course, but I wound up sensitized to caffeine for three to four months after. I normally drink 100-150mg/day, but I had to cut that back to 50-60mg and only in the morning. It seems to have passed, so I'm back on my drip.
Thank you for sharing. I have the same thing and it is from my first bout with Covid in 2021. I have now had Covid 4 times and the caffeine sensitivity remains along with PVCs and chest pain. Brain fog has been almost debilitating and overall the impact on my career performance is noticeable.
Re: The Molecular Basis of Long Covid Brain Fog
#14Last year there was a lot of discussion about mitochondrial changes, especially epigenetics and respiration.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11336094/
I would be curious if these markers could result from the same problems, or might indicate a complete separate root cause.
Re: The Molecular Basis of Long Covid Brain Fog
#15The headline overstates the findings. The researchers aren't saying that this is the underlying basis of COVID brain fog. They hypothesized that AMPA receptors might be involved. They compared Long COVID patients to controls and found a difference. This doesn't mean that AMPA receptors are the root cause of post-COVD brain fog, nor does it necessarily mean that drugs modulating AMPA receptors could reverse it. It onl…
It'd be nice to find out if there's any overlap with the "brain fog" from fibromyalgia. My college years would have been far less torturous if I could have lived without that, even if I still had to deal with the pain.
Re: The Molecular Basis of Long Covid Brain Fog
#16Re: The Molecular Basis of Long Covid Brain Fog
#17The headline overstates the findings. The researchers aren't saying that this is the underlying basis of COVID brain fog. They hypothesized that AMPA receptors might be involved. They compared Long COVID patients to controls and found a difference. This doesn't mean that AMPA receptors are the root cause of post-COVD brain fog, nor does it necessarily mean that drugs modulating AMPA receptors could reverse it. It onl…
It sounds like you’re reading too much into it.
It doesn’t say root cause, or drug target. It doesn’t say reverse or cure. It quite specifically doesn’t say “the basis”. The word basis doesn’t have to refer to one root cause. It could be something foundational, but there can be many elements of a foundation. It certainly isn’t the entire structure.
I’d argue it’s quite tame as academic press releases go.
Re: The Molecular Basis of Long Covid Brain Fog
#18The biggest impact I've made on my brain fog (post COVID) is using nicotine. Even 2mg a day makes a big difference for me.
This does not surprise me, it does have many neuroprotective benefits after all.
I vape like a fiend and I'm probably never going to stop
Re: The Molecular Basis of Long Covid Brain Fog
#19The headline overstates the findings. The researchers aren't saying that this is the underlying basis of COVID brain fog. They hypothesized that AMPA receptors might be involved. They compared Long COVID patients to controls and found a difference. This doesn't mean that AMPA receptors are the root cause of post-COVD brain fog, nor does it necessarily mean that drugs modulating AMPA receptors could reverse it. It onl…
It sounds like you’re reading too much into it. It doesn’t say root cause, or drug target. It doesn’t say reverse or cure. It quite specifically doesn’t say “ the basis”. The word basis doesn’t have to refer to one root cause. It could be something foundational, but there can be many elements of a foundation. It certainly isn’t the entire structure. I’d argue it’s quite tame as academic press releases go.
> It quite specifically doesn’t say “the basis”
The headline quite specifically does say: "Uncovering the Molecular Basis of Long COVID Brain Fog"
The article also implies that AMPA drugs could address COVID brain fog:
> For example, drugs that suppress AMPAR activity could be a viable approach to mitigate brain fog.
This was one of the points I was trying to counter.
It also claims to have "resolved key uncertainties":
> In summary, the team’s findings resolve key uncertainties about the biological basis of Long COVID brain fog
Which is obviously not true. This is only one biomarker, not the resolution to a key uncertainty.
I disagree that I'm reading too much into it. These are direct quotes from the article I was responding to.
Re: The Molecular Basis of Long Covid Brain Fog
#20Very cool. Surprising that having more AMPA receptors would lead to decreased cognition, as learning & memory is hypothesized to particularly involve processes that increase the number of in-position AMPA receptors.
Maybe it's an attempt by the body to compensate?
Just a shot in the dark here, I'm just some guy on the internet, not a microbiologist or doctor.