Did PAXLOVID also relieve your arthritis and autoimmune symptoms?

I just tried a 5 day course of Paxlovid with no change in my arthritis symptoms! I was really hopeful that something would happen.

Yes! I was dx and started Paxlovid treatment 3.5 months ago. The treatment made me more ill than COVID, but I finished the course. This was my first time with COVID.

I haven’t had a muscle, bone, or joint pain since. I find it odd that there would not be a correlation between taking Paxlovid and relief of this pain as the timing was aligned perfectly. I thought I was a one-off case until I read your comment.

I am I my early 60s and have had mononucleosis many times (beginning with a severe case at 7). I’ve always assumed I carry (or before Plaxovid) a heavy burden of Barr Epstein virus in addition to endometriosis, microscopic colitis, chronic thyroiditis, and now histamine issues.

I an on about day 37 of an antiviral and my energy has been inching upward. The chronic pain in my knees has been improving very, very slowly but I ate some sugar and it just came roaring back last night. ..so no more sugar for me! The rash on my legs is fighting the antiviral as it starts to get better and then becomes inflamed and super itchy for a day but overall it is healing.

I had no side effects from the antiviral for about 30 days and then it must have built up in my system as both the smell of my urine and the frequency of my bowel movements changed. I am starting probiotics to deal with the latter. I have three months in total on the antiviral so am looking forward to what it will do.

Yes! Also tamiflu did as well! I have also had blood work in the past years come back as positive for EBV and then negative and then positive back and forth so maybe suppressing EBV is helpful. I wish a doctor would take this seriously and look into it.

I found that after 3 days taking Plaxlovid I was pain free from my severe arthritis. I understand that we shouldn’t take Plaxlovid for a long time period because it will mess with our kidneys. But… pain free! My doctor put me on Valacyclovir 1 GM tablets and did not help. With a lot of people getting relief from pain, I find it hard to believe there is not a study out there to help the RA community. I am also on infusion that barely helps with the pain. I had Epstein-Barr. I know that we carry the virus in our systems dormant. Please help.

I have almost three years of long Covid hell under my belt. I just completed a six month study in which I received 10 days of paxlovid them obviously received 5 days of placebo- it didn’t leave that metallic taste in my mouth like the real thing. I felt better, thought better, and people observed I seemed refreshed and different.

The FDA only allows for paxlovid to be given for five days within a couple of days of symptoms, then there are other technical considerations I’m not expert to comment on.

These 10-15 day tests can generate data that show the fda that it’s safe for long Covid treatment. Then Pfizer makes a lot of money on vaccines and paxlovid.

My improvement declined over a couple months. I secured a fifteen day paxlovid treatment of my own and it didn’t help much. But this whole thing is a mystery. For years the hypothesis is that it’s an inflammatory issue. I’m waiting to see a specific rheumatologist expert in this. The first one I saw just checked to see if I had arthritis.

Thanks for sharing. The more we put our observations on platforms like this, the more we can inform the experts on what we are experiencing.

I’m not saying anything political. Just write those who have something to offer relief from long Covid. Or thank the dedicated medical workers who are passionate about helping us.

Hi, ericy210
Did you have arthritis or autoimmune before Covid?
Were those symptoms relieved by paxlovid?
Thanks for clarifying.
If you get any help, please keep us posted.
What do the people running your study have to say? Do they know if there is any research on paxlovid helping arthritis and autoimmune?

Yes, my son and I both took Paxlovid within the first 72 hours of testing positive for the coronavirus in the Summer of 2024.
For the first time in a long time, all of our SLE inflammation issues completely disappeared along with the virus symptoms by day 3 of the medication use.
We were surprised yet relieved and excited.
We could actually sleep a full night, walk 3-5 miles quite easily, and complete tasks without any interruptions from our body.
The biggest change was the lack of fever, migraines, brainfog, fatigue, gerd, gi issues, and swelling. My eye sight was better during that time, also.
That's an amazing anti-inflammatory combination of a medication.