When to accept permanent long covid?

Hello, my dear Long Covid Friends -
I'm 83 years old and 4+ years post-covid. I am about to share my most recent 'win' in the hopes that my story will help you in some way. It is, specifically, about the herb "Skullcap".
I recently was introduced to it by way of a cup of herbal tea with the first ingredient being Skullcap. This was on May 2nd. I'm excited to share this news because 45 minutes after I had the tea, all at once, I felt 'terrific' which made me look closely at the list of ingredients. Skullcap was never on my radar, so I did some research. I was delighted to see the benefits. It goes right to the nervous system and much more. Long story, short here - this has turned me around! The benefits of the cup of tea last well over 24 hours but I continue to have a cup each morning with my breakfast. As some of you may remember, I take *a lot* of supplements, including many amino acids - something to support every system in my body. This tea is just an addition. I can't sing the praises enough. In case you are curious: This organic tea is made by Traditional Medicinals and it's the "Stress Ease; Tension Relief" formula. I keep saying that it took away 'that layer of yuckiness' and pervasive fatigue. At this point, I feel like I'm only 83 years old instead of being 83 years old and suffering from Long Covid.
And, for more help. Check out the free YouTube channel of Gez Medinger. He is one of us and has been working on recovery for 5 years. He has the ability to surround himself with professionals on every level who share their expertise with us...all for free. In addition, he has opened up his channel to a membership for only $.99 (cents) per month where is offers 'live' Q & A sessions. There is one such session today in about 3 hours.
Today's session will be posted on his channel for everyone to see in a couple of days. Regardless, his channel is a gold mine of information.
My best to everyone,
Pam

Thanks so much for your reply and very useful information. Best wishes and good luck.

The encouragement I find here is inspiring. There may be relief, somewhere down the road, if we can just wait it out while we do the best we can with our symptoms.

I wish the medical profession as a whole could be as forthright.

For me the answer to the originasl question, when to accept long COVID, is every morning when I get up. Life, wherever I find it, is new every morning.

I rejoice in the good days (even though they're not what I'd want them to be) and savor them. On a bad day (and they are more frequent than the good ones) I simply wait it out.

That may mean cancelling appointments, not making plans to see people, not taking on a scheduled task that goes beyond the limits of my physical lassitude and mental malaise. I may find that opening a can of chili taxes the limits of my endurance, and that making a salad and whipping up a simple one-dish meal is out of the question.

OK Lord... if this is it for now, thank you that I can still use a can opener and the chili, when I taste it isn't bad. Not long ago I had a dear friend die of ALS. In his last days he was eating though a feeding tube or not at all when he decided to call it quits.

I'm not there yet.

I'm thankful for what I have even while I wish it were more, that I'd get my life back as I used to know it and could somehow escape the bonds of what is. The present, however demoralizing, is what is and in the present there is hope. The trick is not to let the transient demoralizing factors occlude the eternal, where hope lives. My laments about the past, how I misspent it or what I lost, or my anxious projections and worry about the future take me out of the present - where my life is.

Living in the present isn't such a bad thing, whatever that present happens to be. It's there, in the present, that I can draw closer to God and listen to what He has to teach me in each present moment.

In my best of those worst moments I can still, in small ways if not big ones, serve others. And in that there is meaning, and at times, profound fulfillment. Maybe, as in a song I wrote years before COVID changed everything, it can be in something so simple as a smile for a stranger and a hug for a friend.

If you've read this far, here's one for you. God loves you and never give up hope.

From my five years of life-altering LC experience, your message is perfect, exact, direct, specific, clear, precise, and all other descriptions of what everyone on this site is all about. I joined this Mayo site hoping to find advice, encouragement, wisdom, knowledge, experience and kindness of strangers...aka THE VERY BEST THAT HUMANITY CAN OFFER ANOTHER HUMAN BEING. Everyone on this site proved that strangers are friends we've not yet met. No doubt MANY others are equally grateful for MANY of you. THREE CHEERS TO US....THE SURVIVORS!!!!

I have had long COVID 5 years now and somehow that mark has made me start looking at this more as a permanent condition and easing into being more accepting. It stinks being in my 30s and feeling like I am missing out on so much of life; some travels, social events, being able to work like a normal human, and feeling tired every damn day.

I am on the higher functioning end; I've maintained full time employment (though by taking lots of sick time, so really not technically all the way full time), I have traveled a few times at home and abroad since COVID (screw the consequences - I crash afterwards every time), get out for hikes (even though it worsens my fatigue, especially if I have to drive there and back myself - it restores my mind though and helps me sleep), etc. But I feel like I am burnt out. I've been treading water for five years and now I just want to let go and sink under the water. But don't know how to do that, as most of us don't know how to get by without working and someone to take care of you much of the time, which is what many of us need!

My semi- acceptance has me looking into more solutions - hiring friends to do on-demand cleaning/home care, possibly getting a roommate to not have to care for a household all by myself, cutting work hours, and hopefully going on 1 month medical leave which I have never done this whole time just to catch my breathe before I start treading life's waters again. And also, I pace myself with trying new long-COVID solutions - as we know, very few of them actually work so all the dr visits, specialists, supplements, etc just end up being a waste of time, energy and money.

I appreciate this support group as well; thank you for all your thoughts and ideas and encouragement!

I am very sorry that you’re suffering so much and are so young! I, too, suffer from Long Covid. I had Covid in December of 2022 and lost my taste and smell on day 2 of the virus and it’s now May 20o25 and it’s still not back. I have had 7 Stellate Ganglion Block injections and the 7th one took away my PTSD/Anxiety to almost 0. I do still, when I push myself to stay up late, have body tremors and sleepless nights, but I’ve learned I can no longer do that, so I don’t stay up late. I also have Hashimoto’s and stopped eating gluten, dairy and soy products and that has helped tremendously with body inflammation. I would definitely look into the Stellate Ganglion Block Injections. I had mine done at our big hospital Northwestern in their Pain Management Clinic. Good luck!

I have had long COVID 5 years now and somehow that mark has made me start looking at this more as a permanent condition and easing into being more accepting. It stinks being in my 30s and feeling like I am missing out on so much of life; some travels, social events, being able to work like a normal human, and feeling tired every damn day.

I am on the higher functioning end; I've maintained full time employment (though by taking lots of sick time, so really not technically all the way full time), I have traveled a few times at home and abroad since COVID (screw the consequences - I crash afterwards every time), get out for hikes (even though it worsens my fatigue, especially if I have to drive there and back myself - it restores my mind though and helps me sleep), etc. But I feel like I am burnt out. I've been treading water for five years and now I just want to let go and sink under the water. But don't know how to do that, as most of us don't know how to get by without working and someone to take care of you much of the time, which is what many of us need!

My semi- acceptance has me looking into more solutions - hiring friends to do on-demand cleaning/home care, possibly getting a roommate to not have to care for a household all by myself, cutting work hours, and hopefully going on 1 month medical leave which I have never done this whole time just to catch my breathe before I start treading life's waters again. And also, I pace myself with trying new long-COVID solutions - as we know, very few of them actually work so all the dr visits, specialists, supplements, etc just end up being a waste of time, energy and money.

I appreciate this support group as well; thank you for all your thoughts and ideas and encouragement!