Has anyone tried at-home vagus nerve stimulators for Long COVID?

We are trying at home vagus nerve stimulation for 2nd day. Positive benefits of more relaxed and less anxiety with 10 minutes first day. Vagus nerve disfunction caused by virus has been reported in literature with postural hypotension, heart rate racing, fatigue, anxiety, overall body pain, loss of balance, abdominal problems, and bladder problems. We are tracking how stimulation changes systems. Duration of stimulation is cautioned by manufacturer to be low to avoid problems, but not much definition of problems. Any thoughts on frequency and duration.

There was a small study published in 2024 that used a 10-day t-VNS intervention at home (30 min/session, twice a day) while a study in 2023 used 35 min a day in total, every day for 6 weeks. . Studies also direct to use the right ear only as the right side of the brain is believed to govern “neurocardiovascular-sympathetic interactions”. The best attachment point may also be the cymba conchae rather than the tragus (please google for ear anatomy).

Thanks. Read through study. Showed good results for some long-covid symptoms..brain fog, anxiety. So far we have improvement in both at day 3.

I live in Oklahoma and tried to get in this study but didn't qualify. Sharing an article about it. I have considered purchasing a Vagus nerve stimulator. I would love to hear how it works out for you.
https://medicine.ouhsc.edu/news/article/ear-clip-stimulation-of-vagus-nerve-shows-promise-as-pots-treatment-according-to-ou-college-of-medicine-study

After doing some research, I ended up getting this particular TENS unit ($115) from Caremax that has a specific vagus nerve stimulation program using ear clips. The ear clips go on the tragus part of the ear - that small triangle of cartilage that is in front of your ear hole. I mainly use it to help with the gastrointestinal (GI) damage (from difficulty swallowing, vomiting, esophageal spasms, decreased digestion, and constipation since the muscles in the intestines don't function correctly). The vagus nerve is involved with ALL of that except for the last bit of the large intestines. Because this machine does many things, you can then switch to the regular sticky pads and use the sacrum program to reach the nerves that help with the lower portion of the GI tract. You have to buy the ear clips and gel separately, which adds on another $25 or so. I can't say that it's been a miracle cure, but I've seen about a 50% improvement not related to other medications or treatments over the last 6 months. As far as anxiety and stress, I don't see any improvement. However, there are other stimulation spots (like the outer ear/cymba conchea, carotid area of the neck, & mid-forearm) that are supposed to be more helpful in that area. This device can be used in those spots, too. Caremax is located in Australia, so there will be a shipping charge/wait for delivery. I thought it was worth it for ease of use (pre-programs) and it's flexibilty in the other types of treatments that you can do.

Caremax 2.0 Pro MicroCurrent TENS Machine & EMS 3 in 1 Combo TVNS CES Unit
https://www.caremax.com.au/tens-ems-machine-slim
https://www.caremax.com.au/wp-content/CaremaxProVNS.pdf

I do not, but I am going to look at what you posted. Polyvagal theory is interesting and I am a believer when it comes to trauma. Long COVID is and has been traumatic.

I would love to try the big boys (ear attachments) but I am precluded as I have metal plates and screws in my head from a surgical procedure 10 years ago (to remove a brain tumor). Apparently, the electrical impulses heat up the metal and this can cause brain damage.

About 18 months into my journey I became convinced from my own research that I needed a vagus nerve rescue so I purchased an Apollo Neuro wearable (wrist or ankle). It's not a bonafide VGS - it's marketed as a sleep aid or performance (exercise) booster - but the mechanism of action sounds similar and they have scientific studies that indicate it provides similar results, so I decided it was the closest thing I could try, safely. I have worn it daily since. It didn't work overnight but from that point on I was able to begin to sleep more than an hour a night and my HR and BP began to normalize. All three benefits remain in place today. I still suffer from esophageal spasms and dysmotility and pain, along with intermittent breathing difficulties, and for these reasons I'd still love to try a real VGS. since I can't, I'll continue to look for alternatives that might help heal the vagus nerve.

My 5 1/2+ years of Long Covid has left me with dysautonomia: highBP/HR but with syncope from ‘postural hypotension, not Pots’, plus breathlessness, fatigue, all over body ache, no sense of smell…. I had hoped at least one symptom would get better with vagus nerve stimulation with Tens and ear clip…see the excellent Facebook group ‘ AVA: a vagus adventure’ with personal experience, info.on lots of devices, successes/ failures, and video clips how to use devices correctly. I tried my device for two periods of about 4-6 weeks each going very slowly changing ‘power’ and time but seemed to get higher HR instead of improvements…Will try again. If you look at the AVA group you’ll see the report mentioned above would be generally regarded as trying ‘too fast, too soon’…food for thought!

For your specific symptoms, have you tried low-dose naltrexone? I have been on it for eight months now and it has taken care of most of my shortness of breath, body aches and pains from the constant chronic inflammation are almost completely gone unless I eat something my post covid body is now allergic to and fatigue is about 50% better. You do have to try trade up slowly and there are some initial side effects but they are pretty well gone in about two weeks.

Tried LDN but nausea and extreme stomach pain even with low dose of LDN. Switched to VNS ( Vagal nerve stimulation) worked great