Has anyone used doxycycline or another old-school antibiotic?

Many of us are using low dose naltrexone for systemic inflammation. It works quite well and has few side effects as long as you titrate up slowly.

I also have to watch what I eat as my COVID blessed food allergies can make me inflame like crazy. For me, I tolerate little gluten, dairy, sugar, and more. Best to do an elimination diet to see what you are now allergic to!

Here is a link to a new publication about things that are prescribed for chronic fatigue syndrome, which has so much in common with Long Covid that the authors seem to discuss it as the same thing.
https://www.annfammed.org/content/annalsfm/early/2026/04/24/afm.250266.full.pdf
There are tables with medications and supplements and notes about their effectiveness. Antibiotics are not mentioned, perhaps because they don't work on viruses.

The article is: Underuse of Pharmacologic Therapies for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Before Specialist Evaluation

@vostie Thanks! I haven't eaten any of those 'culprits' since long before covid...will try (perhaps) once again to watch my histamine-activating suspects.
Because in the past I had such good luck ~ and quick response ~ with doxycycline was hopeful it might be an under-reported fix.... LDN just made me sooo very tired. I very much appreciate your taking time to respond.

@quickstepper I've printed this article and will read it asap. I know that doxy would not be effect against a routine virus, but it has been effective against whatever causes my rosacea ~ which to the best of my knowledge is a form of inflammation. One can even find specific forms of it on the market targeted for rosacea. Grasping at straws! (If nothing else perhaps it will clear up my current bout of rosacea.) Incidentally, I've been 'kicked out' of the LC clinic; CFS seems to be my current diagnosis. As you point out, these ailments are very similar...including the fact that they continue to plague and puzzle both patients and physicians. Thanks so much for taking the time to respond. I am most appreciative.

@essiee I would strongly recommend trying low dose naltrexone again. There is a whole long covid support group of us using it on reddit and the Mayo Clinic support group who are having great results. I initially found it made me so tired I had to go to bed. I moved the dose from morning to night and did OK for two weeks. Then it gave me insomnia and I had to move it back to the morning...no sleepiness after that.

It works by temporarily blocking your opioid receptor causing your body to upregulate endorphins and regulates your microglial cells...giving you some anti-inflammatory pain relief and a little burst of energy to knock down any fatigue you have.

You need to start at a low dose, usually 2.5 mg, but some people need to start at .5 or even .1 mg. You increase very slowly until you get to a dose where your individual body feels good. My sweet spot is 5 mg in the morning...some people only need 1 mg a day or less. I have about 50% inflammation decrease with my dose and am considering splitting the dose to see if I can get more pain relief at night without the insomnia.

@vostie Thank you for your persistence in trying to help me. Perhaps I'll muster enough bravery to try LDN again. At least I could use up my leftover pills!

@vostie
My daughter has found that she can have goat or sheep dairy (feta or manchego cheeses, both available in Costco), and almond or rice milk. She cannot tolerate any gluten, but can eat rice. Good luck as you slowly test more foods.

I was prescribed doxycycline for an infection and it did help with several of my long covid symptoms. Doxycycline is a used as an anti inflammatory, and is available at a lower dose specifically for that purpose. I switched to the lower dose after my infection had cleared and it didn’t seem to help much for me — but I’d say it’s worth a try!