Long covid and HPPD

[freakedout1234]

I posted a similar message in medications but will focus more on long covid here. I hope that's OK.

I am a mostly recovered HPPDer who has been off the forums a long time. Got HPPD in 2004 (anxiety went nuts, trails, brain fog, just felt weird) went off all drugs, felt OK by 2007 but had a relapse for a year and having been feeling fine since 2009 but still seeing trails but it doesn't bother me much. Sucks to have a barely treatable disease doctors know nothing about.

I just got COVID in January (fully vaxxed and boosted) and now have some long haul symptoms still going 6 weeks later. I have lingering fatigue and can't sleep. i got light sensitivity during the acute infection but I'm OK now.  Klonopin, benedryl nothing helps me sleep. I know we are supposed to stay away from SSRIs but would Doxepin (SNRI?) make HPPD worse? I just need to sleep and recover and not have my HPPD also get worse. Also, I was wondering if HPPD could have a link with long covid since our brains might already be damaged can the virus make it worse?

I hope I still have time for it to go away but it sucks to have a barely treatable disease doctors know nothing about!

[MadDoc]

Thank you for posting, and welcome.  Note, I'm not a doctor or a medical professional. 

I remember having influenza that caused light sensitivity for a few weeks after I got better.  Besides the symptoms you've described, are you having any hppd like symptoms (trails, visuals, anxiety)? If not, IMHO, covid hasn't returned your hppd symptoms.  It's very possible that covid, even though you're vaccinated, is causing the insomnia which in turn is causing the fatigue.  I'd go see your doctor.  It's very possible that he/she has experience dealing with post-covid symptoms.  I've read that covid can cause all sorts of post-infection issues with some people.

It's wonderful to hear that your hppd symptoms mostly cleared up.   That sort of recovery might give some people hope.  

Take care.

[freakedout1234]

Yes, I am mostly recovered. Was almost completely recovered (as in HPPD didn't bother me) from 2010 to 2019. In 2019 I tried some THC and had a minor relapse for a year. In 2020 I tried CBD and had a relapse for 6 months.

COVID has made my HPPD maybe a tiny bit worse. But that normally happens when my anxiety gets bad. I still have trails but they've "faded into the background" so they don't bother me anymore. My anxiety goes up and down and its really bad now because I'm worrying about long covid.

Anyway doctors have no idea how to treat long covid. And they'll probably want to put me on an SSRI but I had to tell them about the HPPD and I can't take those. And now I'm wondering if they'll prescribe Doxepin for sleep.

Will Doxepin, a tricyclic antidepressant, mess up my HPPD?