Bethany, a former full-time physical therapist, describes developing long Covid after a breakthrough infection in July 2022 despite being vaccinated. Her symptoms began with fatigue and evolved by October 2022 to include facial nerve pain (numbness/tingling), worsening GI issues, shortness of breath, and exertional chest pain; these symptoms severely limited work capacity and social life. She reports that the Gupta Program—particularly its neuroretraining techniques (including a "stop, stop, stop" method and REM/retraining practices)—helped break a symptom–anxiety cycle, reduce hypervigilance, and restore function. As of the interview she estimates being about 80–85% recovered: able to work, exercise an hour after work, and better manage activity by pacing and rest.
Questions this video answers
July 2022
Facial nerve pain with numbness and tingling
Yes—she had been vaccinated prior to the infection.
Approximately 80–85% recovered
September 23, 2024
Chapters
My name is Bethany. Before long Covid, I was working full time as a physical therapist. So I was working long hours. Also spending time with my family, my wife, you know, just living life, enjoying life, traveling, hiking, doing anything that I wanted to with no real repercussions from, from any illness. I have IBS and food intolerance tolerances that I' had pretty much since I was 10 years old. But I could manage those and you know, still function and still work. So I caught Covid back in July of 2022. I had been vaccinated but still got, got sick, had fatigue from the get go. Then In October of 2022 I ended up with facial nerve pain. So I had numbness and tingling on my face. My GI symptoms got worse. The fatigue I had shortness of breath, ended up getting chest pain with exertion. So that the course of kind of symptoms just kept evolving. Social life became non existent. I just didn't have, if I went to work, I didn't have energy to do anything else. When I came home weekends I would be on the couch sleeping, just not, you know, going to the grocery store was taxing enough. Doing the Gupta program, especially the, the retraining part, I was able to kind of stopped reacting to my symptoms. So I was in the cycle of I'd have symptoms, mind anxiety and increase and then the symptoms would increase and my anxiety would increase and I was just in that vicious cycle. And so using the stop, stop, stop or using just the kind of retraining and rem what life was like when I wasn't sick with long Covid really helps me calm my anxiety down to where I could focus, I could work. But also I wasn't always constantly hyper vigilant on what's happening in my body right now. And that was huge that, that helped so much to be able to still function and not be in my head the entire time and I could focus on what I was doing or who I was with instead of oh, I've got nerve pain in my face right now or I've got chest pain right now. And so that that really helps physically. I started noticing I was less fatigued. I was able to start doing a little bit more. And now being I'm able to exercise for an hour after work now, which is huge, to keep my body in shape for the physical aspect of the lifting that I have to do at work. I would say I'm probably 80 to 85% right now. I don't feel like I have any limitations. I have realized I need to rest more. I need to say no sometimes, and. And I need to choose wisely what I want to do and when I want to do it.
