Brigitte Post’s Long COVID story has a lot of twists and turns. Altea has reported on her before.
A brief review: Brigitte Post had already been infected with COVID-19 at the beginning of 2020 and was one of the first people affected by Long COVID in Switzerland. In the spring of 2021, a turnaround came with the vaccination, but this was only temporary. “I feel like those healthy few weeks happened ten years ago – so much has changed since then,” she explained over the phone. “The symptoms came back suddenly after seven weeks, and worse than before. I was still running on about 30 percent of my energy,” Post estimates. “I was really miserable.”
“In addition to treatment, it’s important to consistently manage your energy.”
So, Brigitte Post began to inquire about H.E.L.P. apheresis. Apheresis, a type of blood washing process, filters clots and inflammatory substances from the blood, among other things, to help with recovery. Post hoped this would eliminate her vascular inflammation and inadequate tissue perfusion, which she blamed for her symptoms, even though the efficacy of apheresis for Long COVID has not yet been scientifically confirmed (see infobox). At the beginning of 2022, Brigitte Post was offered a treatment slot in Oerlikon, Switzerland. “I was really happy; it was my lifeline during a bad time,” she recalls.
Not just a “quick fix”
At the same time, she was aware that apheresis is not a walk in the park. “It’s not like fixing a car, where you go into the garage with a broken vehicle and come out with it all patched up,’ she explains. Rather, she said, you have to be able to cope with strenuous therapy sessions that last several hours. “I always took healthy fruit juices with me so I could regain my strength after apheresis and make it home okay.” In addition, stress reduction and consistent Pacing between sessions are needed to continue to support the healing process. “Otherwise, you just undo the effects right away.”
Add to this the fact that the costs of around CHF 2,000 Swiss francs per session are relatively high and quickly add up to a large amount of money. Whether your health insurance will cover the costs is currently uncertain. It may be possible to obtain a share of the costs through legal action. However, there are no precedents in this regard yet.
After 3 sessions, Brigitte Post noticed that things were starting to improve. After a total of 6 sessions at intervals of one week, the attending doctor prescribed a break. “I probably would have kept going. But she said the body needed time to heal at this point.” Improvement happened gradually, she said, not in one big leap.
Not cured, but a big impact
“This procedure took me from 30 percent of my energy back to 70 percent,” Brigitte Post summed up. “Apheresis did not cure me. But it was an amazing kick-start for self-healing!” She knows other patients who have felt a real upturn from apheresis. “It doesn’t help everyone, and for me the improvement was gradual. Not everyone reacts the same way.”
Hours on the tubes: Brigitte Post during one of her apheresis sessions. (Image: private)
Brigitte Post experienced several improvements: her forgetfulness decreased, her brain fog and circulation problems were gone, and her body's temperature regulation functioned normally again.
Problems with concentration
But not everything is back to the way it was before: A test at the Aarau Cantonal Hospital confirmed that neurocognitive problems were still present. Even on the phone with her, after a certain length of time, I could feel that Post sometimes had to search for words, faltered, and lost her train of thought a bit. However, this was only noticeable if you knew about her illness – otherwise she’s present, humorous and tells engaging stories.
Under control with a lot of effort
However, this quality of life – Brigitte Post talks about the 70 to 80 percent marker – comes at the price of strict discipline. This applies, for example, to energy management and nutrition. Post strictly abstains from alcohol. “If I drink a non-alcoholic beer that has a trace of residual alcohol, I notice it immediately,” she says. “I have to make sure it’s really one with 0.0% alcohol." Yesterday, she drank “a mini-sip” of Röteli cherry liqueur for the first time in months because she felt good – but she noticed it immediately in her head, even the day after.
“Letting go of a performance mentality was something I had to learn.” Brigitte Post is recovering after her apheresis sessions in a mobile home in Denmark. (Image: private)
Accordingly, Brigitte Post also had to take a step back professionally, and her own company is currently on hold for the most part. “I’m 60 years old now, and I’ve been performance-driven for 58 years. “Letting go of a performance mentality was something I had to learn.” She got help from an occupational therapist. She also has her strategies all figured out. When her stress intolerance was really bad, she made a note for herself that said, “I’m stress intolerant right now.” She was able to let her wife know that her partner was “out of order” for a while. ‘I didn’t have the strength to explain.’
Countless appointments completed
For Brigitte Post, it is reassuring to know that she can undergo apheresis if things get worse again. Because the past two years have been an energy-sapping odyssey. ‘I added everything up: in 27 months, I completed 59 doctor and consultation appointments and 85 therapies, respiratory sessions, painting, occupational therapy, TCM and osteopathy... Unfortunately, many conventional medicine appointments were dead ends because there are no approved therapies yet. Complementary medicine helped me manage the symptoms and prevent worse ones from happening.’
‘Now I’ve thought through it again and digested it all,” says Brigitte Post at the end of the conversation, sounding almost a little surprised. “But I’d rather look forward now. Toward Pacing, mindfulness, creativity, and joy of life.”
You can already feel some of that: Recently, Brigitte Post has resumed her longstanding artistic work, which recently came to a standstill, and is now showcasing her silk artwork and personalized silk scarves on her website.
Incomparable color gradients, unique gloss: Brigitte Post is fascinated by silk fabric. (Image: private)
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