A few years ago I shared I had horribly debilitating Long Covid and was really ill for around 18 months - and that I had recovered.
My symptoms were freaking awful. I was lucky my breathing was okay. But I couldn't stand for more than a few seconds at a time. Walking took every ounce of effort and was reserved for only very necessary things like trips to the bathroom or to a cab to go to a medical appointment.
My heart rate would race. I had no emotion in my voice, face, or inside me anything. I would stutter badly when I spoke. I would forget what someone said to me, I'd forget what I was saying, I'd forget words.
It was like I was put on super slow motion - I felt like I was moving through air made of mud. If someone threw a ball at my face, I didn't have the reaction to avoid it hitting me.
I had no energy - I tried eating high energy foods, iron, nothing helped. I was so tired, but couldn't sleep. I was constantly nauseous and dizzy - like I was motion sick. Standing was the worst, lying down was a close second due to the dizzyness in both positions - sitting was the least-worst option, but took energy to stay upright-ish.
I also struggled to think - it was like my brain capacity percentage was running on single digits. I felt like a zombie - only a zombie is highly motivated to run and fight for brains - I had no fight, no motivation in me.
I'd joined the NZ Facebook support group for Long Covid. I did my best to learn and stay informed in things that may help with symptoms in that group. People in there were really empathetic. Unfortunately nothing helped me.
One day, slumped exhausted on the floor of the bathroom after having a shower, I had one small voice inside - a faint whisper:
"This is not my life. This is not going to be me for the rest of my life until I die".
I began to look outside the Facebook group for what might be possible. I was so careful to stick to science, to peer-reviewed articles, and stay away from those preying on vulnerable people.
I went on Facebook to go to the group to search for more info, but I happened to see a video from Maria Williams sharing her Long Covid recovery experience.
Holy shit - recovery???
I reached out and we had a video call. I grilled her, poor Maria. It sounded too good to be true. But I trusted her because I knew her and I don't think she could hold a lie if she tried and was paid a million dollars (I haven't watched that TV show yet Maria, so I might be wrong - no spoilers please).
Maria had been through a programme based in Auckland called The Switch, run by Mel Abbott through her company Empower Therapies. I looked into it, wondered if it was truly science-based, or a bunch of woo. But I'd spoked with Maria and I believed her.
I showed my husband Chris when he got home from work, fully expecting him to dismiss it, but he said:
"F*ck it! Try it. If it doesn't work, you can tick it off the list. F*ck it. Try it."
So I took a deep breath and what felt like a big risk.
The best decision I ever made.
The Switch is a brilliant, brilliant, life-changing practice. I recovered from my long list of freaking horrible, debilitating Long Covid symptoms half-way through day 3 of the 4-day programme.
Honestly, if I hadn't experienced it for myself, I would be absolutely doubting my recovery!
Sadly when I got well I tried to share in the Long Covid Facebook support group what had worked for me, but was not allowed to. Admin asked me to leave the group - I felt so awful and treated like I was some scammer or something.. Wild. But I understand it was coming from a place of protecting those who are sick. It's just stink that it means more people don't get to hear stories from people who have recovered.
Wild because our doctors are learning about this at university and have had Mel come to talk to them for years now. This isn't scam, this isn't woo - this is a programme based on scientific multi-disciplinary practices and tools, and other things all brought together into a really clever system.
The exciting news is that The Switch has just been peer reviewed by scientists and published in an esteemed medical industry publication!
I am so, so happy for Mel, as she has worked so hard for this.
If you like reading the science-y stuff, here's the link to the peer review:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21641846.2026.2694949#abstract
If you'd like more of a summary of what the research showed:
https://empowertherapies.co.nz/blogs/news/the-switch-published-in-peer-reviewed-research
My symptoms were freaking awful. I was lucky my breathing was okay. But I couldn't stand for more than a few seconds at a time. Walking took every ounce of effort and was reserved for only very necessary things like trips to the bathroom or to a cab to go to a medical appointment.
My heart rate would race. I had no emotion in my voice, face, or inside me anything. I would stutter badly when I spoke. I would forget what someone said to me, I'd forget what I was saying, I'd forget words.
It was like I was put on super slow motion - I felt like I was moving through air made of mud. If someone threw a ball at my face, I didn't have the reaction to avoid it hitting me.
I had no energy - I tried eating high energy foods, iron, nothing helped. I was so tired, but couldn't sleep. I was constantly nauseous and dizzy - like I was motion sick. Standing was the worst, lying down was a close second due to the dizzyness in both positions - sitting was the least-worst option, but took energy to stay upright-ish.
I also struggled to think - it was like my brain capacity percentage was running on single digits. I felt like a zombie - only a zombie is highly motivated to run and fight for brains - I had no fight, no motivation in me.
I'd joined the NZ Facebook support group for Long Covid. I did my best to learn and stay informed in things that may help with symptoms in that group. People in there were really empathetic. Unfortunately nothing helped me.
One day, slumped exhausted on the floor of the bathroom after having a shower, I had one small voice inside - a faint whisper:
"This is not my life. This is not going to be me for the rest of my life until I die".
I began to look outside the Facebook group for what might be possible. I was so careful to stick to science, to peer-reviewed articles, and stay away from those preying on vulnerable people.
I went on Facebook to go to the group to search for more info, but I happened to see a video from Maria Williams sharing her Long Covid recovery experience.
Holy shit - recovery???
I reached out and we had a video call. I grilled her, poor Maria. It sounded too good to be true. But I trusted her because I knew her and I don't think she could hold a lie if she tried and was paid a million dollars (I haven't watched that TV show yet Maria, so I might be wrong - no spoilers please).
Maria had been through a programme based in Auckland called The Switch, run by Mel Abbott through her company Empower Therapies. I looked into it, wondered if it was truly science-based, or a bunch of woo. But I'd spoked with Maria and I believed her.
I showed my husband Chris when he got home from work, fully expecting him to dismiss it, but he said:
"F*ck it! Try it. If it doesn't work, you can tick it off the list. F*ck it. Try it."
So I took a deep breath and what felt like a big risk.
The best decision I ever made.
The Switch is a brilliant, brilliant, life-changing practice. I recovered from my long list of freaking horrible, debilitating Long Covid symptoms half-way through day 3 of the 4-day programme.
Honestly, if I hadn't experienced it for myself, I would be absolutely doubting my recovery!
Sadly when I got well I tried to share in the Long Covid Facebook support group what had worked for me, but was not allowed to. Admin asked me to leave the group - I felt so awful and treated like I was some scammer or something.. Wild. But I understand it was coming from a place of protecting those who are sick. It's just stink that it means more people don't get to hear stories from people who have recovered.
Wild because our doctors are learning about this at university and have had Mel come to talk to them for years now. This isn't scam, this isn't woo - this is a programme based on scientific multi-disciplinary practices and tools, and other things all brought together into a really clever system.
The exciting news is that The Switch has just been peer reviewed by scientists and published in an esteemed medical industry publication!
I am so, so happy for Mel, as she has worked so hard for this.
If you like reading the science-y stuff, here's the link to the peer review:
https://www.tandfonline.com/
If you'd like more of a summary of what the research showed:
https://empowertherapies.co.
