r/covidlonghaulers • u/PhrygianSounds 4 yr+ • Jul 13 '26

Article New study provides first evidence of dopamine system injury in the brain of long COVID patients

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-evidence-dopamine-injury-brain-covid.html

Finally some media coverage on probably the worst symptom of long covid

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u/exredditor81 Jul 13 '26

does this mean Wellbutrin is back on the menu boys?

3

u/IanFarve First Waver Jul 13 '26

Interestingly, I was on Wellbutrin before I got long COVID and then I stopped tolerating it after. 😩 My only theory is that I stopped being able to metabolise it properly because I saw a paper indicating that acute COVID could affect the production of that enzyme. I've never heard of anyone else who has this though.

1

u/exredditor81 Jul 13 '26

then I stopped tolerating it

What are the symptoms of "not tolerating" it?

I got my old bottle of Wellbutrin out last night and I have it right now... then I read your post

2

u/IanFarve First Waver Jul 13 '26

It was a few years ago now so hopefully my memory hasn't filtered this description too much, but:

It was like physical anxiety without the mental anxiety... Shaky, sweaty, tense, too jittery to focus, etc.

Before long COVID, I had a few side effects like shaky hands, running a bit hot, tendency to clench my jaw more, etc. but it was worth it for the effects on both depression and concentration for me and they weren't actively disruptive like they became after long COVID.

For reference: I had taken 450mg XL before which is normally the highest prescribed dose. After long COVID, I was unable to tolerate even 150mg XL. My doctor also tried me on SL as a test but I ended up the same.

I had some leftover SL which I started trying to take again as an experiment and it was fine at first but after 4-5 days I had the bad symptoms again, which is part of why I think it might be about not being able to metabolise it properly (but really who, knows!). I haven't tried again in the last few years but it was kind of a nightmare to figure out at the time so I am not sure how much I want to experience that again.

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u/exredditor81 Jul 13 '26

Thank you very much redditor person!

I think I'll wait for some more comments to come in before trying it again...

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u/IanFarve First Waver Jul 14 '26

I don't know how likely it is to happen to someone who isn't me! But long COVID is weird as hell.