TTFD for Long Covid
Faced with month after month of suffering and debilitating illness, many sufferers of long covid (PASC) have turned to supplements in a desperate attempt to find something that can offer relief. In this quick post, I will be discussing the effect of TTFD on my Long Covid symptoms.
Thiamine tetrahydrofurfuryl disulfide (TTFD)
Thiamine tetrahydrofurfuryl disulfide is a synthetic, fat-soluble derivative of vitamin B1 developed by scientists in Japan to cure beriberi, the disease caused by the depletion of vitamin b1 (the increased consumption of white rice caused this, as the brown husk contains most of the nutrients). Some common symptoms between long covid and beriberi are as follows:
- debilitating fatigue
- rapid heart rate (tachycardia)
- nerve problems and tingling
- dysautonomia (autonomic nervous system dysregulation)
This is only touching the surface — more information can be found here. The author, Derrick Lonsdale, is a retired doctor of the Cleveland Clinic who is very experienced in treating this often-missed illness.
How TTFD Affected My Long Covid Symptoms
I was at college when I was struck down by this horrible condition (for the second time!!). I was in extremely bad shape — showering and cooking would take up what felt like 110% of my energy for that day. On the days I had to go shopping, the 3-minute walk down to the grocery store would wipe me out for days. I called my parents to bring me back home for the remainder of the year so that I could recover.
It was around that time I began taking thiamine supplements. I first got my thiamine through Kirkland’s brand’s Super B-Complex, which contained Thiamine Mononitrate. I felt a slight improvement from this, which may have simply been a placebo.
Later on, I ordered TTFD off Amazon and begin taking it. My first experience taking TTFD caused severe anxiety and an overwhelming sense of impending doom.
One common symptom seen in severely deficient people who take TTFD is what is known as a “paradoxical reaction.” Basically, this is a fancy way of saying that symptoms get worse before they get better because biomechanical pathways that have laid dormant for a while become reactivated. Read more about it here:
I began dissolving the powder within the capsules and taking roughly 5mg per day, building up to 25mg — 50mg per day. This was low enough so as to not trigger refeeding syndrome.
Some noticeable side effects:
- noticeably increased dopamine, everything seems funny, increased laughter during conversations
- a high-like feeling, brain fog, dp/dr
- agitation/irritability, an on-edge feeling, minor anxiety
It’s unclear whether TTFD had a positive effect on my long covid recovery process. I overcame a plateau early in my long haul and noticed a significant decrease in resting heart rate and improvement in fatigue right after I started thiamine supplementation. Therefore, it’s possible that thiamine deficiency was a downstream effect rather than a root cause.
However, there are many online who have been cured through thiamine, including several long-haulers and CFS sufferers on Reddit.
- https://www.reddit.com/r/cfs/comments/sa7oic/thiamine_cured_my_fatigue/ — Thiamine Cured my Fatigue
- https://www.reddit.com/r/cfs/comments/nvsg6s/about_high_dose_thiamine/ — About high-dose thiamine (cured long term CFS)
- https://www.reddit.com/r/covidlonghaulers/comments/sxc42m/finally_feeling_almost_completely_better_my/ — claims thiamine accelerated recovery
- many more examples — use reddit search.
There are some concerns about thiamine and histamine, as well as its sulfur content and the possibility of depleting other B vitamins. This is not medical advice, do your own research and be responsible if you are planning to experiment.
