I built lcovid because I know what it feels like to be dismissed.
My name is Maurits. In 2024, I got COVID. It never really left.
For two years, I was functionally disabled. Simple things — taking a shower, reading a book, having a conversation — left me wiped out for days. My doctors ran blood tests, found nothing unusual, and told me it was probably anxiety. My family tried to be supportive, but I could see in their eyes that they did not understand. I started to doubt myself.
Brain fog made it feel like my head was wrapped in cotton. Sleep was broken. My heart raced when I stood up. Grocery shopping meant three days on the couch afterwards. I learned the word “PEM” — post-exertional malaise — from strangers on the internet before any doctor mentioned it to me.
The worst part was not the symptoms. It was the isolation. The feeling that no one around me — doctors, friends, family — fully believed what I was describing. The internet was a minefield of misinformation, pseudoscience, and desperate people pushing unproven cures. And the real research, the papers that actually explained what was happening inside my body, were locked behind jargon and paywalls.
What actually helped me
Over those two years, I spent more than $100,000 of my own money trying to find clarity. I eventually regained enough function to work again — not cured, and very aware that not everyone does — through a combination of things: radical pacing, dietary changes (especially around histamine), low-dose naltrexone, hyperbaric oxygen therapy at Aviv Clinics in Florida, and time.
I am acutely aware that my path is not everyone’s path. What worked for me may not work for you. Survivor bias is real — I’m writing this because my experience, however incomplete, showed me what’s missing. I do not claim lcovid will fix you. I do not claim anything will fix you.
Why I built lcovid
What I can say is this: I wasted months chasing dead-ends, missing patterns in my own body that were obvious in hindsight, and searching for information that was scattered across forty open browser tabs. I want to spare other patients some of that.
lcovid is my attempt to curate the research-backed information I wish I had found sooner:
- A knowledge base written in plain language, with every claim sourced
- An AI that answers questions from peer-reviewed research, not Reddit rabbit holes
- A tracker that helps you notice your own patterns without becoming obsessive
- A meal analyzer that flags Long COVID-relevant triggers in photos
- Wearable integration so your data can speak even when you don’t have the energy to log anything manually
None of this is magic. None of this is a cure. It is a toolbox — one that I wish had existed when I was at my worst.
What lcovid is not
lcovid is not medical advice.
I am not a doctor. I do not have a medical degree or clinical training. Everything on this platform is for educational and self-management purposes only. You should not start, stop, or change any treatment based on anything you read here. Always consult qualified healthcare providers who know your specific situation.
For the people who love someone with Long COVID
If you are here because your partner, child, parent, or friend has Long COVID and you are trying to understand what they are going through — thank you. Your willingness to learn is the most valuable thing you can offer them.
Long COVID is invisible. It does not show up on most standard tests. It comes and goes in ways that can look inconsistent from the outside. Your loved one is not lazy, not depressed, not imagining things, not “just tired”. They are dealing with a real, biological illness that 400 million people worldwide are living with. Believing them is the first medicine they need.
How to reach me
I read every feedback submission. I answer every email personally. If lcovid helps you even a little, I would love to hear about it. If something is broken, confusing, or missing, I want to know that too.
— Maurits