RTHM

04/21/2026

Patient-Led Research Collaborative (PLRC) and RTHM Clinic recently released the Long COVID Treatment Guide to support more informed conversations between patients and their clinicians.

The guide covers over 30 different interventions. Today, we’re highlighting rapamycin, a medication that has shown promise for those with ME/CFS and Long COVID—particularly patients experiencing fatigue and post-exertional malaise (PEM).

In a phase one trial in people with ME/CFS, weekly rapamycin doses of up to 6 mg were associated with significant improvements in fatigue, sleep, and orthostatic intolerance over three months. Researchers believe this may be related to rapamycin’s effects on autophagy and mTOR signaling, which are areas of growing interest in ME/CFS and Long COVID. A clinical trial studying low dose rapamycin in people with ME/CFS and people with Long COVID is also currently underway.

In the Harvard/Stanford TREATME study, 22% of individuals with Long COVID or ME/CFS who tried rapamycin reported moderate to much better symptom improvement.

As with all treatments in the guide, rapamycin is prescribed off-label and should be discussed with a clinician to determine whether it is appropriate for an individual case. It may also require lab monitoring, such as CMP, CBC, lipids, fasting glucose, A1C, and fasting insulin, since it can worsen lipids, liver enzymes, and insulin resistance in some people, especially early on.

The Treatment Guide is an evidence-based resource hub that can help inform clinicians and patients about treatments that could be tried today.

Download the guide here: https://www.rthm.com/treatmentguide

03/27/2026

Have you tried Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) for Long COVID, ME/CFS, or other chronic illness symptoms? Please share in comments.

According to real-world data, 57% of RTHM Platform users who had taken LDN reported improvements, and 38% of those described the benefits as significant.

The most commonly reported improvements were reduced fatigue, improved mental clarity, decreased aches and pains, and reduced post-exertional malaise. Many patients saw more noticeable benefits at the 90-day mark than after just 30 days, showing that LDN can take time to reach full effect.

LDN is often started at very low doses (0.5–1.5 mg) and gradually titrated up to a tolerated dose of 3–4.5 mg. It works by modulating immune and inflammatory responses, offering support for some of the most challenging symptoms of complex chronic illness.
Swipe through to see more and learn whether LDN could be a helpful part of your treatment plan.

You can explore potential treatments like LDN through RTHM or join our email list for updates on research and treatment access. Link in bio to get started or sign up.

03/25/2026

In a recent op-ed published by The Sick Times, “A new aid in the doctor’s office: Introducing the Long COVID Treatment Guide,” Dr. Letícia Soares from PLRC and Dr. Jennifer Curtin from RTHM discuss the treatment guide assembled over the past year for patients to explore potential treatment options for Long COVID. They highlight that there are prospective treatment approaches available today that may help reduce symptoms and improve quality of life while we wait for more RCTs.

The treatment guide contains 24 prescription medications, as well as select over-the-counter medications, procedures, and lifestyle tools. Note, it is not an exhaustive list, nor is it intended to serve as medical advice.

The guide was designed to support both patients and clinicians in having conversations about prospective off-label treatments during limited appointment times, while also helping to close gaps in awareness around the evolving evidence base.

We hope this resource can help patients evaluate the options available to them and can inform clinicians on the supporting evidence for off-label treatments for Long COVID.

Read the full story: https://thesicktimes.org/2026/03/12/a-new-aid-in-the-doctors-office-introducing-the-long-covid-treatment-guide/

03/19/2026

A national study found that children with Long COVID are more likely to struggle in school and miss significant amounts of class due to illness.

Researchers analyzed survey data from more than 11,000 U.S. children ages 5–17, comparing kids with Long COVID symptoms lasting longer than three months to those who never had Long COVID.

Children with Long COVID reported higher rates of learning difficulties (19.8% vs 10.4%), as well as more problems with memory, concentration, and depression.

They were also far more likely to miss school because of illness. About 13.9% experienced chronic illness-related absenteeism (missing 18+ school days per year), compared with 3.5% of children without Long COVID. Children who had Long COVID had about 2.5 times the odds of chronic illness-related absenteeism.

These findings suggest Long COVID may affect not just health, but also learning, development, and school participation for some children.

👉 Read the full study: https://doi.org/10.3201/eid3114.251035

Authors: Nicole D. Ford, Regina M. Simeone, Caroline Pratt, Sharon Saydah

03/16/2026

03/13/2026

03/11/2026

The Patient-Led Research Collaborative and the RTHM Clinic are excited to release the Long COVID Treatment Guide. The Treatment Guide is a resource meant to help patients and clinicians navigate the treatment options that could be tried for people with Long COVID.

Since there are no FDA-approved treatments for Long COVID, all pharmaceutical options are for off-label indications backed by clinical studies, as well as patient and clinician expertise. One of our intentions was to gather this evidence all in one place, so that patients and clinicians can make decisions informed by evidence. We also wanted to present that information in a format that would allow for the review of one treatment in a brief clinician visit. The Treatment Guide is not an exhaustive list, nor is it intended to serve as medical advice — it is an educational resource for patients and clinicians to use together.

To support the use of a listed treatment, we used both data from early clinical studies in Long COVID and data from infection-associated chronic conditions (IACCs) that are common in this patient population, such as postural-orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) and mast cell activation. Our decision to include a treatment was guided by existing evidence from the literature and the patient community, clinician expertise, as well as the Harvard/Stanford TREATME study organized by Dr. Martha Eckey, which surveyed patient-reported treatment effectiveness among 3,900 people with Long COVID or myalgic encephalomyelitis. We also prioritized listing treatments that were backed by clinical treatment guides for Long COVID and commonly comorbid IACCs.

Thus, the Treatment Guide is an evidence-supported resource hub that can help inform clinicians and patients about treatment options that could be tried today. We hope this resource can help patients evaluate the options available to them and can inform clinicians on the supporting evidence for off-label treatment options for Long COVID.

Download the guide here: https://www.rthm.com/treatmentguide

03/10/2026

Complex illness does not move in straight lines. It behaves more like a system of interlocking gears that respond to constant internal and external factors.

In this clip, Dr. Jennifer Curtin and Dr. Zac Spiritos explain why treating conditions like EDS, ME/CFS, and Long COVID requires thinking beyond isolated symptoms. A treatment that helps one area can affect another. This is exactly where new AI tools may show promise in mapping interwoven patterns and starting to predict what is more likely to help, and what might cause unintended side effects.

Watch the full conversation to hear how real world clinical experience and emerging technology are offering new ways to untangle this complexity and support more personalized next steps in care.

📽️: https://youtu.be/-eMC4Wxel3I

03/05/2026

Are you struggling with PEM?

Post-exertional malaise, or PEM, is not just feeling extra tired. It is a dramatic worsening of multiple symptoms (often called a “crash”) that can be triggered by going beyond your body’s energy threshold via physical, mental, and/or emotional exertion. Even sensory overload (like too much light or sound exposure) can trigger PEM in some cases. Even fun activities like hanging out with friends or cheering for your favorite sports team can trigger PEM. A PEM crash can leave someone bedbound or functioning at a significantly lower baseline for days, weeks, or even months or more. Having PEM makes it difficult to plan activities, work, go to school, engage in social activities, or manage everyday tasks.

PEM is a hallmark symptom of ME/CFS, and occurs in many people with Long COVID as well. For people who experience PEM, it is often the symptom that most severely limits daily life and independence.

Research-supported treatments exist that may help reduce the frequency and/or severity of PEM crashes and raise one’s energy threshold before PEM is triggered. We know it can take some time to find a treatment that works, and we’ve seen many patients positively respond, sometimes drastically, to these medications.
Have any of these treatments made a difference for your PEM symptoms? Share in the comments, please.

For treatment suggestions personalized to your health history, try RTHM’s HIPAA-compliant intelligence platform.

www.rthm.com

02/27/2026

RTHM just made supplements a whole lot easier.

You can now order high-quality supplements directly through RTHM, shipped straight from the manufacturer, at 25% off to start.

No more guessing, we've curated a list of the top brands you can trust.
For patients navigating complex conditions, supplements often mean trial and error. We’re working to make that process smarter, more data-driven, and easier to manage, all in one place.

If you’ve been meaning to streamline what you’re taking (or rethink it entirely), check out RTHM’s HIPAA-compliant intelligence platform for supplement and treatment suggestions personalized to your health history.

www.rthm.com

02/25/2026

Complex illness treatment isn't about FDA-approved silver bullets. It's about sifting through countless options to find what works uniquely for each person.

In her discussion with Dr. Zac Spiritos, Dr. Jennifer Curtin shares the frustration of clinical practice, always wondering, "Did I miss the one treatment that could get someone from bedbound to back in school?" Treatments that help one patient can backfire for another with similar symptoms, hinting at hidden patterns too complex for humans alone to spot.

That's why she and her team built RTHM, the HIPAA-compliant AI platform she wished existed when she got sick, so patients would no longer face endless trial and error.

Watch the full conversation to hear how real-world experience is turning frustration into personalized breakthroughs.

📽️: https://youtu.be/-eMC4Wxel3I