Tollovid aka CovidRid?

Yes, the title for this article is lame, but don’t worry I know it is lame, so it’s ok. With that being said, for almost 3 weeks I’ve been on Tollovid. I’ve had a significant shift in my health for the better, but it’s not that simple. It never is. As I reduce the dose I’ve felt what seems like a rebound effect, which has been seen in some who take Paxlovid. (https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/10/opinions/paxlovid-rebound-covid-treatment-sepkowitz/index.html) It’s something similar to what I also have experienced with Paxlovid and Monoclonal Antibodies, Paxlovid especially. It’s not a negative in my mind, but it’s brought on some different symptoms that I haven’t experienced so strongly in a while. I’m going to provide more detail about all this, and what this rebound feels like below, but first let me explain what Tollovid is for those who don’t know.

Tollovid is a supplement made by Todos Medical. It’s main components are Gromwell Root and Lecithin. It is a 3CL protease inhibitor, similar to Paxlovid, thus it acts as an antiviral agent by stopping replication of SARS-CoV-2, and other Coronaviruses. It also helps with inflammation, circulation, and detoxification, amongst other things, but the 3CL protease inhibitor aspect is the most intriguing to me.

My Tollovid journey started about 20 days ago. For the first 14 days I took Tollovid Max 4x a day 3 pills at a time. That is the maximum dose and they suggest to take that for 5 days straight (seems to be the dosage used for those in an acute situation, but I am a COVID Long Hauler). This went very well. I have more brain power, energy, was in a better mood, and was much more active. My inflammation in my torso in particular decreased and my urine color changed for the better and stool became more normalized. The symptoms I had at the time were mitigated a lot. On top of that, I’ve also been coughing up a lot of phlegm. The Tollovid really kicked in in a couple of days and the noticed benefits continued. During this period I was amazing inspired to go through all my stuff, which was a lot, to organize and get rid of things. This was never a thought before taking Tollovid.

On to Phase 2, finding the correct reduced dose for me. I’m still in this phase and it’s complicated, and interesting. Day 15 I decided to drop to the recommended maintenance dose of 2 pills 2x a day which is 33% of the max dose. With this change I experienced what felt like a rebound, very similar to what I experienced the first day coming off of Paxlovid after taking it for 5 days straight. My symptoms shifted and came on strong, up and down throughout the day. With Paxlovid, I had a wild nervous system reaction, increased blood pressure, and had a very tough time for about 2 days, until it gradually dissipated after 7 days. The next few days, after day 15, I increased my dose to 3 pills 2x a day, 2-2-3 pills in a day, and now the past several days I’ve done 3 pills 3x a day, which seems to be working well for me for now. The symptoms I experienced were/are increased inflammation in the head (headaches, pain on side of head), chest, heart, nerves (extra weakness at times, some pins and needles), and joints in particular all worse from the baseline from before I started the Tollovid, but with a big up and down swing throughout the day. It was certainly not as severe as going off Paxlovid cold turkey and it is better now on day 20. The spots affected were the hot spots from the past 2 plus years with COVID, but weren’t exactly the main issues I had when I started the supplement. Phase 3 is how long do I have to take this for and what will be the true maintenance dose.

With Monoclonal Antibodies, which I used for my Long Haul COVID, the symptoms I was experiencing at the time quickly improved, two of which were chest inflammation and joint pain. My neuro symptoms came on strong for about a month, up and down (more up and down than normal). With Paxlovid, used for an Acute COVID Reinfection (and Long Haul COVID), it took away my chest inflammation very fast and helped with the acute symptoms overall. The day I came off I had an extreme rebound effect, that I explained above. That first day off was really difficult to get through. I basically went back to my Long Haul (LH) baseline, with a tiny bit of improvement in my LH, after a week off of the Paxlovid. With the Tollovid, my Long Haul COVID symptoms at the time were also helped quickly and continued to improve while taking the max dose. Once I reduced the dose, I felt what I assume was that dreaded rebound effect. Symptoms shifted and they increased in intensity from where they were baseline with a big up and down swing. They all acted similarly, but they don’t all do the same things, except for one thing that they do.

So what’s happening here? I believe all three of these things were working on persistent COVID-19 virus. What else explains these similar reactions? What is the cross-over between these 3 things other than they are working against the virus? mAbs are an infusion of antibodies which will help combat the virus. Paxlovid and Tollovid are 3CL protease inhibitors which prevent viral replication. Tollovid has various benefits, but do the other 2 have various benefits? To me this screams persistent virus, which I have believed all along. It’s hard to figure out exactly why I’ve had these reactions, meaning what is actually going on in the body to get that rebound, increased inflammation effect, but it is not uncommon with other viruses and medications. Tollovid does seem to give me a little herx right after I take it, another indication I have persistent virus. A herx is a die off reaction by the way. In the very least to me it indicates Covid can persist in some, and may be a big reason for Long Haul Covid. I’ll continue to take Tollovid and provide an update in the future.


UPDATE – 7/30/23

Still taking Tollovid to this day. I’ve settled on 3 pills 2x day, but when I’m running low I take 3 pills 1x a day, and even that helps me. I can notice when I have increased symptoms that after taking Tollovid they will reduce in short time. If I don’t take Tollovid for a period, symptoms will increase (not as much as they used to). I’m much more functional now and currently on an RV trip creating a docuseries called “Castaways.” Tollovid expensive, but at a maintenance dose it’s manageable, and for me it’s a very valuable part of my regiment. I wouldn’t say it’s a CovidRid, but it’s very much helping with what I assume is persistent COVID and with coinfections I’m quite confident I’ve had.