Could a Dormant Virus Be Keeping You Sick? with Evan H. Hirsch, MD

You have viruses sleeping inside you right now. More than 90% of adults do, and COVID can wake them up. A new study followed 1,154 people for a year. Nearly half of them had one wake back up, and one virus family kept showing up in the people who stayed sick. Epstein-Barr, cytomegalovirus, HHV6. Most of us picked them up in childhood, and most of the time they just sit there quietly. The new study in Nature tracked what happened when COVID woke them up, across 20 US hospitals. Evan H. Hirsch, MD breaks down why the trigger was inflammation and not a weakened immune system. He gets into why the family with the strongest link to Long COVID is one you have probably never heard of, and why prescription antivirals run into a wall with viruses that go back into hiding. And he shares how a client who was spending more time on the couch than with his kids got back to hiking once all of the Toxic 5 were addressed. In this episode, you'll learn: Why nearly half of the people in the study had a dormant virus reactivate during their COVID infection, and which two virus families it happened in What anelloviruses are, why most people have never heard of them, and why they had the strongest link to Long COVID in this study Why inflammation, not a weakened immune system, is what appears to wake these viruses back up, and why that applies even if you were never hospitalized The three reasons prescription antivirals run into a wall with latent viruses, and what the SHIELD trial at Mount Sinai is stacking because of it Why a study panel that does not look for Lyme, bacteria, yeast or parasites does not mean they are not there What the Toxic 5 are, and how a client got his energy back and the brain fog lifted once all five root causes were addressed Discover your fatigue score and the root causes keeping you stuck: https://myfatiguescore.com Free Fatigue Masterclass: https://fixyourfatigue.com See real results: https://energymdmethod.com/results Chapters: 00:00 - Introduction 00:34 - What the New Study Found 01:45 - The Virus Family You've Never Heard Of 02:52 - Why Dormant Viruses Wake Up 03:42 - The Strongest Link to Long COVID 04:46 - Why Antivirals Fall Short 07:35 - Addressing All of the Toxic 5 09:06 - Case Study: A Client's Recovery Subscribe to the EnergyMD Podcast for weekly conversations with leading experts on resolving ME/CFS and Long COVID by addressing the real root causes. . For more information about Evan and his program, Click Here.  Prefer to watch on Youtube? Click Here.  Please note that any information in this episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice.

Paxlovid helped a lot of people get over COVID faster. But what about the people who never got better? A large NIH-funded trial put that question to the test in almost 1,000 people, and the answer was no. The 89% reduction that made Paxlovid famous came out of a narrow, high-risk group back in 2021, during the Delta wave. That was a different question, in a different group, at a different point in the pandemic. Evan H. Hirsch, MD, breaks down what the RECOVER-VITAL trial actually found after six months, why trials at Yale and Stanford landed in the same place, and what the drug was designed to do from the start. He also gets into what else is keeping you sick: the spike protein appears to wake up viruses that have been dormant inside you for years, and he shares how a client who took Paxlovid twice only got better once all of the Toxic 5 were addressed. In this episode, you'll learn: What Paxlovid was actually approved for, and why the famous 89% reduction in hospitalizations came out of a narrow, high-risk group during the 2021 Delta wave What the NIH-funded RECOVER-VITAL trial found when almost 1,000 people took extended Paxlovid for six months, and why trials at Yale and Stanford found the same thing Why the drug is safe to take for that long but still cannot resolve Long COVID on its own How the spike protein appears to wake up viruses like Epstein-Barr and HHV6 that over 90% of us already carry, and why a new trial at Mount Sinai is stacking antivirals because of it What the Toxic 5 are, and how a client who took Paxlovid twice recovered only after all five root causes were addressed How a client recovered by addressing all five root causes together, not just the reactivated virus driving her brain fog Discover your fatigue score and the root causes keeping you stuck: https://myfatiguescore.com Free Fatigue Masterclass: https://fixyourfatigue.com See real results: https://energymdmethod.com/results Chapters: 00:00 - Introduction 00:38 - What Paxlovid Is and What It Was Made For 01:53 - Can Paxlovid Help the Chronic Version? 02:19 - What the RECOVER-VITAL Trial Found 03:13 - Why One Antiviral Was Never Enough 04:24 - The Viruses the Spike Protein Wakes Up 05:39 - Case Study: A Client's Recovery 06:43 - Where That Leaves Paxlovid Subscribe to the EnergyMD Podcast for weekly conversations with leading experts on resolving ME/CFS and Long COVID by addressing the real root causes. . For more information about Evan and his program, Click Here.  Prefer to watch on Youtube? Click Here.  Please note that any information in this episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice.

You can work on every physical root cause of Long COVID and still feel stuck. What if part of what's holding you back isn't physical at all? If you've been working on the physical side of Long COVID for a while and something still feels stuck, this conversation might land differently. Julie Ryan is a medical intuitive who has worked with thousands of people, many of them dealing with Long COVID. She sees the body in a way most of us have never considered, and after all those years one pattern stands out to her: there is always an emotional component in place before an illness sets in. The physical work still matters. But if you're carrying an emotional block, she says, your body can't run on full power. Julie Ryan is not a physician and this episode is not medical advice. It's a conversation about a different way of looking at the body and the energy around it, so you can decide what resonates with you. In this episode, you'll learn: Why Julie says there is always an emotional component in place before any illness sets in, and what that means for Long COVID and chronic fatigue The "energy field membrane" analogy: how an old emotional event, from this life or a past one, can leave your body leaking power How Julie describes scanning a body like a human MRI, why she always goes in blind first, and what an energetic healing looks like from the client's side Why she sees energy healing as part of the same healing equation as Western medicine, from radiologists and EKGs to the more than 800 US hospitals with energy healing departments What Western testing can miss, from mold to EMFs, and the story of a 30-year-old client with osteoporosis Guest: Julie Ryan is an author, entrepreneur, podcaster, and medical intuitive whose work explores health, spirituality, animals, and life transitions. She hosts Ask Julie Ryan, a weekly call-in show heard in more than 100 countries and ranked in the top 0.05% of podcasts. Julie is the author of Angelic Attendants and the Angel Messages® children's book series. Her work also includes psychic mediumship and spiritual support around end-of-life questions. A businesswoman and inventor, Julie has founded nine companies across five industries, and her surgical-device inventions are sold globally. Discover your fatigue score and the root causes keeping you stuck: https://myfatiguescore.com Free Fatigue Masterclass: https://fixyourfatigue.com See real results: https://energymdmethod.com/results Chapters: 00:00 - Healing Beyond the Physical: Meet Julie Ryan 02:08 - What a Medical Intuitive Sees in People With Long COVID 10:43 - Intuition, Energy Healing, and Where Western Medicine Fits In 18:19 - What Standard Testing Misses: Mold, EMFs, and Osteoporosis at 30 26:04 - The Toxic 5, the Emotional Component, and the Energy Field Membrane 33:21 - Past Lives, Ancestral Trauma, and Tuning Into Spirit 44:27 - Julie's Training and her Free Book Connect with Julie Ryan: Website: http://askjulieryan.com Free Resources: http://julieryangift.com Subscribe to the EnergyMD Podcast for weekly conversations with leading experts on resolving ME/CFS and Long COVID by addressing the real root causes. . For more information about Evan and his program, Click Here.  Prefer to watch on Youtube? Click Here.  Please note that any information in this episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice.

A new analysis out of Japan says a dementia drug might ease Long COVID fatigue and depression. But it's basically a reanalysis of the same trial that already failed back in 2025, and even where it helped, results were mixed. The reanalysis splits people by whether they had a reactivated herpesvirus. Evan H. Hirsch, MD breaks down what that virus is actually doing to your brain, why the drug only helped part of the group and made others worse, and why chasing one virus and one brain chemical never gets to the real cause. He also shares how a client recovered by addressing all of the Toxic 5, the five root causes behind almost every case of Long COVID and chronic fatigue. In this episode, you'll learn: Why the new Japan analysis is actually a reanalysis of the same JAMA trial that already found no benefit in 110 people, and why results stayed mixed even where it helped How HHV6B, a herpesvirus that reactivates after COVID, produces a protein called SITH1 that drains acetylcholine and drives brain fog Why treating one reactivated virus or one brain chemical never resolves Long COVID on its own What the Toxic 5 are, and why nervous system dysfunction, what Dr. Patrick Porter calls neurological lock, is one of the five root causes How a client recovered by addressing all five root causes together, not just the reactivated virus driving her brain fog Discover your fatigue score and the root causes keeping you stuck: https://myfatiguescore.com Free Fatigue Masterclass: https://fixyourfatigue.com See real results: https://energymdmethod.com/results Chapters: 00:00 - Introduction 00:25 - What the New Japan Analysis Found 01:39 - Why the Results Were Still Mixed 02:17 - Why Donepezil Misses the Bigger Picture 02:54 - The Toxic 5 and Neurological Lock 04:08 - Case Study: A Client's Recovery 05:55 - Why Full Recovery Takes Time Subscribe to the EnergyMD Podcast for weekly conversations with leading experts on resolving ME/CFS and Long COVID by addressing the real root causes. . For more information about Evan and his program, Click Here.  Prefer to watch on Youtube? Click Here.  Please note that any information in this episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice.

Your blood tests come back normal, but you still can't get through the day. There's a reason for that, and most doctors never test for it. This episode originally aired on Dr. Patrick Porter's Brain Fitness Podcast, where Evan H. Hirsch, MD joined Patrick to talk about why so many people with Long COVID and chronic fatigue keep getting told their labs look fine. We loved this conversation so much we wanted to share it here too. Evan breaks down the Toxic 5, the five root causes he's identified behind chronic fatigue and Long COVID, and explains why heavy metals, chemicals, mold, infections, and nervous system dysfunction can wreck your energy even when standard lab work looks perfect. He also shares a real client case, a physician whose own Long COVID symptoms slipped past every specialist he saw, and what it actually took to get him better. In this episode, you'll learn: What Long COVID actually is, and why any new, unexplained symptom since 2020 could be a sign of it The Toxic 5: the five root causes Evan sees behind almost every case of chronic fatigue and Long COVID Why normal lab results don't rule out heavy metals, chemicals, mold, or infections as the real problem A real client's story: a physician whose Long COVID symptoms crept in even though he works in medicine Why the Herxheimer reaction (feeling worse before you feel better) happens, and how Evan's program paces detox to avoid it The five hidden energy drainers, and why nervous system retraining with tools like BrainTap is part of getting better Guest: Patrick Porter, PhD is an award-winning author, speaker, and founder of BrainTap, a neuroscience-based platform specializing in brain fitness, neuroplasticity, and brainwave entrainment technology. Backed by 30 plus clinical studies and trusted by over 120,000 users and 3,000 health clinics worldwide, his work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, CNN, and the Joe Rogan Experience. Discover your fatigue score and the root causes keeping you stuck: https://myfatiguescore.com Free Fatigue Masterclass: https://fixyourfatigue.com See real results: https://energymdmethod.com/results Chapters: 00:00 - Introduction 01:17 - Evan's Story and the Toxic 5 03:50 - Understanding Long COVID 09:39 - Inside the EnergyMD 4-Step Program 22:38 - Real Case: A Physician's Recovery 32:35 - Why Lab Tests Miss the Real Causes 38:52 - Hidden Drainers and Closing Tips  Connect with Patrick Porter, PhD: Learn more about Patrick's work in brain fitness, neuroplasticity, and nervous system optimization: https://drpatrickporter.com/ Try BrainTap and learn how light, sound, and guided brain training are used to support focus, sleep, and recovery: https://braintap.com/ Subscribe to the EnergyMD Podcast for weekly conversations with leading experts on resolving ME/CFS and Long COVID by addressing the real root causes. . For more information about Evan and his program, Click Here.  Prefer to watch on Youtube? Click Here.  Please note that any information in this episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice.

In this episode, Evan H. Hirsch, MD, speaks with Bella about her experience in the program and how it helped her move forward after years of struggling with low energy, daily headaches, migraines, depression, and the effects of a traumatic brain injury. Bella shares how her energy returned, how nervous system retraining and meditation became an important part of her journey, and how she regained a sense of confidence and stability in her daily life. Her story is a powerful reminder that healing can open the door to a new chapter and reconnect you with who you are today. . We help you resolve your Long Covid and Chronic Fatigue (ME/CFS) by finding and fixing the REAL root causes that 95% of providers miss. Learn about these causes and how we help people like you, Click Here. Do you have fatigue, brain fog, shortness of breath, muscle pain, or other strange symptoms? You might have Long Covid. Take our free quiz to find out if Long Covid is behind the mystery symptoms you're experiencing, Click Here.   For more information about Evan and his program, Click Here.   Prefer to watch on Youtube? Click Here.   Please note that any information in this episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice.

You've probably heard both sides of Dr. McCullough's protocol: some people say it changed their lives, while others say it only helped temporarily. So what's the difference? Dr. McCullough's protocol has gotten a lot of attention in the Long COVID community, and for good reason. It uses three over-the-counter supplements to clear lingering spike protein from the body, and the research behind it holds up. In this episode, Evan H. Hirsch, MD explains why the protocol can work, why progress sometimes stalls, and what may be missing from the bigger picture. In this episode, you'll learn: • Why the research behind Dr. McCullough's protocol actually holds up • Why clearing the spike protein often helps at first, then stalls • The other root causes this protocol never touches: heavy metals, chemicals, mold, and a nervous system stuck in survival mode • What this looks like in people recovering from Long COVID • Why relief doesn't last unless you address all of the Toxic 5     • Discover your fatigue score and the root causes keeping you stuck: https://myfatiguescore.com • Free Fatigue Masterclass: https://fixyourfatigue.com • See real results: https://energymdmethod.com/results     Chapters: 00:00 - Introduction 00:30 - Inside Dr. McCullough's Spike Protocol 01:53 - The Toxic 5: The Bigger Picture 02:50 - What the Protocol Doesn't Touch 03:19 - The Bucket Analogy 03:45 - From Plateau to Full-Time Again 05:37 - Evan's Take on the Protocol     Subscribe to the EnergyMD Podcast for weekly conversations with leading experts on resolving ME/CFS and Long COVID by addressing the real root causes. . For more information about Evan and his program, Click Here.  Prefer to watch on Youtube? Click Here.  Please note that any information in this episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice.

The headlines say your thyroid medication might cause cancer. Before you stop taking it, read this. A 2021 study of over 600,000 people found that long-term levothyroxine users had higher rates of several cancers. That number spread quickly, and for good reason. It sounds alarming. But the study had a critical flaw: it could not separate the effect of the medication from the autoimmune disease that caused people to need it in the first place. In this episode, Evan H. Hirsch, MD breaks down what the research actually found, why Hashimoto's is likely behind the numbers, and what to focus on if you want your health to actually improve. In this episode, you'll learn: Why the study cannot prove levothyroxine caused the cancer, and what it was actually measuring How Hashimoto's thyroiditis, not the medication, likely explains the elevated cancer risk What the study got wrong about who it compared, and why that changes the conclusion Why switching to natural or desiccated thyroid does not reduce your cancer risk What drives autoimmune thyroid disease, and what you can actually do about it Why stopping thyroid medication is not the answer if you want to improve your health Discover your fatigue score and the root causes keeping you stuck: https://myfatiguescore.com Free Fatigue Masterclass: https://fixyourfatigue.com See real results: https://energymdmethod.com/results Chapters: 00:00 - Does Levothyroxine Cause Cancer? 00:31 - What the Research Actually Found 01:22 - Correlation vs. Causation Explained 02:39 - Hashimoto's and Cancer Risk 03:43 - The Toxic 5 and Autoimmune Thyroid Disease 04:50 - Should You Stop Taking Levothyroxine? 06:00 - The Real Root Cause to Address Subscribe to the EnergyMD Podcast for weekly conversations with leading experts on resolving ME/CFS and Long COVID by addressing the real root causes. . For more information about Evan and his program, Click Here.  Prefer to watch on Youtube? Click Here.  Please note that any information in this episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice.

Only 14% of people who get the stellate ganglion block have lasting relief. The other 86% aren't unlucky. They just weren't told what was still driving the problem. If you got the SGB, felt better for a few weeks, and then watched the symptoms come back, you are not alone. The block did what it was supposed to do. What it cannot do is remove whatever put your nervous system in overdrive in the first place. In this episode, Evan H. Hirsch, MD breaks down what the research actually shows, why the root causes keep driving symptoms after the block fades, and what it takes for the relief to last. In this episode, you'll learn: Why the stellate ganglion block relieves symptoms for a while but doesn't fix what started the problem How the Toxic 5 keep your nervous system locked in fight-or-flight even after the block fades What a real case shows: two SGB blocks, mold in sinuses, Epstein-Barr reactivation, and the treatment that finally worked Why getting even a week of relief from SGB is a good sign for your recovery How to use SGB as one part of a plan, not a standalone fix Discover your fatigue score and the root causes keeping you stuck: https://myfatiguescore.com Free Fatigue Masterclass: https://fixyourfatigue.com See real results: https://energymdmethod.com/results Chapters: 00:00 - Introduction 00:56 - What the Stellate Ganglion Block Actually Does 01:54 - What the Research Actually Shows 02:51 - The Toxic 5 and What's Still Driving Your Symptoms 03:51 - Real Case: Two Blocks and Still No Lasting Relief 05:18 - What to Do If Your Block Didn't Hold Subscribe to the EnergyMD Podcast for weekly conversations with leading experts on resolving ME/CFS and Long COVID by addressing the real root causes. . For more information about Evan and his program, Click Here.  Prefer to watch on Youtube? Click Here.  Please note that any information in this episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice.

When your labs look normal but you still can't lose weight, the missing piece isn't usually more supplements or another protocol. It's often what's happening in your nervous system and how your body responds to years of accumulated stress. If you're a woman in your 40s or 50s who has optimized everything (sleep, diet, exercise, stress management) and still feel stuck, perimenopause and menopause can look like the finish line. Instead, for many, it becomes the moment when fatigue, weight gain, and brain fog hit differently than before. What most providers miss is that menopause is often a trigger point for long COVID and ME/CFS, and the standard functional medicine approach doesn't always account for what's actually driving the fatigue at this stage of life. In this episode, you'll learn: Why menopause becomes a trigger point for long COVID and ME/CFS, and what standard functional medicine misses about this transition How the nervous system's amygdala gets stuck in survival mode after decades of stress, shutting down immunity, digestion, and hormone production simultaneously The testing approach that includes Dutch Plus hormonal panels, GI mapping, and heavy metal screening Two practical "switching" techniques you can do anywhere (collarbone points and lip technique) to reset your nervous system out of fight-or-flight Why releasing the grip on "I have to lose weight" and shifting your identity paradoxically allows the nervous system to relax enough for weight loss to follow Guest: Maraya Brown is a Yale-trained Certified Nurse Midwife and functional-medicine women's health expert, founder of The Women's Vibrancy Code and host of its globally ranked podcast. She helps ambitious midlife women reclaim their hormones, energy, libido, confidence, and vitality without burning out. With more than 20 years of clinical experience in federally funded clinics, functional medicine, and international health work in Nicaragua, Ghana, and Haiti, she now supports women worldwide through online programs, courses, retreats, and her podcast. Maraya blends advanced lab testing, personalized nutrition, nervous system regulation, and mindset work to help women restore energy, support hormone health, and feel like themselves again. Discover your fatigue score and the root causes keeping you stuck: https://myfatiguescore.com Free Fatigue Masterclass: https://fixyourfatigue.com See real results: https://energymdmethod.com/results Chapters: 00:00 - Menopause as a Long COVID Trigger 03:00 - Maraya's Background and Professional Journey 08:00 - Programs: Trifecta and Year-Long Code 13:00 - Testing Beyond Standard Labs 18:00 - Primitive Reflexes and Nervous System 28:00 - Switching Techniques and Practical Tools 36:00 - Philosophy, Flow, and Client Selection 45:00 - Personal Story and Identity Work Connect with Maraya Brown: Website: https://marayabrown.com/ Free Resources: https://marayabrown.com/resources/ Women's Vibrancy Accelerator Trifecta: https://marayabrown.com/trifecta/ Subscribe to the EnergyMD Podcast for weekly conversations with leading experts on resolving ME/CFS and Long COVID by addressing the real root causes. . For more information about Evan and his program, Click Here.  Prefer to watch on Youtube? Click Here.  Please note that any information in this episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice.