A long COVID diary for the steadier days and the setbacks.
Bucket is an iPhone symptom diary made for MCAS, POTS, EDS/HSD and migraine that also supports long COVID, which often travels with them. Log what you did and how you felt; its own question records steadier days, usual days and setbacks. Bucket adds up your effort as today’s spend, reads heart data from your Apple Watch, and over time shows what tends to come before a setback — sometimes days before.
What people with long COVID often log.
What they met and did
Work, caring and days out
Mental effort
Heat, pollen and poor air
Sleep, stress, being unwell
Medicines and supplements
How they felt
Setbacks
Brain fog
Tiredness
Breathlessness
Dizziness and palpitations
Examples of what people often track — not a list of causes or symptoms to look for. You choose what to log, and Bucket learns your own pattern.
Asked in long COVID’s own words.
When you set Bucket up, you choose every condition you have or think you might — diagnosed, suspected or still exploring. Each brings a question of its own, in words people with it use. For long COVID it’s “Overall” — steadier, usual or setback. Bucket doesn’t ask it every day, only now and then, after a heavy spell.
Your entries fill a bucket that drains over the following days, so you can see the load building. Once there’s enough in your diary, Bucket shows what tends to come before your bad days — the same day or up to about three and a half days earlier.
Pattern in your logs · example
Heavier days tend to be followed by a setback the next day.
7 of 9 times · 6 separate episodes · held in both halves of your data
An example of how Bucket words a pattern. It describes what tends to follow what — never what caused it.
Your bucket went near the top. Two taps help Bucket learn what matters for you — skip either.
How did you sleep?
- Badly
- OK
- Well
Overall
- Steadier
- Usual
- Setback
What Bucket does for long COVID.
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Today’s spend
Physical and mental effort added up for the day, shown against your usual — and once a few setbacks have followed heavier days, against the level those days reached. If yesterday or the day before reached it, Bucket says so.
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Time above your heart-rate ceiling
With an Apple Watch: your usual resting rate plus 15 to start, or your own number if a medicine holds your rate down. Long stretches above it are watched for patterns.
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A stand test, if standing is hard
Bucket’s guided stand test — five minutes lying, ten standing, your Watch reading your heart — gives numbers to take to a clinician. There’s a free version on this site too.
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More than one condition
Long COVID often travels with POTS, MCAS or ME/CFS. Choose every condition you have or think you might, and one diary covers them all.
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Light enough for a bad day
A tap, a sentence or your voice is enough, and gaps are fine. Nothing nags, and there are no streaks.
Try the free stand test in your browser — no app, nothing stored.
Questions about Bucket and long COVID
Is there an app to track long COVID symptoms?
Yes — Bucket is an iPhone diary that supports long COVID. You log what you did and how you felt, and its own question records steadier days, usual days and setbacks. Bucket adds up your effort as today’s spend and looks for what tends to come before your setbacks.
Can Bucket help with pacing for long COVID?
In part — it isn’t a pacing programme and never sets targets. Bucket shows today’s spend — physical and mental effort — against your usual day and, once a few setbacks have followed heavier days, against the level those days reached. With an Apple Watch it also shows time above a heart-rate ceiling you can set yourself.
Does Bucket tell me to exercise or do more?
No. Bucket never sets activity targets, never suggests building up, and never says you did too much. It shows what you’ve spent and what tends to come before your bad days in your own records, so you can weigh it yourself.
Can I track long COVID alongside POTS or MCAS?
Yes. Bucket lets you choose every condition you have or think you might, and one diary covers them all, with a question of its own for each.
Can I do a stand test at home?
You can record your own numbers with Bucket’s free stand test at mybucketlog.com/stand-test: it times five minutes lying down and ten standing, helps you count your pulse at set points, and gives you a printable sheet to take to a clinician. It shows readings, never a verdict. If you faint on standing, have someone with you or ask your clinician first.
Do I need a long COVID diagnosis to use Bucket?
No. You can add long COVID as diagnosed, suspected or still exploring, and Bucket never diagnoses.
Who wrote this.
Bucket is made by Chris, who has a connective tissue disorder and hypermobility, gets migraines, and is working towards an MCAS diagnosis through the NHS — and built Bucket to find the delayed reactions that were impossible to spot alone. Read Chris’s note.
This page describes what Bucket does. It doesn’t explain long COVID, and it isn’t medical advice. To read about long COVID itself, see the NHS page.
Checked against the Bucket app on 28 October 2026. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
Often travels with
Free, no sign-up
- Stand test Time five minutes lying and ten standing, count your pulse, print your numbers. Nothing is stored or sent.
- Try the bucket Tick what happened this week and watch a sample bucket fill and drain.
- Appointment sheet One page to fill in before you see a clinician. Print it or save it as a PDF.
- Paper symptom diary A week on one page — what you met, what you did, how you felt.
Be first to try Bucket for long COVID.
One email on launch day with the App Store link. That’s all.
Planned launch price: 30 days free, then £12.99 a month or £89.99 a year. Cancel any time in iPhone Settings.