A problem shared

Can I ever beat the misery of long Covid?

QLAST autumn I caught Covid and I’m still suffering a variety of symptoms — extreme fatigue, headaches, sleeplessness and occasional dizzy spells. I’m 51 and had only had one vaccination. I was quite unwell at the time, but the aftermath is far worse.

I’ve had to give up my parttime job as I’m so exhausted; there are days I struggle to get out of bed. I’m a shadow of my former self and long to get back to normal. Is there anything I can do?

AI Am so sorry to hear you’ve had such a difficult time with ongoing symptoms of Covid. You certainly aren’t alone – over a million people in the UK are suffering with long Covid.

Although anyone with Covid can develop it, it’s more common in women, those over 50, people with obesity, and those with more symptoms in the first week.

Professor Tim Spector, of King’s College London, who tracks Covid symptoms via the Zoe app, says: ‘The most common persistent symptoms we see in long Covid sufferers are loss of smell, headache, persistent cough, fatigue and shortness of breath.’

Other symptoms include chest pains or palpitations, tingling, weakness or pain. Inflammation of the brain causes brain fog leading to poor memory or concentration, insomnia or dizziness.

Fatigue, aches and pains are common, as are sore throats. You might get nausea and diarrhoea. Depression and anxiety are often reported, too.

You describe days when you relapsed — research backs this up, with 86 per cent relapsing, often triggered by physical or mental effort.

The best thing anyone can do is to be fully vaccinated. research shows that the fully vaccinated are half as likely to develop long Covid, even if they have a breakthrough infection.

But sadly, there is currently no specific treatment, so it’s a matter of dealing with the individual problems.

Find a health professional who listens, takes you seriously, and doesn’t just put it down to stress. Avoid junk food and go for a healthy mediterranean-style diet which supports a healthy immune system.

Graded exercise Therapy can help build strength. Start with gentle stretching for five minutes and slowly increase the time and effort you put in. However, overexertion can trigger worsening of symptoms, known as ‘post-exertional malaise’. So avoid a boomand-bust approach.

Cognitive behavioural therapy can help you interpret signals differently, so you can shape your behaviour in a way that helps reduce your symptoms.

As for the future, long Covid is linked to increased levels of inflammatory chemicals. These cause the immune system to go into overdrive and start attacking the body. Preliminary research points to ‘micro clots’ in the small blood capillaries, which prevent oxygen getting to the tissues. Those given a combination of blood thinners reported improvements in symptoms.

Your symptoms should improve with time. For more information go to yourcovidrecovery.nhs.uk.