Long Covid - a growing problem

They all overlap, these issues caused by viruses.

It still, to me, sounds identical to the symptoms the people I’ve known with ME suffer from.

It's a massive problem FarNorth. Two years on for me and many others in my long covid support group.

The medicos are flummoxed by it with many studies ongoing but no resolutions at the moment. It's such a mad assemblage of symptoms that I can't see it ever being treated formally, it's all DIY to see if anything works as Maybee's suggestion of probiotics.

It does help me when people share their experiences as it makes me feel less like I'm losing it. The fatigue and brain fog are the worst and also the feeling when, after a few good days when you think you're winning, the symptoms reoccur, it's so disheartening. I feel like I've aged 10 years in the last two!

Nanna8 you're so right when you say it's a foul illness. All we really can do is support each other.

I agree with you all. I had a fairly mild case 3 weeks ago but I am still not right and get tired easily and out of breath. It is a truly foul illness. What is more, it has affected my memory- I was always good with words but find I am searching for names and words which were just second nature before.

I only had a mild dose of Covid compared to many, no drugs had to be taken, just normal over the counter pain killers, but it’s taken until this week for my energy levels to come back to normal. I’ve spent 6 weeks or so just pottering with frequent rests.
I feel so sorry for those who have been hospitalised and now have long Covid.

I took a while to recover after I had Covid (I was hospitalised) but I did recover gradually. When I got home from hospital I couldn’t walk up the stairs without several stops to get my breath. I didn’t go outside the house for about a month after I got home. I gradually did more and then more and I gradually felt better. Now I’m okay although I don’t like to walk fast as it makes me breathless and I get more tired than before. However it’s difficult to know if that’s just getting older or Covid. The one long change is the scars on my lungs, still there a year later. Next X-ray is in June, so we’ll see then if there’s been any improvement.

I think it's because acknowledging long term issues would mean dealing with them.
Supporting people, helping them, ensuring they aren't financially impacted, and dealing with the fall out.
Far easier to sweep it all under the carpet.

I read that a high percentage of people who were hospitalised have long Covid. I don't know why there's a continual refusal to acknowledge the numbers.

Possibly some covid patients are suffering from the recognised Post Intensive Care Syndrome. At the height of the pandemic high numbers of covid patients required ventilation in ICU. Any patients, not just covid, who spend a prolonged period in ICU are at risk of suffering long term after effects including muscle weakness, poor balance, anxiety and depression etc. These symptoms can persist for many months after discharge from hospital.

I have had Covid twice,both times I was asymptomatic but now I do have aching legs which I didn’t have before so is that long Covid?

Trouble is severity of illness doesn’t necessarily equate to more chance of having long covid. You can have it quite mild but get long covid and be very ill with it but make a full recovery.

I wonder whether the drugs used in hospital to treat Covid may be partly of even wholly responsible for these ongoing effects: the fatigue, muscle pain, poor sleep and breathlessness.

Corticosteroids were used in the treatment of Covid to damped the immune system which was going into overdrive as the body tried to fight the virus.

Anyone who has an inflammatory auto immune condition and has or has had to take high doses of corticosteriods will know the effect they can have on the body - all of the above symptoms - both while taking the drug and during the long reduction period. The side effects can be acute if withdrawal is done too quickly. Once off the drug altogether it can still take months to feel well again.

Worth trying Maybee for those with Long Covid.

I’ve read that pre biotic/pro biotics can help greatly with long covid.