gpmj12
Active member
I had a very mild dose of Omicron earlier this year but have been left with months and months of exhaustion. I find I even have to have a rest after a simple task like washing my hair. GP’s have no real answers other than to wait it out. But I have been trying to follow the developments.
More than two million people in the UK say they have symptoms of long Covid, according to the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) survey.
Many long Covid patients now report Omicron was their first infection - and I’m one of them.
But almost three years into the pandemic there is still a struggle to be seen by specialist clinics, which are hampered by a lack of resources and research.
Has the condition changed at all, and have treatments started to progress?
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence defines long Covid, or post-Covid syndrome, as symptoms during or after infection that continue for more than 12 weeks and are not explained by an alternative diagnosis.
An estimated 1.2m of those who answered the ONS survey reported at least one such symptom continuing for more than 12 weeks - health issues that they didn’t think could be explained by anything else.
It’s easy to assume that new cases of long Covid have significantly decreased, given recent research suggesting the risk of developing long Covid from the Omicron variant is lower.
However, the sheer scale of cases over the past year has resulted in more than a third of people with long Covid acquiring it during the Omicron wave, according to the ONS.
** What are the symptoms of long Covid?*
The symptoms reported by newer long Covid sufferers are still broadly similar: weakness or tiredness, difficulty concentrating, shortness of breath and muscle aches are mentioned most often.
What might be surprising is that for many of these people the severity of their long Covid has not diminished.
After going through a mild Covid infection myself in January, two weeks after returning to work I rapidly went downhill and ended up taking a month off work being closely monitored by doctors and hospital specialists.
Over the following months I spent most days in bed due to fatigue and severe joint pain, and struggled to walk more than a short distance without chest pain.
I experienced significant cognitive issues with memory, speech and hearing, developed pleurisy, and even a reactivated Epstein-Barr virus responsible for my long-forgotten bout of glandular fever more than a decade ago.
I was officially diagnosed with long Covid after 12 weeks and had gone from balancing a demanding job going into the office throughout the pandemic alongside exercise, hobbies and nights out to requiring help with basic tasks and rarely leaving my bedroom.
It’s now been 10 months, and I still experience chronic pain, brain fog, and muscle twitching and I struggle to do simple housework or activities even after taking a prescribed cocktail of painkillers and supplements.
** ‘I have to choose between walking and talking’*
** Long Covid patients face lottery over treatment*
Patients like me are usually referred to post-Covid assessment clinics after experiencing symptoms for 12 weeks - however, waiting times have not improved much within the past year.
The latest NHS England figures show 33% of Londoners given an initial assessment had to wait 15 weeks or more from the time of their referral, compared to 39% from a similar period in 2021.
Long Covid treatment across NHS services in England still varies hugely too, according to the Royal College of Nursing, with some services treating it as a physical condition but others as psychological.
After waiting more than 19 weeks I was finally assessed in August but was left feeling hopeless, with a one-hour Zoom call offering diet and pain management advice - but no further investigations, referrals or treatment.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-63546138
More than two million people in the UK say they have symptoms of long Covid, according to the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) survey.
Many long Covid patients now report Omicron was their first infection - and I’m one of them.
But almost three years into the pandemic there is still a struggle to be seen by specialist clinics, which are hampered by a lack of resources and research.
Has the condition changed at all, and have treatments started to progress?
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence defines long Covid, or post-Covid syndrome, as symptoms during or after infection that continue for more than 12 weeks and are not explained by an alternative diagnosis.
An estimated 1.2m of those who answered the ONS survey reported at least one such symptom continuing for more than 12 weeks - health issues that they didn’t think could be explained by anything else.
It’s easy to assume that new cases of long Covid have significantly decreased, given recent research suggesting the risk of developing long Covid from the Omicron variant is lower.
However, the sheer scale of cases over the past year has resulted in more than a third of people with long Covid acquiring it during the Omicron wave, according to the ONS.
** What are the symptoms of long Covid?*
The symptoms reported by newer long Covid sufferers are still broadly similar: weakness or tiredness, difficulty concentrating, shortness of breath and muscle aches are mentioned most often.
What might be surprising is that for many of these people the severity of their long Covid has not diminished.
After going through a mild Covid infection myself in January, two weeks after returning to work I rapidly went downhill and ended up taking a month off work being closely monitored by doctors and hospital specialists.
Over the following months I spent most days in bed due to fatigue and severe joint pain, and struggled to walk more than a short distance without chest pain.
I experienced significant cognitive issues with memory, speech and hearing, developed pleurisy, and even a reactivated Epstein-Barr virus responsible for my long-forgotten bout of glandular fever more than a decade ago.
I was officially diagnosed with long Covid after 12 weeks and had gone from balancing a demanding job going into the office throughout the pandemic alongside exercise, hobbies and nights out to requiring help with basic tasks and rarely leaving my bedroom.
It’s now been 10 months, and I still experience chronic pain, brain fog, and muscle twitching and I struggle to do simple housework or activities even after taking a prescribed cocktail of painkillers and supplements.
** ‘I have to choose between walking and talking’*
** Long Covid patients face lottery over treatment*
Patients like me are usually referred to post-Covid assessment clinics after experiencing symptoms for 12 weeks - however, waiting times have not improved much within the past year.
The latest NHS England figures show 33% of Londoners given an initial assessment had to wait 15 weeks or more from the time of their referral, compared to 39% from a similar period in 2021.
Long Covid treatment across NHS services in England still varies hugely too, according to the Royal College of Nursing, with some services treating it as a physical condition but others as psychological.
After waiting more than 19 weeks I was finally assessed in August but was left feeling hopeless, with a one-hour Zoom call offering diet and pain management advice - but no further investigations, referrals or treatment.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-63546138
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