It’s been six weeks since I caught the virus, and I’m still not right. I’ve improved from where I was three weeks ago. Now I can do an easy walk for 10 minutes or so before becoming breathless and worn out. But for someone who would normally cycle 100 miles a week, that doesn’t feel like a great step forward. So I’ve joined the many thousands who are having problems recovering from Covid-19. What is also clear is that the medical profession doesn’t really know what to do with us. I’ve seen my GP several times and had a series of tests, but these haven’t identified any specific problems. ‘I expect your symptoms will improve in the weeks and months ahead,’ he suggested. But I wasn’t content with ‘wait and see’, so my GP is now trialling different treatments.
I’ve
just completed a one week course of high-dose steroids, which has sought to reduce
the levels of inflammation in my lungs. I need to take steroids like this
because I only have one kidney. The trouble is that high-dose steroids have very
unpleasant side-effects: they made me mentally hyper, anxious and insomniac.
After a week of this I was burnt out, and my lungs were only a little improved.
The next option is to trial an asthma medication. This was my suggestion, after
doing internet research.
The NHS
has a website: Your Covid Recovery. It’s targeted at people who take longer
than 4 weeks to recover. But it is largely devoid of meaningful information, and
spends a lot of time stating the obvious. For example: if you get tired and
breathless doing something, then stop. It does tell you that if your symptoms
persist for three months then you are considered to have Long-Covid. And there must
be plenty in this unfortunate situation. The most recent government statistics reveal
that there are now half a million more people on long-term sick than before
the pandemic.
My own research found that the problem seems to be related to age and pre-existing conditions. Studies show that half of those aged over 50 take longer than 4 weeks to recover from Covid-19. And for those with pre-existing lung conditions, such as myself, Covid-19 did make their symptoms significantly worse. Three years into the pandemic, these facts should not be surprising to the medical profession. After all, Covid-19 is a type of viral pneumonia. So why does the NHS appear to have no clinical guidance on treating the many thousands of people in the UK who have this very common chronic illness? Is the NHS so consumed with firefighting acute problems that it has no capacity to do this?
