Long COVID

By: A.C.

An article at the BBC concerned with “ Long -Covid”  post – viral condition,  makes sense to hundreds if not thousands of sufferers of M.E or CFS and lesser known Fatigue Syndromes, Fibromyalgia &c.

However, one has to ask why unsympathetic clinicians & consultant virologists in the 1980’s & 90’s were prepared to label sufferers of such conditions as “neurotic” or not actually having anything wrong with them.

It is the personal experience of our benefits advisors in the Office who have very long experience when filling out those lengthy DWP forms with our clients, who have been reporting these symptoms for years, that there just seemed to be many and frequent reports of these debilitating symptoms.  

Most of these clients had long, needless battles with Primary and Secondary medical staff who were not disposed to believe in the client’s experiences.  It seemed clear to us, as a reporting charity we were hearing more about this frequent and debilitating condition.  We are not medically trained, but when clients continually tell us of a condition that debilitates them and that is repeated by many other clients in similar circumstances over the years, then we know that something real is happening.  Not everybody is neurotic or in need of psychological help. Though being continually disbelieved and treated with disdain by doctors and work colleagues will probably result in a client requiring such help.

It appears now, that because of the way that the Covid -19 virus is affecting all ages and levels of fitness, many people are being, or will be debilitated by this post -viral condition.   Maybe Doctors are faced with evidence that they cannot simply brush off. 

People have been reporting these symptoms following viral infection, for decades, but in many cases, my own included, we were ignored or labelled by clinicians who felt the symptoms had nothing to do with organic illness.  

The UK Government’ nasty drive toward labelling debilitated and disabled people as workshy and fraudulent when they applied for help might change now.   The right -wing cavalier and brash attitude toward the disabled might also change, at least for a while – considering that the Tory -in -Charge has also had the virus and it is suspected that he might be suffering “ Long -Covid”.   

However, in the world of Politics long -term debilitating illness is seen as weakness. Welcome to the world of the disabled Mr Johnson.     

I wonder if the publicity and frequency of this condition has created conditions that attract research money to investigate the causes of this Post -Viral Syndrome.   

This BBC article – which will also feature on BBC Reporting Scotland on  Wednesday 11TH and Thursday 12Th – has a quote that is interesting:

“Health professionals from the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN), the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) have now defined the term Post-Covid Syndrome.

They described it as “signs and symptoms that develop during or following an infection consistent with Covid-19 which continue for more than 12 weeks and are not explained by an alternative diagnosis”.

The condition has been likened to post-viral fatigue or chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS/ME) – but the reality for individuals is very varied”

That is all very welcome, but please do NOT suggest to sufferers of this condition and related conditions that this is all newly discovered. Research money was never readily available in the past for what was once disparagingly termed by the right -wing press “ Yuppie Flu”,  and sufferers were seen as weak &, workshy. 

We can tell you otherwise, and along with other charities have been doing so for decades.

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