No answers, but group does support long Covid sufferers

Tamara O’Brien started the group as a way for her and other people to share experiences and to offer support and advice.

She has had long Covid – symptoms of Covid-19 for months after testing negative – since January 2021.

‘We’ve been able to compare symptoms, and we’ve found similar groups in the UK and around the world. There’s a huge global community,’ she said.

Ms O’Brien said that the most common effects of long Covid that she and other group members had experienced had been fatigue and brain fog, but there were a multitude of less-frequent symptoms that continued to debilitate her day-to-day life.

‘It can be a hidden illness with no visible symptoms, there’s no “one size fits all”,’ she said, adding that she had experienced aches and pains in her joints, as well as infections and pins and needles.

‘I’ve just had to accept that this is how my life is now,’ she said.

Ms O’Brien sees her GP every two months, and has tried different types of medication in an attempt to combat the worst of her illness, but is yet to find something that alleviates her symptoms fully.

‘Recently a guy came over from Jersey and put me on a new drug, but it didn’t work unfortunately,’ she said.

Ms O’Brien added that she and members of her Facebook group did not often talk about medication, but would sometimes suggest what they thought might work to each other.

Despite being one of the first people on the island to spread the message about long Covid and its effects, Ms O’Brien has found it difficult to determine exactly what needs to be done to increase awareness further.

‘Because there are such a variety of symptoms, it’s hard to tell people exactly what to look out for. I have to plan my day with how I’m feeling in the moment,’ she said.

A spokeswoman for Health & Social Care said that people who suspect they have long Covid should see their GP.

‘Most cases are managed in primary care, with appropriate input from therapists, such as physiotherapists. GPs can also refer to secondary care doctors as appropriate,’ she said.

Regarding the total number of people on the island who have long Covid, the spokeswoman said that HSC did not collate such information centrally, as the majority of cases were seen in primary care.

‘With regard to the number referred to secondary care services, the number is fewer than five,’ she added.

According to an Office for National Statistics survey from November last year, about 2.1 million people in the UK, or 3.3% of the population, were experiencing self-reported long Covid.

n Ms O’Brien’s private Facebook group can be found at https://bit.ly/3ExXE5q