Fitness fanatic GP struggling with long Covid

Ed Allen, 32, has been unable to return to work full time

Ed Allen says the 15 months he has spent struggling with the severe impact of long Covid have been "the greatest challenge of his life".

The 32-year-old GP was a fitness fanatic before he fell ill in February 2022 but admits on bad days he struggled to walk 500 steps.

Dr Allen says he is gradually getting better but still fears he may never fully recover.

"I used to ask myself every day 'When and will I ever get better?" he said.

Dr Allen said his symptoms were "intolerable" most days

Dr Allen, who works at the Birstall Medical Practice, near Leicester, spoke to the BBC about his ongoing recovery to try to raise awareness of the condition.

He first tested positive for coronavirus in February 2022 when his symptoms were initially mild.

However when he became infected again, later in the year, his illness lingered.

"I had muscle pains and felt feverish with flu like symptoms," he said.

"Insufferable fatigue lasted for weeks then months.

"The majority of the days were intolerable. I couldn't keep my eyes open I was laying on the sofa, the brain fog was like nothing I'd ever experienced."

What is Long Covid?

Most people with Covid-19 feel better within a few days or weeks of their first symptoms and make a full recovery within 12 weeks. For some people, symptoms can last longer.

Long COVID is a new condition which is still being studied.

The most common symptoms include:

• Extreme tiredness

• Feeling short of breath

• Loss of smell

• Muscle aches

However some people also suffer:

• Problems with your memory and concentration ("brain fog")

• Chest pain or tightness

• Difficulty sleeping (insomnia)

• Heart palpitations

• Dizziness

• Pins and needles

• Joint pain

• Depression and anxiety

• Tinnitus, earaches

• Feeling sick, diarrhoea, stomach aches, loss of appetite

• High temperature, cough, headaches, sore throat, changes to sense of smell or taste

• Rashes

Source - NHS

Dr Ed Allen was a fitness fanatic before he fell ill in 2022

Dr Allen said he became so unwell he was forced to take six months off work.

While he is now well enough to work again, his hours are the equivalent of two or three days a week in the surgery.

He said he had made "limited progress" but is still not the person he once was.

He said: "Eighteen months ago, before Long Covid, I was able to do whatever I wished to do.

"Exercise was a drug to me. I would push myself beyond my limits."

"A two-hour walk after a gym session would be nothing to me whereas now walking is slow."

He added "There were deep dark points where I saw myself in this pit unable to do anything unable to function as I had done previously I am proud of that I've found my way out of that.

"Long Covid has not just been a physical issue it gets to you psychologically as well. It has affected me on many levels.

"This has been the biggest challenge of my life without a shadow of doubt I wouldn't wish it on anybody."

Dr Allen is among 6,000 people who have been recovering from long Covid with the help of a special clinic at set up at Leicester's Glenfield Hospital in June 2020 and is now able to walk more than 6,000 steps.

Dr Sanjay Bhandari, a consultant cardiologist who runs the clinic, said: "Long Covid is a real thing and it is debilitating.

"We have patients like Ed who was very active, going to the gym three or four times a week then struggling to almost get out of the house. These are genuine symptoms.

"Recovery is mostly through rehabilitation - not trying to push people too much but trying to give them the confidence to boost their exercise within limitations."

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