Guess Who's Back!
Returning After Relapse
After nearly a month of not posting or recording, I am finally ready to recommence.
For those of you who have a chronic illness, you will know that we have flare-ups from time to time, which can be very debilitating. I have not only had a decline in physical symptoms but also been struggling with my mental health. This is not surprising, as I have become increasingly aware that the physical body is linked to the mind.
My symptoms at the moment have been aching limbs and very little energy, which has been exacerbated by moving house. I really did not want to move, but illness has meant leaving my job and the loss of our home, which came with it. It has highlighted to me how hard it is to manage energy levels when the days are unpredictable. I am now looking forward to some normality once the moving boxes are emptied!
After a long period of acceptance, I am once again starting to reengage with the medical profession. I have requested a sleep study from my doctor because I suspect I have sleep apnea. This is not a direct symptom of Long Covid, but of putting on too much weight. It is incredibly hard to avoid this, as I need to use a wheelchair for any meaningful walking, and my antidepressants make me more hungry than usual. This combination has meant I am now an extra two stone heavier than I was a few years ago, and this is making me even more tired. It is a vicious circle.
I plan on recording the podcast again in the coming week and continuing to write about my illness. Here in the United Kingdom, Long Covid is still not properly recognised. I am getting fed up with adding ‘yet’ on the end of that sentence because I am starting to wonder if it ever will be. Face-to-face doctors' appointments are rare here post-COVID, and it's a matter of luck to find a doctor sympathetic, even if I get one. It therefore makes getting treatment very difficult and follow-up almost impossible.
This is the reality of a world that is still affected by the Covid pandemic. I have had to learn that nobody is going to help unless I keep pushing the doors, hoping they will open. This is why I will continue to spread awareness and spend time in our community here on our little corner of the internet.
Sorry for being quiet for so long, normal service is about to resume!
Paul