How to help my teen recover after two bouts of Covid

[JustlookingNotbuying]

16 year old DS had Covid (presumably the Delta variant) end of October 2021. He wasn’t particularly unwell with it but since then he gets bouts of tummy pain (enough to take time off school with), still hasn’t fully recovered his taste and smell back and gets bouts of exhaustion. He is regularly very tired.
He came down with Omicron a few weeks ago and again wasn’t particularly unwell, just cold like symptoms but he is still exhausted.
We’ve been for a long walk on the beach today and since getting home he has gone straight to bed.
I often find him on his bed fast asleep at 7pm or so. He is constantly tired and low in mood since getting Covid.
I am concerned for him. He has his GCSE’s soon (has already missed lots of mocks) and will be taking a construction apprenticeship this year for which he will obviously need to be strong and energised for.
I did take him to the GP in December but they said he’ll need to go at least 3 months with symptoms before they would consider referring him to the long Covid clinic.
We have a telephone GP appointment next week and I’ll ask again.
In the meantime, is there anything he could take that could help boost him?

Is his diet ok, getting correct vitamins? Gradual exercise increasing could help too. It's a bit of a lottery covid, but do go back to the dr if he's not improving by 3 months

My uni aged daughter got a post viral type of glandular fever which lasted for ages. She was prescribed a high dose vitamin D. I would start with that to boost immune system. Get a high dose from reputable company like Holland and Barrett. She still takes it every winter.

My DD is 14 but very similar. I'm so worried actually.

Lunch is a complete disaster. There's no space for them to sit and eat a proper meal.

I'm trying to get as much veg and protein into her as possible. All independence is out the window tbh. I'm up buttering toast and scrambling eggs and I usually do a slow cooker dinner. She is taking multivitamins too.

Will be following for ideas.

I think the same advice after any bad illness really. Lots of sleep and rest. Good food but don't stress about it if you can't get veg etc down him, you can buy multi vitamin drinks which will help. Try to get him to drink lots of water. Maybe try and get him sit in the garden for a bit while it's nice and sunny. Good for the mood and will help his vitamin D levels. Also a bit of exercise if he can manage it, a walk is enough.

Thanks everyone.
He already takes vitamin d but I’ll look into getting a good quality multivitamin into him.
napoleonincharge it’s such a worry isn’t it?

Sorry nothing but time and rest I'm afraid, pacing strategies, ie total rest day before something important or short bursts of activity followed by rest/sleep. My young adult son took 8 months til he could go back to his usual exercise (running and weights). I was a year before I could manage work again but even now I pace myself by day in/day off (I am old though, semi retired do bank shifts). Both got original version in first wave though which was probably worse variant than omicron. We both find lucozade helpful when flagging but I realise that's not entirely healthy but sometimes needs must for energy boost. Hope he gets better soon, it's more of a worry when it's our children than ourselves isn't it💐

Thanks Mossstitch it is such a worry when it’s our children. He seems so low and I hate to seem him like that and seeing him sleeping so much. He doesn’t want to go out with his friends so much when he was previously always out. I really worry he will struggle with his bricklaying apprenticeship, he has struggled so much throughout school as he is dyslexic and it was never picked up u til recently. He has been so looking forward to eventually leaving school, working and earning money. I am so concerned Covid has knocked his strength and he will find it all a huge struggle, it’s all he has wanted to do for a while now but you have to be so fit to work on a building site, I just hope he will cope.