Is there any point going to the GP

[Dilbertian]

I have had Long Covid for nearly a year. Most problematic symptom is exhaustion and poor sleep. It has gradually improved, but I feel stuck in a rut of no longer improving.

My life has shrunk to going to work and nothing more. I just don't have the energy to do more. If I do more, I pay for it in even more exhaustion that I struggle to catch up on.

I'm not depressed. I've had depression, and this is not the same. (Though it is depressing!)

Is there any point in going to the GP?

GP could give amitryptaline if you haven’t tried that to improve your sleep?

Yes, it’s worth going. They can do blood tests to see if there’s any other factors at play, such as thyroid function and diabetes. Also, lack of vitamin b12 can cause problems as well. Maybe they can provide something to help boost your immune system.

It’s worth going and talking it through, they might do blood tests to check that nothing else is going on.

Really though this isn’t something the GP can ‘fix’ it will just take time and adaption of your lifestyle. They might be able to put you in touch with support groups.

Definitely and ask if there is a long covid service in your area that you can be referred to. There are services all over England, so hopefully there is one.

www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/post-covid-syndrome-long-covid/
(Or if the link is wonky, search "long Covid services nhs and the list should come up)

You probably will need to see the GP for a referral and maybe need some tests to rule out other causes (thyroid, b12, anaemia etc). If no long Covid service, there may be a chronic fatigue / ME type service which would accept a referral.

Those services might not be able to "fix" the issue, but they should be able to support with ways to make it more manageable.

I tried amytriptyline in the spring. It did not help me sleep, and made me feel even groggier and more out of it.

Lifestyle changes. Yeah, lose weight - I've put on weight this year from chasing sugar energy. Reduce tech before bed. Cool bedroom. Insomnia techniques. Yadda yadda yadda.

Blood tests for deficiencies sound reasonable.

Go back. You could have a different autoimmune condition. They do present similarly but treatments vary. Tell your GP the symptoms but don't link it to covid.

I went to GP - tests identified two other health conditions triggered by the covid which are wholly manageable and I am now pretty much fully functional if I keep on top of the treatment for these - definitely worth it!

Yes please do.

See if they can refer you to the long covid clinic or the hope for long covid course.

I work in the NHS in community health and we provide Long Covid rehab services. Go to your GP and see what there is in your area.

Why not?

I more meant lifestyle changes as in adapting your life to what you can now do and making the most of that, not chasing what you used to be able to do.

Does my post quoting Pixiedust1234 display properly? My reply "Why not" is not showing on my phone.

Yes it does.

If you don't link it that means they have to think of other things it might be. It might be linked to covid it might not, but it could stop them looking.

I am basing this on my experience. One of my GPs wouldn't investigate if I suggested ME as it "doesn't exist" but give them a list of symptoms and they did blood tests etc and eventually referred to rheumatology. I got a lot further than "no, come back in six months if no better". This was years ago mind you, but reading these boards its still very common for GPs to shut down these invisible conditions.

Absolutely see your GP. It could be long Covid still (in which case they may refer you to a long Covid clinic) or you could have another underlying condition as well as, or instead of, long Covid. So many long Covid symptoms are non-specific so it could actually be something else causing them.

I've had long Covid for 14 months. After 9 months (when I had a long Covid relapse that meant I was unable to work) I pushed for a referral to a long Covid specialist. He sent me for autonomic function testing which proved that I did indeed have long Covid and it had affected my nervous system (so impacting heart rate, blood pressure, fatigue/recovery, breathing, all sorts of things).

BUT my specialist also noticed something else....revealed by blood and urine tests. Turns out I had a tumour in my neck and some of the symptoms it caused were fatigue and brain fog! So I had surgery to remove it and whilst I do still have long Covid to manage, I felt a lot better than I did! The tumour was part of the problem - and it would never have been picked up on if I hadn't seen the long Covid specialist.

In addition to all of this, seems like I also have an underactive thyroid (also picked up by the blood tests) which can cause....yep, you guessed it...fatigue and brain fog. So that's next on the list to deal with.

Then finally...peri-menopause....causes...no prizes for guessing here...fatigue and brain fog. So I just started HRT so let's hope that also helps.

To cut a long story short, I thought I 'just' had long Covid. But when long Covid doesn't improve after 9-12 months, it's worth getting checked out by a GP. It might not be long Covid causing all (or some of) the issues.

I went to the GP, and am having various tests.

I did not mention Covid, but, to my surprise, the GP did not ask whether I'd had it, nor did he ask about my sleep.

@Dilbertian Thats good to hear.

Good you’ve been to the GP, please report on your iron levels, as this was the rescan for my post covid fatigue

Good luck with the tests. You can always mention long covid later if they rule everything else out but sometimes its best to start investigating from scratch.