Long Covid Experience – Interview with Dr Thema

COVID-19 has affected our lives and our minds. The epidemic is so repetitive that we don’t even know how it started and when it will end. I am one of the 1.1 million people in the UK currently living with Long COVID-19, ranging from three months to a year.

I had COVID-19 in March 2020 and I was the same as every patient in that I had a fever and felt very tired in the first week and I was hospitalised in the second week, but I was lucky in that I was only a mild sufferer and I did not go through the intensive care unit stage, but also like many others, I did not believe or care about the long term physical and psychological condition that comes with recovery from COVID-19 as I had not heard anything at all about the horrible nature of this disease.

For a woman like me, who normally leads a very healthy life, who exercises regularly and maintains a good diet, who does meditation and yoga at home, I was targeted by the after-effects just as much as I was by the extreme and sudden onset of fatigue symptoms, when suddenly I couldn’t do anything and I was made to lie down.

My regular doctor at the time didn’t believe what I was saying, I couldn’t find answers from medicine and felt very unsettled, and when one is on the fence everything becomes difficult, so I started frantically searching forums and other information on the internet to find something to hold on to about my body and mind.

A brain fog appeared and everything went slow

I was unable to exercise for almost a year because I didn’t know when I was going to get sudden fatigue, migraines and brain fog, which made me lose concentration, made me make the wrong decisions when I thought, and my reading skills decreased, and everything slowed down.

I was going to quit all my jobs because I wasn’t sure if I could continue working, but luckily I found a doctor who was patient and willing to listen to my pain and knew that it was the aftermath of recovering from the disease, and he prescribed me medication and I was able to take it and I was fine.

I have also seen many therapists including clinical hypnotherapists who have told me that some of the symptoms of COVID-19 patients after recovery are similar to depression and need to be actively clarified, so we need help from holistic or whole-person medicine such as general medicine, brain neurology, cardiology, pulmonology, therapists etc. as Long COVID is a holistic illness. “

–
Marie Harvel
COVID-19 recovered person

Long COVID Questions: Family support and love give a boost to healing

Q1: How bad was the COVID-19 virus when you were infected?
A: In the first week I had fever and felt tired, but other than that I had no symptoms; in the second week it started to feel very wrong. My sister is a nurse and she was the one who told me to rush to the hospital, but it wasn’t that bad in comparison, but the second week was really tough. After I was discharged, I slowly recovered from these symptoms, but after that I had migraines every week, I was very sensitive to noise and light, and I couldn’t talk or do anything properly.

Q2: After you contracted COVID-19, did you feel a little better for a while, but soon felt bad again?
A: Yes, whenever I wanted to go out for exercise, I kept struggling with migraines and fatigue. My doctor did advise me to keep pushing myself to do some exercise, but in the end I just went along with my body and I felt better when I rested, but after 3 months, I started to feel weak again and I felt really tired and couldn’t walk at all.

Q3: Can you share any changes either before or after COVID-19? When did you experience brain fog after COVID-19?
A: Before COVID, I always had a lot of energy and could think fast, I was fully engaged in everything and I could multitask while doing demanding work, but after COVID-19 I suddenly had brain fog and couldn’t make decisions at all, I had to think really hard about what I was doing and then I started to get migraines.

Q4: What kind of emotions were you going through when you were affected by the long COVID-19?
A: Frustration and fear, for example when my children needed a mother, I would be scared and worried that I wouldn’t be able to do the role. But I know there are many others who feel worse and even suffer from depression. With the help of medication, I feel good now and I am very optimistic and for me am trying to be patient.

Q5: In the initial stages, from your point of view, which of the help in treating you was helpful for you or your community with similar symptoms?
A: In the beginning, talking to the doctors, I felt overwhelmed and I knew I had to trust them, as well as in trying to search for online solutions, some psychology apps also helped myself; the exercises and advice I was given by the therapist, whether it was to cope with anxiety or to calm down, these were very helpful.

Q6: How did your family cope with the situation?
A: I must say I’m really lucky because I have a great family. They are able to take care of themselves very well and my son is also showing symptoms, although they are not as bad as I am. So they understood my situation and they gave me a lot of love. From my case, I found that family understanding and support is very important and strong support and love from the family makes it easier for the patient to believe that he or she will be cured. But I have also seen many family members let themselves go because they do not believe in the patient’s feelings, which is very bad.

Q: Datin Dr Thema Abdul Majid
A: Marine Harvard

–
Datin Dr. Thema Abdul Majid
(Thema Abdul Majid)
Clinical Hypnotherapist

**Warmly reminded that products, services and cases mentioned in the articles and advertisements are for reference only and should not be used as a basis for consultation.