Four Minutes With a Doctor
Living with Long Covid in a system that has run out of answers
I am sitting in the doctor’s surgery.
“What can I do for you?”
I swallow, hesitant about how much to share. I have had experience with doctors who hate the mere mention of Long Covid. I never get to see the same doctor; in fact, an ‘in-person’ appointment feels like a luxury.
I begin.
“I suffer from chronic fatigue that was brought about by Covid”
Tumbleweed. No response. Is this good, or is the doctor indifferent? I hesitate before continuing.
“The fatigue has been worse lately, so I wondered if there is anything else I can do that might help”.
That’s it, I have asked. What follows is a four-minute exploration of all things obvious relating to fatigue.
Am I getting enough sleep?
Am I eating enough?
Big ticket question: How is my mental health? (Subtext, it’s all in your head).
I answer these as truthfully as I can and wait for the conclusion.
“I think we need to do your bloods again, just to make sure nothing has changed”.
I squirm in my seat. I had bloods done less than a year ago, and they were all clear, whilst the fatigue was present. This feels like we are just reaching for an action, but I can't say that.
“ I did have some done not long ago”, I offer apologetically, as if I am questioning the doctor's authority, “They were clear then, and I have had this fatigue since 2021”.
That’s done it. The doctor looks at me, clearly pressed for time.
A tense few seconds.
“Well, it can’t hurt to do them again. Let’s get them done, and then you can come back and see me afterwards”
The thing is, I won’t see this doctor. My surgery is so overworked and busy that we get any doctor who can possibly fit in a four-minute appointment. He knows it, I know it. We both know I am being fobbed off, a metaphorical tin can that has been kicked down the road again.
“Thanks very much,” I say, resigned and walk out.
I don’t blame the doctors, but the system here in the UK is broken. The response to Long Covid has not advanced or improved since I contracted it in 2021. Nothing has changed, save for the increasingly dismissive nature of the benefits system.
How are your experiences getting help with Long Covid symptoms? Let me know in the comments below, and let’s reassure each other that we are not alone.
Paul.
Life with Long Covid is more than a few articles; it is also:
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I’m on my fourth GP since being diagnosed with ME/CFS. My first doctor, the one who had me as a patient since I was 22, was great.
Now I’m lucky to get any attention for the debilitating fatigue and PEM.
I’m resigned to it but live in dread of worsening because any investigation will be limited.
Sounds about right. I stopped seeing the doctor about it years ago. I saw them so often after I became very severe that I think they're probably sick of me. And I've long since exhausted everything they have to offer, so I don't see the point in going back again. I think a study into what NHS GPs actually think about ME/LC would be interesting, if it's not been done already.