A man was left bed bound for three months and with his life permanently changed after suffering from Long Covid.
Michael Panayi, 31, says he is no “living in a smaller world” after the coronavirus left him with long term health problems.
He is believed to be among the two million people in England who have experienced long lasting effects of Covid-19 and says he is no longer the man he used to be.
Michael, from Gamston in Nottinghamshire caught the virus in November and said one particular relapse left him in bed for about three months.
"It’s been a very slow progression up until this day,” he told NottighamshireLive. “Most days I feel good, but my immune system I can feel in the background is still overactive so if I overdo it. I get a flare-up of symptoms.”
While most people who contract the coronavirus go on to make a full recovery after 12 weeks, some have gone on to develop Long Covid - effects of Covid-19 that continue for weeks or months beyond the initial illness.
Symptoms include fatigue, breathlessness or shortness of breath, difficulty sleeping, anxiety and depression, heart palpitations, brain fog and joint or muscle pain.
In Michael’s case, he still has ongoing insomnia, stomach issues, heart palpitations, muscle weakness and is left feeling exhausted most days.
“Being on your feet for an hour maximum,” he said explaining his energy levels. “It’s kind of shrunk my world to living within an hour gap with everything I do.
“If I’m struggling to have a social life, be active, to go for walks, to go shopping, it doesn’t just have an effect on my life, it has an effect on my partner’s life, too.”
He's had to adapt his working life as a result and left his previous job to take up a home-based admin role.
“The worst thing is when you go to the doctor and they have no idea what’s going on with you,” Michael explained.
“You kind of feel lost. You turn to the internet, and you look at ways to try and fix yourself.
"You are kind of stuck in your own body and nobody knows how to fix you, it’s very frustrating.”
Dr Irfan Malik, a senior partner at Elmswood Surgery in Sherwood, said doctors were also “in the learning process” of understanding Long Covid.
“As I go on and I see more patients with it, we’re on a journey together about finding out the longer terms effects of Covid," he said.
“I think it will have a considerable impact on GPs, especially at a time when we are already having a surge in demand for clinics.
“We have to wait for more research to guide us with long Covid.”
However, Dr Malik said he was encouraged by the Government's £50m investment into its research.
“It’s affecting adults and also children so I think it’s a good move by the Government to focus on long Covid. I think it will be reassuring to those people suffering.”
He urged anyone worried they may have Long Covid to arrange a phone consultation with a member of their primary care team.
