Sheffield GP and long Covid sufferer urges everyone to have Covid vaccine

Dr Lisa Philip, GP and Elected GP for NHS Sheffield Clinical Commissioning Group’s Governing Body, contracted Covid-19 in March 2020.

Despite suffering from no underlying health conditions prior to contracting the virus, she is still experiencing long Covid symptoms 11 months on and wants to warn people about the impact the virus can have on lives.

Dr Philip said: “After getting Covid, I thought I would be okay after a couple of weeks. I was fit and healthy and rarely ill. I’d never needed to take a sick day off work before, but my symptoms got worse and my health deteriorated. I lost my ability to function normally, I was bed bound for months and only now am I managing some of my usual daily activities. It’s been the worst and most frightening experience of my life.

“I struggle to move. Even sitting up or standing makes my heart rate increase intensely. I suffer with extreme fatigue and brain fog. I find it difficult to breathe and at times it felt like my lungs were filled with acid. I can’t function like I did before and I’m not sure if I’ll ever be the same again.

“As it was early on in the pandemic when I began to experience these symptoms, no one knew what it was or how Covid could possibly affect you long term. I felt so alone. Watching the news and seeing how many people’s lives were being taken by Covid, I thought I was next. I thought I was going to die.”

There are a growing number of people who are living with the long-term impact of contracting the virus and clinics have been set up in response to this.

Dr Philip added: “I know young people who ran marathons who can now barely stand up, months after initially getting Covid. The virus impacts everyone differently. You might think that it won’t have an impact on you, but it can take your health, your livelihood and ultimately your life. It is not worth the risk, I wouldn’t wish for anyone to go through what I and many others have gone through and are still living with to this day.

“I’ve now had the Covid vaccine and would advise everyone to do the same, I had some side effects and felt run down for a couple of days but this is nothing compared to the devastating impact Covid could have on your life. Being vaccinated greatly reduces the severity of your symptoms if you do contract Covid and it’s the best defence in our fight against this awful virus.”

You are advised to speak to your GP if you are experiencing long Covid symptoms for four or more weeks.

Common symptoms include: extreme tiredness, shortness of breath, brain fog, difficulty sleeping, heart palpitations, pins and needles and changes to sense of smell or taste.

A full list of symptoms can be found: here

For further information about living with long Covid, visit: here.

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