Long Covid: "Each day was like being on a rollercoaster in the dark"

Mark has a leaky aortic heart valve, which was diagnosed in 2015, and suffers from mild heart failure, but has still led an active life, including going on long hilly walks.

Mark's initial Covid-19 illness 

When he first became ill, he says “I had a high temperature, relentless thirst and episodes of uncontrollable shaking. I went from being extremely hot, to feeling freezing cold.” After nine days of feeling unwell, he was admitted to hospital and treated with intravenous fluids, antibiotics and paracetamol to treat the Covid-19 infection and the pneumonia that had developed as a result.

• Learn more about the symptoms of long Covid

Feeling exhausted

For a fortnight after he got home, he felt exhausted. Although he’d expected to feel a little better each day, he discovered that wasn’t the case. He said: “I just accepted that it wasn't possible to predict how I was going to be from one day to the next.”

Then Mark developed new symptoms. “My heart was beating really fast and irregularly and I was sweating profusely. I felt more ill this time than I did before,” he says. 

I just accepted that it wasn't possible to predict how I was going to be from one day to the next

An irregular heart rhythm after having Covid-19 (or other viruses) is not unusual, and often goes away on its own. But in Mark’s case it didn’t. He went back to hospital, where he was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation (AF – the most common abnormal heart rhythm, which raises your risk of stroke) and that he still had pneumonia.

The AF and pneumonia responded to treatment, but Mark’s energy levels took around six months to get back to normal. He also suffered a painful slipped disc just two days after he originally fell ill with Covid-19, which is stopping him from getting more active.

The mental health impact of "long Covid"

Mark describes the psychological effects as one of the biggest aspects of his prolonged recovery. “Each day was like being on a rollercoaster, but in the dark,” he says. “I never knew what was going to happen the next day or how I’d feel. That made it feel particularly difficult.

“In general the mornings were best for energy, so it was a case of making the most of those to do basic tasks, and to sleep when I needed it, especially in the afternoons.”

Mark’s advice to others is: “Listen to your body, and rest as often as you need to.”

Joining research for Covid recovery

Mark has volunteered to be part of research into Covid recovery led by the University of Leicester and supported by the NIHR-British Heart Foundation Cardiovascular Partnership. He says: “I’m happy to be taking part in this research – I feel like so much is still unknown.”