Tavistock woman left bedridden and unable to work due to long Covid
Watch Jacquie Bird's report here
A woman from Tavistock has spoken of how her experience with long Covid left her bedridden for three months and unable to work.
21-year-old Amber Rawlinson caught Covid in November 2021.
She was offered an apprenticeship after she had recovered, but after just a week at work, the effects of long Covid took hold.
Amber said: "I was just in bed for the first three months. I didn't really understand why, but when I got up I just felt out of breath, like I was going to black out. I didn't black out, but it was like that feeling that I was going to.
"Even going to the bathroom, which is not that far from my bedroom, I just felt exhausted...My heart rate was going crazy, shakes like tremors. Just generally feeling like I had Covid all over again."
She has since been diagnosed with POTS, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, which leaves her dizzy and faint. It is a symptom many people with long Covid are being diagnosed with.
Amber says she has never been referred to a long Covid clinic and has had to go to a private doctor to try to help herself. She thinks that many people do not understand her long-term illness.
She said: "They just don't get it. People just start getting fed up of asking how you are, when it's becoming a long thing, they just don't seem to have the energy to keep asking anymore."
Latest ONS figures show nearly 2 million people are reported to have long Covid and a third of a million people are unable to work because of it.
Long Covid symptoms include brain fog, heart palpitations and chest pain and exercise intolerance, among many others.
It comes as a leading expert in long Covid research has warned the long-term effects of the pandemic have led to a public health emergency.
Professor David Strain, from the University of Exeter, met with health officials from Health Education England to discuss his research into long Covid.
He told ITV News more must be done to help those still suffering from the long-term effects of that pandemic.
He said: "This is becoming a public health emergency.
"If we've got 2 million people in the UK or so with the condition, about a third of a million people in the UK who are unfit to work because of the condition, there is no way our economy can get back to normal until we tackle this disease and get people feeling back to themselves."
Professor Strain explains while there were strides being made in treatment for long Covid, there was no quick fix.
He said: "The good news is there is hope on the horizon. There are more and more research groups that are establishing. Our own is looking to look at the first set of results. As soon as that data becomes available, those treatments will be put out as soon as possible."
"In the meantime, we need to be giving support to people like Amber, she needs to feel that she is supported, that she is listened to."
According to NHS advice, most people with covid go on to make a full recovery within a few days or certainly within 12 weeks.
The most common symptoms of long COVID are:
extreme tiredness (fatigue)
feeling short of breath
loss of smell
muscle aches
However, there are lots of symptoms you can have after a COVID-19 infection, including:
problems with your memory and concentration ("brain fog")
chest pain or tightness
difficulty sleeping (insomnia)
heart palpitations
dizziness
pins and needles
joint pain
depression and anxiety
tinnitus, earaches
feeling sick, diarrhoea, stomach aches, loss of appetite
a high temperature, cough, headaches, sore throat, changes to sense of smell or taste
rashes
You can find more information to support your recovery on the Your COVID Recovery website.