BLURB: The first practical, accessible self-help guide to managing symptoms of Long Covid
More than 1 million people suffer from Long Covid in the UK (with 400,000 people suffering symptoms for over a year), and many more globally. Yet there is no clear guidance available to the general public, and lots of misinformation out there. This handbook cuts through the confusing advice. Written by the medical experts working with Long Covid patients at one of the first specialist clinics set up, it is filled with helpful case studies and was written with the involvement of real Long Covid sufferers. The focus is on self-management with a simple, consistent message about improving symptoms.
Each chapter takes a different issue in turn and offers clear, friendly guidance on key areas such as breathlessness, psychological aspects, brain fog, fatigue, returning to exercise and returning to work.
REVIEW: I’m one of those 400,000 Brits who have now been battling with Long Covid since I got sick in March 2021. Before I went down with Covid, I enjoyed good health for my age (I’m in my mid-60s) and was active, enjoying two fitness classes a week, and loving my work as a writer and part-time Creative Writing tutor at the local college. My chief current symptoms are tinnitus, nasal drip, difficulty in sleeping, brain fog – though that is improving, swollen thyroid and lymph glands. And the one that concerns me most… fatigue – I had a terrifying relapse back in August that had me bedridden for a fortnight, where I could barely stagger to the toilet and back. And was too mentally exhausted to even care that I was so diminished. It’s taken months to get to a stage where I now feel confident enough to try to move on from spending hours a day either in bed or on the settee, because even now, I haven’t yet made up the ground I’d lost. So when I saw this book, I immediately ordered it.
It does exactly what it says on the tin. It takes us through each of the major symptoms – I feel blessed that I could completely skip the chapter on breathlessness – explaining what is going on and providing a range of tips and exercises on how to overcome, or live more easily with the symptoms described. I found the chapter on fatigue really helpful, as it confirmed my hunch that I’d become under-active and needed to – very gently – step up my daily activity. I am also finding the chapter on Up-pacing invaluable. It’s the first time I’ve encountered this term and provides me with a way to structure an exercise programme to recondition my unfit, bed-softened body while minimising the risk of another major relapse where I’m too shattered to get out of bed.
Overall, I’ve found the book massively helpful. And in amongst the good advice is the constant reminder that every patient is different, with varied experiences and health conditions, so will need to consider their own issues when working through their problems. It’s important and valuable advice to remember.
However, after reading through the book the first time around – I also had a bit of a meltdown when I read of patients leading busy lives who were trying to cope with the daily demands of work, housework and shopping. My initial reaction was one of fury – I bloody well wish! My life, which had been busy and full of going out with friends, is now confined to home. I find visitors exhausting and holding long conversations draining. And I haven’t been able to write creatively – other than book reviews which don’t really count, as far as I’m concerned – since I became bedridden in August. In short – I’ve lost my former life and now lead an existence more fitting for a frail ninety-year-old. And other than having my thyroid scanned regularly to monitor ongoing changes – for which I’m very grateful – I have no other help. I’m on the waiting list for the local Long Covid Clinic, but in the meantime, the days, weeks and months slide by and I have to keep going on my own. So I felt very angry to think that people far less compromised were able to get such help. That said, I’ve calmed down since then and remembered that each of us have our own difficulties. At least I’m not in chronic pain, or battling with breathlessness as so many Long Covid sufferers are.
Highly recommended for those suffering with Long Covid, or know someone close who is coping with this difficult chronic condition.
10/10
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he book.
I was AWOL last week, recovering from a big family wedding. my sister and nephew came to lunch. It was wonderful seeing my nephew – formerly a confirmed bachelor – walk up the aisle with someone so well suited – their happiness shone through. I had the privilege of giving one of the readings at the lovely service at Bournemouth Town Hall, followed by an enjoyable reception in Christchurch, where catching up with family was the bonus to celebrating this fabulous couple’s 
happiness. The only downside was the car journey there and back which made it a long day. Then last Sunday I finally finished working on Sally’s book – it was a gruelling five-hour session, but we both felt on a high at the end. On Monday, my sister and my other nephew – who’d been best man at the wedding – came over for a meal with us. It was a wonderful treat as I hadn’t had a chance to catch up with Michael for some time and he is excellent company.
powers. In Israel, the Sons of Simeon, a group of religious extremists, persecute sorcerers while the government turns a blind eye. After a march for equal rights ends in brutal murder, empath, moodifier and reluctant waiter Reed becomes the next target. While his sorcerous and normie friends seek out his future killers, Reed complicates everything by falling hopelessly in love. As the battle for survival grows ever more personal, can Reed protect himself and his friends as the Sons of Simeon close in around them?
Few mere mortals have ever embarked on such bold and heart-stirring adventures, overcome myriad monstrous perils, or outwitted scheming vengeful gods, quite as stylishly and triumphantly as Greek heroes. In this companion to his bestselling Mythos, Stephen Fry brilliantly retells these dramatic, funny, tragic and timeless tales. Join Jason aboard the Argo as he quests for the Golden Fleece. See Atalanta – who was raised by bears – outrun any man before being tricked with golden apples. Witness wily Oedipus solve the riddle of the Sphinx and discover how Bellerophon captures the winged horse Pegasus to help him slay the monster Chimera.
In Harmony, only model citizens are welcome. A perfect society must be maintained. The defective must be eradicated. For orphans like Nico and Twostar, this means a life that’s brutal, regulated and short. But Nico and Twostar are survivors, and when they’re offered a way out of the slums, they take it. Unfortunately, no one told Nico the deal included being sentenced to death for the murder of one of Harmony’s most notorious gang leaders. Or that to gain his freedom, first he must lose his mind.
England, Lockwood & Co. hasn’t made much progress. Quill Kipps and his team of Fittes agents keep swooping in on Lockwood’s investigations. Finally, in a fit of anger, Anthony challenges his rival to a contest: the next time the two agencies compete on a job, the losing side will have to admit defeat in the Times newspaper. Things look up when a new client, Mr. Saunders, hires Lockwood & Co. to be present at the excavation of Edmund Bickerstaff, a Victorian doctor who reportedly tried to communicate with the dead. Saunders needs the coffin sealed with silver to prevent any supernatural trouble. All goes well-until George’s curiosity attracts a horrible phantom.
Distracted? Overwhelmed? Feel like your attention is constantly being pulled in different directions? Learn how to steal it back. Accessible and inspiring, this book features 131 surprising and innovative exercises to help you tune out white noise, get unstuck from your screen and manage daily distractions. Make small yet impactful changes and bring focus to the things and people that are most important to you.
Mongolian plains once traversed by the army of Genghis Khan, the Derby sees competitors ride 25 horses across 1000km, and it’s rare that more than half of the riders make it to the finish line. In 2013 Lara Prior-Palmer – nineteen, wildly underprepared and in search of the great unknown – decided to enter the race. Finding on the wild Mongolian steppe strength and self-knowledge she didn’t know she possessed, even whilst caught in biblical storms and lost in the mountains, Lara tore through the field with her motley crew of horses. She didn’t just complete the race: in one of the Derby’s most unexpected results, she won, becoming the youngest-ever competitor to conquer the course.
Cabo. After all, what’s better than the beach when a girl is feeling blue? When Poppy is abducted, she’ll need all her smarts, all her charm, and a killer Chihuahua, to save herself in this new series from the USA TODAY bestselling author of The Country Club Murders.
The answer to the first question is – yes. All the exercises are slightly off the wall and unusual, requiring a shift from everyday thinking – to the extent that some of them are used to help art students hone an alternative, original view of the world. Some of my favourites include the one inspired by writer Paul Lukas, who likes to discover the backstory of everyday objects in an activity he calls ‘inconspicuous consumption’, by asking ‘how did it get that way?’. I also like the exercise Brian Rea uses of making lists of immaterial things – such as the things he is worried about, memorable moments during a dinner party, the bars he visited when living in Stockholm. None of the above remotely appeal, but I’m attracted to the idea of making a list of the flowers blooming in my garden, along with the date when they first appeared, for instance. Another exercise I particularly like is making a glossary of unfamiliar vocabulary that exist within a specific expertise, by asking people for terms within their work life that don’t regularly come up in everyday usage.
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