‘Long Covid left me with extreme fatigue and struggling to run my business’

Long Covid left Adrian Black with extreme fatigue and brain fog which left him struggling to run his business, but a cognitive rehabilitation trial has helped him take control of his life.

The 62-year-old from Brighton wasn’t particularly unwell when he first caught Covid in spring 2020, but after catching the virus a few times he started to notice “weird symptoms” in November 2021.

“On a bad day I would get up and have breakfast before going back to bed,” Mr Black told the Independent. “I was stammering and I was forgetting appointments, which I’ve never done in my life,” he added.

Mr Black recalled becoming so exhausted that he was unable to enjoy a day trip to London with his wife, instead finding himself with his head down on a cafe table unable to move.

A GP referred Mr Back to see a neurologist to test if his brain fog and anxiety were caused by a tumour or degenerative disease, but doctors found nothing wrong and suggested it could be long Covid.

For most people, Covid symptoms last one or two weeks, but for the approximately two million people suffering from long Covid in the UK, the effects of the virus lasted for months or even years causing brain fog, fatigue, shortness of breath, anxiety and heart palpitations.

Mr Black explained he went from being “productive”, running a property business, being the chair of a local charity and running an Airbnb to being unable work full-time and struggling to keep track of appointments.

However, a ten-week cognitive rehabilitation programme helped him “work within new limits” and “get control of life”.

The trial led by UCL researchers allowed people with long Covid symptoms to achieve their goals in returning to work and hobbies.

The treatment was delivered in one-to-one sessions with a therapist and helped people with long Covid devise strategies to achieve rehabilitation goals.

For the study, published in JAMA Network Open, 78 participants with cognitive long Covid symptoms were split into two groups; half received the rehabilitation treatment while half continued with standard NHS treatments.

Participants set three goals they wanted to attain; such as to remain focused on watching an entire film or concentrating on a book. Therapists then helped participants to implement strategies to achieve their goals.

The researchers found that 84 per cent of participants who underwent cognitive rehabilitation therapy were able to attain their goals three months later, compared to 53 per cent of the NHS group.

After six months, 53 per cent were able to maintain their goals, compared to just 15 per cent in the comparison group.

Lead author Dr Martina Vanova said: “As many as one in three people with Covid go on to develop long Covid, and cognitive difficulties are among the most common symptoms that can persist for months, disrupting day-to-day functioning and quality of life.

“People might find it hard to focus or hold on to their thoughts as they struggle with memory, attention and planning, often compounded by fatigue.”

Mr Black made very specific goals; one was to remember where he left an activity off after being distracted, another was to talk to groups of people again after struggling with a stammer even when speaking with his family.

Eventually he was able to achieve these tasks by talking at a charity event and planning out tasks.

“I was getting in a mess because I was starting things and forgetting things. I was used to being someone who was quite productive, but by putting a structure and plan in place I was making fewer mistakes,” he explained.

Although now Mr Black is able to control his fatigue, brain fog and anxiety he admits that he is still only 80 per cent of who he used to be.