– It was complete confusion. I did not understand what was happening to me because the symptoms I was experiencing were so different from anything else I had experienced in a long life. Bente Leivestad contracted the corona virus in March 2020. Shortly afterwards the symptoms came. She is probably among the first in the country to get long covid. Now. Three years later, another summer passes without her being able to tend to the kitchen garden at Jørpeland in Ryfylke. The man has to do that, while she sits in a balance chair in the living room and looks out the window. – From time to time I can open the door ajar and smell the good smells. Bente Leivestad reads up on studies and new literature on the disease. Photo: Tom Edvindsen / news – I have lost all my roles. The late symptoms started when she suddenly felt weak. It was the start of seven weeks of acute illness. Now she has severe fatigue, PEM (activity-induced worsening of symptoms) and POTS where pulse and blood pressure do not cooperate. For her, the consequences are great. – It is tiring and sad, and I have lost all my roles. I am in no way the grandmother I want to be. During the three years Bente Leivestad has had long covid, she has come into contact with many more people in the same situation. They stick together, support each other and share information. This piece of jewelery is a gift from a fellow patient. Photo: Tom Edvindsen / news Corona patients to receive tablets Bente Leivestad is not alone. 30 percent of those who have been sick with corona experience late effects. Long covid What are the late effects of covid-19? For most people, covid-19 is a mild and transitory illness, but some suffer persistent problems beyond the acute phase. Such long-lasting symptoms have previously been reported after a number of other infections, and it is therefore not surprising that some people experience late effects after covid-19. Common symptoms Among people with covid-19 who were not admitted to hospital, the most commonly reported symptoms 6-12 months after the illness are: Impaired memory Altered sense of taste and/or smell Fatigue/tiredness Impaired ability to think and concentrate (so-called ” brain fog”) Heavy breathing Source: FHI But now a Norwegian study will investigate whether a new medicine can prevent late effects after corona. In the study, new corona patients will receive the antiviral drug Paxlovid for five days to prevent such late effects. – What is known about this drug is that it can protect against serious illness, hospitalization and death in patients who are at high risk of serious illness, such as the elderly and patients with a serious underlying illness, says Professor Nina Langeland. Nina Langeland is a professor at UiB. She was also part of the Corona Commission. Now she will lead a study in which they will examine the effect of the drug Paxlovid to prevent the development of long-term ailments after Covid. The study will start on 1 September. Photo: Julianne Bråten Mossing / news Today, Paxlovid is approved in Norway for use in patients with a high risk of developing serious disease. – But now we will look at whether this remedy can work on healthy, adult people with acute corona disease. The medicine can reduce the amount of virus in the body, and we thus hope that it can protect against long covid or other complications. In the study, new corona patients will receive the antiviral drug Paxlovid for five days to prevent such late effects. Photo: Gunnar Bratthammer / news – Can affect everyone According to the Directorate of Health, covid-19 is a disease that will be with us for a long time to come. – We think there are many people who have this late sequelae, so getting research into this new disease is important. If we get good results from a simple treatment plan, it will help quite a few people, says Acting Director of Health Helen Brandstorp. Helen Brandstorp is acting director of health in the Directorate of Health. She says the findings of the study will be decisive for the significance it takes on. Photo: Oddgeir Øystese / news The Norwegian Association for General Medicine is looking forward to the new study. – Knowledge about corona has become enormous in a record short time, but unfortunately and quite naturally it takes time to establish a knowledge base about late effects over years, says manager Marte Kvittum Tangen. She believes that it is particularly important for studies that take as a starting point the patients that general practitioners meet, and not just those patients who have been admitted to hospital. For Bente Leivestad, who has already contracted long covid, it is too late to take Paxlovid. Now everything is about stopping a deterioration. At the same time, she is aware that for everyone else it is important to get a medicine in place. There is little help to be had in the healthcare system, says Bente Leivestad. The only thing she can do is try to suppress the symptoms. She does not tolerate heat well. That is why she has gone to purchase a cooling machine. It helps her to keep her body temperature down. Photo: Tom Edvindsen / news – Getting corona is a game of chance. You can be as healthy and strong as just that, but still get long covid.
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Will investigate whether medicine for corona patients can prevent long covid – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
