"It wiped me out": Labour MP reveals shocking impact of "post-viral fatigue"

18 July 2020, 12:58 | Updated: 18 July 2020, 13:07

Andrew Gwynne exposes shocking impact of "post-viral fatigue"

This Labour MP shared his experience of "post-viral fatigue" - a debilitating after effect of coronavirus that has struck down many that had the virus.

Andrew Gwynne is a Labour MP and Labour's former Election coordinator. He has spent 17 weeks suffering with post-viral fatigue after coronavirus and described the impact it has had on his life.

He told Matt Frei that "whilst the coronavirus symptoms went within the two weeks self isolation, the illness didn't" describing "sheer fatigue" and brain fog as some of the main symptoms of the affliction.

"Brain fog is completely debilitating, sometimes I find it difficult to just string a coherent sentence together" he shared, adding that "you're very aware of your limitations because of this post-viral fatigue."

After Matt pressing him, Mr Gwynne said that after an intensive day at the Home Affairs Select Committee during the week he was completely wiped out and "spent the whole day in bed" afterwards. He recommended listeners suffering with post-viral fatigue to "pace yourself and not overdo it, otherwise you're out of it for the rest of the week."

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He shared the extent of the uncertainty of the condition, telling Matt that "nobody knows how long this might last" and the "severity of coronavirus itself does not then determine the severity of the post-viral fatigue that follows."

He went on to describe the mysterious on/off nature of the condition, telling listeners that "the brain fog is either there or it isn't, the energy levels are either there or they're not."

"If we don't raise awareness of this at a national level, as the economy is switched back on, there are people that will be expected to go back to work and they simply won't be able to." Said the Labour MP, calling for more recognition on a government level to the impact the affliction has on people.

He concluded that "if the DWP doesn't recognise that a serious portion of the population might be going through this long covid viral fatigue, they're going to be penalising people who are unwell because they don't recognise a condition that is now very prevalent in the population."