‘My GP was a psychological anchor’: A patient’s long COVID story

When Kylie Trounson first started to experience long COVID symptoms, she could barely walk 10 metres from her car to inside her general practice clinic.
 
But on the other side of that clinic door, she met an ‘amazing’ GP who was there with her every step of her arduous journey.
 
‘She was a GP at the practice that I regularly attend, but I hadn’t seen her before, and when I first got to her, I was very unwell,’ Ms Trounson told newsGP.
 
‘She was very quick to get all the investigations done that might rule out other issues, and was on to it pretty quickly that it was severe long COVID.’
 
After her diagnosis, Ms Trounson’s GP promptly referred her to the newly opened long COVID clinic at the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
 
But she continued to visit her GP for several months, once or twice a week.
 
‘I would hang out for those appointments because they were a source of reassurance, not feeling so alone, and feeling like there was someone in my corner,’ she said.
 
‘She was very kind, generous and patient with me – I was in a physical and psychological mess because I was just so unwell and confused by the very strange symptoms that were occurring in my body.
 
‘I will just be forever grateful for the time she made for me, and how much initiative she took and how active she was in helping me get through what was really distressing and debilitating.’
 
Fast forward a few years, and Ms Trounson has shared her full story to help outline what patients with long COVID need from their GP, via the final long COVID podcast in the HealthED series launched last year.
 
‘Long COVID: A personal experience’ maps Ms Trounson’s journey of diagnosis and recovery: a busy lawyer, fit and with no comorbidities, who was struck with debilitating symptoms and emotional upheaval.
 
The podcast details the critical role her GP and long COVID clinic played in her recovery, highlighting the value of continuity of care, tailored treatment plans and multidisciplinary team care. It aims to help address the challenges GPs face in diagnosing and managing long COVID.
 
Alongside the myriad complex symptoms including fatigue, cardio and neurological, Ms Trounson experienced a heavy mental load from her diagnosis. She views her GP as an instrumental part of the multidisciplinary team after she was referred to the long COVID clinic and seen by a neurologist.
 
‘[My GP] really went above and beyond what I’ve experienced before … she really became a psychological anchor for me,’ she said.
 
‘I would see her weekly, sometimes twice weekly, but there wasn’t a lot really that she could do clinically, other than talk about tweaking medication up or down, so it was really a lot of psychological support, reassurance, just monitoring me.
 
‘There was a point where my mood went very low, and she was very active in saying, “I think we need to get you in to see a psychiatrist, let’s talk about potential medication for that”, then also talking with the neurologist, because I was on so many other medications, about if I was to take antidepressants how that would affect it.’
 
This support was critical for Ms Trounson, especially as little was known about the condition back when she was diagnosed.
 
‘Being available for people who are unwell with long COVID is really important, because I’m not sure what it’s like now, but three years ago there wasn’t a lot of understanding about it,’ she said.
 
‘There was no real evidence saying, “You will get better”, so there was a lot of fear around what if this is the rest of my life – how am I going to cope with that?
 
‘It’s one of those invisible illnesses. When I was very sick, people could tell I was unwell because I lost eight kilos lying in bed for three months.
 
‘But once I started to slowly get better, it’s not a condition with your leg in a plaster. You look the same and might be able to actually be like your old self for an hour or so, but then you have to go and lie down.
 
‘So it’s hard to convince people if they’re not really aware of what the condition is, how serious it can be, and how significantly it can impact on your life.’
 
Now, having moved forward with her recovery, Ms Trounson is ‘a lot better’ and her condition is manageable, but she still can’t do all things she used to do and makes conscious choices about balancing work, gym sessions, kids’ sport and social activities.
 
She hopes sharing her journey on the podcast will help not only others with long COVID, but the GPs providing their care.
 
‘It’s definitely one of the hardest things I’ve ever been through, but it also makes me realise how far I’ve come,’ she said.
 
‘If this is the health thing that I must manage, then so be it. It took two years, but I got to the point where I could manage it.
 
‘I’ve accepted it’s a new normal … but I’m really grateful I’ve made the recovery that I have.’
 
The complete HealthED long COVID podcast series is available on the HealthED website.
 
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