47. Stand UP - Living with Long Covid & 200 possible side effects with Physiotherapist ‘’Darren Brown’’

COVID 19 has finally descended upon Australia at a time when we least expected it. After 18 months of living a relatively normal life – despite occasional lock downs and mask- wearing becoming common place- as of August 2021, life is now very different.  We are currently witnessing the full impact of the Delta strain pandemic sweeping our country, and like bushfire, we are succumbing to infection levels not seen before. But we are way behind in our preparation, being one of the least vaccinated countries in the world…. And we are starting to pay!!  In this episode, we interview UK Physiotherapist Darren Brown who became an early COVID statistic himself. He describes the chaos, devastation and terrible losses as case numbers grew quickly, and of his own debilitating illness as a ‘’conscientious’’ front-line worker. For Darren, a 3-day illness led to an 18-month rollercoaster of illness – including more than 20 different symptoms, from being bedridden and requiring a walking stick as a young, healthy male to a regime of STOP! REST! PACE! towards a slow recovery...from a condition now known as ‘’LONG COVID’’  Not much is known about the long-term side effects of life beyond acute COVID infection- the 2-3 weeks of respiratory illness- but Darren shares all that he knows about LONG COVID, from his own experiences of 1000s of others he has since met. You will be shocked to learn the depth & breadth of the corona virus, it’s harrowing persistence and devastating side effects – potentially affecting every organ including the brain, heart, lungs, limbs and even the penis!!  Darren’s background working in HIV & Immunology as a Physiotherapist, his academic pursuits as a clinical research and his role in advocacy for World Physiotherapy (WCPT), make this discussion riveting – his knowledge base is second to none. A number of resources are listed below, including Darren’s own website and podcast series “Long COVID Physio.”  If you’re keen to keep yourself, your community and your penis healthy (if you have/ know one), then PLEASE LISTEN! LEARN & SHARE!!! This may be our most important podcast to date.    Helpful links below:    1) Long COVID Physio  https://longcovid.physio/   2) Patient Led Research Collaborative  https://patientresearchcovid19.com/   3) Patient Led Research Collaborative - characterising Long COVID  https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(21)00299-6/fulltext   4) ONS Long COVID prevalece  https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/bulletins/prevalenceofongoingsymptomsfollowingcoronaviruscovid19infectionintheuk/1july2021   5) ONS social impacts of Long COVID  https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/articles/coronavirusandthesocialimpactsoflongcovidonpeopleslivesingreatbritain/7aprilto13june2021   6) More than 2 million people with Long COVID in the U.K.  https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-research-shows-2-million-people-may-have-had-long-covid   7) Long COVID Symptoms CDC  https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/clinical-care/post-covid-conditions.html   8) Long COVID symptoms NICE  https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng188/chapter/common-symptoms-of-ongoing-symptomatic-covid-19-and-post-covid-19-syndrome   9) Long COVID Symptoms Nature  https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-95565-8   10) European Observatory “preparing for Long COVID” https://eurohealthobservatory.who.int/publications/i/in-the-wake-of-the-pandemic-preparing-for-long-covid-(2021)   11) World Physiotherapy Briefing Paper on safe rehabilitation approaches for people living with Long COVID  https://longcovid.physio/our-work/world-physio-briefing-paper   12) Delphi guideline on recognising, diagnosing and managing Long COVID  https://bjgp.org/content/early/2021/07/27/BJGP.2021.0265   13) Persistent exertional intolerance  https://journal.chestnet.org/article/S0012-3692(21)03635-7/fulltext   14) Post Exertional Symptom Exacerbation  https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.06.11.21258564v1.full.pdf   15) Long COVID Tachycardia Syndrome  https://www.amjmed.com/article/S0002-9343(21)00472-1/fulltext   16) Changes in Long COVID symptoms with vaccines  https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.07.21.21260391v2   17) COVID-19 erectile dysfunction  https://wjmh.org/DOIx.php?id=10.5534/wjmh.210055   18) COVID-19 Endothelial Dysfunction Can Cause Erectile Dysfunction https://wjmh.org/DOIx.php?id=10.5534/wjmh.210055 ---------- Websites: https://melissahadleybarrett.com   Men’s health only https://rshealth.com.au/  All genders http://www.menshealthphysiotherapy.com.au/ http://prost.com.au/   Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/p/Melissa-Hadley-Barrett-100085237672685/ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100085146627814   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melissahadleybarrett/ https://www.instagram.com/restorativehealth.clinic/ TikTok: @melissahadleybarrett YouTube: Melissa Hadley Barrett Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-hadley-barrett/   Music David Mercy https://open.spotify.com/artist/1HbvnltKu4XbWTmk0kpVB9?si=D1xP5dDVQK-zzNU3rViRWg   Producer Thomas Evans: The SOTA Process https://www.instagram.com/thesotaprocess/ https://open.spotify.com/show/4Jf2IYXRlgfsiqNARsY8fi