Fiducia TogetherLong COVID
Also called Post-COVID syndrome, Post-acute sequelae of COVID-19
Symptoms persisting months after COVID-19. Around 2 million people in the UK, and a lot of them are not believed.
Important: This page is general information, not medical advice, and it is not a diagnosis. If you are worried about your health or someone else's, speak to a GP, pharmacist, or call 111. In an emergency, call 999.
What it is
Long COVID is defined as symptoms continuing more than 12 weeks after a COVID-19 infection that are not explained by anything else. ONS estimates have put the UK figure around 2 million people.
It is not one thing. Some people have breathlessness and lung damage. Some have fatigue and post-exertional malaise that closely resembles ME/CFS. Some have autonomic problems such as PoTS. Many have cognitive symptoms, the brain fog that is far more disabling than the phrase suggests.
Being new means being doubted, and a great many people with long COVID spent two years being told their tests were normal.
Signs you might notice
Fatigue that is not relieved by rest, and that gets worse a day or two after activity. That delayed worsening is the crucial feature.
Breathlessness. Chest pain. Palpitations, and a heart rate that climbs on standing.
Brain fog: word-finding, concentration, memory.
Loss of taste and smell. Joint and muscle pain. Sleep disturbance.
Symptoms that relapse and remit rather than improving steadily.
How it can affect day-to-day life
Careers have ended over this. The pattern is a phased return to work that ignores post-exertional malaise, a crash, and then a worse baseline than before.
Benefits assessments handle fluctuating conditions poorly, and long COVID fluctuates by definition.
The relationship with ME/CFS matters clinically: where post-exertional malaise is present, graded exercise on a fixed increasing schedule can cause lasting harm, and NICE withdrew that recommendation for ME/CFS in 2021 for exactly that reason.
Supporting someone well
Screen for post-exertional malaise before recommending exercise. If activity reliably causes a crash a day or two later, pacing is the approach, not graded exertion.
Pace by the clock. Stop before the limit, not at it.
Check for PoTS if there is dizziness and a racing heart on standing. Fluids, salt and compression help, and a proper assessment helps more.
Plan a return to work in genuinely small increments with an honest fallback.
Keep a symptom and activity record. The delay between activity and consequence makes the pattern impossible to see without one, and Fiducia Life is built to hold exactly that alongside mood and sleep.
Where to get help
Ask a GP for referral to a post-COVID assessment service. Coverage varies, so ask what exists locally.
Long Covid Support and Long Covid SOS run peer support and campaign work.
New chest pain, severe breathlessness or leg swelling needs urgent assessment rather than attribution to long COVID.
Tools we make that might help
These are our own products. We have put them here because they do something specific for this condition, not because every page needs a list.
Fiducia Life
An activity, sleep and symptom record, which is the only way a delayed crash becomes a visible pattern.
Last reviewed 2026-08-28 by Fiducia Together · Next review due 2027-08-28
Important: This page is general information, not medical advice, and it is not a diagnosis. If you are worried about your health or someone else's, speak to a GP, pharmacist, or call 111. In an emergency, call 999.