I have Covid, which started three days ago.
I’ve had it before, but that was a very mild attack which came days after I’d had a vaccine booster. This time, I’ve not yet had the Covid booster being offered to over 65s so, I guess, my resistance to infection is less.
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Because I was feeling really awful on Friday, I decided to get some anti-viral drugs. This was not something I’d ever done before, but I’d read about it on the NHS website. To qualify for the anti-viral drugs you have to be classifed as most at risk of getting seriously ill from Covid, but that includes everyone with Parkinson’s.
To be effective the anti-viral drugs must be started within 5 days of the Covid symptoms appearing, That is not very long when dealing with NHS staff being asked to do something that they may not be completely familiar with. My symptoms had started on Wednesday. It was now Thursday. I had until Sunday to start the treatment…
I started by taking a rapid lateral flow test. I’d bought some of the test kits from Amazon a while back. According to the NHS website, if you have Parkinson’s you are entitled to free tests from your local pharmacy, but I live in a rural area and it had been easier to pay for delivery. The test was positive.
So far, so good. The next step was to phone my GP. The practice no longer has receptionists. They have become ‘patient advisors’. I made my first phone call at around 10 am on Thursday and the last around 4 pm. My tone had become tetchier with each call. On each occasion I was told that my request was with the GP and she would consider it when she had time.
In late afternoon, having wasted the better part of a day, I gave up on my GP and phoned 111. The 111 nurse was extremely helpful, and appreciated the urgency (from my point of view). So by early evening I had been seen by a young doctor at my local hospital and then after a long delay given a prescription.
Unfortunately the prescription had been written wrongly, but the two late night pharmacies in our area did not stock the drug either.
So, on Friday, we were back at the hospital. This time everything went smoothly and by early afternoon I had the five day course of tablets. However, I have been wondering how many people with PD are aware of these drugs and being prescribed them. I got the impression that in my area, at least, I was a pioneer.