If you are experiencing long COVID symptoms it is important to connect with healthcare professionals to get help in managing your condition. Usually your General Practitioner (GP) will be your initial point of contact. They will be able to help you create a tailored plan for monitoring and managing any ongoing symptoms. As required, your GP will be able to prescribe medications and act as a referral point to other medical specialists and support. This may include organising Mental Health Treatment Plans and Chronic Disease Management plans to help you access Medicare-subsidised allied health services where eligible.
You may engage with:
Your GP can discuss the role of each of these health professionals in your care.
Some states and territories have set up dedicated clinics to support people to manage long COVID. To see whether there are long COVID clinics in your state, visit our information by state and territory section on what you need to know about COVID-19 page.
Getting a second opinion
It may be important to speak to more than one healthcare professional regarding your diagnosis and recommended management plan. Ultimately, it is your decision which opinion you feel is right for you.
Tips for healthcare appointments
Ongoing COVID-19 symptoms such as brain fog can be exhausting and make visiting a healthcare professional a difficult experience. But there are things you can do to ease the process.
Here are some tips:
- Write down your symptoms and examples of how they affect your daily life (e.g., symptom: I feel weak and tired; examples: I can’t walk up a flight of stairs without stopping and resting, my friends have commented on it) to help you remember everything you’d like to discuss.
- Keep a symptom diary or write any changes down as they happen to help you monitor your symptoms over time.
- Consider bringing someone with you to your appointment, such as a friend or family member, for support. They can also listen and take notes for you.
- If you don’t understand something, ask your healthcare professional to repeat the information or explain it in a different way. Do not avoid asking questions because you’re afraid or embarrassed. Your healthcare team is there to help you.
- Ask your healthcare professional to help you by writing things down during your appointment, then you will have a resource to look back at and don’t need to rely on remembering everything that is said.
- Consider booking a long appointment to ensure you will have enough time to go over everything on your list.