Long Covid can change who you are profoundly | Letters

Sean Kenny on how the virus can affect your sense of self for years. Plus Jennifer Jenkins on the foolishness of ending free lateral flow tests

Dr Xand van Tulleken (Falling ill made me realise the true wonder of the NHS, 19 March) says he will repeat to his patients the advice that an A&E doctor gave him: You mustn't let being ill make you think differently about yourself. You're still the same person, just one bit of you isn't working very well."

I am suffering from long Covid, and if any doctor said this to me I'd be hurt and offended. Part of the agony of long Covid is that you really are not the person you were before. You lose a lot: work, leisure, maybe the ability to walk for a length of time. You may lose friends and relatives who cannot cope with the diagnosis and its implications. You're undergoing a profound change that will no doubt impact on your sense of self for years. Anyone who says don't think differently about yourself" in this situation is a Panglossian fantasist.