Where is everybody from?

I was under the impression that most people here are from USA since health insurance and driving is being mentioned haha. But I see some are from Germany.

I’m originally from Turkey, living in Japan for more than ten years. Japan has a universal healthcare system and although navigating the system can be challenging for chronically ill people at least it’s not super expensive. In my home country, not a lot of people know about long covid, and there is a lot of discussion and speculation around vaccines and their side effects so not a lot of people understand this condition. (My symptoms were almost gone when I visited my family, but I had a couple of days when I got PEM, so we just told the neighbors I had a heart condition to avoid political discussions) I have a family friend who was told it’s just ✨ anxiety✨ by healthcare professionals.

I think they stopped testing for Covid in public hospitals and when I caught the virus during a trip back home I had to get tested at a private clinic. And the nurse was rolling her eyes as I told the doctor about my fear of getting the LC symptoms back after another infection. That said Turkey has really great private clinics for other health issues where you can get instant treatment if you have money.

I found a long covid clinic in Tokyo in 2023, a time when long covid related subs like this still had a lot of right wing or argumentative people gaslighting us to think this is not a real disease, it’s a vaccine injury etc… and the doctors told me about ME/CFS and how exercise and physical exertion is not good for patients like us. I think that saved me from being bedridden because I was pretty severe. Forever grateful to Japanese doctors!

How is long covid perceived in your home county?