Did your chronic health conditions change while living abroad?
Posted by reverse-13@reddit | expats | View on Reddit | 24 comments
Hello All,
I wanted to ask if anyone had similar experiences to me. I was living in Japan for a year and a half and am originally from Canada. It was my first time living abroad, and the climate is extremely different. I noticed a lot of my health issues improved while I was living there, but after returning to Canada, I quickly became ill again. I have an extensive health history of mystery illnesses that no one can figure out, but so much of it went away while I was living there. Has anyone else experienced this?
I know stress and diet can be big factors, and I had different stresses, but also, in Japan, healthcare is extremely accessible, whereas in Canada, it isn't. I had to come back to take care of my older pets that could not travel with me, so I'm not able to move full-time to Japan, even though I would move back again in a heartbeat.
Some examples:
- Fibromyalgia: I basically had two minor flares the entire time I was away, but since I’ve been back, it's come right back. Had a bad flare up just yesterday.
- Eczema: This fully went away, but I started getting bad cystic acne in return while living abroad. However, in Canada, I have few acne issues, and eczema is back.
- Insomnia: I’ve always had issues with this, but in Japan, it was so much worse, and I rarely ever dreamed. I woke up every day forgetting where I was, but I never felt as tired. In Canada, I sleep a lot, feel exhausted, and have a lot of dreams, which often makes me feel worse due to how intricate they are.
In general, there were trade-offs, but I just felt way less pain for the first time in decades. Which honestly i had given up on finding answers for. Trying to figure out a long term solution, but man was I surprised.
greenplastic22@reddit
Yes because my doctor will spend 45 minutes with me, discuss multiple symptoms in a visit, and never suggests anything is anxiety or in my head. So I'm actually being treated. And that 45 minute visit costs less than an under 15 minute one in the U.S.
So, I'm being treated, I can afford the medications and any recommended tests, and my appointments are always productive. Which makes everything much more manageable.
faddiuscapitalus@reddit
Can I ask where you are?
greenplastic22@reddit
Portugal (this is using a private provider not the public health system)
faddiuscapitalus@reddit
Very good. Hi from Lagos
Ibsidoodle@reddit
My lifelong eczema cleared up nearly over night after moving across the world. I have a friend who's had the same experience with eczema, someone who's chronic cough disappears as soon as they leave their home country, and someone who's allergies disappear completely. For all of us our symptoms come back within a few days of travelling home. So there certainly seems to be something in it for histamine and immune related conditions! Maybe we're over sensitised to our home environment?
carnivorousdrew@reddit
Mine as well clears up in Italy, Utah, Hawaii or other places with good weather, while it gets way worse in the Netherlands, UK or Germany. I think it may be not only the horrible weather but also the higher incidence of toxic molds. I recently read a paper about the incidence and correlation of toxic molds and places at northern latitudes. Basically the colder and humid places you go, the higher the incidence of both toxic molds and autoimmune diseases. One of the many reasons we ditched the Netherlands. Their healthcare was also pretty shit and so half of my chronic diseases were just "stress".
CuriousLands@reddit
Gah, I hate when they tell you it's just stress. I've experienced that in both Canada and Australia. In fairness, stress can truly do a number on a person, but often just leaving it at that can be a detriment (like, what I myself thought was just a lot of stress turned out to be undiagnosed complex PTSD, good times).
reverse-13@reddit (OP)
Same here undiagnosed cptsd which technically isnt even recognized in canada. 🙃
CuriousLands@reddit
What, cPTSD isn't recognized in Canada? You're kidding me!
reverse-13@reddit (OP)
Sadly no, im glad you were able to get proper diagnosis and treatment elsewhere.
CuriousLands@reddit
That's wild. I did a quick search and yeah, it seems like in the US they consider it sorta like a subset of regular PTSD, and in Canada there are even fewer guidelines on it. It looks like you can still get diagnosed with trauma or regular PTSD; I guess if I were in Canada I'd have to hope someone would catch that regardless of whether it's officially recognized as its own thing. Seems short-sighted (even the US version of it does) cos while they're both trauma issues, the complex one is like a different beast in a lot of ways.
reverse-13@reddit (OP)
I hadn't heard about the healthcare here, sad to hear. Was one of my travel spots! Dunno about the mold but doesnt sound that farfetched.
Baejax_the_Great@reddit
One of the main reasons I'm moving is because of a chronic health condition that generally does better in "Mediterranean climates." Once I was desperate enough to consider moving just to help with it, I figured why not make it an adventure and just go to the actual Mediterranean? If it helps, my life will be a million times better. If it doesn't, well, I got to try something cool for a while.
reverse-13@reddit (OP)
Best of luck!
felmingham@reddit
My friends son usually lives in the Netherlands but when they come to playa del carmen mexico his skin issues resolve within 1-2 days..
reverse-13@reddit (OP)
Ive heard mexico is good skin issues!
felmingham@reddit
Yes def helped with my friends son. Possibe heat / sweat / vitamin d - being outside more. Not sure but whatever it is its helping.
The hard water isn't great for skin though
Gilgamesh-Enkidu@reddit
I have fibromyalgia and lived all over the world. It didn't have any bearing on it. The only thing that helps/affects my fibromyalgia is diet, regular mild exercise, medication, and avoiding triggers (these things are also the only clinically demonstrated interventuon s that help as well). I imagine that when you lived abroad you probably affected one or several of those parameters.
reverse-13@reddit (OP)
For sure, very healthy lifestyle. I don't use any meds except on really bad days naproxen.
omegazine@reddit
Finally being able to go see a specialist in Eastern Europe did wonders for two of my chronic health issues. Back in Canada it was such a struggle to find a doctor at a clinic to actually listen to me and refer me to a specialist, after which I had to wait 8 months.
reverse-13@reddit (OP)
Yeah its insane, ciming back here just to jump through the flaming hoops for months and usually get nowhere. I booked an mri in japan within a week. And didnt need a referral.
CuriousLands@reddit
Yeah and no. Like, I still have it. I would say it's improved a bit. But I think it's less to do with the country itself, and more to do with my specific circumstances - my health in Canada was getting worse cos in the process of moving overseas (following my husband after he moved for a job), I ended up being stuck living way too long with a parent in a really dysfunctional dynamic that was making things worse, and over here in Australia I've been able to see counsellors who use a certain approach that's helpful to me (but I don't know if it'd be better, the same, or worse in my hometown in Canada, just cos I hadn't heard of this approach until after I moved). I've also been struggling a bit with needing to adjust to a new country and systems, make new friends etc., and the housing, oof - I ended up getting massive anxiety issues due to constant nightmare-level roach infestations in literally every place we lived after I moved here.
So like... sorta yeah (due to the helpful counselling) but sorta no (due to the struggle to adjust, the bugs, and I would've have lived with that parent if we hadn't had to move). So overall I'd say it's been a bit of a wash. Though, if it turns out that no counsellors with this technique happened to live in the area of my hometown, then I'd have to say yes overall just for that.
VickyM1128@reddit
American living in Japan (now for 30 years): In my case, I went from being a student with no health insurance in the US to someone with Japanese health insurance, so I was able to see a doctor regularly and get treatment for asthma, so my health condition improved a lot in that sense. Seasonal allergies are different — after so many years here, I have developed the spring tree pollen allergy in addition to fall allergies, but J am able to get good treatment here.
Ashamed-Worth-7456@reddit
I had chronic gastritis back home to the point not many medicines worked anymore And the doctor was suspecting permanent damage Moved to Japan and my medications kept expiring because I did not take them anymore as I did not need them. My cycle became extremely regular but that can be related to age I assume.