Long Covid patients use language of gaslighting to describe physicians interactions.
The coronavirus pandemic brought with it a wave of infection to an unprepared world and anxiety and stress for those who were affected. It became a challenge for doctors to accurately diagnose the symptoms and the extent the illness damaged the body in order to prescribe the most suitable treatment. Though researchers and doctors were able to find a cure and administered it to millions. But by then, people developed some serious and long-lasting symptoms that were later identified as long Covid. A woman in the US has revealed her struggles with long Covid claiming that many, including her family members, did not understand the seriousness of her illness.
Julie Strack, a New York City-based writer, contracted COVID-19 in 2020 and has been dealing with its lingering effects since then. Unfortunately, she had to endure a lengthy wait of several months for medical professionals to acknowledge and address her symptoms seriously.
In an article on Huffington Post, Julie Strack shared her harrowing ordeal, revealing that "after enduring over a year without proper medical attention, I eventually consulted two prominent specialists in post-infection illnesses. They diagnosed me with long COVID, in addition to several associated conditions including dysautonomia, small fiber neuropathy, mast cell activation syndrome, and primary immunodeficiency."
Ms Strack said her mother-in-law, a doctor, and several of her colleagues were not able to fully understand the extent of her problems.
As she kept falling ill again and again, with infection spreading through her body, doctors realised there is a need for a thorough analysis. So, several laboratory tests were conducted and they revealed that Ms Strack's immune system is in a state of dysregulation. They also signified that she is both immunocompromised and was experiencing persistent inflammation.
"My nervous system is damaged, preventing my blood from circulating effectively and causing chronic low-level oxygen deprivation. There's evidence that my body can't extract oxygen efficiently from my blood vessels, and my mitochondria are damaged," she said about her diagnosis.
Jut like Ms Strack, people who contracted COVID-19 in the early stages of the pandemic and subsequently developed symptoms that lasted for long time faced challenges when dealing with medical practitioners, who were unaware of the potential for prolonged complications stemming from the virus.
In response, those enduring the long-term effects of COVID-19 have coined the term "gaslighting" to describe their frustrating interactions with medical professionals, healthcare institutions, and the broader medical establishment.
Nonetheless, the transformation of a previously active and energetic individual into someone who is constantly fatigued throughout the day serves as a stark reminder that there are certain medical conditions that demand our attention in this post-COVID era.