I didn't say all or even a majority were exaggerating symptoms, I simply said that many were. Part of my justification was a number of studies which have found psychological distress over catching COVID as a strong predictor of long Covid:
I have a genetic disorder that was diagnosed late in life but I knew well before I had a proper diagnosis that I had frail health. I'm cautious and worry about things that others don't worry about because history proves it's a real problem for me, more than average.
The prevailing hypothesis is a cross reactive species of auto antibodies to the Angiotensin II Type 1 receptor. I unfortunately have not been able to receive a test for this antibody; however, I did test positive for Alpha and Beta adrenergic autoantibodies along with Muscarinic M2 and M4 autoantibodies targeting the hippocampus of my brain. I managed a borderline positive titer for anti TSHDS antibodies, which are correlated with small fiber neuropathy.
Normally, I do not comment, and I specifically made an account to type this message while holding a laptop over my head, a difficult task as you can imagine. The medical community is moving too slow in response to post Covid syndromes. I and all the other people affected with neurologic complications would be most appreciative if you all helped review literature on the immune system. It is an awful lot like debugging code! Right now, I read a section about Janus Kinase and TNF alpha. I believe a medication like baracitinib would do a wonderful job mediating mthe inflammatory response. ICU covid patients typically died from TNF alpha, Interleukin 6, and Cysteinyl Leukotriene 1 mediated by 5 lipoxygenase synthesis from arachidonic acid. All of these biomarkers are elevated in long covid patients. Lastly, covid can actually cause a reactivation of Epstein-Barr and HSV1. Telemisartan is an Angiotensin receptor blocker that can downregulate ACE2 levels in the body and demonstrates a prophylactic effect against covid.
If you read this far, I am deeply appreciative. More so than monetary donations, I would be grateful if could spread the message about this disorder.