Firstly, I have just caught up on mod activity for the first time in about three years. Thank you for your patience.

Anyway. I am still long term on the road, although I'm not travelling very far. I'm living in a camper van, happily off the grid among nature and my fellow travellers. I have to return to my local hospital for treatment every month, but luckily I love this part of the world and there's lots I can explore in that time.

And I'm now awaiting my fifth surgery for Crohn's disease, whilst suffering a horrendous eczema outbreak on the soles of my feet.

The van next door noticed that I did not seem to be in great shape and after a few days popped round to see if they could pick up some shopping for me. I gratefully accepted and they've continued to help me out since. So has another resident van dweller whom I already knew.

My closest van buddies headed north to cooler climes months ago for summer, but on hearing that I'm not doing well, one of them just set off south again to come and find me. He'll be here tomorrow to accompany me to the hospital, cook me dinner, and generally shower me with love.

Recovering from surgery in a van just isn't gonna work, so my best friend with a house nearby is gonna put me up and look after me over that time.

It's a lot of shit happening but I'm still rolling, and I'm so grateful for human kindness. It makes the world go round and dreams possible!

I bought a camper van. Solar powered fridge.

Not an option for everyone I know, but my van is now my residence and I'm free to roam at last.

It's actually a lot easier health wise. I can work less (online teaching) which means more time to focus on being well - sun, exercise, rest, food prep. And I can place myself away from unhealthy temptations like the bar and the fast food joint and smoking friends. Whilst still having a doctor on state insurance and the wheels to get to them when I need to.

It's not the easiest solution and moving in has meant various hiccups and repairs. But I'm gradually setting off.

Currently camped out off the road by my favourite beach near my home town / administrative residence in southern Spain.

I think I made the right choice given my constraints at this time and I hope it's a success.

Happy travels and good health!

This past spring I received a diagnosis of hypogammaglobulinemia and am receiving monthly infusions of IVIg. I also have I’ve been accepted to an Erasmus+ master’s degree program that has modules in Spain, Portugal, and Turkey. In addition, I will be staying in Italy before and after the program and during breaks between semesters. I have contacted six companies purported to offer coverage for pre-existing conditions (from cancer to HIV) and been declined by all. The providers I’ve contacted have even refused to consider me for a basic policy which excludes coverage for my illness.

Currently, I’m looking for possible workarounds. Since I’ll be eligible to enroll in the Italian NHS after I’ve submitted my residency application, I’m considering temporarily switching to subcutaneous infusion for my IVIg, filling 90-day mail-order scripts for my all of my meds including back-up antibiotics, should I develop an infection, and submitting my residency and NHS applications immediately upon landing.

Any recommendations from any fellow Paranomads who’ve dealt with similar obstacles? TIA!

I'm still 17 and planning my trips and such but I have run into a road block when i realized that I'll have to find a way to take my meds with me. Will I be better off living in a car instead of traveling on foot

Nothing crazy here, but my girlfriend has a heavily-damaged leg and hip, and I've got chronic pain in my neck and back. We can't really get out into nature, despite the fact that we both used to hike and camp quite a bit as kids.

We decided to take a trip out to Rocky Mountain National Park (we live within driving distance), and we had a blast! There's a road that goes from Estes Park all the way up over the continental divide. All along the road, there are pull-off points where you can take pictures or just enjoy the scenery. It was beautiful. All in all, I think it took us around 5-6 hours to drive to the halfway point and back (the road just goes up and over the mountains; it's not a loop or anything like that).

We had a great time, got some great pictures, and we even spotted a few elk. The only real challenge is the lack of oxygen at 14,000 feet.

If you go to Colorado during the summer, you can take the Continental Divide road one day, the road to Bear Lake another day, and then you can take a drive down to Mt Evans, which has the highest-elevation road in the entire country. It's definitely worth a trip as long as you can stand to be in the car for that long! :)

Hello!

First off, holy crap. I'm so glad this exists. My brother essentially thinks I'm insane for wanting to travel long-term with all of my health problems, but I only get one life so I don't want to let my health problems limit me.

I'm diagnosed with EDS, Endometriosis, and a slew of other things. I am planning on moving to Vienna for about 10 months to live with my partner (he is a US citizen and only has an internship so I can't get on his insurance plan). I have been rejected by CignaGlobal as well as GeoBlue, and I was wondering if anyone has any advice for living abroad with chronic illness. I've already looked into buying private health insurance in Austria (there is a 6 month waiting period). I will have at travel insurance at minimum (details below), but they exclude preexisting conditions.

I also spoke with the Health Insurance Marketplace, I need to maintain minimum essential coverage if I'm gone for less than 330 days, so it looks like I will probably(?) keep my current insurance. They cover urgent/emergent care abroad, but I'd have 0 coverage for outpatient.

Does anyone have experience living abroad and managing chronic conditions? I've emailed the folks over at the insurance company Pro-trip world to find out if they meet my visa requirements. Do you have additional travel insurance, doctor/hospital recommendations, or advice on getting routine care (refills)? I'm considering hopping over to Hungary for continuation of care because they are a medical tourism destination and only a couple hours away.

Thanks!

-E

Hey everyone, I just discovered this forum but not too sure how active it is.

I was wondering if anyone had gotten themselves some sort of medical jewellery to wear before their travels. I have Crohns and was thinking of getting one and having it personalised before going off on any solo travels. I don't know what id put on it, maybe just "Crohns disease - no allergies - immuno suppressants"?

Thoughts :)

Hi y'all I just found this sub after doing some research regarding nomadic lifestyles and mental illness. I have Bipolar II and am currently medicated because of health insurance through my work. I've dreamed of doing long term bike touring around the US for several years now and after doing a short 5 day tour the desire to explore is even stronger. My question has anyone figured out a good way to stay medicated while doing the jobless adventurer thing that isn't overly expensive in america?

Hey all,

I was brought here thanks to u/whine_and_cheese.

Basically what the title says. I haven't left yet but the whole trip was a spontaneous decision, I only decided and brought the ticket two days ago and I'm leaving in two weeks.

I guess in the theme of this subreddit, I should talk about my disability. I'm Deaf, so I have zero hearing whatsoever. I do use a Cochlear Implant but the amount of sounds is limited so I would struggle to understand a conversation in a noisy place, if the other person is far away or has an accent. So basically, your typical conversation when traveling.

I expect some of my challenges to mostly come from people who are not patient or understanding. Russia would be a place I expect to struggle in because Russians apparently have less patience for English speakers, so if I add on having to slow down the conversation, I may get people giving up. Or worse, they may try mug me.

Having said that, I'm not going to let a small fact like being deaf from stopping me. I will be visiting Italy, Denmark, UK and China in this visit for sure. Iceland, Russia and Ukraine are countries I strongly want to visit, but it depends on if I can get a visa sorted and have the money to enter. Apart from that I'm keeping my trip flexible, so I will go where I feel like on the day.

Feel free to ask me anything!

I've been too ill to travel since Christmas and I took my first weekend away :-)

I had an appointment with my consultant to review my tests and treatment first thing Friday morning. All clear! Good to go!

So I hitch hiked from there to the campsite, in two rides and only ten minutes longer than it takes to drive. Finally got back in my hammock for two nights.

I spent the middle day mostly resting under the trees enjoying the sun and the birds and some camping company :-) it was glorious.

So! It seems I'm well enough to start planning my next trip!

Basic Travel Insurance Tutorial

List of Travel Insurance Providers

Whilst this interview wasn't about travelling with a chronic illness, this quote really captured the biggest challenge of it for me. Overcoming that fear. Sometimes the need to live stops me travelling while I'm in hospital but mostly it is indeed the force that drives me on.

Lana: I love that you acknowledge real dangers and speak about incidents you’ve experienced. So how come your curiosity persists? Is it a scale thing; the need to travel is just stronger than the fear?

Ana: It’s not the need to travel, it’s the need to live that’s stronger than the fear. There’s one saying that I very much agree with and it says that the fear doesn’t stop death, but it stops life. There were incidents and there will always be some kind of incidents. I accept them as part of my life cycle. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a superwoman and I get frightened often, but I try to make a conscious decision to move through that fear. It makes me feel alive.

Wow... I've just come home from the Bahamas. Here's an itinerary overview:

• Greenland. 5 days couchsurfing at sea on the Arctic Ocean in the wild on a tiny boat with no toilet. 2 days ferry, 5 days couchsurfing in the capital.

• Iceland. 9 days base with friends of friends, hitch hiked the golden circle for 3 days including a chilly wild camp.

• Quebec, Canada, couch surfing and hitchhiking. 3 days in Montreal, a week in Quebec City with 2 hosts.

• Ontario. Stealth camped and hostel in Ottawa, then hitchhiked to my first rainbow festival. 2 weeks free camping with 15-50 other people outside Algonquin national park. Hitched and couchsurfed to Toronto, then Brantford and 6 nations indigenous reserve, then Niagara falls over about ten days.

• Northern USA. A bus and a night in buffalo NY and a weeks stay with old friends in canton OH.

• California. 6 or 7 epic weeks. Flew to San Francisco, hired a car. Drove down the coast, then up to the Sierra Nevada, then Yosemite and down the desert free camping all the way to slab city near the Mexican border. Stayed with friends in San Diego.

• Louisiana. Amtrak to Lafayette, stayed with artists for Thanksgiving. Hostel in New Orleans then couch surfing in a flood renovation project.

• Miami Beach couch surfing for two days, ran out of visa stamp.

• Bahamas, boat to freeport, 1 week, in a private apartment.

I originally planned to keep going but at this point I've returned home to Spain, at least for a little while.

I had two flare ups on the way. First one in California I accidentally drank caffeine just as I started workaway at a homestead. They looked after me for a whole week. The second was in Miami. There were people there who would look after me but I had to leave the country. I looked after myself in Bahamas, problem being that I couldn't also find a way to stay there longer whilst I was sick. Passport stamp expired before I could fix it while I was busy seeing doctors and being sick.

Luckily I can choose to come home for a while and be looked after. It seemed like the best thing, before I tackle the Caribbean.

So that was my first long term solo trip ever. Leg one complete. I've learnt lots and had a fucking blast. I've shit myself in a variety of situations and shit in the wild more than I could count. I've carried up to a kilo of meds in addition to my lightweight kit. I've dug so many holes to shit in. And I've regretfully had to admit that yes, Crohn's does change your plans. But it doesn't stop life.

Currently I'm with a loved one trying to kick this flare. Then I'll weigh up what next.

One of the things I remember in life is to never be in a rush it makes life a lot easier. Please forgive this post because it was written on a cell while I get ready for two day bike ride in jeans.

Up in Chicago on the 25th I was ready for a bike ride to. Jersey, shorts, jacket. The usual spandex things a cyclist wears to ride around in. Then I woke up in the hospital naked. Waiting for a MRI.

Not my favorite place to be naked, but there are worse. By the time I was released unfortunately I had just missed my train west. They were nice enough to give me new tickets. But the puzzle was killing time for 24 hours.

Twenty three hours flew by wonderfully until I woke up in a different hospital naked with a collar brace wearing different socks. Two seizures later you think I would travel with cheap gear. So a chunk of my stuff being gone after it was destroyed by EMT's I missed this train to, but they were not willing to give tickets unless I had discharged papers. The two sets of hospital bands weren't enough.

Eventually I managed to get my bike on the train and make it west out to California, watch willd horses. See the grand canyon. Mostly the human interaction has been the entire trip.

I have a few back problems, am partially disabled, and looking to get back into backpacking, or any way to back into the backcountry. I've made a couple of posts in r/ultralight and r/backpacking and gotten some great advice.

I'm wondering how you guys do it. I've gotten some great advice from others, but I'm wondering what people in similar situations to me have done. I want to be like you guys.

Any advice, suggestions, or experience/experiences are what I'm looking for. I also welcome any complaints or troubles. Anything you can share will help me make better decisions moving forward.

Thanks in advance.

Part one here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Paranomads/comments/6t4fb2/paranomad_mod_story_greenland_and_iceland_with

Part two: Canada was amazing. I hitch hiked from Quebec City to Niagara over 5 weeks, and spent two of them wild camping in Canada's vast forests with a group of vagabonds and hippies. I practised my French, learnt a lot about communal living and bush life, smoked a lot of free weed, suffered an unfortunate incident of getting groped by a douche bag, made a quest to research indigenous history, and saw the mighty Niagara falls. My pack and I have come quite some distance by now. It feels like I've been on the road forever and any place feels like home.

I slept more than most people, but discovered that I wasn't the only person in the woods shitting 4-6 times a day. Ensuring I had toilet paper and my trowel was my main adaptation! I ate vegan whole foods only in the woods and was reminded just how good it is for my health and my guts, but it's hard to sustain while travelling - too many gas station dinners and host-provided meals and a serious need for calories and protein. I met a traveler who had all his dried vegan whole foods for the year ready prepared and packed for travelling, he just has a box shipped out every month. So specialist diets can be met if required, with prep and planning.

Depression was a little harder to keep at bay, after being assaulted and then learning the tragic truth of indigenous history in Canada. The combination weighed heavy, but while travelling it was very easy to distract myself. When I stopped to think about it, or rather it intruded on my mind too much to ignore, I felt very focused on resolution, action, so I decided to name and shame my aggressor then forget him, and spread the word about indigenous rights. I feel I've done the right thing, and I'm able to recover now rather than just bury it under the distractions of new environments. I've felt better able to deal with these emotional setbacks than I did at home. Maybe travel is making me stronger emotionally as well as physically... Maybe the things that were really depressing me have been resolved by setting off.

I've now just entered the USA - currently planning my onward travel from the border, watch this space :-)

Does anyone have any advice or guidelines on how to find the best travel insurance?