Are people with psoriasis more likely to cover up with pants and long sleeves in warm weather? Or are they okay with “showing some skin” in shorts and tank tops? This is just one of the things we set out to learn in our seasonal survey of more than 300 members with psoriasis, a chronic autoimmune condition.
Participants ranged in age from 10 to 80 years old (with an average age of 43), and 68% of them were female. What did they have to say? In response to some of our more playful questions, 62% of participants said they are okay with “showing some skin” in the summer, and 32% said that summer made them “happy as a clam.” Conversely, 14% said it made them “cranky as a crab,” while 54% said it was a little of both. What might be causing that crankiness? 49% of respondents reported that bug spray was the biggest skin irritant in the summer, with 30% citing sunlight itself and 22% pinpointing sunscreen.
We also asked some important research questions about how psoriasis affects quality of life, including social activities, sports, personal relationships and more. These important lifestyle factors were captured using the Dermatological Life Quality Index (DLQI). Internally, PatientsLikeMe refers to DLQI ratings as a person’s “skinpact” because it quantifies how much of an impact psoriasis can have on your lifestyle.
To share what we learned, we’ve put together a new Patient Voice report entitled Uncovering Psoriasis. Don’t miss this in-depth look at how our psoriasis patients rate their “skinpact” as well what specific factors can increase it, from age to the location of an outbreak to the percentage of the body covered with itchy, red plaques (a measurement known as the Body Surface Area or BSA score). You’ll also find tips and insights shared by our patients for coping with psoriasis during summer.
Last week, we shared our interview with a liver transplant recipient who is living out her dreams post-transplant. Today we’d like to add the insights of 32 organ transplant recipients who took part in an online discussion hosted by PatientsLikeMe. Split equally in gender with ages ranging from 25 to 60 years old, our discussion group reported 43 organ transplants amongst them, more than half of which were kidney transplants. Liver, lung, heart and pancreas transplants were also represented.
What did these 32 patients have to say about life after transplantation? What do they wish they’d known earlier? From anti-rejection medication side effects to ongoing expenses, we’ve collated some of the key themes from this eye-opening discussion in a new report entitled The Patient Voice: Preparing for Life After an Organ Transplant. If someone you love is awaiting a life-saving transplant – or you’re a transplant candidate yourself – don’t miss this collection of real-world tips, experiences and checklists. Also, please share this free report with anyone who might find it useful.
The PatientsLikeMe research and development (R&D) team is excited about what we can all share and learn in 2011. Here’s a look back at some of what patients like you shared with us, and what we then shared with the world, in 2010.
The R&D team published and presented some unprecedented insights based on what you shared with us this year. In addition to attending and presenting at some noteworthy conferences in 2010, we also published a series of blogs and podcasts pulled together just for you.
Based on your feedback, the R&D team also implemented some changes to the medical architecture that will help improve the research we do, as well as your experience as a patient on the site. Ultimately, we are working to develop tools that help you answer the question: “Given my status, what is the best outcome I can hope to achieve and how do I get there?”
Today and tomorrow, we’ll be highlighting some of the work we’ve done in 2010 focused on various communities. Today, we start with the following (listed from newest to oldest community):
Organ Transplants
Researcher Catherine Brownstein MPH, Ph.D. presented a poster at the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) Renal Week in Denver. We compared the profile of our Transplants Community to published data from the UNOS/OPTN databases and found that about half of our patients knew about the exact degree of tissue matching they had with their donor. We found the fewest mismatches in organs that had come from deceased, rather than living donors. We also found that within the living donors the closest matches came from siblings, followed by parents, children, and then any other relative.
Epilepsy
In December, the team attended the annual American Epilepsy Society (AES) conference and presented a poster comparing our data to the Pharmetrics insurance claims database. We found that our Epilepsy Community is a little more likely to be female, more likely to be in their 20s-40s, and that they are more likely to be taking multiple anti-epileptic drugs than the broader epilepsy population. Exploring the biases in our data set and being transparent about them is one of our core values as a science team.
PatientsLikeMe is running an ongoing patient-reported outcomes (PRO) study with UCB to measure the physical, social and mental well-being of people with epilepsy over time. By the end of 2010, members of our Epilepsy Community had completed more than 1,300 PRO surveys. Thanks to all of you who contributed.
Fibromyalgia
The R&D team recently blogged about a report comparing our Fibromyalgia Community to the wider fibromyalgia population and revealed we are now able to declare with confidence that our community very closely matches the fibromyalgia community at large.
In 2010, we published a study entitled “Sharing Health Data for Better Outcomes on PatientsLikeMe” in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR). The study, conducted across several of our communities, established a link between sharing health data and benefits experienced on our site. The fibromyalgia-specific findings were that 21% of fibromyalgia members of our site strongly agreed or agreed that they had changed physicians as a result of using PatientsLikeMe, higher than the rate in MS (15%), mood (10%), Parkinson’s (9%), HIV (8%), or ALS (6%).
In response to popular demand for more research in fibromyalgia, the R&D team has also started reaching out to members of the scientific community to design research studies to take place in early 2011.
Mood
Looking again at the JMIR study specifically within the Mood Community, we found 26% of users agreed or strongly agreed that using the site had reduced thoughts about self harm; 23% agreed they had decided to start therapy or counseling after interacting with others on the site; and 22% agreed they needed less inpatient care as a result of using PatientsLikeMe. Here’s a video where I present some of these results, and give a walk-through of the Mood Community, at the UMASS Medical School’s Psychiatry Grand Rounds this year.
We also recently introduced a new tool in all of our communities called “InstantMe” to help you put your experiences in context. Based on the feedback we received from members of our mood community about the pilot tool (called “InstantMood”), it is now available for everybody.
In response to popular demand for more research in mood, the R&D team has also started reaching out to members of the scientific community to design research studies to take place in early 2011.
More highlights, including a video, coming tomorrow.
Posted by Lori Piscatelli Scanlon | December 27, 2010
Last week, we posted highlights from our December community newsletter interviews. As we close out 2010, we want to spotlight another question asked this month – one that is relative to all members, all patients (no matter the condition). What obstacles have you faced and overcome this year?
First of all, I became well enough to leave my local psychiatric hospital after having been an inpatient for six months. My anxiety means that all new things – even getting on a bus to go somewhere new – make me have severe panic symptoms.
I now make sure I am out of bed by 0700hrs during the week and make myself go out at least three times per week, whether it is meeting friends for coffee or attending appointments. Otherwise I will return to “avoidance,” whereby I cut off all contact with friends and family, including calls and text messages.
I have had to deal with and overcome the struggles that come with tardive dyskinesia. Reglan has been black-boxed [with a FDA-mandated warning about the risk of tardive dyskinesia] over the past two years, but I took it for three or four years before that. [Read kidneygirl1198and0505's Reglan treatment evaluation for more details.]
Signs of tardive dyskinesia may include: continuous and repetitive movements of the mouth, tongue, and jaw; facial grimacing; lip smacking, puffing of the cheeks; uncontrollable movements of the arms, legs, fingers, and toes; and swaying motions of the trunk or hips.
Mine has gotten so bad that I have regular grand mal seizures from time to time, and sometimes it’s hard to carry on a conversation without looking weird.
One of the biggest obstacles in my life this year was getting over the death of a very close friend. This person became ill and died within a few months. Her death made me more aware of how precious life is.
Another obstacle was in the adjustment of my medicine for Parkinson’s. My doctor wanted me to try a new medicine with fewer long-term side effects. I tried it for several months but did not do very well. I am currently back on my original medicine, taking a little more than before, but I have readjusted well.
This year I overcame a hard breakup. It was difficult because I thought we were going to be together for a longer term relationship than we were (only nine months).
It was also difficult to start dating again. I forgot how many people don’t know much about how HIV is contracted and that there are many people who would never date someone who is living with HIV or will date someone living with HIV but the fear of contracting HIV puts too much of a damper on the relationship. It’s a difficult process.
I’ve spent a lot of time this year getting used to the fact that I have become dependent on others.
Prior to diagnosis, I sat on the local council, was involved in the organization of all types of public elections and I was a trade union official. These were voluntary roles which involved helping others. Yet, initially, after diagnosis, I had an enormous difficulty accepting help from others. However, I’ve come to realize that I have a loving family, fantastic friends and very supportive colleagues. I have found that many of them don’t know what to do and are very glad when I am specific as to what they can do for me.
I’ve also learned that no question is too personal. I struggled a lot with questions about personal hygiene and when I found the courage to ask these most intimate questions, I found that the professionals were so familiar with the questions asked that, beyond the initial embarrassment, we quickly went on to find solutions. I have also found that when people ask questions about my condition, they are entitled to an answer, an honest answer.
Oh my, 2010 has been a huge year! I didn’t know how I was going to get through it whole, but here I am knocking on 2011, one step at a time. I had to rejoin the workforce on a part-time basis this year, after years of not working (not being able to work), but I had to as my husband had lost his job about 18 months previously, and we were facing bankruptcy!
So I’ve been working part-time since last February, about 17 to 32 hours a week. We did go through bankruptcy, lost our home, vehicles and our high 700′s credit score with it. But you know what, I survived. Actually, no, I overcame, with the help of a very supportive Sunday School class, great friends, and a wonderful husband and daughter.
I work for the US Forest Service and, as of July, made it to retirement age still working. Two times they tried to force me to take a disability retirement. To keep working I have had to move around to several jobs in four different states because of my health. Not only have I made it to retirement age, but I am still working even though they are trying to get rid of me once again. (What a joke when you consider that the federal government has a quota for disabled employees).
It has meant I have not only had to work in a variety of locations, but doing different kinds of work. Just in the time on this forest I have worked as the Oracle DBA in the computer shop, in GIS, later in Forest Planning, with a crew of five Soil Scientists, a Botanist and myself mapping the soils and ecological types and writing recommendations for management. And now for the last two years I have been “unfunded” and doing all kinds of random jobs for projects in the office. Just this year that has included supporting the USFS in legal challenges as well as jobs so simple as filing paperwork and addressing envelopes.
For me, with multiple sclerosis and ADHD, my main problems have been the concentration to do what I need and want to do and fighting the progression of MS. I have RRMS [relapsing remitting MS] but since I have had it for 25 years, ever so slowly, it is progressing at the same time I get exacerbations. I have a new neurologist too, and he is part of a big group and getting through when I am having problems, is a problem.
Plus, with only SSDI [social security disability insurance] and not being able to find a part-time job, I have had to stop taking some needed meds and not going to necessary doctor’s appointments (e.g. my eye surgeon/doctor to see if the optic nerve is still swollen and I can’t do a necessary MRI because the insurance company won’t pay.) So to get help for my asthma, I am doing a research study to get free care. I haven’t found one for MS or depression yet.
In honor of this month’s Mental Illness Awareness Week, here’s a snapshot of what’s happening in our PatientsLikeMe Mood community. Launched in 2008, the community now has more than 18,000 patients. Below are some interesting facts about the community, so please read and share on!
DID YOU ALSO KNOW…
You can search for patients under 15+ diagnosis categories, including depression, bipolar, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, addiction to tobacco, addiction to alcohol, eating disorder and more.
Patients are using more than 1700 treatments, including prescription drugs, supplements, over-the-counter medications, life-style modifications, therapies, and more.
The top lifestyle modification reported by our patients is positive self talk; and sleep is the #1 exercise cited.
Some of the top topics “tagged” in our forum discussions to date include specific treatments (like Lamictal, Lithium, Wellbutrin and Seroqul), as well as borderline personality disorder, coping, anger and journaling.
Posted by Lori Piscatelli Scanlon | December 31, 2009
As 2009 comes to an end, we want to take this opportunity to thank all of our members, partners and general fans for another great year. Here’s a recap of some of the exciting happenings at PatientsLikeMe these past 12 months. Wishing you all a Happy New Year!
Community Milestones
This year, the 15+ disease communities at PatientsLikeMe became an online home to more than 50,000 members. The fibromyalgia community was expanded this past fall to include patients with chronic fatigue syndrome, and we announced a new community scheduled to launch early next year for people with epilepsy. In addition to celebrating our communities’ awareness days and months within the site and right here on the blog (including Fibromyalgia Awareness Day, MS and PD Awareness Months, National HIV Testing Day and World AIDS Day), many of our members also participated on PatientsLikeMe teams in walk/run efforts to raise awareness and money in the name of their disease. Congrats to the 40+teams walking at events to support non-profit organizations like ALS Association, National MS Society, NAMI, Parkinson’s Alliance, APDA, and the MS Society of Canada. The real-time sharing and learning happening on PatientsLikeMe was also highlighted in the report series called The Patient Voice (starting with inpatient therapy for people with Mood conditions). Check out highlights from all these programs on these videos from the Fibromyalgia, Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis and Mood communities.
“I find this site so beneficial in looking for the tools to cope with the disease. People post research and real-life patient experiences of current trials and treatments. Hope is a major focus of PLM and I encourage others to join. We are strong in numbers and we have a voice.”
“PLM is a wonderful way to express what and how to live with this disease. It has changed my life for the better, have met wonderful individuals and we have shared, cried and grown by reaching out and expressing from our hearts, have made wonderful friends and have learned so much.”
Throughout the year, the team has also shared insights via videos (like this series on the history of ALS or a recap of a study on the antidepressant Amitriptyline) and various presentations (such as an overview of our work at the at Eurordis AGM in Athens and updates on our lithium study at the International ALS/MND Symposium). In addition to working on the development of our new communities, the team took additional steps to incorporate genetics into the PatientsLikeMe platform. By participating in new partner studies (such as 23andMe and NEALS) and utilizing new product upgrades, including the launch of the Genetic Search Engine, patients are learning more about their condition and coming closer to answering the question: “Given my status, what is the best outcome I can expect to achieve, and how do I get there?”
Keep your eyes out for more to come in 2010 as our R&D team rolls out more insights and outcomes measurements (like the Quality of Life scale in HIV), more improvements to the PatientsLikeMe platform, and cutting edge research in the peer-reviewed scientific literature.
The Business Side
As Ben said in a recent blog post, “we can’t have a business without you [the patient] and our communities can’t exist to help patients without a business.” Throughout the year, the PatientsLikeMe executive team traveled around the world to present to industry partners, researchers, healthcare professionals and government leaders about the power of real-world patient data-sharing. Here are some highlights from ’09:
Government: Piloted in our MS community this year, PatientsLikeMe members now have the ability to voluntarily report adverse events directly to the FDA; in fact, Jamie recently presented about adverse event reporting at an open FDA hearing on the “Promotion of FDA-Regulated Medical Products Using the Internet and Social Media Tools.” PatientsLikeMe was also one of the collaborating organizations responsible for writing the Declaration of Health Data Rights and launching HealthDataRights.org this past June. Finally, Jamie testified before the National Committee for Health and Vital Statistics, and gave an exciting rapid-fire presentation on the future of medicine at the Gov 2.0 Summit.
Innovation: As a leader in Health 2.0, PatientsLikeMe executives are often asked to speak at various industry events. Check out photos of Ben speaking at The National Summit and stay tuned for videos from Jamie’s presentation at TEDMED and David’s presentation at Bil:Pil. You can also tune in to our live event tweets on the PatientsLikeMe Twitter account in 2010.
Media Highlights: PatientLikeMe members, data and executives were also featured in media mentions throughout 2009, including WIRED, Forbes, U.S. News & World Report, Fox Business Live, Newsweek, New York Times, as well as Seed magazine, Nature Biotechnology and Neurology Today.
Posted by Lori Piscatelli Scanlon | September 1, 2009
We are excited to present the first member video for the PatientsLikeMe Mood community and what better way to kick it off than with one that represents the voice of the patient.
In June, we launched The Patient Voice with the inaugural report on inpatient therapy, a topic often discussed by our Mood community members. At the time of the report, 63% of patients on our site reported an efficacy of “moderate” or “major” for inpatient therapy.
Many patients have already benefited from the information in the report, so we decided to create a video that highlights our patient members’ tips and experiences. Check it out on our YouTube or Facebook page, but if you visit the latter don’t forget to become our fan!
If you want to know more about patients’ experiences with inpatient therapy, you can download the full report here. It includes even more tips and personal stories, interesting facts about the PatientsLikeMe community and a worksheet that will help you make the most out of your hospital stay. Of course, none of this would have been possible if patients like you were not willing to share. We are always eager to hear what you have to say, so please share on.
Once again, special thanks to our summer intern, Shane, for his work on the video!
Yesterday, we announced a new report called The Patient Voice for Inpatient Therapy, which highlights patients’ top tips for having a positive inpatient therapy experience. Maureen Oakes, community manager for PatientsLikeMe Mood Conditions Community (for people with depression and other mood conditions), recently interviewed 3-star member, Mountabora, about her experiences with hospitalization. Here’s what she had to say:
(Maureen) You note in your member profile that you have been hospitalized a few times. What were those experiences like?
(Mountabora) Being in a psychiatric hospital is kind of like being at summer camp. You’re away from home, living in close quarters with strange people, and participating in structured group activities which may or may not have a purpose. There are a lot of rules, and you lose privileges if you don’t follow them. You have to get up way too early in the morning and eat three meals a day at the cafeteria.
There’s a lot of emphasis on learning coping skills, typically through classes and worksheets. There’s also a lot of emphasis on medication; most patients are on at least two or three psychoactive drugs. You go to therapy and you see a psychiatrist, but much more often than you would if you weren’t hospitalized. It’s basically a condensed version of what you’d get as an outpatient, in a controlled environment.
I’ve been treated at six different hospitals in four states over the last ten years, and I’ve had both wonderful and horrible experiences. The state hospital I went to was more like a prison than a hospital. Patients were restrained and drugged against their will, the nursing staff obviously didn’t care, and I had to wait days to see a psychiatrist and then threaten to take them to court before they’d discharge me. The private psychiatric hospitals were much better, with specially trained art, exercise, and family therapists, productive classes and groups, and lots of one-on-one time with nurses, therapists, and psychiatrists. Unfortunately, this seems to be a situation where you really do get what you pay for.
(Maureen) If you could tell other patients one thing about having a positive inpatient therapy (or hospitalization) experience, what would it be?
(Mountabora) Hospitalization is very expensive, so treat it like you would any major purchase. Discuss options with your psychiatrist and have a clear idea of why you’re going in and what you’re expecting to get out of it. Once you’re there, take full advantage of the services the hospital offers. Learn as much as you can from both staff and fellow patients, participate fully in groups and individual therapy, and make the most of the (hopefully) peaceful and structured atmosphere.
I also would recommend that anyone with a serious mental illness take some time to learn about patients’ rights in their state or country. You never know when you’ll be put into a situation where you have to advocate for yourself.
(Maureen) In a our new report, The Patient Voice on Inpatient Therapy, we summarize top themes cited by our community members regarding their positive inpatient therapy experiences. Do you have anything to add regarding these themes?
(Mountabora) I really wish hospitals would put more emphasis on coordination of care right from the start. Almost every time I’ve been hospitalized, I’ve been thrown in with an unfamiliar psychiatrist who gives me a new diagnosis and a completely different set of medications. It took a lot of painful trial and error for my psychiatrist to come up with this diagnosis and treatment plan, and I’d really rather not have to go through it all over again every time I go in to the hospital.
(Maureen) You’ve been a very active member of the PatientsLikeMe community for a while now. What do you find helpful about using the site?
(Mountabora) I like being able to keep a centralized record of my mood and treatment history that I can use as a reference or share with treatment providers. Theoretically, this information gets transferred from provider to provider, but in reality, I know that a lot of things have fallen through the cracks over the years and my quality of care depends on me being able to give an accurate account of what’s happened so far. I wish I had started this when I was first diagnosed. Maybe I wouldn’t have been hospitalized so much.
(Maureen) Thank you for sharing your story and experiences with our PatientsLikeMe community, and with the mood conditions community at-large!
Today’s patient has a loud and strong voice. At PatientsLikeMe, we hear you. You’re saying, “I know this disease, I know how it acts in the real-world, and it’s time to share that with others.”
With thousands of patients sharing data and experiences every day on our site, we’ve decided to launch a report that takes what you, the patient, knows and shares it with you, the patient community at-large. For obvious reasons, we’re calling it The Patient Voice.
The Patient Voice is a collection of wisdom, sentiments and experiences shared by patients like you regarding important issues you face today. The reports include PatientsLikeMe member tips, suggested checklists and questions to ask yourself, and real-world patient experiences, as well as some fun facts from about the PatientsLikeMe community.
The first report is from our Mood Conditions Community, representing patients with depression, anxiety, bipolar, OCD and PTSD, on the topic of inpatient therapy (or hospitalization). It’s a topic that comes up quite a bit in our forum, and patients are openly sharing their positive (and negative) experiences with one another. We’re now sharing some of the positive experiences with you. Take a look at the free report and let us know what you think. Share it with your friends and loved ones who might find it useful. And, please, join the conversation on PatientsLikeMe today. You have a voice, so let’s hear it!
At PatientsLikeMe, people with every type of condition are coming together to share their health experiences, find patients like them and learn how to take control of their health. The result is improved care for patients as well as an acceleration of real-world medical research.
Stay tuned to our blog for the latest happenings with our company, our patients and our mission of opening up the healthcare system.
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our members also participated on PatientsLikeMe teams in walk/run efforts to raise awareness and money in the name of their disease. Congrats to the 40+ teams walking at events to support non-profit organizations like ALS Association, National MS Society, NAMI, Parkinson’s Alliance, APDA, and the MS Society of Canada. The real-time sharing and learning happening on PatientsLikeMe was also highlighted in the report series called 
AGM in Athens
Innovation: As a leader in Health 2.0, PatientsLikeMe executives are often asked to speak at various industry events. Check out 
