The Value of Openness: The PatientsLikeMe Blog

Did you know that yesterday was Fibromyalgia Awareness Day?

The PatientsLikeMe Fibromyalgia community is growing exponentially with more than 3400+ members just five months after its launch!  Many  of our members are feeling newly empowered by their membership in our community and are attending events, wearing pins and ribbons and taking the time to spread awareness about what it’s like to live with fibromyalgia.

This sharing mirrors the sharing they do on the site. At PatientsLikeMe, members build their profiles by sharing information about their condition, such as symptoms and treatments.  Top treatments cited to date include rest, heating pads, walking, stretching and the drug Lyrica.  The most commonly listed symptom is pain, followed by fatigue, memory problems and lower back pain.  In addition to sharing health information, patient members also share their personal experiences and tips with each other.  In our forum these past few months, patients have discussed all kinds of topics, including finding the right doctor, coping with pain and fatigue and how to explain how they really feel to their friends and family.

With all this sharing, patients are learning more about themselves, helping each other better understand this condition, and improving their overall quality of life. In fact, in a recent survey amongst some of our members with fibromyalgia, 85% of our respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the statement - “I feel better about myself because of the recognition by others at PatientsLikeMe that my condition is real.”

If you are not already sharing and learning with other patients like you, we invite you to join our community here at PatientsLikeMe.

Did you know this April is both Parkinson’s Awareness Month and the 2-year anniversary of the PatientsLikeMe Parkinson’s community?  We invite you to celebrate with us all month as we share real-world patient insights and experiences of living with this disease…and we ask you to share on!

The PatientsLikeMe Parkinson’s community has come a long way since it launched in April 2007 - topping more than 3,400 patient members in just 24 months.  Our community members share so much about themselves on a daily basis - from details about how they manage their condition to their personal experiences and stories.  Why share?  Simply stated, to learn more about themselves while helping others better understand this condition.   In the spirit of awareness and sharing, this month we’ll share with you some of what we’ve learned so far from these inspirational individuals and keep it real with some personal patient stories about living with PD.

Additionally, later this month, PatientsLikeMe is once again sponsoring the Parkinson’s Unity Walk (www.unitywalk.org), “the largest single-day fundraising event for the Parkinson’s community.”  The event, which brings together thousands of people touched by Parkinson’s, takes place every spring in New York City’s Central Park.  PatientsLikeMe members from all over the U.S. will once again be meeting in New York to walk together as a team.  (Check out some of our onsite interviews with PatientsLikeMe members from the 2008 Unity Walk and keep an eye out  for 2009 highlights).

Stay tuned for more from us as the month unfolds. Until then, what else is happening this year for PD Awareness Month? Share your events or PD news in the comments below!