The Value of Openness: The PatientsLikeMe Blog

The countdown is on! There are only two weeks left for our patients to enter the PatientsLikeMe “Express Yourself” Video Contest and have a chance to win one of five American Express gift cards ranging from $150-500.

If you haven’t heard, we are asking patients to create a video of three minutes or less that answers the question, “How has PatientsLikeMe changed your life?” If you are thinking of entering the contest but not sure how to express yourself, here are some examples of how patients have answered this question:

• “PatientsLikeMe is the main reason that I concluded I had been mis-diagnosed depressive, instead of bipolar, and just recently decided to try new medication.”

• “For years, I had always taken just 10mg of Baclofen. I was told long ago by my neurologist that “too much Baclofen can cause weak legs.” Then I sign up here, take a peek at what you guys are doing, and find out I don’t take enough Baclofen to deal with my symptoms. Give the neurologist a call, no problem, and [I am] much, much better.”

• “PatientsLikeMe has changed my life.  This is my outlet.  I shared and poured my heart…and connected with hundreds of people around the world.”

Wondering how would you express such things on video?  Check out the submission below from one of our first contest entrants, Roulette67.  Her video is titled “I Am Not Alone,” and it discusses living with bipolar II disorder.  ”I’m bipolar, it’s not a brand on my arm, it’s not a scarlet letter on my chest,” she says in the video.  “It’s part of me, but it’s not me.”

Do you have your own story to share? Tell it to the camera, like Roulette67. Or you could sing a song. Or perhaps combine photos with text to illustrate your experience. There are countless ways to express yourself using video, so be creative!

If you’re feeling inspired to enter, read the complete rules and guidelines before you get started, and don’t forget that May 1, 2011, at 11:59 p.m. EDT is the official submission deadline.

Today, the PatientsLikeMe Multiple Sclerosis (MS) community welcomed its 10,000th patient member!

As we end 2008, more than 10,000 patients in our community are coming together to share their life experiences on PatientsLikeMe. How much experience is that? Try more than 32,000 YEARS of collective experience with MS.

More members than ever are sharing in-depth health information with each other, having repeatedly seen the value that this provides to others (and to themselves). Our forum is where members convene to find support and talk about all sorts of health-related topics, including MS-related treatments. Copaxone, Avonex, Tysabri, Baclofen, Rebif, Betaseron, LDN and 4-AP and others top the list of treatments discussed this year. In addition to our dedicated treatment evaluation reports, several members also use the forum to keep journals of their experiences with specific treatments to better help others understand these meds. There is also a good deal of discussion on dealing with other aspects of MS, such as depression, steroids, family and relationships, etc. To date, the forum has more than 17,000 posts.

Ready to share your experiences with us in 2009? Check us out to see what patients like you are doing to live their best life with MS.   Happy New Year!