One in three adult Americans is estimated to have prediabetes – marked by high blood sugar levels – so don’t think it couldn’t happen to you. Fortunately, lifestyle changes such as weight loss and increased physical activity can delay the onset of type 2 diabetes, or even prevent it altogether.
Not only will you find out your risk level by taking this free and fast test, but you’ll help raise money to fight the growing diabetes epidemic (26 million children and adults in the US). Boar’s Head is donating $5 to the ADA for every person who takes the test between March 26th and April 9th – up to $50,000.
So take a moment and answer a few simple questions about your weight, age, family history and other potential risk factors. You’ll be helping yourself potentially avoid a serious disease, and you’ll be helping others no matter what. Take the test now.
A nationally recognized psoriasis expert, Dr. Jerry Bagel, MD, has been an investigator on more than 45 clinical trials seeking new treatments for psoriasis and other skin conditions. In addition to treating patients at his private dermatology practice in East Windsor, New Jersey, Dr. Bagel serves as Senior Attending Physician at the Princeton University Medical Center and Director of the Psoriasis Treatment Center of Central New Jersey. He is also a three-term member of the National Psoriasis Foundation’s Medical Advisory Board. What investigational treatment for psoriasis is he currently studying? And what does he wish more psoriasis patients knew? Check out our insightful interview below.
1.What led you to focus your research on psoriasis?
I started studying psoriasis when I was resident at Columbia-Presbyterian in 1982-1985. At that time I would spend six months on in-patient service with 30 hospitalized psoriatic patients who would stay in for treatment for a month. And I realized the burden of disease – the psychological, emotional and physical impact of this disease on people.
So when I opened up my private practice in 1985, I decided that psoriasis treatment and care of psoriasis patientswould be a major part of my professional career and so I started seeing a lot people with psoriasis. I started doing research in 1992 and then just kept working with pharmaceutical companies and developing our own protocols for research into the treatment of psoriasis, trying to find better treatments, safer treatments, more effective treatments.
2.Tell us about some of your most recent clinical trial findings.
The most recent clinical trial I’m doing as of today is IL-17 receptor antibodies with Amgen that is remarkable, using subcutaneous injections once every other week. People are getting clear within 2-4 weeks, so it’s really a quite effective treatment. I mean, obviously we don’t know [everything yet], but so far it’s been good at our facility, and the data I’ve read about it seems to be pretty good. So I think it could take the treatment of psoriasis to another level in the sense that over half the people will probably clear and probably 85% will have a very effective level of clearing. So it’s going to take it to another level of clearing given what existed before.
3.Speaking of what existed before, what current treatments are most effective in your experience?
Well, we still use phototherapy, but people have to come in three times a week for about 12 weeks. It works about 75% of the time, but people only stay clear for about six months maybe 75% of the time. So in the end it only works well for about 50% of the people. But it’s totally safe, so therefore the benefit ratio is high. We also do all the biologic agents, like Enbrel and Humira and Stelara, and they’re quite effective treatments.
In fact, Enbrel and Humira are FDA-approved for the treatment of psoriatic arthritis as well – and up to 25% of people with psoriasis have psoriatic arthritis. So it helps the arthritic component of psoriasis as well. So we do use the biologics, although sometimes we have to tweak them with some systemic therapies. Sometimes we use cyclosporine,sometimes we use methotrexate. But the treatment of psoriasis today is certainly a lot better than it was say 10 years ago.
4.Do you have any dietary recommendations for psoriasis patients?
I think diet helps, but I don’t think diet necessarily clears psoriasis for very many people, if any. But we know that psoriasis is associated with the metabolic syndrome, and many patients are obese and have diabetes, which are inflammatory triggers. I think patients that eat a low-inflammatory diet – with more fish like mackerel, salmon or anchovies, and less red meat – tend to be better. Staying away from fatty foods like animal fats, and eating more vegetable fats like nuts, tends to be helpful. Also, I do think that weight loss tends to help people with psoriasis. The other culprit is alcohol. Alcohol is not good for people with psoriasis.
5.What is something you wish more psoriasis patients knew?
I wish more psoriasis patients knew that there are physicians providing effective care for psoriasis. For instance, today I had a young woman who was 23 years old. She came into my office with psoriasis covering about 20% of her body. She’d been to three dermatologists before me, and two of them told her there was nothing they could do about it, and she should learn to live with it. So I wish there was more education for people with psoriasis to know there are dermatologists or psoriasis caregivers who are interested in the treatment of psoriasis – and a better way of connecting people with psoriasis with the physicians interested in treating psoriasis.
You’ve all heard this fact before: heart disease (including heart attacks and heart failure) is the leading cause of death among American men and women, claiming around 600,000 lives each year. But what are you doing about it? Are you and your family working on the controllable risk factors that play a role in this largely preventable disease?
For example, how are you doing with these controllable risk factors?
During American Heart Month this February, it’s the perfect time to ride the momentum of your New Year’s resolutions and move towards a more heart-healthy lifestyle. That means making small to large changes in your daily routine that really pay off. From what you eat to how much walking you do, take stock of what you can control…and share your experiences with other PatientsLikeMe members.
Not sure where to start? Use a BMI calculator to find out whether your Body Mass Index (BMI) falls within a healthy range. Also, make sure you go in for an annual checkup this year, which will give you and your doctor a chance to look at your cholesterol, blood pressure and heartbeat. That way, if there’s a red flag anywhere, you can start doing something about it sooner rather than later.
November is American Diabetes Month, and this year, the American Diabetes Association is working to reshape the understanding of diabetes. The goal is to raise awareness of the fact that diabetes is life-changing disease with a huge societal impact – and not a minor hindrance, as some people think.
As part of this mission, the ADA is asking patients with type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes to send in a photo that captures what life with diabetes is like. What are the everyday challenges and considerations? Help the ADA build a mosaic of the “true picture of diabetes” and CVS will donate a $1 for every photo uploaded, up to $25,000.
Another way to get a clearer picture is to consider some of the alarming facts about diabetes, which is projected to affect as many as one in three Americans by 2050:
26 million Americans are currently living with the disease
79 million Americans have prediabetes, putting them at risk for type 2 diabetes
Today is World Kidney Day, a joint initiative of the International Society of Nephrology (ISN) and the International Federation of Kidney Foundations (IFKF).
Since 2006, World Kidney Day has been raising awareness of the importance of our kidneys to our overall health. For example, did you know that it’s our kidneys’ job to remove toxins and excess water from the body? Or that these two organs – roughly the size of a fist each – help regulate our blood pressure, blood cell production and bone health?
It’s no wonder then that humans can’t survive without kidneys, which brings us to this year’s World Kidney Day theme: the need for life-saving organ donations and kidney transplants. Without them, those with chronic kidney disease who progress to complete kidney failure (aka end stage renal disease) have a bleak prognosis. Unfortunately, the need for transplantation is growing worldwide due to the increasing prevalence of diabetes and high blood pressure, the main causes of kidney disease.
As a result, prevention is inextricably linked to being healthy in general: maintaining a healthy weight, exercising and eating right. Here in the US – where approximately 26 million Americans have chronic kidney disease, and millions more are at risk – the National Kidney Foundation has launched a campaign featuring legendary restaurateur B. Smith. Check out the video below to learn about the risk factors for kidney disease and how you can reduce them with simple actions such as reducing salt and fat intake, quitting smoking and replacing soda with water.
Are you living with high blood pressure, diabetes or chronic kidney disease? Connect with others like you to share experiences, support and advice. At PatientsLikeMe, we have 2,700+ patients with hypertension, 2,700+ patients with type 2 diabetes and 300+ patients with chronic kidney disease. In addition, 1,900+ members have undergone – or are awaiting – a kidney transplant, while 50+ others are on hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis. Add your own story and gain insight from this wealth of real-world knowledge.
A few weeks ago, we launched a new blood glucose feature, which allows members with diabetes to record and monitor the concentration of glucose in their blood on a daily basis. Here’s a look at the resulting profile chart:
In a recent PatientsLikeMe Poll, 88% of responding diabetes patients said they have a goal for control of their blood glucose. Many of you on the site have told us before how important it is for you to monitor your blood glucose to treat your diabetes. With this new tool, you can now easily input your blood glucose levels as often as you’d like—even noting the exact time the test was taken—and see your results over time on your PatientsLikeMe profile.
The glucose chart (pictured above) displays which readings fell outside of the normal range, which is also known as hyperglycemia (when the blood glucose level is too high) or hypoglycemia (when the blood glucose level is too low). We know some of you are already monitoring hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia on your profiles, but we’re glad that you can now record to what extent your blood glucose levels were out of range.
Do you want to get a better picture of what’s going on with your health, spot trends and, ultimately, take control of your diabetes? Join the PatientsLikeMe diabetes community today to monitor your blood glucose levels and other factors relevant to your health. If you’re already a member, visit the new Labs & Tests page to add this new feature (or one of our other new labs) to your profile.
PATIENTSLIKEME POLL REVEALS UPCOMING HOLIDAY SEASON MOST DIFFICULT FOR DIABETES PATIENTS CONTROLLING BLOOD GLUCOSE
PatientsLikeMe Introduces Daily Glucose Monitoring Feature in December
CAMBRIDGE, MA – November 22, 2011 – According to a recent PatientsLikeMe® Poll, one out of every two type 2 diabetes patients (50%) and nearly two out of every three type 1 diabetes patients (65%) say having diabetes affects their holidays. More than half of respondents (59%) say the upcoming holiday season, marked by Thanksgiving and Christmas, is most difficult for controlling blood glucose; 25% don’t find the holidays difficult. When asked what strategies they use if their blood glucose rises after increased consumption during the holiday, diabetes patients had mixed responses with three in four type 1 patients (76%) changing their medication dosage, while type 2 patients try alternative things like more exercise (34%) or just avoiding glucose-raising items altogether (34%). Two hundred and twenty-six (226) diabetes patients sharing their health data on PatientsLikeMe.com responded to the poll.
“This week represents the beginning of a challenging season for diabetes patients faced with group meals and gatherings that could impact their health,” says Ben Heywood, President and Co-founder of PatientsLikeMe. “We all have family or friends with diabetes and these poll results give a glimpse into some of the challenges they face and the strategies they use to overcome them.”
Are diabetes patients sensitive about discussing their disease with family and friends at the table during the holidays? An overwhelming 90% say no. However, more than one in three patients (38%) still feel friends and family don’t understand how diabetes affects them during the holidays. With holiday meals and parties so prevalent over the next six weeks, many of the respondents (84%) say they manage with what’s available, while 16% make some adjustment to accommodate for their diabetes (7% host to be in control, 7% eat before going out and 2% bring their own meal).
PatientsLikeMe will introduce a daily blood glucose monitoring feature for its 2,000+ diabetes patients in early December. Patients will be able to report daily glucose levels, as well as continue sharing and learning from HbA1c scores (used to monitor the glucose control of diabetics over time), treatments and dosages (such as Metformin or insulin) and symptoms and severity (including blurry vision,excessive thirst and fatigue). In recognition of Diabetes Awareness Month, PatientsLikeMe recently collaborated with industry and nonprofit partners to launch the CallingAllTypes (www.callingalltypes.com) campaign in an effort to help raise awareness and funds for the disease.
NOTE TO EDITOR: The complete PatientsLikeMe® Poll results can be downloaded here. All poll results must be sourced as originating from PatientsLikeMe®.
PatientsLikeMe® Poll Methodology Between November 14th and November 18th, PatientsLikeMe invited all diabetes members to participate in the PatientsLikeMe® Poll, with 226 members completing the poll. Respondents represent patients with both type 1 diabetes (24%), where patients are usually diagnosed at a young age and need to daily blood glucose monitoring and insulin therapy, and type 2 diabetes (73%), where patients develop the condition gradually over time typically due to environmental factors resulting in increased blood glucose levels. In this poll, more than 200 respondents shared their HbA1c scores, with 49% reporting a score of 7.0 or lower (which represents well-controlled glucose).
About PatientsLikeMe® PatientsLikeMe® (www.patientslikeme.com) is the world’s leading online health data sharing platform. PatientsLikeMe® creates new knowledge by charting the real-world course of disease through the shared experiences of patients. While patients interact to help improve their outcomes, the data they provide helps researchers learn how these diseases act in the real world and accelerate the discovery of new, more effective treatments. [Follow company news on www.twitter.com/PatientsLikeMe and http://blog.patientslikeme.com]
Last week, in Part I of this interview, PatientsLikeMe member and blogger Michael Burke shared his sister Linda’s struggle with type 1 diabetes. Today, we learn about his own type 1 diabetes journey, including his June 2011 kidney transplant as a result of diabetes-induced kidney failure.
1. What diabetes complications have you faced?
Diabetes is a disease that appears to be misunderstood by most people, in that the consequences of the disease can lead to many different complications. As I mentioned earlier, both Linda and I suffered from diabetic retinopathy…essentially, you can go blind from diabetes. Another complication is nephropathy, or kidney disease. For me, this led to kidney failure and the eventual need for a kidney transplant this past June.
Heart disease is another major complication. Personally, I never knew that I had any heart disease until one day my primary care physician sent me for a routine stress test. During the stress test, the cardiologist felt it necessary to immediately admit me to the hospital and do a cardiac catheterization the next morning. When he did, he found two blockages in my right coronary artery – one was a 90% blockage and the other was an 85% blockage. I then had several stents placed. After two years, those stents were becoming ineffective, and I required heart bypass surgery. Lucky for me, there was a heart surgeon in Boston who was doing bypass surgery robotically. What this meant for me was a much smaller incision (about an inch and a half compared to the whole chest being opened up), and being a diabetic, less risk of infection and a shorter recovery time.
Another complication is [diabetic] neuropathy, or nerve damage. Typically, this usually affects the feet, but other parts of the body can be affected as well. As for Linda and I, the neuropathy is/was primarily in our feet. For Linda, it was extremely painful, with the feeling that you are constantly being poked in your feet with something very sharp. For me, the feeling has been quite different, in that there is no feeling, at least around my big toes, which in turn has caused some balance issues for me. Neuropathy is serious, it’s not just that it is painful for some and a loss of feeling for others. It can also lead to amputation of your toes, your foot, or in drastic circumstances, part of or all of your leg.
2. What was your kidney transplant experience like, and how are you doing now?
I went through a whole lot of emotions over the course of getting this new lease on life. Although I had been prepared by my kidney doctor over the last several years that I was most likely going to need a kidney transplant, the day I sat with the transplant team for the first time was absolutely frightening and surreal at the same time. It’s hard to explain.
I just remember sitting with the transplant team and when the transplant doctor said, “Ok, we will put you on the transplant list within the next few days, and we will move forward,” my heart was pounding so hard I thought it was going pop out of my chest. There is also a lot of anxiety that goes along with the whole transplant process. At first, I didn’t know where the kidney would come from. I knew there were family members who said that they wanted to be tested and now I was also on the national transplant list.
When my brother Tommy was starting the testing process, I kept going back and forth in my head. It would be great to have someone close to me donate, but then there was the guilt. If I ever rejected their kidney now they are left with just one. As it turned out, Tommy was a 5 out of 6 antigen match, and he donated his kidney to me in June.
I had often heard before the transplant that you won’t understand how badly you felt or how sick you were before the surgery until after the surgery. That could not be a truer statement. I never really felt sick before, and I have been told that is because kidney disease can be very slow and progressive. However, looking back today, I can honestly say that there has been a 180 degree turnaround. I have much more energy and I just generally feel well – it has been a huge difference, and I have Tommy to thank for that.
On October 24-25th, PatientsLikeMe attended the 8th Annual Patient Adherence, Communication and Engagement (PACE) Conference in Philadelphia. The event focused on how the healthcare industry can deliver measurable improvements in patient adherence (i.e., taking medications as prescribed by your doctor). Put simply, how can we help patients like you take the correct dosages at the correct times?
Why does this topic merit its own conference? Well, as we learned at PACE, medication non-adherence costs more than $300 billion every year in the US alone. You read that right. And this staggering amount is comprised of more than just hospitalization and emergency room costs. It also includes things like lost employee productivity and the cost for less optimal patient outcomes. Essentially, think of it as $300 billion the US could be saving each year – but currently is spending – in the midst of an economic downturn.
Here are some of the other noteworthy takeaways:
Of that $300 billion, more than $100 billion is concentrated in four cardio-metabolic disorders: diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol and heart disease.
A key factor in non-adherence is that patients may frequently have an incorrect understanding or an unrealistic expectation from their doctor of what their medications will do for them.
Recently passed US legislation is attempting to change the way doctors are paid. The new law provides financial incentives for health plans to implement quality measures that hold doctors accountable for impacting patient outcomes.
Many new solutions, such as telemedicine and the patient-centered medical home, are being piloted and studied. The goal is to learn how technology can impact patient outcomes via medication adherence services and remote medical care.
To remain relevant to patients, biopharmaceutical companies now recognize that they must incorporate the voice and experience of the patient into their decision-making processes.
Last but not least, our very own Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Business Development David S. Williams III spoke about the work PatientsLikeMe is doing around medication adherence. Specifically, he focused on patient-to-patient interaction as an influential driver of medication adherence and how we can give patients the tools they need to (1) understand how their medication is working for them and (2) hold each other accountable for following their doctors’ instructions.
Do you believe connecting with – and learning from – other patients is critical to adherence? Share your thoughts in the comments section.
But as you’ll soon see, Michael’s life as a diabetic was first influenced by that of another diabetic – his older sister Linda. (He himself was not diagnosed until he was a teenager, more than 10 years after Linda’s diagnosis.) Below is Michael’s chronicle of her lifelong struggle with type 1 diabetes, and next week we’ll share his own journey, including his June 2011 kidney transplant. Don’t miss this moving story of a family profoundly affected by diabetes.
Tell us about your older sister Linda.
Where do I begin? Linda was someone who I looked up to my whole life when we were growing up, and even though she is no longer here, I still look up to her. Linda was diagnosed with [type 1] diabetes when she was six years old, which made me three when she was diagnosed. So, to say that I grew up with diabetes my whole life is not a stretch.
I didn’t realize it early on, but for Linda, and many diabetics during that time [the 1970s-1980s], staying in control of diabetes was very difficult. Daily testing was very rudimentary compared to testing today. Testing back then relied mostly on urine dip sticks and trying to determine what color the test strip was and then compared that to color chart on the bottle. When the glucose meter was finally introduced, it was as if you could hear a collective sigh of relief from all diabetics.
Linda struggled with her diabetes through much of her childhood and into high school, and then when she was finally in college, it was really taking a toll on her. Ever since being a child, Linda had a dream of becoming a nurse, perhaps because of the care she received from nurses growing up when she was at the doctor’s office or in the hospital.
If there was one thing that I have always taken from Linda, it is her determination. She never once wanted to let diabetes control who she was. While in nursing school at Simmons College in Boston, Linda began to lose her eyesight due to diabetes, among experiencing other complications such as the onset of kidney disease. But she was not about to let this stand in her way of becoming a nurse. In fact, [my brother] Tommy and I would go through her nursing books with her and help her study when she was having difficulty seeing the pages.
A friend of our family who worked in the ophthalmologic division of Johnson & Johnson at the time told my parents of a retina specialist in Boston that may be able to help Linda. The doctor was Dr. Edward Ryan. Dr. Ryan and Linda had a great doctor/patient relationship. He took a special interest in Linda’s case. He began using laser surgery on Linda. All I remember from those treatments was Linda screaming in pain. The procedure has changed some since then, because I have had it done and it was not painful, probably due to the anesthetic. Needless to say, Linda and the rest of our family credited Dr. Ryan with saving Linda’s sight – to the point that she was able to graduate nursing school and become a nurse at Children’s Hospital in Boston.
One of the areas many people don’t realize that diabetes affects is your heart. In 1989, at the age of 24, Linda’s body couldn’t take the constant pounding diabetes was giving her, and, on March 14th, she passed away from underlying heart disease brought on by diabetes.
In June, we told you about our new partnership with BBK Worldwide, a pioneer in healthcare communications.Now, we’re excited to report that our first outreach project together is kicking off.
In preparation for American Diabetes Month in November, PatientsLikeMe and BBK Worldwide announced today the launch of a new online diabetes health movement entitled “Calling All Types.”This innovative social health initiative encourages people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes to share their real-world experiences and help raise awareness of the disease, which affects 25.8 million children and adults in the US (or 8.3% of the population).
Are you a diabetes patient?Share your thoughts and stories at CallingAllTypes.com.Within seconds, social media outlets including Twitter, Facebook and YouTube will pick up and share your words across the Internet.The goal is to create instantaneous viral awareness that will inform the public, including policy makers and health professionals, about the real toll diabetes takes on individuals and families. (Check out the video below to learn more.)
In addition to rallying supporters at CallingAllTypes.com, the campaign is focusing much of its initial awareness-raising efforts in Atlanta, Georgia, where diabetes prevalence exceeds the national average by a full percentage point.“We are incorporating a “take a community by storm’ approach,” says Bonnie A. Brescia, founding principal of BBK.For each of the first 10,000 visitors to post a comment at CallingAllTypes.com during November, the campaign will donate $1 to the Atlanta chapter of the American Diabetes Association.
So if you’ve got something to say about diabetes, the fastest-growing chronic disease in US history, don’t hold back.Spread the word today at CallingAllTypes.com.Then, if you haven’t already, join the diabetes patients at PatientsLikeMe who are coming together to share experiences, find others like them and take control of their health.
What these conditions share is that they can often be improved by reaching an ideal body weight.But losing weight – and maintaining it – is easier said than done.That’s why the National Psoriasis Foundation has launched the Healthy for Good campaign.Here’s what Catie Coman, Director of Communications at the National Psoriasis Foundation, tells us about this new online program.
1.What is Healthy for Good, and why should patients join in?
Healthy for Good (www.healthyforgood.org) is program designed to help people lose weight, while raising funds for a cure for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. It’s unique in that is uses a public platform and the fundraising tactic of “friends asking friends” to help people reach their goals.
Forty percent of people with psoriasis have metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes and abdominal obesity. By joining Healthy for Good, they’ll get tools to stay motivated, lose weight and reduce their risk factors for these associated conditions. They’ll also be able to support research to find a cure for psoriatic diseases.
2.How will Healthy for Good reduce the risk factors for these conditions?
Healthy for Good may reduce the risk factors for these other serious conditions by providing participants with a platform to lose weight safely and set achievable goals. Healthy for Good supports a weight loss goal of up to two pounds per week. Participants will make a commitment to eat right and exercise—and reduce their risk for other serious diseases while they get healthy.
3.How is this program different from other health and fitness campaigns?
First, it gives people a chance to go public. Research shows that people are far more likely to achieve a goal when they put their reputation on the line—by publicly announcing their intentions. Healthy for Good helps people be accountable by giving them a platform to broadcast their commitment.
Also, it will help people stick to their resolution by asking others to support their efforts. For every pound that someone commits to lose, they will ask loved ones to donate $1, $5, $10 or more to help the National Psoriasis Foundation find a cure for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.
Participants will track their progress each week, and the Healthy for Good tracker will calculate their overall progress toward their goal. In order to help people stay motivated, each person who meets their weight-loss and fundraising goals will be entered to win prizes.
4. Is Healthy for Good only available to psoriasis patients or can anyone join?
Anyone can join Healthy for Good. People without psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis can use this program to overcome weight loss obstacles and lose the pounds, while helping others at the same time. And it’s a great way for people with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis to get healthy, reduce their risk of other serious associated diseases and raise funds to find a cure.
Today, we continue the series by highlighting examples of the choices patients like you have made in the past twelve months (pulled from 2010 newsletter interviews).
Patient Choices About…
Being Open
“I decided to make my profile public with the hope that something I have experienced, have done, or could say may help someone else along the way. Because my family seems to still live with the stigma of HIV/AIDS and prefer I don’t allow others close to our family to know of my status, I guess maybe in a way it is my subconscious defiance to my family’s fears.” – memyselfandHIV
Staying Active
“I imagine that by running the races I do, and talking to people about the benefits of a healthy and active lifestyle, that I might motivate a few people to become more active themselves. I mostly want people who like me have MS, but are still capable of being active, to know that it might help their symptoms and make them more comfortable.” – Ramilla
Making Lifestyle Changes
“I can’t drive under no means because where I live you need to be seizure-free for five years and I never am. So that’s a challenge having to depend on people or public transportation. Plus, where I work my co-workers aren’t as understanding as people were when I was a child.” – Blueeyedgoddezz
Tackling Challenges
“My biggest challenge of late has been to deal with my newly diagnosed diabetes. I am fortunate, because it was discovered in the early stages, so I’m doing quite well controlling my glucose levels. I’m learning to accept that there will be some high readings, rather than stressing over them, since my doctor is very pleased with my progress.” – Dirty Butter
Retiring
An interview with AlwaysLearning on her choice to retire from teaching.
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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In a recent series on patient choices, we’ve highlighted a lot of the decisions patients like you have to make on a daily basis. A few weeks ago, 
