When you are diagnosed with a life-changing illness, your doctor may prepare you for how the disease will affect your physical functions. But as our members point out, patients also need to be prepared for the changes in physical appearance they may experience. For example, how do you deal with hair loss, facial swelling, weight… Continue reading Coping with Changes in Physical Appearance
Category: Mental Health
What Would You Tell Yourself 10 Years Ago?
The beginning of a new year is always a time for reflection. You look back, you look ahead and you try to find the big picture. For patients living with chronic health conditions, a new year can be an opportunity to implement and share lessons learned along the way – about how to cope, manage… Continue reading What Would You Tell Yourself 10 Years Ago?
A Patient Poem for the Modern Age
Can you be friends with someone you’ve never met in person? The members of our online health community – now 300, 000+ patients strong – think so. In fact, many of them say they depend on other members for support and encouragement, and for the all-important reminder that they are not alone. As evidence, here… Continue reading A Patient Poem for the Modern Age
What to Do – and Not Do – When Someone Has a Mental Health Condition
Have you ever wondered how best to interact with someone who is living with depression, bipolar disorder or another mental health condition? Have you worried that you’re saying or doing the wrong things? Today we thought we’d share with you some of the tips suggested by our members in a ongoing forum discussion entitled “What… Continue reading What to Do – and Not Do – When Someone Has a Mental Health Condition
Mike Wallace, Depression and Me
In honor of Men’s Health Week, we are pleased to present a guest post by PatientsLikeMe member tiredoftired, a young man who has been living with major depressive disorder since 2007. Don’t miss this moving essay about how Mike Wallace’s passing earlier this year impacted and inspired him. As I was driving to therapy on… Continue reading Mike Wallace, Depression and Me
Spotlighted Blogger: Bipolar patient Andrea of “Lithium and Lamictal”
How do we know we’re truly living in a Health 2.0 age? Recently, we’ve discovered that a number of PatientsLikeMe members have fascinating blogs chronicling what it’s like to live with their respective health conditions. For example, we told you in August about the acclaimed gastroparesis blog “My Broken Stomach,” written by one of our… Continue reading Spotlighted Blogger: Bipolar patient Andrea of “Lithium and Lamictal”
Competing Against MS: An Interview with MLR
PatientsLikeMe member MLR was an avid BMX (Bicycle Motocross), MTB (Mountain Bike Racing) and Motocross athlete his entire life – until he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) last year. After having to give up the sport he loved, MLR began to suffer from depression. Today, however, he’s happy to report that he’s racing again… Continue reading Competing Against MS: An Interview with MLR
FDA’s New Guidance on Patient-Reported Outcomes
We’re big fans of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) here at PatientsLikeMe, defined by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) as: “A measurement based on a report that comes directly from the patient about the status of a patient’s health condition without amendment or interpretation of the patient’s response by a clinician or anyone else.” The self-report… Continue reading FDA’s New Guidance on Patient-Reported Outcomes
Annoyed or Impressed By Your Therapist? PatientsLikeMe Mood Members Chime In
In a recent blog post by New York Times’ Tara Parker-Pope, PsychCentral highlights “The 12 Most Annoying Habits of Therapists.” Launched a year ago this week, our very own Mood community has more than 1,300 patients using “Individual Therapy” as a treatment for their condition. We asked them to tell us some of the habits… Continue reading Annoyed or Impressed By Your Therapist? PatientsLikeMe Mood Members Chime In