Your home is your sanctuary, but if you’ve recently been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), it may feel like that sanctuary isn’t as safe as it used to be. As the illness progresses, it can become harder to move around your home and do the daily tasks you used to do. Because ALS is a… Continue reading How to Adapt Your Living Space and Daily Activities for ALS
Category: Patient Experiences
What You Need to Know About Creatinine Levels for Kidney Disease
The main function of the kidneys is to remove waste products from the body. One way to measure kidney function is by testing creatinine levels. High or low levels of creatinine aren’t necessarily harmful on their own but can be an indicator of serious health conditions like chronic kidney disease. What is creatinine? Creatinine is… Continue reading What You Need to Know About Creatinine Levels for Kidney Disease
Things I Wish My Doctor Would Do
You have been experiencing a mix of symptoms for a while, fatigue, headaches, muscle soreness, and shortness of breath. Wondering if it’s something like stress or a more serious condition, you visit your doctor with the hopes of getting some answers. But instead, your doctor gives you a quizzical look and sends you on your way with more questions… Continue reading Things I Wish My Doctor Would Do
Early Signs of Parkinson’s Disease
One day, you’re relaxing on the couch and notice your hand is shaking. Has it always done that, or is it new? But when you go to pick something up, you notice the shaking stops. You may have noticed other minor changes like your movement is slowing down or your limbs feel unusually stiff. You could pass all of… Continue reading Early Signs of Parkinson’s Disease
Conditions Commonly Mistaken for Multiple Sclerosis
Have you wondered why your vision got so blurry, or why you feel tired all the time? Maybe you’re having trouble remembering things, and your mind isn’t as sharp as it used to be. These symptoms can be scary, and it can be frustrating when there are no clear answers about what they may be.… Continue reading Conditions Commonly Mistaken for Multiple Sclerosis
Health Information: What Sources Do People Trust?
Finding accurate and reliable health information has become more confusing for patients than ever before. By examining where patients are getting their information — for example, from trained healthcare professionals or their peers — and their ability to determine the most reliable sources can help the industry and patients better understand the importance of providing… Continue reading Health Information: What Sources Do People Trust?
6 Best Foods for Chronic Kidney Disease
When you were first diagnosed with chronic kidney disease (CKD), you may have been told you need to modify your diet. While it’s true that nutrition significantly impacts chronic illness, and eating foods that are high in nutrients and minimally processed, combined with some exercise, can help prevent and minimize symptoms of kidney disease, you… Continue reading 6 Best Foods for Chronic Kidney Disease
5 Tips for Exercising with a Chronic Illness
At some point in your life, you’ve engaged in some kind of physical activity. Maybe you were an athlete as a child, take your dog for regular walks, or enjoy the serenity of a yoga class. Then you were hit with the diagnosis and progression of your chronic illness, causing you to slow down exercise… Continue reading 5 Tips for Exercising with a Chronic Illness
7 Things You Need to Know About Living with Lupus
After months or even years of experiencing symptoms like extreme fatigue, skin rashes, pain, or swelling in the joints, you finally got a diagnosis. It’s lupus. Because symptoms differ from person to person, can come and go, vary in intensity, and mimic symptoms of various other diseases, lupus can be difficult to diagnose. Lupus is a… Continue reading 7 Things You Need to Know About Living with Lupus
10 Things Not to Say to Someone with Chronic Illness
The Center of Disease Control reports that six in ten adults in the United States have a chronic illness, like multiple sclerosis, ALS, diabetes, kidney disease, and major depressive disorder. Because chronic illness is so common, it’s likely you have a friend, parent, co-worker, or maybe even you, have one. Chronic illnesses can be tricky… Continue reading 10 Things Not to Say to Someone with Chronic Illness