Psychotherapy and PTSD symptoms: Your questions answered

Recently, a number of PatientsLikeMe members shared some of the questions they had about psychotherapy and  remission from PTSD symptoms, so we asked Meaghan Zisk, R.N. M.P.H., a nurse and Health Data and Patient Safety Clinical Specialist, to investigate. She took a deep dive into variations of PTSD, psychotherapy types, how they work and resources to help… Continue reading Psychotherapy and PTSD symptoms: Your questions answered

Practicing Reiki and Qigong with Parkinson’s disease: Karl Robb shares the benefits of these complementary therapies

What kinds of complementary treatments can help people with Parkinson’s disease (PD)? PatientsLikeMe blog partner Karl Robb recently shared with us about his complementary therapies of choice: Reiki and Qigong. Karl has been living with young-onset PD for more than 30 years and practicing Reiki for nearly 20 years. He and his wife, Angela, are… Continue reading Practicing Reiki and Qigong with Parkinson’s disease: Karl Robb shares the benefits of these complementary therapies

From tomatoes to turmeric: Can foods fight inflammation?

Inflammation is a hot topic. What’s it all about? And what’s the scoop on certain diets, foods and supplements, such as turmeric, when it comes to fighting inflammation? What is inflammation? Not all inflammation is “bad.” Acute inflammation is part of the body’s natural way of defending itself from foreign substances like viruses, bacteria, cuts and splinters.… Continue reading From tomatoes to turmeric: Can foods fight inflammation?

Marijuana and MS: Get the scoop

From legality to availability, recreational use and potential use as treatment, marijuana is a hot topic. In the MS forum, members are talking about marijuana and its potential to relieve symptoms of MS like pain, tremor and spasticity. We wanted to know more, so we asked our Health Data Integrity team to take a look… Continue reading Marijuana and MS: Get the scoop

Sleeping with a health condition

The elusive “good night’s sleep.” Does it exist? Or is a bad night’s sleep the norm? Catching enough Zzzs can be complicated, especially when you’re living with a chronic illness. So, how can lack of sleep impact your health? Take a look at the results from a study we did with 5,200+ members of the… Continue reading Sleeping with a health condition

Lung cancer research and treatment roundup: The latest from PatientsLikeMe Research Scientist Urvi

Sifting through cancer news and keeping tabs on the latest research can be tricky. So we turned to Urvi Mujumdar – a senior research scientist at PatientsLikeMe who specializes in oncology studies – to break down the latest research and treatments options for people with different types of lung cancer. Ongoing research, at a glance… Continue reading Lung cancer research and treatment roundup: The latest from PatientsLikeMe Research Scientist Urvi

Team of Advisors member Laura takes over the PatientsLikeMe Instagram for World Mental Health Day

In honor of World Mental Health Day, we asked PatientsLikeMe member Laura (thisdiva99) to take over our Instagram feed for the day. Laura is a professional opera singer, Massachusetts native, a member of the PatientslikeMe Team of Advisors, and is living with bipolar disorder. She gave us a glimpse into a day in her life, Check… Continue reading Team of Advisors member Laura takes over the PatientsLikeMe Instagram for World Mental Health Day

“It started tearing me down early”: Illustrator and writer Howie Noel shares about his upcoming graphic memoir on life with generalized anxiety disorder

Today is World Mental Health day, a day for education, awareness and advocacy, and that’s where Howie Noel’s story comes in. There are more than 30,000 members living with Generalized Anxiety Disorder on PatientsLikeMe, and it’s for people like these, people like him, that Noel wrote his semi-autobiographic illustrated memoir, Float. We recently sat down with him to talk… Continue reading “It started tearing me down early”: Illustrator and writer Howie Noel shares about his upcoming graphic memoir on life with generalized anxiety disorder

Ready as you can be? Disaster preparedness when you’re living with a health condition

The recent string of tragic natural disasters highlights the importance of planning ahead (as much as possible) for managing your medical needs in the wake of a crisis. So we’ve gathered some expert preparation tips and ideas for what to keep in an emergency supply kit. All the victims of these disasters are in our… Continue reading Ready as you can be? Disaster preparedness when you’re living with a health condition

How to be your best health advocate

PatientsLikeMe is pleased to announce a new collaboration with Cathy Chester, a wife, mother, advocate and the voice behind her blog, “An Empowered Spirit: Living a Healthy and Vibrant Life After 50.” You might’ve already seen Cathy’s #MoreThan story about her diagnosis and how she’s much more than MS. Here, Cathy dives into the importance of being your… Continue reading How to be your best health advocate