“Breaking up” with a doctor after 14 years — Bernadette’s journey to better care

PatientsLikeMe member Bernadette (yellsea), who’s on the 2018 Team of Advisors, has been living with Parkinson’s disease (PD) since 2002. She recently filled us in about switching specialists after more than a decade with the same neurologist, and advocating for herself after enough “red flags” popped up in her interactions with that physician. Out with the… Continue reading “Breaking up” with a doctor after 14 years — Bernadette’s journey to better care

Is there a medical gender gap? The not-so-brief history of sexism in medicine

As Women’s History Month comes to a close, take a look at the gender gap in health care and how the centuries-old notion of “hysteria” may still taint women’s experiences today. History of “hysteria” Turns out, there’s nearly 4,000 years worth of evidence that people believed women’s illnesses stemmed from the uterus or sexual issues. An Egyptian… Continue reading Is there a medical gender gap? The not-so-brief history of sexism in medicine

Searching for a Diagnosis: An Interview with Lyme Disease Patient Pampe

Getting the right diagnosis can take many years, or in the case of PatientsLikeMe patient Pampe, many decades.  After experiencing her first Lyme disease symptom in 1973, it was not until 2012 that she finally received a diagnosis that explained her many symptoms.  Discover what hindered the process and what’s she learned along the way… Continue reading Searching for a Diagnosis: An Interview with Lyme Disease Patient Pampe