Did you know that yesterday was Fibromyalgia Awareness Day?
The PatientsLikeMe Fibromyalgia community is growing exponentially with more than 3400+ members just five months after its launch! Many of our members are feeling newly empowered by their membership in our community and are attending events, wearing pins and ribbons and taking the time to spread awareness about what it's like to live with fibromyalgia.
This sharing mirrors the sharing they do on the site. At PatientsLikeMe, members build their profiles by sharing information about their condition, such as symptoms and treatments. Top treatments cited to date include rest, heating pads, walking, stretching and the drug Lyrica. The most commonly listed symptom is pain, followed by fatigue, memory problems and lower back pain. In addition to sharing health information, patient members also share their personal experiences and tips with each other. In our forum these past few months, patients have discussed all kinds of topics, including finding the right doctor, coping with pain and fatigue and how to explain how they really feel to their friends and family.
With all this sharing, patients are learning more about themselves, helping each other better understand this condition, and improving their overall quality of life. In fact, in a recent survey amongst some of our members with fibromyalgia, 85% of our respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the statement - "I feel better about myself because of the recognition by others at PatientsLikeMe that my condition is real."
If you are not already sharing and learning with other patients like you, we invite you to join our community here at PatientsLikeMe.