Product Review: DrugStars App

As stated in my product review policy, my reviews will always be honest.

I recently received an email with the following idea: Imagine if every dose of medicine taken worldwide generated a donation to better healthcare. That is the vision of the DrugStars global movement. The statement certainly perked my interest, so I set out to learn more.

DrugStars is a global patient movement founded by Claus Møldrup, who holds a PhD in pharmacy and previously worked as a professor of social pharmacy at the University of Copenhagen. The DrugStars app was launched in Denmark in January 2017. It has recently expanded to the United States and United Kingdom and it's available for Apple and Android. 

The app enables patients to earn “stars” every time they take their medication as agreed with their doctor. Patients can also earn stars by reviewing their medications and signing up for news on surveys and clinical trials. The stars can then be donated to patient charity organizations, who receive real money in exchange for the stars. The app is free for patients to use - donations are sponsored by private companies.

The app tries to make it “fun” to take your medications, but has a serious intention: to change healthcare through the use of large amounts of anonymous data representing the voice of real patients. This patient insight data is made available as open source for non-profit patient-focused scientific research and on commercial terms to commercial organizations for well-defined patient-important purposes.

Once you download the app, you register each of your medications and the day/time your doctor instructed you to take each of them. After that it's super easy! You get a reminder on your phone whenever it's time for a dose. Once you take your medications, you simply tap the top button to collect your stars. Participation also earns you tickets to healthcare raffles, such as a Spafinder gift card. When you have collected at least 50 stars, you can donate them to the charity of your choice.

I don’t generally have a lot of use for medication reminders. I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s at the age of 5, so I’ve been taking medication almost every single day of my life. At this point, meds before bed is simply part of my routine. However, my pregnancy has required the addition of some supplements that have to be taken at odd times. I currently have to take an iron supplement twice a day – but to make sure the iron is properly absorbed I have to take the supplements away from meals and not at the same time as my prenatal vitamin – which leaves me taking medications at least three times a day right now. With the kids out of school for the summer my schedule just hasn’t been consistent, making remembering to take everything properly a real challenge. So I actually have found the DrugStars app to be very useful in reminding me to take ten seconds for my meds a few times a day!

I do like that the app allows you to decide where to donate your stars, but I wish the choices were a bit more specific. There are 12 categories to choose from – rheumatic diseases (i.e. “support associations that aim to prevent and relieve the consequences of rheumatic diseases”), mental illness, cancer, diabetes, asthma and allergies, headache disorders, heart diseases, digestive disorders, dermatological disorders, stroke, kidney diseases, and liver diseases. Beyond that, the app doesn’t actually name the charities in question – and I couldn’t find that specific information on the website either. It would be really nice to know which charities are actually receiving these funds and have an opportunity to learn more about them. This may be part of the intention of the app, because after making my last donation I did get an email from DrugStars saying that I could go to the charity's page within the app and touch “become a member.” However, I personally couldn’t find that feature within the app (here's what the charity's page looked like within the app for me).

I also wish monetary impact was a bit easier for users to determine. You can easily see how many stars you have personally earned, how many stars have been donated to a particular charity category, and the total value of donations given by DrugStars overall – but figuring out your individual impact or the amount received by the charity category of your choice isn’t as upfront. I’m assuming the reason for this is that the impact is actually quite small at the individual level (if you look in the FAQs you’ll find that one star represents just 1 cent) and I imagine they don’t want users to be discouraged. Still, I personally think it would be better to be more upfront with this amount, perhaps while emphasizing the impact that can be had by having so many users – particularly ones like us who take so many meds!! Users can see the total amount donated by DrugStars clearly on the main page, and I think it would also be beneficial for users to see how many other people are using the app. I think knowing that you are part of something much bigger would help make the value of micro donations seem more tangible.

Overall, I think DrugStars is a very interesting concept and it will be interesting to see how they move forward from here!

Product Review: Liberty Lotion's Limitless Lotion

I have been given this product as part of a product review through the Chronic Illness Bloggers network. Although the product was a gift, all opinions in this review remain my own and I was in no way influenced by the company. As stated in my own product review policy, my reviews will always be honest.

LibertyLotion's Limitless Lotion is an all-natural, non-GMO lotion with no artificial preservatives or colors. It is advertised as an effective CBD alternative “for your hard to get pain” that won’t leave a greasy residue or lingering scents. I was intrigued, so I jumped at the opportunity to review this product.

While I will agree that the product doesn’t leave a lingering scent, I do think that the initial scent is quite strong. But while I don’t generally like products with a strong scent, I actually quite enjoyed the smell of Liberty Lotion. As far as I can tell, the scent is mostly lavender, but I think there’s also a hint of something else that I couldn’t quite identify (despite reading the ingredients list). In any event, though I do feel that the scent is a little bit strong – at least at first – instead of finding it overpowering I actually found it very pleasant and relaxing. A bit of aromatherapy too!

As claimed, Liberty Lotion does absorb extremely quickly, so you can put it on and go about your business without having to worry about getting it on clothes or bedding. This does mean, however, that it isn’t a very good option if you are trying to incorporate massage into your pain management routine – unless maybe you used it at the very end of a massage. I will say that a little lotion can go a long way. For me, one or two small pumps was generally enough lotion to cover the area on my body where I wanted to focus. I think the pump is actually a great feature, as it allowed me to get exactly the quantity of lotion I wanted without having to waste any. And the good news is that I didn’t think it was too hard to push with my finger, despite my rheumatoid arthritis.

Of course, the ten-thousand-dollar question is this: does it actually help with pain? To be perfectly honest, there were mixed reviews on this subject in my house. I tried using Liberty Lotion to help with my joint pain, putting the lotion directly on my knees or wrists. I also tried rubbing it on my chest when I was dealing with a particularly bad bout of costochondritis (inflammation of the joint located in the rib cage). I found the experience to be generally relaxing, and overall I think the lotion had a good impact on my skin. Unfortunately, I didn’t find that Liberty Lotion made a huge deal of direct difference in my level of pain. Though, to be fair, I was dealing with rather high levels of pain. This was particularly true with the costochondritis, which I was having trouble controlling even with heavy medication. So that level of pain may have just been too much for any sort of topical treatment.

My husband, on the other hand, has found Liberty Lotion to be very helpful for his low back pain. He’s been asking me to help him rub it on his low back almost every night, and it really does seems to help him be in less pain. Though he does have some issues in his spine, I think a fair amount of his back pain is muscular – which makes me wonder if Liberty Lotion works better on muscle pain than it does on joint pain? All in all, I’m hoping to give Liberty Lotion another try when I am dealing with a less intense level of pain – that is if there’s any left at all when my husband gets done with it!

Product Review: Aromafloria Muscle Soak Collection & Inhalation Beads

I have been given these products as part of a product review through the Chronic Illness Bloggers network. Although the product was a gift, all opinions in this review remain my own and I was in no way influenced by the company. As stated in my product review policy, my reviews will always be honest.

For thousands of years, essential oils and botanical extracts have been used to promote well-being through aromatherapy. I have to admit that I've always been a little bit skeptical, particularly because strong scents usually give me quite a headache! But when I was given the opportunity to review some of Aromafloria's product, I saw that they had a "muscle soak" line that was intended to soothe sore muscles, ease tension, and leave you energized. Several of these products were mineral bath salts - and Epsom salt soaks have become an important part of my pain management routine - so I decided to give them a try.

Aromafloria generously sent me the following products: 

- Muscle Soak Ocean Mineral Bath Salts

- Muscle Soak Foaming Bubble Bath

- Muscle Soak Sugar Salt Glow Body Scrub

- Muscle Soak Bath & Body Massage Oil

- Aromatherapy Sleep Ease Inhalation Beads

- Aromatherapy Sinus Help Inhalation Beads

The Muscle Soak products include essential oils of eucalyptus, peppermint, and lemongrass - which are all scents that I enjoy in small amounts! I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the aroma of the Muscle Soak products was actually quite mild and pleasant - and did not cause any sort of headache for me. Eucalyptus oil is supposed to stimulate the mind, aid concentration, and relieve muscle and joint pain. Peppermint oil is supposed to create a cool, tingling sensation on the skin and have a calming effect on the body, which can also relieve sore muscles. Lemongrass is supposed to energize and tone the skin. My favorite products in the Muscle Soak line were the Mineral Bath Salts and the Bath & Body Massage Oil. 

The Mineral Bath Salts work similar to Epsom salts in that the minerals are absorbed through your skin into your body to help sedate the nervous system and relieve stress - only these salts had the added benefit of the essential oils and pleasant scent. They gave the water a slightly green tinge, but it wasn't unpleasant. And although this may sound strange coming from someone who started out this review by saying that I didn't like strong scents, I honestly wish the scent of these bath salts had been just a little bit stronger. I really like the way eucalyptus smells and I would have liked to have been able to inhale just a bit more of that while relaxing in the tub. But, overall, the Mineral Bath Salts made for a very plesant bath and a nice, relaxing treat.

The Massage Oil is created with special skin nourishing components that are absorbed quickly, and I must say that one of the things I liked best about it was how quickly it absorbed into my skin. The oil was just slippery enough for a nice massage, but didn't leave me feeling like I had rolled in olive oil. In fact, I think it made my skin feel quite soft afterwards. In this case I also wish that the eucalyptus scent might have been just a bit stronger. Also, with the peppermint oil I expected to feel a slight tingling or "icy hot" effect, but I didn't experience anything like that. So, other than to provide a mild, pleasant scent, I'm not positive about the benefits of the essential oils. But on the whole I did really like the quality of the massage oil.

I found the idea of the inhalation beads to be a bit bizarre, to be perfectly honest. The little beads are infused with essential oils, you put a few in a little mesh bag, and then you hold the pouch to your nose and inhale deeply a few times. Just from opening the jar I could tell that the scent of this product was a lot stronger than the other products. I fully expected following the directions to result in a terrible headache, but I gave it a try anyways. I was surprised to discover that inhaling the beads did not trigger a headache - and I found myself wanting to smell them again! It was strangely sort of satisfying to inhale the scent deeply. I ended up having a terrible night sleep after trying the Sleep Ease Inhalation Beads, but that may have been due to other factors and I am actually curious to experiment with the beads a bit more.

I am also impressed by the company's environmentally friendly policies. All the products are manufactured in a USDA Certified Organic facility that is 100% wind powered, and ingredients are sourced from fair trade markets and grown by sustainable growers.  So all in all, I had a lot of fun reviewing these products and look forward to making use of them more in the future!

Product Review: Quell

I have been given a Quell Relief device as part of a product review through the Chronic Illness Bloggers network. Although the product was a gift, all opinions in this review remain my own and I was in no way influenced by Quell. As stated in my product review policy, my reviews will always be honest. 

I first heard about Quell in a Forbes article. According to Forbes, "the Quell is an FDA-approved wearable device that Velcros around the upper calf and uses electrical stimulation to purportedly offer pain relief without the innate dangers or risks of addiction that come with drugs." While I don't love the implication that drugs are necessarily dangerous and should be avoided, because I know I would not be able to function without the use of medication, of course I would love to reduce my reliance on so many medications if possible. So Quell sounded promising, and when I was given a chance to try the device myself I accepted immediately.

The science behind how Quell works is fairly complex, but the short version is that by stimulating specific nerves a natural pain-relief process can be activated. There is some scientific evidence to support this claim - one study showed that 81% of Quell users reported improvement in their chronic pain. However, it is important to note that this study was conducted by the company who makes the Quell device. It would be really nice to see some more third-party research on the science behind this device - especially to help justify the rather significant investment in the product.

When my Quell arrived, I used the quick start guide to figure out how to attach the electrode and then place the device on my calf. The electrodes attach to your skin with sticky gel and the device Velcros on in a little pouch. Then it was time to calibrate, and I have to admit to feeling a bit nervous during this process! Was it going to zap me, I wondered? But really it was just a slight tingling sensation. In the end it felt like TENS devices I've used before at physical therapy.

After using the quick start guide to get my Quell therapy session started, I decided to download the app to my phone and have a look at that. Quell uses Bluetooth to sync with an app you can download for free from the App Store or Google Play. The app allows you to monitor your therapy sessions and change the intensity if you want. However, one thing I wish I had known in advance is that to pair your Quell and your app you need to have the last two digits of your device's serial number - and if the device is already strapped to your leg providing therapy that number is inaccessible. So you may want to pair your Quell and app prior to starting therapy if you want to make use of the app.

There are a couple of things to keep in mind if you are considering trying Quell. For one thing, it is somewhat wardrobe limiting - especially for girls who tend to have tighter pants that the Quell won't fit beneath. So I either wore loose pants, shorts, or a skirt. I feel like this would be more of a challenge in the wintertime, but one solution to would be to just use Quell around the house or at nighttime. I also don't love that you are supposed to replace the electrodes every two weeks, because that's an additional $90 every three months in addition to the hefty initial investment. But I do like that the device was comfortable to wear - and it's great that the battery lasts a few days so you don't have to charge it every day. I have to admit that at first I found the tingling sensation very distracting as I tried to go about my day. But, after a couple of days of use, it was a lot less distracting. And when I did notice it was almost comforting to know that I was doing something proactive to help reduce my pain.

And now the $10,000 question: did it help? Honestly it is a little bit hard for me to know for sure. There are so many variables that go into how much pain I feel from day to day, and it certainly did not take away my pain all together. But, that being said, my trial of the Quell did coincide with a difficult period of transition for me. Although Rituxan has turned out to be a really great medication for me, unfortunately I was unable to last a full six months between doses. So while my rheumatologist and I worked to reduce the time between my infusions, I ended up taking a fair amount of prednisone - the drug we all love to hate! In fact, I've been on prednisone pretty consistently since the birth of my second son, which was almost two years ago at this point.

I started using Quell right after my most recent Rituxan infusion, and with my next infusion scheduled for just five months away I was in the process of trying to wean of prednisone permanently. Those of who who have been through this weaning process know that it is neither easy nor pleasant! It took several weeks, but I have been able to wean off prednisone almost completely. And I did really appreciate having access to another form of pain relief during that process. I'm not sure if I will use Quell regularly due to the cost of buying new electrodes, but I am happy to have it on hand as another option for times when I am struggling more than usual.

Product Review: Nimble

I received a sample of Nimble for free, but I was not compensated for this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. As stated in my product review policy, my reviews will always be 100% honest. 

I was recently contacted to see if I would be interested in reviewing a new product called Nimble.* Nimble is a thimble-like device that you can use to cut open plastic or paper packaging with the simple swipe of one finger. It sounded like an interesting product, especially since I know from experience that getting into packages can be a real struggle when you are dealing with hand pain. 

I wondered how difficult it would be to use - i.e. how much pressure would you need to apply to make it work? What if my pointer finger was in too much pain - would it work on another finger? It's always a balancing act figuring out how to use tools with painful hands. But I thought that even if Nimble required concentrated effort from a particular finger, it might still be easier than awkwardly using scissors or a knife to open a package. 

When my Nimble arrived I was pleased that it fit comfortably on whichever finger I wanted to use. The little ceramic "blade" is tiny - you can even run your finger over it without getting cut. And the amount of pressure needed to cut through packaging is very minimal. My only piece of constructive criticism is that it wasn't immediately intuitive to me whether there was a "right" or "wrong" way to face the blade for use - but it was easy enough to figure out after playing around with it for a little bit. 

The developers of Nimble have launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the second launch of Nimble. If you aren't familiar with how Kickstarter works, you pledge a certain amount in return for the product - but you only get charged if the campaign meets its goal. Once the campaign closes you will get your product, though it may take a bit of time as the funds you pledge go to creating the product. 

If you are interested in checking out Nimble's Kickstarter campaign you can do so here!

PRODUCT REVIEW: Zippy Suits

DISCLAIMER: I received this product sample unsolicited and for free - and promised to review it completely honestly without receiving compensation. For details, please see my Product Review Policy.

Of the many frustrations I experience being a mom with RA, one of the worst is hand pain. When my hands hurt it just seems like caring for OZL becomes a lot more difficult. All his stuff is just so....little! All the little clothes and bottle parts and diapers and tiny-things-that-need-manipulating-with-my-sore-fingers. And all those annoying snaps. They. Are. On. EVERYTHING!

Which is why I was particularly grateful to find out that some baby pajamas come with zippers. On the ones I found, the zipper started in the middle of the collar and zipped all the way down one leg. This means that you have to shove the baby's other leg all the way down the side without the zipper, which can be a bit difficult with a wiggly baby. But it's still a lot easier than snapping a million and a half snaps - especially in the middle of the night or early in the morning when I am the most sore!

Then I got an email from Nicole about Zippy Suits. She thought her design could be a big help for parents with arthritis, so she sent me one to try. And she was right! Unlike my other zipper pajamas, Zippy Suits zip across the legs along the inseam - like those pants that have snaps for "easy" changing. Only is a zipper for actual easy changing! The zipper has a velcro cover to protect it from exploratory little hands and the fabric is super soft, 100% cotton. You have to pull the suit over the baby's head to put it on, which at first I thought might be tricky, but it turns out the folds in the collar make it quite easy. OZL seems to find it very comfy. Plus, it is adorable! All in all, we love our Zippy Suit!

NOTE: Zippy Suits are made in the UK and I found that the sizes were a bit bigger than US sizes I was used to. For example, OZL's Zippy Suit is size 6-9 months and still fits him with room to grow - whereas he is already wearing 12 months in most US brands.

PRODUCT REVIEW: Trudeau's Stress Less Kitchen Tools

DISCLAIMER: I received these product samples unsolicited and for free - and promised to review them completely honestly without receiving compensation. For details, please see my Product Review Policy.

Trudeau's Stress Less Salt & Pepper Mills

The salt and pepper mills are both large and easy to grip. The fact that they are quite large might be considered a con - they do take up a lot of space - but they are not unattractive and I think they would look fine on the table. To operate, you simply hold the slightly padded black knob and turn the handle - clockwise gets you a fine grind and counter-clockwise gets you a coarser grind. Both the gear in the center and the handle itself rotate. For me, the handle on the salt mill was a little tight (i.e. slightly more difficult to turn than the pepper mill) but that may be something that would loosen up with use. One other negative might be that as I moved them around from counter to table and back, they did sometimes leave a little salt and/or pepper residue on the surface where they were sitting. But overall I would say these are useful and probably easier to use than salt or pepper grinders that require a smaller, tighter grip. 

Trudeau's Stress Less Pizza Cutter

This pizza cutter is bigger than most others I have seen, so it will certainly take up more storage space, but I have to agree that it is pretty easy to use. What makes it so easy is that it's not just a handle on a circular cutting wheel - there is actually extra space for your thumb and forefinger to grip. I think this makes it easier to use more downward pressure while at the same time spreading the impact out over more of your fingers. It's also pretty easy to clean, because you can hold the cutter upside down to pop the cutting wheel off and wash separately. Popping the cutting wheel back in after cleaning is a little bit more tricky, however, so be careful.

Trudeau's Stress Less Garlic Press

As a disclaimer, I have to say that I don't own a regular garlic press - so I haven't really got anything to compare this to. When dealing with garlic, I've found it to be much easier to simply buy a jar of pre-chopped garlic to keep in my fridge - still fresh but no chopping/pressing effort involved. But I did test out this garlic press and I will say that it is pretty easy to use. You put the garlic clove in the press chamber, put the press on a flat surface (which is a tiny bit tricky because the press will balance on two small, padded points), and then press the top handle downwards using your body weight to minimize the effort. The key here is that you have to follow the directions to actually make it easier - if you don't it still can take quite a bit of hand effort to press the garlic. I thought the best thing about this garlic press was that the press chamber swings open, which made it easy to clean.

Trudeau's Stress Less Cheese Grater

I had a little bit of trouble with this one. The spring-loaded door (where the un-grated cheese goes) was not that easy for me to open or hold open while I tried to put the cheese inside. Also, the compartment inside is not very big - which means the cheese will need to be cut into relatively small pieces to fit in there. However, once you get the cheese inside, the grater is easy to hold and operate - which you do by turning a crank handle similar to the ones on the salt and pepper mills. You can even reverse the product for right or left-handed use. But while the label says "grated cheese falls vertically with no wrist torsion" I did not really find that to be true. For me, the grated cheese stuck up inside the grating chamber and I had to knock the grater on the counter or stick my finger up there to get the cheese to fall. Perhaps this would not be a problem with a harder cheese, but on the softer cheddar that I used it was problematic to get the cheese to come out. Additionally, this product was very difficult for me to clean. I had to try to hold the spring-loaded door open while washing it and, in the end, I wasn't very successful in getting that compartment or the grating chamber clean. Unless the product comes apart (which I can't obviously see how to do) or can be put in the dishwasher (which it doesn't say on the label) I think cleaning this product will be problematic.

UPDATE: I put this in the dishwasher to see if it would get cleaner than I could do by hand. It didn't. I'm still not sure how to clean it.

Trudeau's Stress Less Can Opener

I have to admit that I totally failed in the use of this product. This may be user error on my part - perhaps I was doing it wrong - but I tried multiple times to follow the short directions on the label and I was simply unable to succeed in opening a can. The problem was that I could not get the can opener to properly latch on and puncture the can. The directions say "Open handles and align can opener on top of lid positioning the cutting mechanism along the side of the can. Close handles." There's even a little picture. But though I tried to replicate this several times, in the end I was totally unable to do so. I did apparently manage to cause a small invisible leak in the can (liquid came out when I held the can upside down) but I couldn't seem to puncture the can so that I could move on to step 2 of the directions and cut it open. So, though this may be user error on my part, I did not find this product at all easy to use.

UPDATE: Ok. I had APL try this can opener when he got home today and he totally did it on the first try. For one thing, this can opener cuts the can along the seal of the can, not through the lid - so it doesn't open exactly the same way as a regular hand-held can opener. This is actually a very nice feature, because it doesn't leave any sharp edges afterwards. Once I saw it was possible, I tried again - but I still had some trouble getting the can opener latched on properly (i.e. I still failed at step 1). But APL insists that it was really easy to do once you got it on there properly. Next time I need a can open, I think I'll try again - because APL also said it took a lot less strength and effort than a regular can opener. So, yeah, like I said: user error!!

ONE LAST UPDATE: I successfully managed to open a can of olives! And it was actually pretty easy. ~;o)

My Product Review Policy

Sometimes I get requests to review products. While I certainly don't think there is a one-size-fits-all solution to dealing with the challenges presented by chronic illnesses, I do think my readers may still find product reviews helpful. If you read my reviews, please keep in mind that everyone faces different challenges - and what works or doesn't work for me might turn out differently for you!

My reviews are always 100% honest and based on my own personal experiences and opinions. This policy will always be made clear to the company before I accept any samples or agree to write a review.