Diabetes Social Networks Help People with Diabetes Not Feel Alone

Berkeley, CA, March 10, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Since it was founded in March 2007, TuDiabetes.com, a social network for people touched by diabetes, has been called MySpace on Insulin and a Facebook for diabetes. As the community approaches its second anniversary, it continues to offer emotional support and diabetes management information to people with diabetes and their loved ones.

"The past twelve months we have been able to reach out to many more people touched by diabetes who used to feel alone in their daily life with this chronic condition," shared Manny Hernandez, co-founder of TuDiabetes.com. "I couldn’t believe it when I started seeing how many people joined who hadn’t met someone else with diabetes in their lives."

In the past year, TuDiabetes has almost quadrupled its members and continues to grow by over 15% every month. Today, the "TuDiabetes family" as Hernandez lovingly refers to it, has more than 7,000 registered members taking part in the community and gets nearly 100,000 monthly visits.

Members of TuDiabetes.com connect with each other, answer questions others post and share their stories of life with diabetes through their blog posts, videos and photos. They can also create new groups and invite others to join them. Among the most active groups are "Omnipod Users," "Pumping Our Insulin," and "Parents of kids with Type 1."

Mark Hastings, a member who has had type 2 diabetes for 19 years, shared: "This is the best site to find out what people really go through living with diabetes. If I have a question about my diabetes, I always come [here] to do research."

Also created in 2007, is the Spanish-only sister community, EsTuDiabetes.com, aimed at Spanish-speaking diabetics from the US, Mexico, Spain, Venezuela, Argentina, among other countries. At nearly 3,000 registered members and growing by 20% every month, EsTuDiabetes is the largest and fastest growing social network about diabetes in Spanish.

"When you consider more than 250 million people in the world have diabetes, it’s clear there is a lot more to be done," said Hernandez. "But at least all the people in our online communities no longer feel alone. That’s a start."

About TuDiabetes.com
TuDiabetes.com was co-founded in March 2007 by Manny Hernandez, a social entrepreneur and community strategist diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in late 2002, along with his wife, Andreina Davila, a designer and mixed media artist with a background in architecture.

TuDiabetes.com is operated by the Diabetes Hands Foundation, a nonprofit organization formed to provide an open space for people touched by diabetes to connect with others in pursuit of a healthy life through support, information and creative expression.

TuDiabetes and EsTuDiabetes have been featured on Regis Philbin’s Hallmark Heroes, NPR’s Diane Rehm Show, Sabado Gigante with Don Francisco, Diabetic Living magazine, Diabetes Positive magazine, Diabetes Hoy magazine (Mexico), Televisa Morelos (Mexico), the Office of Minority Health web site and many other media outlets and blogs.

For more information please visit: www.TuDiabetes.com and www.EsTuDiabetes.com.

For information about the Diabetes Hands Foundation, visit: www.DiabetesHandsFoundation.org.

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