On Wednesday November 20th we celebrated World COPD Day around the world. On the same day a patient friend posted in a COPD Patient FB group. When I read this post it brought a tear to my eye. Not just because of the outpouring of frustration and desperation in her message, this patient spoke … Continued
Each year there is a theme for World COPD Day. This year’s theme in my view is very relevant to how we should approach COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), now and into the future. Bringing patients, healthcare professionals and researchers together in the fight against this debilitating disease can only lead to better outcomes. … Continued
Patients and healthcare professionals working collaboratively for positive outcomes are always going to provide better outcomes than a solution with a narrow band width. We are seeing patient advocates becoming more involved in the decision-making process of disease management which can only be positive. But are all patient partnerships for the good of patients? … Continued
Standing on the sand at the start of an Ironman event is a daunting experience whether you are an elite athlete or an athlete with COPD. I’m about to jump in the ocean and swim 3.8k (2.4 mile) with 30% lung function and the ocean on this morning resembles a washing machine! As Ironman … Continued
So much went into this race in terms of preparation, training and recovery I couldn’t fit everything into one article. Welcome to part 1! Ironman is tough, whether you have lung disease or not! Putting your body through a 3.8k (2.4m) swim, 180k (112m) cycle and a 42.2k (26m) run is an extreme challenge. Doing … Continued
After nearly three years of using a KD (ketogenic diet) to help manage my COPD I feel I’m fairly well qualified to talk about how this diet affects my COPD. Over this time, I have had many blood tests and pulmonary function test while monitoring the effects it’s had on my disease. At the … Continued
Seven years ago, I completed my first Ironman after being diagnosed with stage 4 COPD. This race changed the way I thought about my disease. My motto of “Never Let Your Disease Define You” was born from that race. Two years later I went on to complete two more Ironman events. Since my last … Continued
If you’re one of the tens of millions of COPD patients around the world, I have a question for you. Do you consider your doctor, your partner for life? I was recently invited to talk to health care professionals about COPD and how patients and doctors could have a more cohesive relationship. Sure, some … Continued
Nutrition for the last two and half years has played a big part in managing my disease. In this time, I have experimented with several nutritional strategies. These different strategies led me to start a ketogenic diet in October 2016. For those of you who have followed my journey you would know I have … Continued