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
It’s coming up to my two-year anniversary since I started on a ketogenic diet. I thought the timing was perfect to share what I have learnt, the good, the bad and the opportunity this dietary strategy offers. Over the last two years I have collected data on my spirometry, blood work including blood glucose and … Continued
Two and half years of trialling different nutrition options to help improve my COPD symptoms has led me to a couple of conclusions. Firstly – Nutrition absolutely matters when managing my COPD. Secondly – The majority of respiratory professionals I am in contact with rarely give nutrition a thought when planning a strategy to … Continued