Imagine lying in bed, you cannot breathe, your medication is not helping and you’re on a cruise boat with no medical help close by. Your fate is in the lap of the gods and there’s nothing you can do but hope you’ll be ok. If you have a severe respiratory disease then you have … Continued
My name is Russell Winwood, I was born in 1966 in Brisbane, Australia. I’ve had a good life thus far but have had a few health issues along the way. I decided to take to blogging to share my experiences with other people in the hope that it can help others with similar health issues. I … Continued
The suggestion of a COPD patient using fasting as a tool to manage their disease will raise the odd eye brow. However, the many benefits of fasting would indicate it being a worthwhile strategy to explore for respiratory patients. What is fasting? Fasting is consuming no calories over a set period of time, it … Continued
We hear of terms such as precision medicine and multidisciplinary teams for COPD patients but what does that actually mean for a patient? In this article, I will attempt to unravel some terminology and try to explain what it all means and how effective this approach can be. Precision Medicine Imagine a … Continued
A few years ago, a movie came out called Limitless. This was a movie about a super pill that supercharged Bradley Cooper’s brain and made him superhuman. I remember watching that movie thinking, how far are we away from this movie being a reality? After my recent experience, I would say we’re almost there. Those … Continued
From a patient perspective, pulmonary rehabilitation is one of the most important strategies we can use to improve our quality of life. However, making that first step into a PR class can be very daunting. One thing that most respiratory diseases have in common is activity can lead to an increase in breathlessness. … Continued
When I wrote my first article on ketosis and the ketogenic diet back in January this year I thought the topic would create some discussion, which is what I was trying to achieve. I would highly recommend reading the article before this one if you are new to the ketogenic diet. Nutrition and respiratory … Continued
Most of you who are regular readers would know that I write articles for NewLife Outlook about COPD related topics. Recently NLO approached me about reviewing their Google chrome browser extension that is to be launched soon. Given I have limited computer skills, I thought this will be a challenge. To my surprise installing the … Continued
The 23rd of April 2017 will be forever a fond memory in my mind, not only was it my birthday, but I was also running the London marathon with another respiratory patient. This wasn’t a first, Stephen Gaudet and Mike McBride completed the Boston marathon in 2009, both respiratory patients and veteran marathoners. These … Continued
I’ve settled into the cooler climate of London and am loving the change in conditions. After the long hot Australian summer my lungs are appreciating running in the cooler weather. I find it interesting how some patients prefer the cool while others prefer the heat. I guess this underlines the differences in lung disease. … Continued