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Here’s my New Year’s Resolution. What’s yours? 16

By Dr Irwin Lim, Rheumatologist

I don’t often make New Year’s resolutions and I don’t usually tell anyone. I suppose the rules change when you blog.

The resolution for 2012 is (surprise, surprise):

TO BE HEALTHIER 

Now, that must be a common, mundane, and often unfulfilled resolution. How many of you have resolved to lose weight come the new year?

Having mulled it over, I believe it’s useless to make such resolutions without a WHY and a HOW?

There has to be clearly set-out achievable targets. Something to promote accountability. To increase the change of successfully achieving the resolution. So, I’ll tell you mine:

WHY?

  1. I want to feel Better. I want to get through the day with more energy, and be more alert & efficient.
  2. I turn 40 this year. I’m hoping to live to about 90 & would like those years to be relatively illness-free. Luck & genetics will play a role in this wish, but I thought I should try to improve the odds.

HOW?

These will be my targets & my KPIs (Key Performance Indicators):

  1. Sleep More. 7 hours on at least 5 days a week. Since I wake up at 6am, I will put my laptop to sleep & get into bed before 10.45 pm.
  2. Exercise More. My Xmas present, the Keiser M3 Indoor Cycle is getting a workout. The mission is to keep it up – at least 30 minutes working up a sweat, 4 days a week.
  3. Eat better. Our family Chef, my wife, has been seeing Monica Kubizniak to help improve our nutrition. We now eat a larger quantity & variety of fibre & legumes, our food is much less processed, breakfast has become more central & we are just more aware of what we put into our mouths.
  4. Holidays. I will have at least 4 weeks away this year with my family. And attempt to not bring (too much of) my work with me.

Many of you must have made health-related resolutions. If you haven’t done so, take some time to consider the WHY, so that you can work out the HOW?

Please write a comment & make your resolution public. Be accountable.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Dr Irwin Lim is a rheumatologist and a director of BJC Health.
Arthritis requires an integrated approach. We call this, Connected Care.  Contact us.
This blog focuses on arthritis-related diseases, healthcare in general, and our Connected Care philosophy.
 
Posted on: 2 January 2012
Posted in: Our journey to better health

Merry Xmas! 3

By Dr Irwin Lim, Rheumatologist

It’s past 9pm and the 3 kids are in bed. I can still hear them trying hard to fall asleep. The Xmas offering to Santa & his reindeer is next to the tree. Healthy options, I might add: home-made sugar-reduced gingerbread & carrots. Unlike the gingerbread house pictured above that my wife put together with the kids & for the kids.

We’re all looking forward to the Xmas break. A big party at our place tomorrow followed by time to rest and time to reflect on another busy year which seemed to go by faster than any previous year.

My Xmas present to myself (a Keiser M3 cycle) arrived 2 days ago & it’s been put to good use.

I’ve set up a mini torture chamber, reclaiming space in the kids playroom (formally known as the living room) & this will be an important feature of this break & my new year resolutions.

Wishing you all a MERRY XMAS.

Be happy and stay safe.

Dr Irwin Lim is a rheumatologist and a director of BJC Health.

Arthritis requires an integrated approach. We call this, Connected Care.  Contact us.

This blog focuses on arthritis-related diseases, healthcare in general, and our Connected Care philosophy.


Posted on: 24 December 2011
Posted in: Our journey to better health

Is your Health Glass Half Empty? 2

By Dr Irwin Lim

My mother-in-law is the most optimistic person I have met. She always sees the brighter side of life even when clouds are overhead and the cliff edge is close. Her glass is always half full. I think this helps her cope amazingly well but I fear that it also means a blinkered view of life.

I am, for better or worse, a glass half empty-type of person. I seem to include the worse case scenario in my decision making.

Optimism vs Pessimism.

In coping with a chronic disease, which is a better personality trait?

Is being positive about the health situation, even if that positivity leads to unrealistic expectations, a useful coping mechanism? Does having faith in a positive outcome help recovery or influence the eventual outcome?

Being negative would seem to be a bad character trait when it comes to dealing with a chronic disease. But, is it? By considering a poor outcome, will a patient be driven to be more compliant with treatment or to be more open to difficult lifestyle changes?

Some middle ground with a balanced approach is likely to be better.

I’d really be interested in your views.

Dr Irwin Lim is a rheumatologist and a director of BJC Health.

Arthritis requires an integrated approach. We call this, Connected Care.  Contact us.

This blog focuses on arthritis-related diseases, healthcare in general, and our Connected Care philosophy.

 

 

Posted on: 18 December 2011
Posted in: Our journey to better health

Reflecting on a year of rheumatology blogging 7

A 6yo's interpretationBy Dr Irwin Lim, Rheumatologist

A year ago, I started this blog with the question “Why bother blogging?“.

Over 100 posts later, I think I have a better answer but it’s taken time to develop that realisation.

Like other doctors contemplating social media, I had a number of fears which I wrote about in “why bravery is a prerequisite to start a blog“.

Fear 1: Exposing myself to the public

Fear 2: What if people don’t find what I write interesting or useful?

Fear 3: What if someone makes negative comments?

Fear 4: What would my medical colleagues think?

Over 100 posts later, I’m glad to report that these fears are no longer such an issue.

Of course, I think about what I write and I’m careful what I tweet but this caution doesn’t stop me from expressing a view. I’m glad to have received enough feedback to suggest that people actually read this stuff. Some even leave a comment (please do!) and I’ve even found some new colleagues & collaborators through this medium.

Luckily, negative comments have not been an issue. My medical colleagues? Well, I think the responses range from indifference to uneasiness. I wasn’t really looking for congratulations which is a good thing, because that’s been few and far between.

All this has helped answer “Why bother blogging?”

Well, I now blog because I think it makes a difference.

There are only a handful of rheumatologists worldwide who bother. I am not aware of any other Australian rheumatology practice that bothers. This is a shame given our specialty suffers from a general lack of profile. People don’t know what rheumatologists do and what we are capable of. And this is to the detriment of the many people who suffer from arthritis & musculoskeletal disease. People/patients who typically get delayed diagnoses, who are not given appropriate treatment, or who have their disease trivialised.

I write to educate, to raise awareness, to entertain, and sometimes, to make a point.

Often, I learn something about something, &  sometimes, something about myself as I write this rheumatology blog.

Dr Irwin Lim is a rheumatologist and a director of BJC Health.

Arthritis requires an integrated approach. We call this, Connected Care.  Contact us.

This blog focuses on arthritis-related diseases, healthcare in general, and our Connected Care philosophy.


Posted on: 14 December 2011
Posted in: Rheumatology, Social Media & Communication

Demonstrating the Modified Schober Test 3

By Dr Irwin Lim, Rheumatologist

We see a lot of patients with inflammatory back pain in our clinics. Some of these patients have Spondyloarthritis or the prototype condition, Ankylosing Spondylitis.

Given our expertise in this area, we’ve decided to create a range of videos highlighting some of the examination techniques used to help make a diagnosis. You can find these on our Youtube channel.

Rachael Butterworth, our Spondyloarthritis physiotherapist demonstrates on our model, Errol while Dr Roberto Russo facilitates.

This video is an example, and highlights the Modified Schober Test, a test commonly used to help measure the lumbar spine flexibility (or lack of).

 

Dr Irwin Lim is a rheumatologist and a director of BJC Health.

Arthritis requires an integrated approach. We call this, Connected Care.  Contact us.

This blog focuses on arthritis-related diseases, healthcare in general, and our Connected Care philosophy.

 

 

 

Posted on: 7 December 2011
Posted in: Ankylosing Spondylitis, Arthritis: inflammatory, Back & Neck, Physiotherapy
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