Like most rheumatologists, the doctors at BJC Health have fixed session times at various clinics where we consult. We typically start at 0800 and end ...
On the 5th March, our team of BJC Health leaders met in my living room to discuss our plans for the next 10 years. The planning phase had commenced 4 ...
Thank you for the kind words and support you’ve provided BJC Health on social media. Our multidisciplinary team is working hard to engage and develop ...
Rheumatoid arthritis is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis. Luckily, the past decade has brought on a wealth of innovation in arthritis ...
Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a disease with many ups and downs. Some days, you may be feeling great and fully mobile—the next day, you’re finding it ...
As many as 240,000 people suffer from rheumatoid arthritis in Australia [1]. It’s a chronic and systemic (whole body) inflammatory disease affecting ...
Pain. It’s really hard to describe. I’m guilty of being frustrated when my own family can’t properly describe it when they’re getting me to assess a ...
I see very few children in my practice. We tend to help divert children to paediatric rheumatologists so they get specialised care by people who know ...
At the start of January I wrote about our 2018 roadmap and how we hope to improve our and your rheumatology clinic. Since then, BJC Health life has ...
Nic is one of Dr Herman Lau's patients. She really wanted to share her story of weight loss with the hope it will inspire others. The following are ...
It’s been almost 2 months since I last posted. It’s been a tiring couple of years as we expanded the clinic, creating new spaces to house the type of ...
As I sit at my desk staring out the window at a bright, sunny day, I thought I'd share some slides and thoughts from the review course I attended at ...
We held our annual JAM Session on August 12th 2017, engaging and helping around 200 attendees understand rheumatic disease and their effects on the ...
We’ve been trying to understand the people who seek help from us at BJC Health. At our rheumatology clinics, we see around 3900 new patients a year. ...
She had rheumatoid arthritis diagnosed a number of years ago. It was great that the diagnosis was picked up early and she attended a rheumatologist ...
Our rheumatology care coordinator, Flora, made me aware of this joint damage simulator for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA). ...
Have you ever had a bout of low back pain? Chances are that for up to 80% of you reading this, the answer is yes. The duration of which your low back ...
When I read a report of an X-ray of sacroiliac joints, I always have to be a little circumspect. The joints are difficult to actually take an image ...
More and more people seem aware of the microbiome. I’ve noticed an increasing number asking me if their gut is linked to their autoimmune arthritis ...
The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) paper published last week reminded me to write this post. We’ve been lucky in Australia to have access to ...
Herbal medicines are really widely used, and this is based on people believing that these products which are said to be “natural” are safer than your ...
This is a relatively common question and as a rheumatologist, I should probably have a good answer. I didn't. But I now have a good video to point to ...
From the ACR Scientific Meeting, Washington DC, November 2016. The results of the EXXELERATE trial were presented by Dr Roy Fleishmann, and I share ...
ACR Scientific Meeting, Washington DC, November 2016 It's fair to say that most of us rheumatologists find it very hard to deal with the fatigue our ...
One of the common things a person given the diagnosis of an inflammatory arthritis or an autoimmune disease asks me is if they can alter their diet ...
I've been reminded this week that we often get this commonly performed swapping incorrect. DMARDS are disease modifying antirheumatic drugs. We use ...
On World Arthritis Day, one of my patients saw an ad on TV about rheumatoid arthritis (RA). She excitedly told me the next day. I think this RA TV ad ...
We’ve been lucky in Australia to have had access to biologic medication with a range of TNF-inhibitor medications since 2004 through a scheme where ...
The take-home message from the recent EULAR congress in London for me was that I should be using subcutaneous Methotrexate (MTX) more. There was of ...
This week, I've had a steady stream of doctor friends take photos of this cover page then email/sms/tweet me with it. I feature in an article in Best ...
Once a year, a group of health professionals in the rheumatology/ musculoskeletal disease arena get dressed up and compete in teams of 4 to win the ...
There is a lot of misinformation in the general population about the appropriate use of diet for people with inflammatory conditions. When we created ...
Back at the Australian Rheumatology Association’s Annual Scientific meeting. This time, in Darwin. Four and a half days of presentations, networking, ...
Like most rheumatologists in Australia, I reckon Ankylosing Spondylitis is easy to treat. Most respond to anti-inflammatory medications, either the ...
"As Hippocrates said, ‘Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food’. Now, more than any other time in history, research is indicating that he ...
It’s always nice to have a new medication for a difficult-to-treat disease. Psoriatic arthritis can be a frustrating disease to control effectively ...
Monday 14th March. Important occasion for us. We moved into our new BJC Health Parramatta clinic in November and it's been a significant improvement ...
Over lunch with a friend, we discussed elevator pitches for her new business venture. I was trying to get her to explain what she did in a couple of ...
We made the prime time news today as part of the Don't Turn Your Back On It campaign for ankylosing spondylitis. A few inaccuracies, that many of you ...
“AUSTRALIA, 11 February 2016 – A study by AbbVie launched today reveals the often devastating impact of men’s health-related sleep disorders on the ...
I had a conversation with a couple of new pharmaceutical brand managers. They look after a biologic DMARD and were asking the usual question of how ...
At BJC Health, we have hundreds of patients on these medications as they have really changed the outcomes for our patients with rheumatoid arthritis, ...
EULAR has published new guidelines for the use of medications in treating psoriatic arthritis (PsA). This update was considered necessary given new ...
I sit here about to write this, feeling quite full having just returned from a lovely Christmas party at my colleague's home with family and friends. ...
I had been looking forward to attending the 2015 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Annual Meeting in San Francisco for some time and the meeting ...
We suspect that up to 80% of Australians experience back pain at some point in their lives. A number of these become chronic and it’s a huge drain on ...
I was fortunate to be in Colombo on the weekend to talk to the Sri Lankan rheumatology association. The brief was to share the experience of biologic ...
My mate, Dr Rob Russo, was asking me about negative comments on doctors made by patients on the web. He was wondering how these could be monitored. I ...
It’s Sunday just after 6am. Wet and cold outside. The house is quiet and it’s a great time to write. I’m preparing a talk on rheumatoid arthritis and ...
We started a search for extra space for our Parramatta clinic over 2 years ago. I asked then for some help in designing the rheumatology centre you’d ...
These patients are frustrated. I am too. In the last week, I’ve been reminded how difficult it can be to treat this disease. In some, it’s severe and ...
This is a conversation I thought I’d share as it seems to touch on very pertinent concerns. As you know, I write a bit about Methotrexate as it seems ...
This is an interesting topic I've discussed with some colleagues. It makes sense. It's convenient for patients/clients. It would save some time for ...
I'm giving a talk to some local GPs tonight. My talk's title is: "How to interpret a positive ANA? Is it worth measuring?" A common presentation to ...
Image courtesy of A.Balaraman at FreeDigitalPhotos By Dr Irwin Lim, Rheumatologist I was involved with some interesting market research. It involved ...
By Dr Irwin Lim, Rheumatologist I was recently completing a questionnaire and this question faced me. Who is your ideal target customer? Hmm. We want ...
Carpal tunnel syndrome is common. After feeling pain, tingling, numbness and/or weakness in the hand for some time, the sufferer seeks some medical ...
By Dr Irwin Lim, Rheumatologist As a director of an arthritis service with 7 rheumatologists, I do have an interest in stats. As I finished up seeing ...
Image courtesy of stockimages at FreeDigitalPhotos.net By Dr Irwin Lim, Rheumatologist Today, my patient with longstanding rheumatoid arthritis asked ...
By Dr Irwin Lim, Rheumatologist I scanned through the list of posts written this year. A bit of a hotch-potch. Out of these, I've picked my personal ...
By Dr Irwin Lim, Rheumatologist It's been 4 years since my very 1st post. Time really flies. At that time, I was essentially writing to myself. I'm ...
By Dr Irwin Lim, Rheumatologist I think that increasingly rheumatologists would like to be able to use TNF inhibitor medications much earlier in the ...
By Dr Irwin Lim, Rheumatologist When I see patients walk in with this, I'm no longer shocked. It occurs too commonly so the "wow" factor's been lost. ...
An hour or so after her Enbrel injection, she noticed this rash. It steadily increased in size over the day. A little tender, a little itchy. She was ...
By Dr Irwin Lim, Rheumatologist Most patients do ask about side effects. Their pharmacists helpfully (and sometimes, not so helpfully) provide them ...
By Dr Irwin Lim, Rheumatologist You may have one of these. A firm lump near a bony area, usually the wrists or around the foot or ankle. The lump’s ...
By Dr Irwin Lim, Rheumatologist She reached into her handbag and brought out the token of her appreciation. It was very unexpected. And I’m been very ...
By Dr Irwin Lim, Rheumatologist Michael Slater was a dashing international cricketer during the 1990s, an opening batsman we rushed to watch. He is ...
It's common to hear patients worried about having a cortisone injection to their shoulder. Often this is due to something well-meaning friends have ...
By Dr Irwin Lim, Rheumatologist If you are reading this, it won't be a surprise. I wouldn't bother with this blog if arthritis and rheumatology were ...
By Dr Irwin Lim, Rheumatologist The Vintage Airstream As part of the Don't Turn Your Back On It campaign, the Back Cave is touring Sydney, Wollongong ...
By Dr Irwin Lim, Rheumatologist I was given my campaign T-shirt today and I'm excited to show it off. Rheumatologists around NSW have been informed ...
By Dr Irwin Lim, Rheumatologist Our clinic's been developing more and more resources for patient education. A person given a serious diagnosis of a ...
By Dr Roberto Russo, Rheumatologist Recently I have been involved in the development of an education program for GPs regarding Rheumatoid Arthritis ...
This post is a special request from Barry, a regular contributor. Barry is happy for me to share with you that he has spondyloarthritis (SpA), with ...
By Dr Irwin Lim, Rheumatologist Tumor Necrosis Factor inhibitors (TNFi) have been used for more than a decade as effective treatment for a variety of ...
By Dr Irwin Lim, Rheumatologist Young 20-something year-old man walks into their health professional's clinic. "My right knee just started to become ...
Courtesy of Photobucket/by mutantnoggins By Dr Irwin Lim, Rheumatologist Ankylosing Spondylitis is such a frustrating disease. It’s under recognised ...
ALUMINIUM: Image courtesy of Gualberto107 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net By Dr Irwin Lim, Rheumatologist Feb 2004. That's when I left hospital confinement ...
MRI thoracic spine (sagittal) By Dr Irwin Lim, Rheumatologist Rheumatologists all use Prednisone, an oral corticosteroid. In fact, we use steroid in ...
By Dr Irwin Lim, Rheumatologist We visited my niece last weekend. My girls are jealous. Their cousin, L, got a pony for Xmas! A little girl’s dream ...
, I couldn't resist this picture. You all know the problem. Yes, we all love the heels. Me including - at least, the whole look that goes with it. I ...
By Dr Irwin Lim, Rheumatologist This year has flown by, frighteningly quickly. I think that implies that it was busy and overall enjoyable. Writing ...
Image courtesy of photostock/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net By Dr Irwin Lim, Rheumatologist As I read patient comments on social media, I get the sense that ...
By Dr Roberto Russo, Rheumatologist The answer to the above question used to be relatively easy to answer. The standard response used to be simply: ...
I met her at the start of 2012. A young lady with a new husband. She presented with a very swollen knee. The diagnosis was rheumatoid arthritis and ...
Our Parramatta clinic By Dr Irwin Lim, Rheumatologist Effective space. This has been on my mind a lot recently. Our most established clinic is based ...
By Dr Irwin Lim, Rheumatologist My rheumatology colleague, Andrew Jordan just presented a rheumatoid arthritis case at our GP meeting. A 60-something ...
By Dr Irwin Lim, Rheumatologist 2 more GP talks will end my speaking engagements for the year. Next week, with my fellow rheumatologists, Herman Lau, ...
By Dr Irwin Lim, Rheumatologist Saw a patient last week after an absence of 13 months. Life apparently got busy and he "forgot". At least, that was ...
