The Doctors’ Rheum has MOVED!

After a wonderful 8 years in Worcester, MA, I have relocated to the mountains of North Carolina. You can find my new practice information at:

www.ashevillearthritis.com

Please continue to follow me on twitter: @doctorsrheum

Rx Drug Take Back Day 4/27

I’d like to publicize the Worcester area’s prescription drug take back day, 4/27 (10-2), sponsored by the Central MA Regional Public Health Alliance. For more info call 508-799-8531. Dropoff locations include the police departments of Holden, Leicester, Millbury, Shrewsbury, West Boylston as well as the Worcester Senior Center. A good opportunity to safely dispose of old or expired medications.

A little help from my (rheum) friends . . .

Some great pieces from my international colleagues lately!

Dr. Irwin Lim discusses the role of methotrexate therapy here and here. Thanks, Irwin, for your insights.

Also check out his recent video which helps me explain to patients why allopurinol may actually cause a gout flare.

Finally, let’s travel over to Ireland and check out the many videos by Dr. Ronan Kavanagh. Great work, Ronan! (Irwin I see you’re on clear.md as well – I think I’m going to leave the videos to you guys and I’ll keep to the written word). So pleased to be able to share and collaborate with rheumatologists all over the globe.

Photo: taken at the Highland Games in New Hampshire

Run a 5K!

I have to do a little promotion here . . . my practice, Reliant Medical Group, has a foundation whose mission is to support health and wellness programs in the community. A 5K will be held this October . . . would love to see some local folks come out and run, walk, cheer, throw water balloons at us (just kidding). You can find more information here:  http://www.reliantfoundation.org/5K.html

These guys? Those were the leaders in the Boston Marathon a few years ago. They passed by in a flash and won’t be at our 5K but serve as inspiration!

For the LOVE of tennis

Just wanted to link to this excellent post on Sjogren’s Syndrome and the kidney over on Renal Fellow Network. The pic is from my trip to Wimbledon a few years ago. I remember it as hot as blazes . . . quite a difference from the rain and folks bundled up that I saw on TV this year!

Dead Blog

As I recently updated blog subscriptions on my google reader, I noticed that at least a dozen, maybe double that, blogs that haven’t been updated in a year or more. These aren’t all medical – I love reading food, fashion, comedy and entertainment blogs too. But a good many of them are medical blogs that are in some sort of suspended animation. Will there be another post? Asking myself the same question of this blog, I’m reminded of a scene in Austin Powers and to take liberties with the script – this blog is not dead yet, just badly injured. Hope to get a post or two up sometime. In the meantime, I’m really enjoying following the dialogue over on twitter . . . fast-paced, real time updates and even some pretty good clinical discussions. Follow me there.

Seems Cheap!

Seen at MassMOCA

A Helping Hand

“You HAVE to tell all your patients about this! It’s the BEST gadget I’ve ever tried – and believe me, I’ve tried dozens!” said my patient as she pulled this out of her purse the minute I walked into the exam room. She’s not a representative of the company in any way. In fact, the brand isn’t anywhere on the gadget. It’s a 6-in-1 tool that can open soda cans, bags, bottles, jars. Anyway, if you can find it, my patient says to snap it up (and wanted me to spread the word on the blog).

Walking for Arthritis

The Arthritis Foundation holds fundraising walks all across the country. This year’s Central Massachusetts walk will take place on Sunday, September 11th. Please visit the website for more information.

The Arthritis Walk^® is the signature fundraiser for the Arthritis Foundation. It’s not just an event,
it’s a celebration of year-round movement to help prevent and treat arthritis.

Every year we get together to celebrate movement and make a positive impact on the lives of people living with arthritis by raising funds for
arthritis research, education and life improvement programs in 250 communities
across the country.

Participants walk in honor of a friend or family
member with arthritis. People with arthritis wear blue hats to signify their
action in taking control of their condition. The event features a three-
mile and one-mile course, with arthritis information and activities for
the entire family. In many communities, pet owners are invited to bring their
dogs along for the event.

Our rallying cry, Let’s Move
Together^® encourages people to get up and get
moving. When you join us at the Arthritis Walk^®,
you’re not moving alone-you are becoming part of a community looking to achieve
better health and change lives at the same time. We hope to see you
there!

For questions about the Central Massachusetts
Arthritis Walk, or help fundraising please contact Margaret at
mfarmer@arthritis.org or 617-219-8228

What’s in a name?

This post doesn’t have much to do with medicine, but some coworkers and I were recently discussing whether a person’s age could be guessed by looking at his or her name. Admittedly this works better with women’s names. I guess men have more timeless names. There are a few names that fall into the “could be 2, could be 90” category of old names that are new again, such as Lucy and Grace. I haven’t seen any Britneys or Kaleighs about to appear on TV for a “Happy 100th” acknowledgement.

However, we came up with a list of names that, well, aren’t old and aren’t young. I bet you could guess that ladies with these names fall somewhere around halfway to 100:

Cynthia/Cindy/Sandy

Linda

Diane

Susan

Joan or Joanie

Carol

Barbara

Marilyn

A couple of grade-school teachers confirmed there aren’t many, or even any, little girls coming through with the above names. How about men’s names? I can’t really think of any. Maybe Steve. Or Richard.

There’s actually a government website where you can type in a name and it will tell you over whatever period of time you select the popularity of a given name. I guess this post is personal as my own name (Julie) was 10th about 40 years ago and is now 389th! Nope, no Julies these days. Add that to my list above.