We're getting old (OO medical complaints)

[Blackhawk]

When OO started most of us were just getting married and having kids. Now a lot of us have grandkids (I have three!) I figure we need a porch and some rocking chairs to complain about our aches and pains. At least it doesn't say "Randomness."

I scrunched my back clear aback in 1995 when I flipped a car. The front wheel dug in and it flew upside down and backwards for about 30 feet before it landed. It knocked me out for maybe ten seconds - the only time in my life I've been knocked out by a blow. I had a lot of back pain for the next six months or so, but it wasn't broken and I didn't have medical insurance for most of that, so nothing ever came of it. I've had problems off and on ever since, usually just lower back pain when I sit wrong or sleep wrong for too long.

About two weeks ago I bent over, not much, maybe 20 degrees, and it popped and hurt like hell. I could barely walk for the next couple of days, and couldn't sit unsupported for a week or so more, plus it ached constantly. When I was seeing my doctor about something else, I brought it up and she sent me for x-rays. No obvious injuries, but she said that I was developing spinal arthritis. Yay. At least it is a diagnosis. She called me a few days later and wanted to schedule six weeks of physical therapy as a precursor to getting an MRI, but I told her that I'd want to wait until after the pandemic died down a bit more.

In the meantime, I've taken all sorts of steps to keep it from getting any worse than it has to be. I've tweaked how I sit and sleep. I've added some exercises into my routine (planks, pelvic lifts, and stretches) which should help. I've added a platform (and old monitor stand, actually) to my painting desk so that the area where I'm actually working is about chest high. I rest my arms on my desk to paint miniatures in order to get some extra steadiness, which means leaning pretty far forward when painting. Now I can put my arms on the desk while sitting upright.

So, I've got the rheumatiz. Maybe I'll get me a jug of Granny Clampett's rheumatiz medicine. It seemed to help her!

[Anonymous Bosch]

Well, on the bright side, it may provide you the perfect opportunity to acquire a stylish walking stick or hiking staff:

[dbt1949]

I don't care what people say oxytocin is the friend of olde people.
Problem is you have to go thru a ton a day to get thru the aches and pains.
Plus you have to be able to remember where you put it.

[Daehawk]

oxytocin causes you to lactate....and have contractions

[Skinypupy]

My current gout flare up has been going on for over a month now. I’m SO over not being able to walk.

[Blackhawk]

Plus you have to be able to remember where you put it.

You normally put it in your mouth.

[Smoove_B]

I'm not sure if it's stress or the cholesterol medication I just started taking, but I think I'm developing eczema (or something that looks like it) on my hands and one leg. Would not recommend.

[Daehawk]

I take Atorvastatin.

[stessier]

Last August, I started having some pain in the region where my butt stops and my leg starts. It wasn't muscular, as stretching didn't help, and it was very point specific in that I felt I could point directly too it. It was annoying, but I could live with it. Fast forward to the week after the election, and I could no longer sit down. Even laying down was somewhat painful.

One weekend my lower leg started to swell and I had stabbing pain on the inside of my calf. Fearing a blood clot, I went to Urgent Care. The NP who saw me was quite nice and after a ton of questions and poking and prodding, she said I had ischeal bursitis. She even went and got her text book and showed me a picture of which bursa she thought it was to be sure that's where I was feeling the pain (which it was).

10 days of prednizone and 2400 mg advil per day followed by 2400 mg of tylenol/day for 10 days and I was back to normal. We think the main cause was sitting in a chair too long at work. I have the ability to convert to a standing desk, so in the last two weeks I've started doing that as it has begun to get irritated again. Getting old really sucks.

[Kraken]

I'm fortunate to have no serious medical conditions at age 63. Other than one pill a day for depression, I don't take any meds. Ideally I'll continue to enjoy good health until I drop dead suddenly. I'm not one for long goodbyes.

'Course, at my age one can't escape some complaints. Two eye docs have told me my eyes are healthy; cataracts and dryness are normal aging, floaters are just something you have to deal with, and blepharitis is just bad luck, sorry old bean. Arthritis is slowly taking over my knees and hips, but I'm still mobile. I'm not as sharp as I used to be, although Wife says she doesn't see any signs of cognitive decline yet.

[Sudy]

As one of the junior members around here, most of the conditions I deal with I could do a better job of managing, but they often fall into a negative feedback loop: depression, obesity/poor diet, IBS + resulting hemorrhoids, sciatica, recurrent back strain, etc. Not all lead to another, but each complicate the rest.

I'm struggling to find a way to act now before the weight becomes much harder to shed, or before I do develop something I can't control. Mild to moderate gastrointestinal issues have always plagued both my parents, and my mom has developed diabetes and kidney issues in the past decade (possibly longer, undiagnosed). I'm thankful that I haven't had to deal with anything worse, but I'm not very optimistic about the future. Cancer, dementia, Parkinson's, and heart issues have afflicted my grandparents, but most of them were also long-lived, so something has to get you in the end. (70, 90, 90; one still living at 93. Some of the latter years weren't happy ones though, so I'm terrified of cognitive decline both in my aging parents and eventually myself.)

[Isgrimnur]

Deal with the depression first.

[Kraken]

Oh yeah, hemorrhoids. How could I forget to mention the nether bleeding? It's another one of those non-critical "sucks to be you" conditions.

[Sudy]

Obesity and being sidelined with stomach and back issues is pretty depressing. Depression leads to poor diet, which leads to obesity and stomach issues. Fear leads to the dark side, etc. But I'm still doing better with the depression than I was a couple years ago when, in retrospect, I was dealing with legitimate existential dread and my bed was my only escape. I still spend too much time in bed, but the darkness has slightly receded.

Personally, the bleeding no longer freaks me out. Well, it always does a little. What really frustrates me is being in constant, nagging discomfort just sitting down during an episode. While working at a job that requires you to sit down for 12+ hours lol. A job that also won't provide standing desks. I guess that's in my power to change while I'm working at home, but it's not the biggest of my issues presently.

[Jaymann]

I actually feel pretty good, except for the...

Diabetes, oh yeah and the
Bad disc in my lower back, oh and the
Sleep apnea, and don't forget the
Allergies, and yeah the
Asthma, but then there's the
Acid reflux, and who could forget the
Hemorrhoids...

At least I have my health!

[Lassr]

2 bulging discs in my neck and one in lower back making consistent exercising difficult. I suspect the car accident I had 30 years, where I suffered whiplash, most likely was a cause of the disks bulging in my later years. Chiropractor keeps them aligned so they do not pinch a nerve but if I sleep with my head turned just right 2 fingers on my right hand go numb. If I pinch the nerve in my lower back it feels like a severe muscle pull and it's hard to stand up straight. But I don't want surgery so once a month chiropractor trip it is.

On lipitor for about 10 years for cholesterol and had to start blood pressure medicine about 2 years ago. I blame that on trump.

Exercise really helps the cholesterol and blood pressure but it definitely does not help the bulging discs. Several days of running can get it out of whack, same for weight lifting. Did buy a bicycle, just waiting on warm weather.

[Paingod]

I feel like a young'un in this group (at 42) and my aches and pains are pretty limited and/or minor. Nothing debilitating or beyond a mild annoyance.

I fully expect that everything just keeps rattling apart, though.

[Lassr]

I feel like a young'un in this group (at 42) and my aches and pains are pretty limited and/or minor. Nothing debilitating or beyond a mild annoyance.

I fully expect that everything just keeps rattling apart, though.

Well, I'm now 55 (well, 55 as of tomorrow) and considering all these problems started when I was between 40 and 45...

[FishPants]

I feel like a young'un in this group (at 42) and my aches and pains are pretty limited and/or minor. Nothing debilitating or beyond a mild annoyance.

I fully expect that everything just keeps rattling apart, though.

Yeah I'm 44, but I had to make some pretty significant changes in the past year to avoid what was coming at me head on. My blood sugar was well into pre-diabetic range and not far from "time to talk about insulin", I was still smoking off/on, fat, drinking too much..

So I spent far too much money on a trainer that would work with me remotely vs in person, and got after it - stopped tobacco, rarely drink.. the usual crap that we know is the right thing to do. Got my blood sugar back to normal range within 3 months, dropped 10.5" in diameter around my belly and am closing in on ideal weight 6 months later. I'm pretty happy with where I'm at now, but what I've realized is how slow my 40 year old body responds to exercise in comparison to my 30 year old and 20 year old body - this will be something that I need to continue in perpetuity (vs a target goal where I take my foot off the gas). I've bought myself some time for sure, but waiting for that shoe to drop!

[Ralph-Wiggum]

I've been dealing with hip issues since my early 20s when I more or less lived with it dislocated for about 2 years before it was probably diagnosed (they kept thinking it was a spine issue). But generally that's under control with daily elliptical exercises and some meds.

My most recent issue is right shoulder/arm pain started acting up about 3 weeks ago. I finally went to the doctor last Friday who diagnosed it as an impinged rotator cuff and gave me some meds and exercises. The stupidest part about it is that I think I injured it playing Rocket League.

[Jaymann]

I've been dealing with hip issues since my early 20s when I more or less lived with it dislocated for about 2 years before it was probably diagnosed (they kept thinking it was a spine issue). But generally that's under control with daily elliptical exercises and some meds.

My most recent issue is right shoulder/arm pain started acting up about 3 weeks ago. I finally went to the doctor last Friday who diagnosed it as an impinged rotator cuff and gave me some meds and exercises. The stupidest part about it is that I think I injured it playing Rocket League.

This was years ago, but one day I damaged something in my shoulder while putting on a jacket. It kept hurting whenever I raised it, so I couldn't lift my arm for two years. Two. Years. It was the classic line: Doctor, It hurts when I do this. Then don't do that.

[Daehawk]

Before COVID I was actually thinking about going to a gym for the first time since high school. Or maybe walking in the local dead mall. But covid ruined that and any of it in the foreseeable future.

[Paingod]

Well, the malls will still be dead, but you'll be trespassing on an ancient consumer burial ground.

[coopasonic]

I'll be 49 in a few months. I had back surgery to address a herniated disc 3 years ago. I've finally learned to lift with my legs and am much more careful about how I bend over than I had to be a few years ago but am otherwise in pretty good shape. I haven't seen my doctor in 3 years so he hasn't had the opportunity to disabuse me of that notion. I need to get that scheduled. I take no meds. My BMI is almost dead center in the normal range (21.9). I don't get enough exercise or sun but it's kinda cold and my weight is under control.

[Smoove_B]

My BMI is almost dead center in the normal range (21.9). I don't get enough exercise or sun but it's kinda cold and my weight is under control.

I'm going to point out that while I'm no where near a healthy BMI, my cardiologist had me get an CT scan to develop a baseline analysis of my heart because he's also my father's cardiologist and he has family history knowledge. To his surprise, at the age of 40 my LAD (left anterior descending artery) had already started calcifying. Other than an elevated BP, without going in for testing there would be no way to know this. And the elevated BP could have been because of any number of other things. My point being at some point our ability to discern health status ("I feel good") isn't going to work. Had I not been aware of my dad's health issues, I might not have gone in at 40 to get a baseline test. Now 7 years later I'm on all kinds of meds to address it and have been told I'll be on them until I die. The goal, however, is to avoid the heart surgery and stents my dad had to get when he was in his 50s when his first major health issue was a series of minor heart attacks.

Eating healthy, getting exercise and watching your weight are all important - without questions. But my artery was likely going to start calcifying no matter what; it's in my genes.

[jztemple2]

I’m 67 but luckily I’m leaving it up to my seventy -year-old wife to have all the ailments of the family.

[coopasonic]

My BMI is almost dead center in the normal range (21.9). I don't get enough exercise or sun but it's kinda cold and my weight is under control.

I'm going to point out that while I'm no where near a healthy BMI, my cardiologist had me get an CT scan to develop a baseline analysis of my heart because he's also my father's cardiologist and he has family history knowledge. To his surprise, at the age of 40 my LAD (left anterior descending artery) had already started calcifying. Other than an elevated BP, without going in for testing there would be no way to know this. And the elevated BP could have been because of any number of other things. My point being at some point our ability to discern health status ("I feel good") isn't going to work. Had I not been aware of my dad's health issues, I might not have gone in at 40 to get a baseline test. Now 7 years later I'm on all kinds of meds to address it and have been told I'll be on them until I die. The goal, however, is to avoid the heart surgery and stents my dad had to get when he was in his 50s when his first major health issue was a series of minor heart attacks.

Eating healthy, getting exercise and watching your weight are all important - without questions. But my artery was likely going to start calcifying no matter what; it's in my genes.

My dad was about 10 years older than I am now when he got the triple bypass and pacemaker. My maternal grandmother died from colon cancer in her 40s. I got all the family history.

Fine, I'll get that check up scheduled!

[ImLawBoy]

My muscles are all sore and achy, but that's a result of shoveling heavy snow 3 times in the last 24 hours. I had a "mini-stroke" (aka, Transient Ischemic Attack, aka TIA) about 7 1/2 years ago (a year to the day before the twins were born!), but no lasting effects from that beyond an atorvastatin prescription and a daily baby aspirin. My right shoulder is fucked up somehow so that I can't really throw properly anymore - I'm guessing it's lifting and carrying an 80lb plus kid around, up and down stairs, and in and out of the bathtub. I assume my back will give eventually due to this, so I make sure I lift as properly as I can (although it's kind of hard to maintain good form when leaning over a bathtub and trying to lift a wet body). I've had surgery on one knee to clear out cartilage and I'm told I have some arthritis in there (I never knew you could see that in scans!), but my knees are actually a lot better since I stopped walking around with a messenger bag around my shoulders and my laptop smacking against the back of my thighs.

All in all, not bad for 49.

[Isgrimnur]

44.

My back has been rotating strained muscles since July. I slept wrong on my right shoulder, so I can't sleep face-down with my arms over my head.

I've developed sciatica on the right side, managed to strain/inflame the piriformis muscles on both sides.

I'm on 200mg Zoloft daily for depression that's been a thing since age 15, which I didn't start taking until age 40.

I need to make an allergist appointment to get local testing and try to get shots, as I'm tired of three months of misery every year.

[Jeff V]

Shoulder on throwing arm (left) stopped functioning in my 20's after throwing out a fast baserunner who tried scoring on me on a medium-deep fly to center. I've never had an MRI done -- when I tried playing again the following spring, I literally could not throw, the ball would fall from my hand when I tried to put anything on the throw. I suspect a tendon became detached, I can sort of throw now, but not with anything on it. I used to have a good arm in baseball, softball, and football.

In my mid-30's, my thyroid rebelled, it had to be nuked into submission and I'm on supplemental meds the rest of my life. That was quickly followed by my pancreas deciding if thyroid didn't have to work so hard anymore, it wouldn't either. Type-2 diabetic since. Along the way I picked up a bit of hypertension and my cocktail of pills every day includes some high blood pressure meds.

A few years ago, arthritis became part of everyday life. I developed a trigger finger on my left ring finger, got a cortisone shot but the trigger finger came back less than 2 months later. I put up with it for some months, and eventually it went away, with only the creakiness of the arthritis remaining. The other day I discovered I could once again put my wedding ring on that finger -- the joint had been swollen and at one point I thought I'd have to get the ring cut off.

While the snow yesterday was a challenge -- we had a lot of drifting and my driveway was under 12-24," my back held up but a few days earlier I was hit with some nasty plantar fasciitis. I could scarcely walk Thursday and Friday; was able to hobble on Saturday, and played through the pain shoveling yesterday. It's still a problem, although today I was able to resume hamsterwheeling.

[Smoove_B]

I need to make an allergist appointment to get local testing and try to get shots, as I'm tired of three months of misery every year.

Funny (not really) story about my wife. She's been having chronic issues with her sinuses over the last year (started just before COVID) and after doing all kinds of tests in the early days of the pandemic (thinking it might be COVID related) it turns out that she's actually allergic to dogs. We've had a dog for 6 years now, but it only became a real problem after moving to our new house. Not only because of the layout (the dog is now on the same level where we sleep), but because we're all home now nonstop, it's a constant assault. So she's taking all kinds of prescription meds now after seeing an allergist and ultimately deciding my suggestion to move into our garage wasn't acceptable.

[Isgrimnur]

Oh, and not age-related, some medications make my testicles hurt. Took me 22 years, a couple ER trips, a couple sonograms, a trip to a urologist, etc. to figure out that Flonase and did not agree with each other.

[Sudy]

Life must have really sucked before modern medicine. It sucks quite a bit even now. I can't wait until we're all absorbed into the grey goo living lives of leisure and total freedom.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

Oh, and not age-related, some medications make my testicles hurt. Took me 22 years, a couple ER trips, a couple sonograms, a trip to a urologist, etc. to figure out that Flonase and did not agree with each other.

You know it goes in through the nose, right?

[Isgrimnur]

We don't kinkshame.

[Zaxxon]

I've been running for about 25 years (periodically taking a break to rest). Never had an injury that lasted more than a couple of weeks until early 2019. My achilles area started hurting... a lot... after runs. Dealt with it for a couple of months with fewer weekly runs, but went ahead with my scheduled half-marathon in April 2019. That was just pain all the way through.

Took a couple months off afterward, had no pain. Started running again, pain came right back. Eventually had it diagnosed as achilles tendinopathy, was given exercises to do. The rest of 2019 was not good, and I just could not get it under control. Early 2020 started well, as I took to the gym and ran mostly on a treadmill to make things easier on the ankle--no Colorado hills. Was finally back in running form in March, 2020 and then COVID hit. There went the gym.

Still dealing with the issue, but have it mostly under control so long as I don't push my weekly mileage past 20 or so (30-40 was my 'usual'). Still holding out hope that I can find the right balance and slowly ramp back up to 'normal.'

Getting old sucks.

I blame coopasonic for roping me into a Ragnar just before this happened.

[coopasonic]

I blame coopasonic for roping me into a Ragnar just before this happened.

[Jeff V]

Life must have really sucked before modern medicine. It sucks quite a bit even now. I can't wait until we're all absorbed into the grey goo living lives of leisure and total freedom.

Not really. People generally had the good sense to die before having to deal with old-age issues.

[Blackhawk]

I'm taking real steps to lose some weight. Ignoring BMI, I could stand to lose about 100 pounds (BMI says more, but BMI doesn't know my build.) I'm currently working back up to 30 minutes a day of 70-80% max heart rate on the bike, plus doing come back and core exercises. And believe it or not, since the Rift arrived, I've been sitting about a third of the time I usually do. I'm also eating a hard limit of 1700 calories per day, slanted toward protein and adjusted for exercise (IE - if I burn 250 calories, I eat an extra 250.) This is the right time to do it. My new medication for my just-diagnosed ADHD has the duel benefit of giving me energy and drive (exercise!) and cutting my appetite.

[Isgrimnur]

And in between vacuuming around the house and taking out the trash, I developed a high ankle sprain.