My Old-A** Body Is Breaking Down Catch-All

I knew I'd hit "that age" when I threw out my back while tying my shoe. Oh the pain! And the personal humiliation. I've learned to only tie my shoes while sitting or crouching.

Nothing as bad as some on this thread (Man I really feel for you all) but I do have Supraspinatus tendonitis, which is basically the tendon that anchors in your shoulder and runs down your forearm being badly inflamed and very sore indeed. Been going on a long time now (since Christmas pretty much) and it's really painful at times - sleeping has been very difficult on occasion, and any rapid snatch movements in my left arm are generally met with screams of pain and tears - it's that bad. I had to catch a glass falling out of the kitchen cupboard a couple of weeks back and ended up rolling around the kitchen floor in complete agony much to the consternation of my 6 year old kid........

I've had a steroid injection which managed to make things worse (does happen but usually less than a 10% chance, so go me) and now waiting for some physiotherapy on it instead. It's crap like this I am not enjoying now I'm getting towards my mid 40s. It generally feels very uncalled for!

I’m in a weird position. I’ve got some doozies coming down the pike, not least of which is a heart valve replacement at some point in the next 5-25 years.

But that aside, I’m doing remarkably well. 41 years old, had LASIK earlier this year, which goes a long way to making you feel like your body isn’t falling apart. Admittedly, I spent most of my 30s in spectacular shape. Well, spectacular for someone with a desk jockey job. Got the triathlon bug bad, which’ll do it.

Since having a kid 4 years ago, the loss of free time has put paid to that. I’ve kept reasonably active, but could do better/more.

I’m watching my wife, a few years younger, a lot more sedentary and a lot of pounds heavier, start to suffer, and it’s just confirming my belief that being and staying active is increasingly crucial as we age. She understands it intellectually, but I think that having never been very fit, she doesn’t have a frame of reference to understand how much better it feels in every, single waking moment, and therefore to seek it out.

Well, at 52, I guess I'm doing okay. Worst thing was they day I called to change out the sim card in my phone and the woman on the other end asked me for the IMEI numbers on it. I asked what those were and she said "the little numbers on the bottom of the card". My response was "Wait, those are numbers???" readers are a godsend.

Other than not shrugging off being able to eat as much as I wanted without gaining wait, the only real complaint I have is the occasional joy of my back seizing up like somebody just stuck a knife in me. I wouldn't mind if it was when I was doing something stupid or lifting wrong or something but instead it hits me when I'm doing really strenuous things like looking up to quickly when I'm tying my shoes.

At PAX East a few years ago, while sitting in a chair, at a table, playing a friendly game of Magic: The Gathering, I fractured a rib. I'm not even kidding.

I've had a few reasonably significant hospital visits over the years, but with about three weeks to go before I hit 41, I think I'm doing pretty well.

I'm pushing 50, and I feel like I've gotten off easy (so far) with dry eye, occasional eczema, mild heartburn and the sort of borderline high blood pressure that you have to keep an eye on but hasn't risen to the level of having to do anything about it. (Oh, and I snore and keep my husband awake, but that doesn't bother me unless he nudges me too many times to make me roll over.)

But I read this thread, and now I'm full of phantom itches and pains.

+1 on the not being able to sleep through the night. I've always been a light sleeper, but in the last few years it's gotten a lot worse. Add to that the facts that I always need to pee at 2.30 a.m. and I have a cat who expects to be fed around 4.00 a.m., and I never get an unbroken night's sleep.

In response, I now go to bed around 8 in the evening and try to be asleep by 9, so that i can stitch together a combined seven hours before the alarm goes off.

I agree entirely with you, jonman, about being and staying active. My partner and I don't have children so I'm able to train at least 5 times a week. My partner doesn't train at all, unless we're on holiday and I quietly fear for her longer term health. However hard it is, you just have to beg, borrow or steal the time to invest in your own health and well-being.

@katy - Yep, those nudges in the ribs are not fun. It just results in two people not sleeping.

Clumber wrote:

Well, at 52, I guess I'm doing okay. Worst thing was they day I called to change out the sim card in my phone and the woman on the other end asked me for the IMEI numbers on it. I asked what those were and she said "the little numbers on the bottom of the card". My response was "Wait, those are numbers???" readers are a godsend.

Other than not shrugging off being able to eat as much as I wanted without gaining wait, the only real complaint I have is the occasional joy of my back seizing up like somebody just stuck a knife in me. I wouldn't mind if it was when I was doing something stupid or lifting wrong or something but instead it hits me when I'm doing really strenuous things like looking up to quickly when I'm tying my shoes.

The last time I injured my back was about 3 weeks ago playing tennis on vacation with Wembley. Did I hit an amazing shot and landed wrong? Of course not! I bent over to pick up the tennis ball and then the back fairy came along and stuck the knife in! Hooray!

UpToIsomorphism wrote:

Update: A complete tear, and because the appointment lasted twice as long as the nurse said in the phone, no Build-a-Bear.

Surgery is tomorrow, thoughts and prayers time.

Is it bad that I’m being put under the knife on Friday the 13th?

Just a follow-up in case you get a chance to read this, Build A Bear gave everyone who is a member of their club a coupon code for like $15 off or something. Just gotta log in with your account if you have one. Hope surgery goes great today!

So ct scan results came back. 1 stone stuck between kidney and bladder, 6 stones in left kidney and 3 stones in right kidney. Now I get to go see a urologist about the stuck one.

Asterith wrote:
UpToIsomorphism wrote:

Update: A complete tear, and because the appointment lasted twice as long as the nurse said in the phone, no Build-a-Bear.

Surgery is tomorrow, thoughts and prayers time.

Is it bad that I’m being put under the knife on Friday the 13th?

Just a follow-up in case you get a chance to read this, Build A Bear gave everyone who is a member of their club a coupon code for like $15 off or something. Just gotta log in with your account if you have one. Hope surgery goes great today!

Thanks Asterith, I got one. I think JT may build his Adoption Day Gift!

On my way to surgery, and I am going to repost something I did on my Facebook feed, cause I liked how it turned out.

Adam “UpToIsomorphism” Feldhaus wrote:

Surgery today at 11:45 in Iowa City! Wish me luck, offer thoughts and prayers, or pass meaningful legislation that reattaches my quad.

Edit: I said the above glibly, but I am fortunate to a) have a job where I am not at work right now, b) have insurance that will cover this, c) have a wife who has a job where she can take off to drive my butt to the best Ortho department in network and who can take care of me while I heal (than you Lisa Feldhaus), and d) a job that requires I set on my butt for somewhere between 30-60 hours a week (so this isn’t that big a deal long term). If I didn’t have all of those things, I would be screwed right now.

Maybe we should support politicians, policies, and legislation that would help me if I didn’t have the blind luck of all the above being true for me.

Good luck today Iso!

51 here, and I feel remarkably healthy compared to the rest of you geezers. No real aches and pains to speak of. BP is OK. I'm just overweight and sluggish. (I blame that on stress and sloth, not age.)

However, my damn eyesight is going. I've always had to wear glasses for distance sight (driving, movies, games). But now my near vision is going, and my arms aren't long enough to hold things so I can see them.

Good thing I have children with young eyes who can read the prep instructions on the frozen pizza!

At 38, I haven't really noticed much. Physically I'm pretty much fine. I have a IT band injury that I suffered when I was 30 that put an end to my running career, but other than that, while I'm probably not in the best shape of my life... I'm pretty close. If I were somehow able to compete against my 24yr old self physically, I think I'd win most of the time, and I was in good shape when I was 24.

Like others here I tend to suffer a variety of back and neck muscle strains and pulls, happens to me 5 or 6 times a year and bothers me for anywhere from 2-3 days to a week each time. About 1/2 the time that happens while lifting weights and the other 1/2 it's doing completely innocuous things like getting out of chairs or walking down stairs. This has been happening to me since I was in my early 20's, so I don't attribute this to age.

But... the big thing I'm noticing is mental deterioration. I'm not talking about losing my faculties or anything. My memory is fine, I'm as intelligent as ever, etc... but what I do notice is that my overall mental health has changed for the worse. I have a lot more anxiety than I used to. My self confidence is lower than it used to be. My ability to cope with... life has deteriorated a ton to the point where simple problems and setbacks that come along with life just sideline me into despair sometimes. And I've just lost my overall ability to.... have fun.

I don't know if that's an age related thing or what... but that's the biggest physiological change I've noticed.

Let’s see. At 37:

Ear and nose hair that sprout like weeds.

Eyes get worse yearly. Feel like I am on the Hans Moleman track.

One of my molars just fell apart. No other significant dental problems.

Congenital sleep apnea.

Pretty sure I am developing some sort of respiratory issue as a result of burn pit exposure from Iraq. (It’s our Agent Orange!)

My knees and shins ache all the time.

Other than that, I am honestly enjoying life and am glad to be alive.

I forgot, my rectal gas expulsions and ambient bathroom smells remind me of my grandfather's bathroom.

About to go into surgery—happy drugs are making me happy!

(>'-')> <('-'<) ^(' - ')^ <('-'<) (>'-')>

merphle wrote:

At PAX East a few years ago, while sitting in a chair, at a table, playing a friendly game of Magic: The Gathering, I fractured a rib. I'm not even kidding.

Can you expand on this story? Was it like "oh, something kind of hurts?" or maybe everyone heard a large crack and had no idea where it came from?

Hit 48 this year. Found out last fall I had a ruptured biceps tendon in my right rotator cuff, and had surgery in the middle of November. Eight months later and I have use of the arm, but I still couldn't throw a ball if I wanted to and I just started sleeping on my right side within the last month. The overall pain from the surgery and rehab (I was very aggressive and diligent in my rehab) was less than expected, but it's been a constant annoyance for eight months; I've referred to it as a constant series of petty annoyances. Of course, my arm was unusable and caused me constant pain before the surgery, so it's a better option. So, you know, that was fun. The best part? I have literally no idea how I got the injury. The surgeon said I probably did something when I was young to irritate it a bit, and, as I got older and things stopped being so flexible, it kept slipping out of its groove in my shoulder bone and one day just started to separate down the middle, like a banana peel pulled longways. Fun.

Then there's my right foot; apparently I was born with my foot not right, and had one of those braces that locked your feet together when I was in the crib to force it right, or semi-right. I tore two ankle ligaments years back, and had reconstructive surgery in 2007. It'll never be right, and whenever I twist it even a little, it gets strained and hurts for weeks. I get plantar fascitis in that foot as well, along with occasional tendonitis. Because my foot is stupid.

Out of surgery, will post more later. Thanks everyone!

DeThroned wrote:
merphle wrote:

At PAX East a few years ago, while sitting in a chair, at a table, playing a friendly game of Magic: The Gathering, I fractured a rib. I'm not even kidding.

Can you expand on this story? Was it like "oh, something kind of hurts?" or maybe everyone heard a large crack and had no idea where it came from?

A card fell on the ground, juuust out of my reach. I leaned and stretched in a rather awkward way, and then three things happened simultaneously: 1) I felt and heard a pop from my left flank/chest region, as if something gave way; 2) my outstretched arm was suddenly able to grasp the card that had previously been out of reach; and 3) I was in severe pain. Not my proudest moment. That pain lasted for weeks, particularly when bending over to tie my shoes. I stupidly never got it checked out, either, from how embarrassed I was at the circumstances.

I tore my rotator cuff reaching for my phone charger. Word.

Update: I’m out of surgery and on my way home. The tear was actually worse than imaging lead the doctor to believe.

Spoilers for gross.

Spoiler:

the tendon actually tore a few bone fragments off as well.

So I now hav metal in my knee and will take -1 time and -2 patience of all metal detractors and security (-4 to both at TSA).

And now I need to chill for a few weeks until I am healthy enough for rehab.

Anyone suffering from nighttime GERD, I highly recommend this:

https://mediwedge.com/

Not cheap, but works better than sleeping sitting up on multiple pillows (not that I don't sometimes have to do that as well).

On an unrelated note, I just noticed a few months ago I now have a hard time opening ketchup packets. My fingers just don't have the strength or dexterity to do it any more.

About to run a 10 mile tough mudder. We'll see if I need to post more breakdown here later.

gewy wrote:

Anyone suffering from nighttime GERD, I highly recommend this:

https://mediwedge.com/

Not cheap, but works better than sleeping sitting up on multiple pillows (not that I don't sometimes have to do that as well).

On an unrelated note, I just noticed a few months ago I now have a hard time opening ketchup packets. My fingers just don't have the strength or dexterity to do it any more.

I considered this prior to my shoulder surgery, but wound up buying a power recliner with a remote I could use to adjust the thing. I slept in it for about two and a half months after my rotator cuff surgery, and thought I'd gotten my money's worth.

Of course, then my wife's heart condition wasn't responding to her variety of medications, so she had open-heart surgery three months ago, and she's just getting ready to move out of the chair and back to a bed. So, I guess I'll throw her into the "bodies can suck" thread.

Anyways, my advice is if you're facing any kind of potential post-surgical sleep issues, a power recliner is a lifesaver. The ability to adjust to get it as close to right as possible is really useful.

I've got a few nagging injuries. I seem to have successfully rehabbed a knee issue that was keeping me from doing anything med-high impact. I've still got some issues with my foot that keep me from running long distances or doing a lot of really high impact stuff.

That said, I've found that a lot of the things that I had marked up to age in my mid-30's turned out to just be me getting fat and out of shape. I nearly killed myself with GERD-induced pneumonia (and college) a few years back. It turns out that losing 40 pounds means that heartburn isn't nearly as big a problem. Likewise with joint issues, blood pressure issues, and being able to bend over to tie your own shoes.

Caveat here is that not everyone has control over how much they can exercise or how much weight they can lose. But if you think you have that option, it's highly recommended.

Antichulius wrote:

I knew I'd hit "that age" when I threw out my back while tying my shoe. Oh the pain! And the personal humiliation. I've learned to only tie my shoes while sitting or crouching.

Several years ago I really hurt my back trying to tighten the laces on my hockey skates, right before a game.

I just turned 50 a few months ago. I have a lot of old injuries (ACL tear, surgeries on both shoulders). Eyesight's been getting worse lately, and I have had cholesterol problems. I'm overdue for a physical. Work is usually both stressful and sedentary. On the other side, I've lost about 40 pounds in the last year, so that's helped. I'm still slightly overweight, but not bad.

Until last year I was "active" playing soccer in an Over 40 league (as active as you can be playing GK), but since most of the guys were well Over 50 the team's not playing this year. I took time off from playing roller hockey seven years ago when I had my last shoulder surgery, and never went back. I need to find replacements for these things.

kazooka wrote:

Caveat here is that not everyone has control over how much they can exercise or how much weight they can lose. But if you think you have that option, it's highly recommended.

As usual, we have a thread for that. Good group of people motivating each other to exercise and stay healthy.

I used to sleep with a pile of pillows, but now I have one of these in my bed with a 12" memory foam mattress on it:

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/p...

It's great, depending on which reason I have for sleeping tilted at any given time. What's good to ease my GERD isn't enough to deal with breathing B.S., or great for easing my shoulders or hips or etc. so I need to be able to change it.