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

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I made this thread for *Legion*, may his knee not give him hell today.
Saw this post and realized I would want and subscribe to such a thread. Hope you feel the same.

When I hit 35 my bod basically started to fall apart in new and interesting ways!
I became lactose intolerant and developed a delicate constitution! Nice.
Genetic blood disorder found! Rarely an issue, now that it is identified. Actually nice.
If I feel comfortable talking about the other stuff, I'll share that later.

How about you? Wanting to vent about what fresh hell has been visited upon your body lately? I'm all ears!

Try to keep it clean, spoiler gory details, please. Try to keep things from getting too dark.
I love you and we're all in this together.

Kidney stone squatting in my bladder last several days. Will not leave.

Gallbladder removed last year, have to watch fatty foods. More than a 12 oz. Beer makes me nauseous since the removal.

Sleep apnea diagnosis last fall. Have been on cpap machine since.

Acid reflux started about 2 or 3 years ago. Now it's daily and for long periods of time.
Doctor had me on protein pump inhibitors for a couple of months. What a relief! I wish I could stay on them long term but the long term effects are not good.
So now I suffer. I try Ranitidine and it helps a bit.

Also, Where'd this belly come from?

IBS diagnosed about a year ago, medication is keeping it in control but if I splurge on any fried foods, man do I pay for it.

Also my back, which i initially hurt many years ago, is so much easier to reinjure these days. I'm falling apart here!

Not to mention the high blood pressure, cholesterol, etc. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

groan wrote:

Acid reflux started about 2 or 3 years ago. Now it's daily and for long periods of time.
Doctor had me on protein pump inhibitors for a couple of months. What a relief! I wish I could stay on them long term but the long term effects are not good.
So now I suffer. I try Ranitidine and it helps a bit.

Also, Where'd this belly come from?

Groan. I work with gastroenterologist all the time. The studies that suggest the long term side effects are not great. Plus reflux can cause some terrible things. A lot of pts are on long term proton pump inhibitors.

Talk to your primary care physician and maybe schedule an appointment with a GI doc.

groan wrote:

Acid reflux started about 2 or 3 years ago. Now it's daily and for long periods of time.
Doctor had me on protein pump inhibitors for a couple of months. What a relief! I wish I could stay on them long term but the long term effects are not good.
So now I suffer. I try Ranitidine and it helps a bit.

Also, Where'd this belly come from?

I have similar problems - I switch between H2 blockers + antacids and PPI often. The omeprazole is so much more effective though. I try to take it intermittently when the GERD gets bad.

My knees unless I stay up on squats.

Also I didn't order these allergies. I would like to send them back.

Started to get back issues and after watching my Dad and way too many people get diagnosed with banc issues when working at an ortho clinic I started some basic back exercises. All super simple and really help out.

I have always had a bit of an acid reflux issue along with allergies but it's never really impeded my life or anything. Within the past year or so I've had issues with eating/swallowing food and basically required to keep an emergency inhaler on me at all times because I'd be unable to breathe. Now I get to have a yearly endoscopy and am currently undergoing allergy shots while taking a stronger daily powder inhaler. Yaaaay.

Also I'm pretty sure I'm starting to get some carpal tunnel. I have my yearly check up (something I have not typically done until my 30s) scheduled in a couple months so I'm sure this list will grow

What I've noticed (and felt) most is the slow degeneration of my connective tissue. Particularly around my ankle. I distinctly remember being able to 'bounce' up a flight stairs 15 years ago. Now, I plod... moderately quickly. Where has my cartilage gone? Why doesn't my Achilles tendon work?

And knees, of course... particularly, after a legs session in the gym. I need to use the armrests on a chair both to get up and to sit down. And even when using them to sit down, I still 'fall' the last few inches into the seat... like an old person.

Oh, and my basic strength is now visibly declining. Four year ago, I'd put 100kg on the bar and press do 5 reps x 5 sets. Now, I'm down to 90kg. It'll be 85 next year...

Also, when did I start snoring so badly that my partner and I now sleep separately?

I'm 36 and my wrist swole up and killed for a day before getting completely better. Nothing i did to precipitate such behavior. ALso acid reflux.

and those kids are always riding their hoverboards on my lawn

How I feel and how I am seem to be very different things. I've never really felt all that bad, as in no chronic ailments other than a couple old injuries that flare up when it gets cold out. And yet, the reality is that my doctor put me on blood pressure medication for the foreseeable future and I'm not even 40 yet. The only way to get off them is to get down to a weight I've not seen since high school and stay there. I'll need to reconcile this personal fable that I am healthy just because I don't feel unhealthy. Or maybe it's been such a gradual process that I can't remember what healthy felt like.

I experienced the body decline in my early 30s. Playing sports has kicked my a**. I've got a knee that gives me issues, my rotator cuff in my throwing arm probably needs some work, my left ankle swells and is painful after walking 18 holes of golf, the protrusion from my mid section is larger than I'd like, gall bladder removed.

Carrying extra weight and the repetitive destruction of my joints from sports takes a toll. Having children now makes me question the types of physical activity they should be involved in as they grow up.

Heck I just started working out in my mid/late 30s and feeling great. But this thread should be all the things I have to look forward to soon haha.

Aside from kidney stones (annoying since 1993,) I've got the false teeth and bifocals that would make old timers blush. My body has adjust to the stones fairly well, I seem to be able to pass them with minimal lead-up pain and mild annoyance when they shoot out like little (tiny) BBs.

Then there's the heart issues. But, who hasn't got 'em!?

A couple years ago I was diagnosed with both high blood pressure and sleep apnea. I've been on blood pressure meds & CPAP ever since.

Earlier this year I managed to f*ck up my knee just by going bowling with some friends. No, I didn't fall or twist it or anything, I just did a couple hours of casual non-strenuous bowling and then walked with a limp for like two weeks afterwards.

Also nose hair is a thing I have to deal with now?

This is an awesome thread!

I always thought I was totally healthy but last month checked my BP in clinic because I felt tired and had some swelling in my ankles. It was 168/110. Checked next day. 170/105.

So went in for a checkup and am now on 2 BP meds. Plus Hgb A1c is high so I have 3 months to get it fixed with diet and exercise or I start metformin.

Oh and all of the hair from the top of my head seems to have made its way to my ears.

Le sigh.

Thanks Amoebic. Though I think (and hope) it’s my leg and not Legions.

On my way to Iowa City to have the Hawkeye doctors tell me how they are going to put my Humpty-Dumptied leg back together tomorrow.

We have the little in the car and as a reward we’re going to Build-a-Bear for the pay your age special.

He is 2!

Just turned 44 and most of my ailments are of the pain/joints/aches variety. I had a period of shooting pain in my right shoulder for probably 2-3 years any time I moved my arm just so. My left foot used to hurt anytime I put weight on it just so. I can't get up out of a crouch quite as quickly as I used to, and occasionally one of my knees will just buckle while I'm going up a flight of stairs. I learned pretty quickly to chalk it up to getting older and just tried to deal with it. I've been trying to get more exercise the last few years (particularly cycling) and a lot of these issues have gotten better. If it hurts, I stop - but then try to get back to it again as soon as I can.

I wish I could project this attitude onto my wife. She turns 43 this year, and seems incapable of understanding how to deal with her aging body. In particular, her knees and lower legs bother her a lot. She used to run all through high school and college, so this declining fitness and physical ability really bothers her. However, rather than taking it in stride as part of getting older she freaks out and thinks that every twinge or ache is a sign of massive impending injury. Rather than continue to get careful, therapeutic exercise she shuts down entirely and doesn't do anything. I can't help but think she is doing more harm than good by cutting off all physical exercise for fear of hurting herself.

UpToIsomorphism wrote:

Thanks Amoebic. Though I think (and hope) it’s my leg and not Legions.

Yup, it's his leg, just my smart-ass-ness.

Oh boy. At 52, my meat body is coming apart at the seams. I played 11 years of football, which I can definitely feel. I eat pretty well but don't get the exercise I should due to too much sedentary work, incipient laziness, and leg joints that hurt all the time. I am obese which does not help anything at all.

Let's start at the bottom and work our way up:
Big toes: Chronic gout. I can mostly keep it under control via diet, but if I slip (say have 3 beers and some pizza), the pain is otherworldly.

Feet: Sometimes my feet "lock" in place. No idea why. It feels like something is caught the tarsels. If I am lucky I can, with some pain, "break" the "lock" and restore function. Sometimes not and I walk funny for a while until it loosens up.

Ankles: Scores of sprained ankles have taken their toll. Most days it hurts somewhat just to walk around. Left ankle is worse than the right.

Knees: Similar deal. Right knee hurts more, which is surprising since I tore my left MCL in college and never got it repaired.

Hips: Right hip sometimes just hurts. No idea why. Perhaps related to altered gait cause by lower joint pain.

Hands: Developing degenerative arthritis. So says my doc. All I know is my fingers hurt most of the time. Cuts into my bass playing which sucks.

Wrists: Inside left wrist will flare up. Possible carpal tunnel.

Shoulders: Right shoulder rotator cuff that was badly repaired back in the old days means my range of motion is limited. Hurts just by itself some days.

Neck: Pretty messed up. Sometimes it will "lock" in place like my feet and I need to painfully "break" it out. Other times pain will radiate from about the 3rd or 4th cervical vertebra and spread to the right side of my head, sometimes impacting vision in my right eye.

Brain: I am scared I have CVE. I've had more concussions than I want to think about, almost certainly > 30 (back in the day, we called it "getting your bell rung", if it was bad enough you might get some smelling salts shoved in your face - one thing I am very happy to see is the increased awareness of concussions, their effects and how to recognize them in middle and high school). I am starting to recognize symptoms: disorientation, short-term memory loss, mood swings, dizziness. Almost definitely on the dementia train, which scares the hell out of me. Sometimes I think I can feel my ability to think oozing out of my ears.

Nose, ears: Hairs, please stop growing in these places.

Eyebrows: I have light eyebrows but over the last 5 years or so I get really long, really dark hairs growing on my brows. I should braid them or something. Plucking just means they get mad and grow larger and faster.

High blood pressure and sleep apnea (CPAP for the last 15 years, I can't sleep without the damn thing now).

One heart attack, trying very hard to not have a repeat of that.

Weird f*cking dark spots on my hands, they look like huge dark freckles. Except all my tiny, not-as-dark freckles belie that they are freckles.

I am starting to not be able to sleep for more than 5 hours a night. I hate waking up at 4 or 5AM.

I hate getting old.

Docjoe wrote:

This is an awesome thread!

I always thought I was totally healthy but last month checked my BP in clinic because I felt tired and had some swelling in my ankles. It was 168/110. Checked next day. 170/105.

So went in for a checkup and am now on 2 BP meds. Plus Hgb A1c is high so I have 3 months to get it fixed with diet and exercise or I start metformin.

Oh and all of the hair from the top of my head seems to have made its way to my ears.

Le sigh.

My BP has crept up to around 140/90 - ish. I have been shedding weight but expect I am heading down the road of BP meds to go along with the statins for my ridiculous inherited cholesterol problems.

I inherited the genetic trifecta of High BP, High Cholesterol, and High Blood Sugar. It hit around when I was 40. Previous to that, I had textbook normal numbers on everything.

As for surgeries, I've had my gall bladder out, 16" of colon removed, etc... My next organ removal is free. It turns out that my family is built for quantity, not quality.

Also, I can't go on rides like Star Tours anymore. Non-Motion sickness. VR is dodgy as well. Back in my 30's this was not a problem.

On the plus side, my hair went completely white by the time I was 30.

@Amoebic I don't care if this thread is new, and I don't care that you started it; this needs to be thread of the week.

I was literally going to post in the Loathe thread, but came here instead to say one thing:
"WHY CAN'T I SLEEP IN ANYMORE?!?!?!"

It does not matter what day it is. It does not matter who else is present in the house. It does not matter how much I have imbibed in the previous night. I wake up at 5:30am. Period. And because my Dad and I are very, very close, I called him at 6am today, knowing he would be awake. And I literally said "Dad, I can't sleep in, what's wrong with me?" He said "That's how you know you're old, kiddo."

I'm 24, and DrIncurable is an in joke among r/l friends that I really like. I already have Arthritis in every joint, I am Diabetic, Bi-polar, I was born with some kind of chronic kidney disease that lead me to have kidney stone attacks about every 2-3 months (on average, sometimes it was every 2-3 weeks, I have had one attack that lasted for 3 months) during the first 20 or so years of my life. I have also already had a cancer scare and found out that I have Lynch Syndrome, and Hypothyroidism, I have a resistance to low level opiates from sheer exposure, Tramadol is barely effective at 100 mg, and Tylenol has next to no affect on me. I shouldn't take Ibuprofen due to liver issues, and due to the arthritis I'm on medications that lower my immune system, so getting sick is a PITA. I also have high blood pressure, but do to medical interactions we can't really start anything at the moment, I've had a resting blood pressure of something ~210/160 IIRC. I take more medications daily than I have friends I interact with IRL. I have also already had 1 back surgery, 2 hip surgeries and am more comfortable in a hospital than I probably should be. Surprisingly I cannot handle needles at all, but over all everything is under control at the moment. I have stopped breathing multiple times during procedures. I still try and walk a bit everyday, though it is a bit difficult at times, but I'm still going. My liver is starting to go south, probably because of the stress I put on it with my medication list. Overall I'm doing well, I've come to terms with my mortality, but that's not to say I'm not trying to fix or treat these conditions, I am really working hard on that, though sometimes I do make mistakes and falter. At this point I'm living one day at a time.

Dr.Incurable wrote:

I'm 24, and DrIncurable is an in joke among r/l friends that I really like. I already have Arthritis in every joint, I am Diabetic, Bi-polar, I was born with some kind of chronic kidney disease that lead me to have kidney stone attacks about every 2-3 months (on average, sometimes it was every 2-3 weeks, I have had one attack that lasted for 3 months) during the first 20 or so years of my life. I have also already had a cancer scare and found out that I have Lynch Syndrome, and Hypothyroidism, I have a resistance to low level opiates from sheer exposure, Tramadol is barely effective at 100 mg, and Tylenol has next to no affect on me. I shouldn't take Ibuprofen due to liver issues, and due to the arthritis I'm on medications that lower my immune system, so getting sick is a PITA. I also have high blood pressure, but do to medical interactions we can't really start anything at the moment, I've had a resting blood pressure of something ~210/160 IIRC. I take more medications daily than I have friends I interact with IRL. I have also already had 1 back surgery, 2 hip surgeries and am more comfortable in a hospital than I probably should be. Surprisingly I cannot handle needles at all, but over all everything is under control at the moment. I have stopped breathing multiple times during procedures. I still try and walk a bit everyday, though it is a bit difficult at times, but I'm still going. My liver is starting to go south, probably because of the stress I put on it with my medication list. Overall I'm doing well, I've come to terms with my mortality, but that's not to say I'm not trying to fix or treat these conditions, I am really working hard on that, though sometimes I do make mistakes and falter. At this point I'm living one day at a time.

I'm not a pain management physician, but have you heard of spinal cord stimulators? That is the new thing now that seems to work pretty well for patients with chronic pain. Maybe ask your primary care physician next time you see them.

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?

ThatGuy42 wrote:

I was literally going to post in the Loathe thread, but came here instead to say one thing:
"WHY CAN'T I SLEEP IN ANYMORE?!?!?!"

It does not matter what day it is. It does not matter who else is present in the house. It does not matter how much I have imbibed in the previous night. I wake up at 5:30am. Period. And because my Dad and I are very, very close, I called him at 6am today, knowing he would be awake. And I literally said "Dad, I can't sleep in, what's wrong with me?" He said "That's how you know you're old, kiddo."

During the week I set my alarm for 6:30 every day and then invariably end up being wide awake by 5:30.
On the weekends I turn my alarm off so I can sleep in, and then I wake up at 5:30 anyways.

I kinda like it though? I get a lot of stuff done in the mornings now.

Oh Diety of Choice. I can't even. I'm staring down the barrel of 50, and the old age issues are joining the young-and-stupid issues and the chronic conditions issues.

To make it real fun, I'd been on steady health insurance for several years, and had things kind of worked out. But with the job situation I had a three month gap and couldn't afford to keep up my regimen. So it gave me a quick refresher course in what all these pills I have to take actually do for me.

I'm in the process of getting things going again, but this whole mess is not conducive to getting things done.

Dr.Incurable wrote:

I'm 24, and DrIncurable is an in joke among r/l friends that I really like. I already have Arthritis in every joint, I am Diabetic, Bi-polar, I was born with some kind of chronic kidney disease that lead me to have kidney stone attacks about every 2-3 months (on average, sometimes it was every 2-3 weeks, I have had one attack that lasted for 3 months) during the first 20 or so years of my life. I have also already had a cancer scare and found out that I have Lynch Syndrome, and Hypothyroidism, I have a resistance to low level opiates from sheer exposure, Tramadol is barely effective at 100 mg, and Tylenol has next to no affect on me. I shouldn't take Ibuprofen due to liver issues, and due to the arthritis I'm on medications that lower my immune system, so getting sick is a PITA. I also have high blood pressure, but do to medical interactions we can't really start anything at the moment, I've had a resting blood pressure of something ~210/160 IIRC. I take more medications daily than I have friends I interact with IRL. I have also already had 1 back surgery, 2 hip surgeries and am more comfortable in a hospital than I probably should be. Surprisingly I cannot handle needles at all, but over all everything is under control at the moment. I have stopped breathing multiple times during procedures. I still try and walk a bit everyday, though it is a bit difficult at times, but I'm still going. My liver is starting to go south, probably because of the stress I put on it with my medication list. Overall I'm doing well, I've come to terms with my mortality, but that's not to say I'm not trying to fix or treat these conditions, I am really working hard on that, though sometimes I do make mistakes and falter. At this point I'm living one day at a time.

I am unsure what song to sing while reading your list of ailments. Can't sing to the connect the bones song...... Is scotch tape holding you together? Making light in jest that is a lot. My wife's family all had to get tested for Lynch syndrome. Thankfully skipped my wife but got a few of the other kids. It really hit my mother in law hard for 25 years but she has been cancer free for 10 years now.

Hobear wrote:

I am unsure what song to sing while reading your list of ailments. Can't sing to the connect the bones song...... Is scotch tape holding you together? Making light in jest that is a lot. My wife's family all had to get tested for Lynch syndrome. Thankfully skipped my wife but got a few of the other kids. It really hit my mother in law hard for 25 years but she has been cancer free for 10 years now.

Heh, it's fine, wouldn't be able to manage without a sense of humor. Glad to hear she's been cancer free for 10 years.

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?

Sorry that the pay your age build a bear thing didn't work out. If it helps, I know someone who went to 3 malls to do the build a bear thing and each one had huuuggggeeeee lines.

Good luck on the surgery!

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