Anybody dealing with physical ailments delaying your project?

Just get done what you can, even if it's as simple as bolting something to the car. One more bolt, is one more bolt closer to getting it done.

 

yea too cold to do anything today, so i get on the computer for a while, then when my fingers start hurting, i sit in front of the kerosene heater and cover myself up. I was eating cookies earlier,and every time I got a cookie out, the blanket beagle stuck her nose out, and wanted a bite too. She's 12 and also has arthritis. she sleeps on me under the blanket.

 

I have not been to the garage for any of my projects in 3 1/2 years...In 06 Agent orange all-most got me...The VA., Doctors are baffelled that I'm still alive..My regular Va., doctor claims I was with in Minutes of bitting the bullet... He has kept me alive since..19 different meds on the current list..I feel better, but I now have High blood preasure, Irregular Heart beat, arthritis in every joint, high colesrtral ,Numbness in fingers & toes,,ect..They (the US goverment) notes in my file state,, Agent Orange) but no responiabilty to how it was obtained..Its still better than the other choice...Hope to get back to the garage when the weater gets bettet...

 

I had it bad in both feet at one time, I bought SAS brand shoes and wore nothing but them for a couple of years and have not had a problem since. I had tried about every orthotic known to man but nothing worked as well as the shoes. My orthopedic surgeon told me about the shoes he has PF also.

 

Sadly I see I'm not alone with the back issues. My latest MRI is a fuckin horror show. So to the question, how? Keep punchin I guess. About 6 weeks ago I found myself flat out. I was doing well with pain meds and seeing a message therapist who does neuro-muscular therapy. I haven't felt that good in years. Over confident, flashbacks of being a bad ass and can do anything, you guessed it. I compressed 2 of the 4 bad discs so bad I thought I was going to break in half. Nothing, I mean NOTHING made it better. A shit ton of $$$$ and a really short visit to the hostilepital showed me what was wrong and I've slowly healed to better than ever. The bad news is the 3 weeks that I was even more worthless than normal set me way back on obligations and available $$$$ for funtime shit. It's true what they say, life happens while you're busy makin plans. Can't worry too much or take it too serious. Like I said just keep punchin. Some of my goals left town for another day but I still got em. Got a shot of permanent happyness on Tuesday evening, but I'll wait to do a post on that after this weekend so I can share pics.

Terd, you're right to focus on the good. When things are down it's easy to get sucked into being a crabby old dickhead. Hard to resist sometimes and adding to the personal weight that one has to carry, well, you know. We see it here more often on the board too (yes I'm guilty!) with the added membership and some of the frankly dumb shit posted. You got friends you never met, cars to motivate ya, and what sounds like a good home foundation. With that you can do anything...almost.

 

some days CANT HEAR CANT SEE CANT SHIT CANT PEE



TGF HAMB

 

Sometimes my wife is a pain in the ass. does that count?

seriously. Gout attacks, 3 hip surgeries leading to replacement at 31 years old, and wife's battle with breast cancer. And the occasional hangover.
Now the cars are my therapy.

 

Was in a nasty construction related fall in '04, broke both of my feet, ankels. legs and shattered one heel bone. Have all kinds of screws and plates holding me all together. The longer I am on my feet, the more pian I have in the morning. It sucks but I refuse to let it get in the way of playing with my kids or working on my cars. I am young (33) and do not take any pain meds, other than the occasional joint, becasue of the health risks that come with long term usage of pain meds. Some mornings it sucks and I have a hard time getting around, but that is the hand I was delt. Can't ask for a re-deal.

 

I understand what you mean. I've got the same thing. Crawling on a damp, cold garage floor takes the fun out of it. I'm 36ish now. Had it since 21 with pain on and off. I'm currently on Embrel. It works great. I'm 95% pain and stiffness free. It's been recently cleared by the FDA for AS. If you haven't discussed it with your dr's, I suggest talking to them about it or any other anti-TNF drug out there. I think Embrel has a program available to help with the costs if you don't have insurance.

I'd be in my garage now if the economy hasn't kicked me in the balls. I'm pain free enough now to work on a project. But, I have no money to own one. Such is life…

Here are some suggestions for your garage ailment:
1. I'm going to take up building 1:24/1:25 models instead. I've been too busy lately to start. But, I'm hoping it feeds the addiction instead and should be cheaper.

2. If you have a project in the garage, I suggest having friends work on it with you. Have them do the stuff you can't. You can live vicariously through them while standing next to them. Just be able to either have them do everything you tell them to do or just accept that they won't do it exactly like you would.

3. Some form of pyshical therapy will help loosen things up and reduce the pain. I found yoga to be very helpful too. It should be much cheaper if you don't have insurance. I told my yoga instructor about my arthritis and she focused on back and hip stretches.

 

After a bad motorcycle accident I have a bad back, neck, and shoulder. I just figure that I'm gonna be in pain whether I'm laying in bed or under the car and I don't want to give up any of my time here on earth. I'm only 33 years old and sometimes the fact that I'm gonna be in pain for the rest of my life gets to me but it is what it is.I'm not big on pills but I have found that a daily workout with 12 oz curls usually helps. Just keep plucking along brother.

 

Nice.

 

i like this topic in that i feel it's mostly psychological, not nessesarily physical and i will address it in more detail when i have more time.

In my case, it's not so much physical, but more so due to work scheduling, the cold(and it's pretty cold now here) and nosey neighbors.

In the meantime, lookup "tankman" on a search engine. This does it for me.

 

I think alot of us have to think of a way, and not an excuse. Stay busy on the computer, plan new projects, keep your mind busy, at least. When I was going through chemo, I would work on one of the cars for an hour, take a nap, then go back out. The day they unplugged me from the meds, we took off for the pileup. This wasn't easy, but one of the most fulfilling things in a long time. You have to keep your dreams alive. So what if it takes longer to do!

 

failing kidneys here. not a lot of pain but really saps energy, just do what you can when you can and make the best of it. getting motivated seems to be my biggest problem. have a garage with heat but always seem to wait till the cold weather breaks to start really working. I fid working alone boring unless it is something dritical then I prefer it

 

Almost everything I have is broke, and what ain't broke, don't work. Seven months ago I got hit by 18-wheeler, spun into oncoming traffic, and t-boned by an suv. I ended up with a major concussion from that, and I'm still not fully recovered from it. Farked my head up pretty good, and now I've got some lingering "issues". And now I'm hurtin' from two blown disks in my back. Been more-or-less confined to the house flat on my back since Dec. 9th. I want to get busy on some projects, but that ain't happening anytime soon I don't think. At least I'm still around, though.

 

A good friend of mine is in his mid fifties and is a diabetic, has carpal tunnel, chrohn's disease and arthritis. I feel for the guy since he has about 14 cars he has dreams of finishing. He is committed in getting them done along with I think 4 bikes. The medicine, cold and now a divorce slow him down a bit but he keeps going and doesn't complain. His ideas are great and I can really say that I respect his constant desire to do everything with one word in mind...craftsmanship. I know I would have probably started to sell stuff off or maybe given up, but I look up to guys like my buddy and all you other fellas who keep it going through rough times. You keep the hobby alive!!!

 

Thanks for the encouragement. I see a really good rheumatologist, one of the best in the country. I just got my first infusion of remicaid this week after dealing with it for six years. I was finally able to get into an assistance program from the drug maker. It's just that when a month's worth of medication is in the thousands of dollars, it's hard to come up with the 20% insurance won't pay.

In my case, physical therapy makes it worse. Swimming feels good, but I don't have a pool. Do you have any issues with the embrel? I had some pretty wild side effects after that first infusion of remicaid.

 

A 1988 encounter with a collapsing overhead industrial garage door almost put the lights out permanently. 3 1/2 years in the hospital and 7 brain, head, and back/spine operations followed by 1 1/2 years in a rehab facility to learn how to walk, dress myself, feed myself, write my name and recognize my wife when she walked into the room left me with the realization that life can throw you a curved ball just when you thought you were on course for a nice retirement. Now, 20 years later, I've finally pieced most of my past back together, have a nice home and shop and most important the same wife and God/Savior. Severe headaches still plague me but medication helps and every day is a blessing. Looking in the rearview mirror makes complaining about the weather or any number of trivial inconveniences seem petty.

Frank

 

45, have knee problems from an old injury that didn't get fixed until last year. Surgeon said he didn't know how I went fifteen years with my knee so screwed up. Now it's hurting again, guess I'm looking at the full ACl reconstruction. Yay.

Really minor-league shit compared to what some of your guys are dealing with, so maybe I should quit cryin.

 

Fellas, the bottom line is that we're all blessed to still be fuckin' with old cars and trucks. I appreciate everybody sharing their story. I know long term pain can be a tough thing mentally and physically. Keep your chin up and keep choppin' wood.

 

Some years ago I used to ride bicycles in some long distance events. In one such event I was riding up a 6.2 mile long hill outta Mexicali and was hatin' life, wondering whatever got into my head to even do such a crazy stunt. Just then I looked at the bike rider next to me and he was smilin' his fool head off...what in the world is this guy smilin' about, it was a grueling ride, hot and miserable and he's smilin'. Before I could say anything to him I looked down and saw that he only had ONE LEG...talk about one of those things that recalibrate your outlook on things! Today I don't bitch about aches or pains or anything else that may limit what I can do, I am thankful for what I have and what I can do with it. I never did talk to the one-legged guy...no need to, he said it all with just a smile.

 

I have an infusion of Immunogloben every six weeks. At 12 grand a pop I am real thankful for my insurance. My MG has a nasty side effect, when it flares up real bad it makes breathing extremely difficult as my diaphram stops working! Side warning for those not in the know: The government does not want you to know this but the flu shots they give can cause Auto immune disorders and neurological problems as well. That is what caused my MG! I will never take another one, I will take my chances with the flu.

 

my list of maladies:
Reynauds Syndrome - Blood vessels in my hands and feet are smaller than normal - in cold weather, your blood vessels contract to conserve body heat, for me, when they contract, I lose circulation very quickly. Inherited from my Mom(her finger nails actually begin to turn blue when the weather drops below 70 degrees) -of course, it seems ALL of my vehicles(and my roomates) seems to break down in winter, and I havent finished insulating the garage...what should take a couple of hours takes me a couple days when I have to constantly duck inside to warm up...
Carpal Tunnel, forced me to retire from Tattooing professionally, but I try not to let it bother me much, along with the various aches and pains from living rough in my youth.

and the biggie- Degenerative Lordosis(sometimes called swayback) combined with two compressed discs - my lower spine curves too far forward, and forces the muscles to stay in a tightly clenched position, resulting in severe back pains, sometimes completely debilatating. At 39, I've never been one to not do things myself, and more often than not, I end up overdoing things when I feel good, which in turn makes for a vicious cycle of pain and exercise and stretching...At this point, I cant walk for more than 100-200 feet before I start to get spasms in my back, go another couple hundred feet and I'm in tears, and would prefer death than take another step. Standing in place is worse - I can only take that for about 5 minutes before I'm seriously looking for something to sit on or prop myself up against.
I've been on fire, crushed bones, dislocated joints, had major lacerations, even been shot and stabbed, and nothing, NOTHING has ever stopped me dead in my tracks like the pain I get from this condition

 

I'm 46 1/2 and starting to feel the effects of age. Shoulder bursitis, elbow tendonitis, carpal tunnel, a bad knee, and my near vision is going fast.

After reading this thread I give thanks for how lucky I am and I send get well wishes to those worse off than myself.

 

I'm laying in a hospital bed right now getting chemo. That does interfere with my projects a bit. I find spending time here and on other boards does keep my interest up, and on those rare days I'm home and can work, I do get a little bit done. My planned 2010 projects are no longer expected to leave the shop till 2011 or later...

 

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... But I'm still young dealing with a rheumatological disease that makes it hard to get things done in a timely manner like I wish they could be...
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Ditto here. Weed or Vicoden don't help. I had a flare up ( worst I've had in 5 years) back in August that lasted into October. Major swelling in joints that makes it difficult to do much of anything. They drained 80 cc's of fluid from my knee in Sept. Steroids is the only thing that seems to help get under control. I take an anti-inflamotory regularly that keeps it managable most of the time. Doctor wants me to go back on a chemo type drug but I refuse to take them because of the side effects. It's easier to deal with a flare up every 6 to 10 months than the on going liver killing hung over feeling.

Stiil trying to get caught up on the outside projects around the house that I couldn't do in Aug/Sept but the weather has slowed then down considerably. Once these two outside projects are done, I can focus on the car projects..

I grew up in El Cajon. Man has that place changed in the last 20 years.

 

If I had one wish,it would be for all the pain ,cancer,diseases to go away so you all could go on with your lives.
I was having a bout with panic attacks,but it ain't shit compared to what I read here.I got nothing to complain about...........

 

all right jd 32 just like the sixties only more gooder

 

My back's been fucked up for years, broke it in 2000. Half a dozen operations later, it's fused and full of screws, rods, and cages, and I've got a morphine pump in my abdomen for the constant pain. I can do a little but I get tired easy - between the pain and the meds i'm lost most of the time - and a friend of mine wonders why I have 'mood swings' haha.

That's why I took up pinstriping again after a 20 year haitus, and it's really just a hobby - although I've had several cars I've striped in the magazines.

I still enjoy my 'projects' but only because I'm lucky enough to have a few freinds and clubmates to help me out.

 

Too well fed to fit under the car. Sometimes I have to crawl out and jack it up another couple inches. I blame my wife's german cooking, but she says I was like that when she met me.