I've got some spine issues that have been fuggin me up the last few years. Spine surgeries, etc. It affects my left arm and hand pretty bad and I'm in pain 24:7. In process of putting a water pump on the flattie and yesterday was tough. After about two hours I had to stop cause I couldn't even hold a wrench with my left hand, it was cramped up like a claw, lol. Still, gotta persevere. Anyone else work through health issues and give up the body for the love of the wrench?
Yup. My left arm and hand as well. Blast injury overseas scrambled my brain, turned my neck into a maraca, and I also fractured a thoracic vertebrae. Three of the four fingers on my left hand (I'm left handed) have no feeling in them, so wrenches and small parts get dropped all over the shop. A full day in the shop on a big job usually puts me down for a few days. Twenty minute jobs take an hour. Working over my head dead arms me sometimes. But, I stay away from the heavy pain meds and just press on. Through it all though, I'm just glad I'm still alive to hurt. You know?
Yeah, I don't pain med any more either. Went through a time addicted to vicodin and finally scrapped that. Ended up drinking a bottle of jack Daniel's every day and finally scrapped that too. Now like you I just deal, maybe an advil now and then. I didn't suffer anything like you, but yes, I'm happy to be able to do what I can, and realize daily that many folks have it much much worse. I had a cousin with muscular distrophy, spent his short life in a motorized wheelchair. Never heard him complain once all the years I knew him. Had a job, an apartment, and faced things I can't even imagine.
Proud of the both of you for pushing on with your hobby and passions through all of the pain. Don't be ashamed or afraid to ask for help when you need to. Hopefully there are friends or family close by to lend a helping hand...........Don.
Yup, couple ruptured discs with resulting muscle atrophy set me back. Lots of inflammation leading to pain. Lets not forget the arthritis in the thumbs either. I do what i can whenever i can now. Tried opioids and kratom. Didn’t particularly like either for very long. Now ibuprofen, herbal anti inflammatories and the occasional bromo (baking soda and water) to neutralize the acids help more than the scrips. I use an inversion teeter thing as well. Try taking breaks before it gets bad. Then go again. Really depends on what your condition is from. But neck surgery, like any surgery, can go well of bad. Nerve damage can be a complication. Had similar with numbness in my left thumb and forefinger with atrophy of the left arm and upper back. Cervical traction and neck positioning helped, but it took years to stabilize.
I have four fused in my neck , two herniated in lower back , CHF from a years worth of chemo and radiation treatments , three types of arthritis. But it’s all good it could be worse , the good Lord has given 28 years when Doctors told me I had 20% chance of living 5 years . Everything I do including breathing hurts , I refuse to give in and stop having fun ! It may take longer today , but slow and steady will win the race ! Be thankful for this great country and all we have , it could be gone before the sun sets .
I turn 45 in a week or so...but I have arthritis like a pro. I eat pretty well, take naproxen (Aleve) not every day but maybe 3x a week and try to stay limber. But last weekend, for instance, my brother and I lowered his late-model truck. No lift, concrete floor. 4 hours of up n down. I hurt for 3 days. Can't wait until I get really old!
What i have found as i age and deteriorate is that i do less physical work. When i do do a lot of work i build up lactic acid to the point that i just feel like i can not move or think from the overall pain. Baking soda (Teaspoon) and water seems to act to neutralize the acid and I feel much better within 20 min. +-. For a while there was a big movement on taking your pH., as the thought was people were gettin either too acid or basic from their daily habits. Adjusting to neutral was what was recommended.
Carpal Tunnel in both hands is the main issue for me. Dropping shit left and right as my hands are either numb or hurting like hell. I manage to push through taking breaks as needed, but after a big project my hands are f'd up for a week and will drive me crazy trying to sleep as the pain gets worse laying down. Bodywork.... forget about it, no way in hell theyll cooperate for repetetive motion like that without severe pain. Im all approved for surgery if these Covid restrictions ever let up.
Yep, me too, I think what separates us is the fact that I refuse to give in. I was in the hospital today for shots to control an infection, got home, changed the battery on my tractor, turned my bandage black, and mowed the lawn. I have friends who don't do much cause it hurts, I watch them getting older by the minute. I refuse to participate, and I really gotta be immobile before I'll give in, but it does happen, otherwise I keep on keepin on. Attitude gets me through the day.
@trollst, you got it right man. My Dad would wrench all day with me even fighting stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Dude would change his own oil, then drive himself 4 hours to Houston for treatments never a complaint. Check your attitude, put some tunes on and get the damn job done.
At least we are doing something productive. Think of all the guys who wore out their bodies with sports things. I have a neighbor forty-five years old who's had two knee replacements. Until that happened, he was so proud of running five to ten miles every day. He's been pretty quiet about that of late. jack vines
Interesting anecdotal evidence of the power of the mind. All pain is felt in the brain. All people have varying degrees of the perception of pain that are physically based. The phrase “thick skin” is apt. Some people actually feel less pain under the same conditions as other people. But, you can train yourself to endure or ignore the pain. We normally have an avoidance reaction to pain because of the fear of it causing physical damage. In some chronic conditions it is JUST pain, where no physical damage is being done. It might be easier to try and ignore this pain with that knowledge.
Peter, I have this conversation all the time with my wife, she's the " its too hot-too cold" kinda person, I've worked outside all my life. I tell her, the guys that don't last on the job are the ones who can't ignore the temperature because they're cold or hot. The guys who do last are mentally tougher, they know its cold and focus on the job, likewise for aches and pains, we all got them, but how you handle it determines how your day will go.
Not to diminish anyone’s suffering here, I have subscribed to the British stiff upper lip approach. Sort of a never give up philosophy. Up in the AM, shit, shower, shave, get dressed and look as normal as possible to feel better. Read a study the other day on phys.org confirming that forced smiling will change the way you think and feel. It was focused on smiling and proved that people actually felt happier after. So, the body can change the way we feel. (Anyone with chronic pain can tell you that you should stay away from them on bad pain days) Can the way we feel change the body ? I would say yes. For me, when i am happy and positive i am able to carry on with greater ease and i experience less pain.
Guys, I feel your pain! I have 7 fused vertebrae in my neck from 5 years ago, going in for surgery this Thursday to get 3 more fused in my lower back. Supposedly a 3 month recovery time, but will get back to it as soon as I can safely work on my car. Plans are to change out the entire front end this winter, paint the body black, and straighten out some wiring issues. I have never let the pain control my life...
Hurt my back in an auto accident in 1963. Worked thru it for 53+ years even being a lineman for a time. Now at 76 it takes longer to get up after being under a car. I even get a little light headed. Doctor told me to get up slowly, he knows I won’t quit doing my own stuff. Fingers cramp up every so often and I know I need to drink more water...no need to speak of 10-15 bathroom breaks a day.. I do like a nap in the afternoon more than I used too.
You guys make me feel like a real pussy when I complain. Got my share of stuff, but I refuse to quit working on the stuff I love. Y'all inspire me. Had a bicycle wreck 8 days ago, hit the ground hard just below my left knee with every one of my 215 pounds, within 15 minutes my knee wouldn't move. Toughed it out for a few days, finally went to the doc 2 days ago. Once I found out he wasn't gonna amputate or put me out of my misery, my attitude changed to "fuck it". If I know it isn't going to kill me, I'll try to ignore it.. But some of you guys? Y'all are some tough guys.
Most of us tough it out for a decade or more before it gets to be to much. Tomorrow I will be a week out of major back surgery. Let me tell you, it sucks big time! All I care about now is being able to drive the T by next season...
Feel better bud. Spine surgery SUX. If you need the car to stretch her legs, I'll take her out for ya! Lol...
That sounds exactly like what I have going on but they haven't reached any diagnosis with me so until the docs do, I get to live with it. I can put a socket on my socket wrench. I cannot take a socket off my socket wrench. My work rate has slowed somehow.
Same here, tore spinal cord and ruptured 4 disc at work 20 + years ago. Lost 50% or so of the feeling on my right side and after the first surgery I had a series of strokes due to a spinal leak they missed the first time in there. Along with dealing with the results of my accident I lost my drivers license for 1 1/2 years because of the strokes. Like some in the thread I've dealt with Vicodin and other meds and even today I still take 2 a day. What turned things around for me is swimming. Starting out barely able to do one lap, now 20 years later swim 3 miles a day. It's the only time my pain is down to a 2 or 3, I'm addicted to swimming instead of taking 24 Vicodin a day although I take 2 of them right before I get in the water. I do enjoy a glass of whiskey every night though. I feel your pain guys, but for me it could have been worse. Dr. told my wife after the first time they went in my spine if I had been hurt 10 years earlier I wouldn't be walking out. That was in '96. I'm very lucky in many ways.
I cannot take a socket off my socket wrench. [/QUOTE] I only buy the ones with push button. I need to squeeze the socket with one hand, hold the ratchet in the other, and hit the ratchet handle in the middle on the vice or edge of my bench...
I always say that too, could be worse. I had one male cousin my age, born with Muscular Distrophy. Was only supposed to live to be 20 or so. Made it to 35, was in a powered wheelchair by age 10 or so, but had his own place, and a job at the airplane museum. Knew everything about airplanes. I never heard that kid complain once in 35 years of knowing him. Not once.
It took about 5 minutes for a dr to "diagnose" my Carpal Tunnel then another really short visit w the surgeon for him to confirm and setup surgery. Perhaps another dr will be able to get you some help, seriously they seemed to have mine figured out in no time at all. For anyone else dealing w CT I will say wear supportive wrist braces when working and sleeping. That will help keep flare ups down and help you get some rest.
I feel all of your pain. I also have had back surgery. Have any of you lost feeling in your feet? From the ball of my feet to the toes, mostly nothing. And boy does that suck when you run into the leg of the bed and barely feel anything, even tho there are things damaged down there. And balance is affected in me as I can't feel the big toes most of all. I guess I should have listened to my mother when she said "Take care of your back!".
I chopped wood Saturday...(I'm an axe guy....no chainsaw for me). I'm still sore. Guess I need to do it more often.
Like most other old farts (I'm 82 ) I have a variety of problems but the recent Covid 19 virus got me. I'm recovering nicely but I am not sure how much exertion I will be able to do. It attacks the lungs and breathing is a problem. Breathing is highly under rated believe me. I will be back to my current project RPU and hope all goes well. Good luck to those of you with with serious problems.
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