It Sucks Getting Old

[rostasi]

[John L]

[gvopedz]

12 hours ago, Chuck Nessa said:

My Coltrane experiences are similar to Bob Blumenthal Here!

Blumenthal’s comments reminded me of this comment in the Pittsburgh Courier regarding Coltrane’s performance at the June 1965 Pittsburgh Jazz Festival, “John Coltrane soaring toward a private ionosphere of expression and leaving many behind, though some followed his trajectory”

[Pim]

 

A message from one of the younger people on the forum here.

Still, this topic is just as relevant to me as it is to some of the older members. I’ve mentioned before that I’m really into sports. I used to do CrossFit four times a week, ran on the side, and was also training for Hyrox.

Since last December, almost everything has come to a standstill.

I got ill in December, and after that I started having muscle fasciculations. That sent me into the medical circuit, because muscle fasciculations can also be an early symptom of ALS. As you can imagine, that caused me a lot of stress for several months.

Thankfully, tests have now shown that it is not ALS, but benign fasciculation syndrome. It is incredibly annoying, but fortunately harmless. Basically, it means that your muscles randomly twitch or contract all the time.

Just when I thought I had finally got through that part, I injured my back during CrossFit while lifting a heavy sandbag. I’ve been dealing with that since March. It turns out there is a small tear in one of the discs in my lower back. But now, three months later, I’m still making very little progress. In fact, the pain has been getting worse over the past few weeks, and honestly, it is driving me completely mad.

I can’t sit properly, because that causes a lot of pain. So even simple things like reading or listening to music are no longer as enjoyable. I can’t really do anything in terms of sport either, while normally I was completely focused on training. Sport was probably one of the most important things in my life.

Now I can’t do anything.

I haven’t been able to do CrossFit for a while. Then I tried strength training, but that doesn’t work anymore either. Then I tried cycling, but now that seems impossible too. So walking was basically the only thing left. But recently I’ve also started getting pain on the outside of my foot and in my knee, probably because I’m moving differently due to the back pain. So now even walking is becoming difficult.

But I also can’t sit.

So basically, I spend the whole day feeling like I can’t do anything, while being in pain all day. It is honestly driving me insane.

Anyway, at the moment I don’t have much perspective that things are going to improve soon. I’m going on holiday soon, which should be nice, but everything becomes a lot less enjoyable when you have back pain all day.

I’m hoping to see my GP on Thursday and make a new plan of action. It was supposed to get better on its own, but that doesn’t really seem to be happening.

 

[Dub Modal]

5 minutes ago, Pim said:

 

A message from one of the younger people on the forum here.

Still, this topic is just as relevant to me as it is to some of the older members. I’ve mentioned before that I’m really into sports. I used to do CrossFit four times a week, ran on the side, and was also training for Hyrox.

Since last December, almost everything has come to a standstill.

I got ill in December, and after that I started having muscle fasciculations. That sent me into the medical circuit, because muscle fasciculations can also be an early symptom of ALS. As you can imagine, that caused me a lot of stress for several months.

Thankfully, tests have now shown that it is not ALS, but benign fasciculation syndrome. It is incredibly annoying, but fortunately harmless. Basically, it means that your muscles randomly twitch or contract all the time.

Just when I thought I had finally got through that part, I injured my back during CrossFit while lifting a heavy sandbag. I’ve been dealing with that since March. It turns out there is a small tear in one of the discs in my lower back. But now, three months later, I’m still making very little progress. In fact, the pain has been getting worse over the past few weeks, and honestly, it is driving me completely mad.

I can’t sit properly, because that causes a lot of pain. So even simple things like reading or listening to music are no longer as enjoyable. I can’t really do anything in terms of sport either, while normally I was completely focused on training. Sport was probably one of the most important things in my life.

Now I can’t do anything.

I haven’t been able to do CrossFit for a while. Then I tried strength training, but that doesn’t work anymore either. Then I tried cycling, but now that seems impossible too. So walking was basically the only thing left. But recently I’ve also started getting pain on the outside of my foot and in my knee, probably because I’m moving differently due to the back pain. So now even walking is becoming difficult.

But I also can’t sit.

So basically, I spend the whole day feeling like I can’t do anything, while being in pain all day. It is honestly driving me insane.

Anyway, at the moment I don’t have much perspective that things are going to improve soon. I’m going on holiday soon, which should be nice, but everything becomes a lot less enjoyable when you have back pain all day.

I’m hoping to see my GP on Thursday and make a new plan of action. It was supposed to get better on its own, but that doesn’t really seem to be happening.

 

sorry to hear what you've been going through. Pain sucks in general but back pain is about the worst, and disc tears aren't any fun either. I hope you're able to find some relief so you can get back to being as active as you want to be. 

[Dan Gould]

I hope you find relief Pim.

since my back issues have started (I don't think I mentioned that in June I had another muscle spasm in the same exact spot and can't even say what I did to cause it.  For other reasons I missed my scheduled appointment with my GP which couldn't be rescheduled until September but I plan to try to verify with him that this is purely muscular and not skeletal.  the location tells me muscular but who knows.

 

in the meantime I have stopped all exercise at least in part because I am very gun shy for something triggering the back.  Not at all conducive to weight regulation or general overall feeling.  I am thinking about restarting though because I can see changes I do not like.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

As I understand it, a torn disc in your spine will not heal. Rest will reduce the inflammation but no amount of rest will allow it to become whole again. Most everyone I've known with severe back pain from a torn disc needed surgery to repair the damage and that surgery could be as simple as cleaning it up but it could involve fusing the bones above and below the damaged disc.

I worked with a guy who suffered with this for many months, waiting for it to get better. Instead, one morning he found that he could not get out of bed. He had to call an ambulance. He went in for immediate spinal fusion surgery. He was out of work for several weeks and when he came back, it took him quite a while to get back up to speed.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

As for my latest "It sucks to get old story" - my cardiologist just told me that he expected I'll need a heart valve replaced in 5-6 years. Yippee! Apparently, I have a worsening heart murmur that indicates the valve is failing. He did say that they no longer have to cut you open (like they did to my mother). Instead, they run the new valve up an artery in your leg and snap the valve over the top of the old one using a procedure called transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR).

Needless to say, I've upped my vacation plans. Two more cruises this year (August & October) and another planned for next August.

[jlhoots]

8 hours ago, Pim said:

 

A message from one of the younger people on the forum here.

Still, this topic is just as relevant to me as it is to some of the older members. I’ve mentioned before that I’m really into sports. I used to do CrossFit four times a week, ran on the side, and was also training for Hyrox.

Since last December, almost everything has come to a standstill.

I got ill in December, and after that I started having muscle fasciculations. That sent me into the medical circuit, because muscle fasciculations can also be an early symptom of ALS. As you can imagine, that caused me a lot of stress for several months.

Thankfully, tests have now shown that it is not ALS, but benign fasciculation syndrome. It is incredibly annoying, but fortunately harmless. Basically, it means that your muscles randomly twitch or contract all the time.

Just when I thought I had finally got through that part, I injured my back during CrossFit while lifting a heavy sandbag. I’ve been dealing with that since March. It turns out there is a small tear in one of the discs in my lower back. But now, three months later, I’m still making very little progress. In fact, the pain has been getting worse over the past few weeks, and honestly, it is driving me completely mad.

I can’t sit properly, because that causes a lot of pain. So even simple things like reading or listening to music are no longer as enjoyable. I can’t really do anything in terms of sport either, while normally I was completely focused on training. Sport was probably one of the most important things in my life.

Now I can’t do anything.

I haven’t been able to do CrossFit for a while. Then I tried strength training, but that doesn’t work anymore either. Then I tried cycling, but now that seems impossible too. So walking was basically the only thing left. But recently I’ve also started getting pain on the outside of my foot and in my knee, probably because I’m moving differently due to the back pain. So now even walking is becoming difficult.

But I also can’t sit.

So basically, I spend the whole day feeling like I can’t do anything, while being in pain all day. It is honestly driving me insane.

Anyway, at the moment I don’t have much perspective that things are going to improve soon. I’m going on holiday soon, which should be nice, but everything becomes a lot less enjoyable when you have back pain all day.

I’m hoping to see my GP on Thursday and make a new plan of action. It was supposed to get better on its own, but that doesn’t really seem to be happening.

 

Physical therapy might be worth looking into.

[Niko]

8 hours ago, jlhoots said:

Physical therapy might be worth looking into.

my reaction as well, I had also some problems with one of the discs in my lower back, could only walk with considerable pain last summer... but the combination of physio and being patient has resolved most of it since the winter... regarding the practical side, I didn't know any of this, but it turned out my health insurance package had quite a bit of physio included - and it's one of the few things in Dutch healthcare where you can just go even without consulting the GP (within the limits of how many sessions your insurance package has)

Anyway, I wish you the best for your recovery!

Edited July 8 by Niko

[Pim]

 

Thanks, guys.

As for physiotherapists: I’ve been through about five or six of them in my life, and I honestly don’t think I’ve ever been properly or adequately helped by one for the injury I had at that particular moment. I’ve seen the same with people in my environment who never benefitted from them. 

I have an appointment with my GP tomorrow, and I expect I’ll probably be referred again. But I’m really going to discuss with her that I need a physiotherapist who actually looks at the whole picture, rather than someone who just presses on one painful spot for a bit and gives me three exercises I could have found through ChatGPT myself.

Hopefully, that will give me a real chance to recover.

Edited July 8 by Pim

[Rabshakeh]

I am really sorry to hear this Pim. 

[Kevin Bresnahan]

39 minutes ago, Pim said:

 

Thanks, guys.

As for physiotherapists: I’ve been through about five or six of them in my life, and I honestly don’t think I’ve ever been properly or adequately helped by one for the injury I had at that particular moment. I’ve seen the same with people in my environment who never benefitted from them. 

I have an appointment with my GP tomorrow, and I expect I’ll probably be referred again. But I’m really going to discuss with her that I need a physiotherapist who actually looks at the whole picture, rather than someone who just presses on one painful spot for a bit and gives me three exercises I could have found through ChatGPT myself.

Hopefully, that will give me a real chance to recover.

My wife has had similar interactions, especially when she's referred simply for insurance purposes when she should have had an MRI or other diagnostic services instead of trying to "fix" the problem with physical therapy.

Every insurance we've had recently insists on sending her to physical therapy even though she knows it won't work. They've referred her to physical therapy for the same issue 3 times already and yet they act like it's "new" every time it acts up on her. It's very frustrating. She knows she needs a knee replacement but they think a shot of cortisone and physical therapy will make her good as new.

[jlhoots]

1 hour ago, Kevin Bresnahan said:

My wife has had similar interactions, especially when she's referred simply for insurance purposes when she should have had an MRI or other diagnostic services instead of trying to "fix" the problem with physical therapy.

Every insurance we've had recently insists on sending her to physical therapy even though she knows it won't work. They've referred her to physical therapy for the same issue 3 times already and yet they act like it's "new" every time it acts up on her. It's very frustrating. She knows she needs a knee replacement but they think a shot of cortisone and physical therapy will make her good as new.

My wife has had the opposite experience. Her PT has been very helpful & has prevented much more invasive approaches. Perhaps it's the therapist that makes the difference or the nature of her problems. 

[Kevin Bresnahan]

25 minutes ago, jlhoots said:

My wife has had the opposite experience. Her PT has been very helpful & has prevented much more invasive approaches. Perhaps it's the therapist that makes the difference or the nature of her problems. 

I'm sure it has helped tons of people. That is not what I'm saying.

My wife has been having hip & knee problems that doctors try to diagnose with an MRI and had the insurance company refuse to cover it until she has undergone 20 rounds of physical therapy. For her hip, when the finally said PT wasn't working and did an MRI, they discovered that all 3 of her hamstrings were torn so PT would never have helped her, so all it did was cause her to be in pain for another two months & then she had to have surgery to repair the torn ligaments.

My brother recently went through the exact same thing with his neck. PT for several weeks before they would do an MRI. Luckily for him, his neck injury did not require surgery but it certainly seemed like a waste of time & money to send him to PT all those times when an MRI would have figured it out pretty quickly.

[jlhoots]

I'm sure you've heard of surgical "failures" too. "One size fits all" doesn't work either. Glad your wife's hamstring repairs were successful.

We have lots of friends that have had back surgeries, knee replacements, etc., etc. Some are better. some aren't.

 

[Kevin Bresnahan]

41 minutes ago, jlhoots said:

I'm sure you've heard of surgical "failures" too. "One size fits all" doesn't work either. Glad your wife's hamstring repairs were successful.

We have lots of friends that have had back surgeries, knee replacements, etc., etc. Some are better. some aren't.

 

Back surgeries seem to be very hit or miss. I know a few people who had successful back surgeries and several where it made things worse. My late uncle had spinal fusion and he still had days where he could not get out of bed as any movement at all caused intense pain.

Most people I know who have had knee & hip replacements seem to have done well afterward. I knew one woman whose knee replacement failed and after 6 more surgeries on it, was still unable to bend it enough to walk without a walker.

[jlhoots]

1 hour ago, Kevin Bresnahan said:

Back surgeries seem to be very hit or miss. I know a few people who had successful back surgeries and several where it made things worse. My late uncle had spinal fusion and he still had days where he could not get out of bed as any movement at all caused intense pain.

Most people I know who have had knee & hip replacements seem to have done well afterward. I knew one woman whose knee replacement failed and after 6 more surgeries on it, was still unable to bend it enough to walk without a walker.

Hips seem to do better than knees.

[rostasi]

A friend of mine had the misfortune of being one of Dr. Death's patients.

[Dan Gould]

14 hours ago, rostasi said:

A friend of mine had the misfortune of being one of Dr. Death's patients.

One of the ones who died at his incompetence or made horribly worse off than he had been? I watched a multi-part documentary about that guy, a sociopath for sure. 

[rostasi]

57 minutes ago, Dan Gould said:

One of the ones who died at his incompetence or made horribly worse off than he had been? I watched a multi-part documentary about that guy, a sociopath for sure. 

Barry's in bad shape. For years, we used to meet for lunch at least three times a week.

[Dan Gould]

3 hours ago, rostasi said:

Barry's in bad shape. For years, we used to meet for lunch at least three times a week.

Horrible.

the protection this guy got from the state and his employers was especially terrible.

[Dub Modal]

3 hours ago, rostasi said:

Barry's in bad shape. For years, we used to meet for lunch at least three times a week.

That's awful. There's no amount of money that would make living like that tolerable. I hope at some point he's able to find something that works to really manage that pain so he can increasingly lead a normal life. 

I worked at a med-mal company for a long time and this case is truly heartbreaking and infuriating at the same time.  The physicians who recommended him or covered for him, suckering patients into these procedures, should have faced severe consequences as well - beyond civil verdicts.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

Wait a minute… I had Dr. Death as my cancer surgeon! There’s more than one?

https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/dover-doctor-manslaughter-sentencing/3715566/?amp=1

He was a world-renowned robotic surgeon. People came from around the world to have his hands on the joysticks of the DaVinci robot.

[Dan Gould]

12 minutes ago, Kevin Bresnahan said:

Wait a minute… I had Dr. Death as my cancer surgeon! There’s more than one?

https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/dover-doctor-manslaughter-sentencing/3715566/?amp=1

He was a world-renowned robotic surgeon. People came from around the world to have his hands on the joysticks of the DaVinci robot.

that's crazy (especially that he didn't get convicted on murder charges) but the guy we were discussing took medical malpractice to the criminal realm.  Drug addicted, sociopath, believed he was the greatest surgeon and was in reality the worst imaginable.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

13 minutes ago, Dan Gould said:

that's crazy (especially that he didn't get convicted on murder charges) but the guy we were discussing took medical malpractice to the criminal realm.  Drug addicted, sociopath, believed he was the greatest surgeon and was in reality the worst imaginable.

I meant it almost jokingly but I didn't add any emojis because neither doctor's story is funny at all.