Wearing out or rusting out
Living with arthritis and staying normal has been a life challenge since I was 30. What I learned long ago needs to be learned by all seniors. I am still in good condition according to my age. Most people my age have overdone and wore out at a fast pace and are in worse shape than I am. All seniors need to learn to pace themselves.
Most all of us need to pace ourselves for the distance. If you see your hand swelling and feel them hurting, do you just ignore it and keep doing what hurts, same with all other parts? If it hurts, I give it a rest. It works for me. I know people who do not and they already have replacement parts.I have no replacement parts and am not expecting any. If it hurts, I give it a rest. If it is rested, I give it some work. It works for me and others may also find that it works for them.
The body has a finite capacity, in spite of myths like age is only a number, and a wise person will adjust or wear out or rust out much faster than necessary. i hope this helps. Please let me know.
Yes rose , you are absolutely right ! I’m with you there , I have a friend who have had done so many operations ! If it hurts she just wants an operation ! Now she is in again this time for a knee reconstruction ! She had no cartilage left ,it was bone to bone and yet she was running on the treadmill because she doesn’t want to put weight on !
Imagine the damage she was causing to her knees and the excruciating pain she was in !
She even wanted to have a back operation and her specialist said NO …. That she may end up worse than before !
She tells me I’m a coward , but I say to her I will only have an operation if the doctors tell me that if I don’t I will die , in that case I might consider it !
I believe we need to accept that we are not in our twenties ,keep flexible and mobile it’s the best I’m aiming for …so far so good !
Nmod. I am glad you agree. We should all be afraid of surgery. Pain and incapacitation and complications and maybe death should be enough to make people want to avoid surgery if at all possible. People like to tell you and seem to be bragging to me it is not sensible. There are the others who give up, but they whine instead, and that is also not sensible and that is why I thought some of us could benefit from a discussion.It is not easy to balance but we need to try.
hi bloom i have rhematoid arthritis 13 yrs now my hands ans ankles are affected i have to inject every 2 weeks and when my feet start to ache i’ll stop sit where i can massage them a bit then carry on same with my wrists just massage them a bit it does help a bit but not a lot not much you can do really just get on with it i suppose
Dave, sorry and that rheumatoid arthritis needs antibiotics at times. I don,t have that kind. i do think that you need stay tuned to your own body and figure out what happens and when. Sometimes, it can just be a weather change, but if realize the cause, I can make adjustments or know when to expect a better day. There are support groups in many areas, you sound like you are confused and it is complicated. Thanks for your comment.
Completely right, Roseinbloom. I was told once that pain is the body’s way of telling you to “stop that”.
I have tried to follow that simple ruling and, like you, I can still get about and do anything I want to. Just not quite as fast as I could at 20, lol
Thanks waylander. i know I must be right when a man completely agrees. Some other people may feel the same way and it takes a confident man to “completely agree with a woman in my humble opinion..
Rose and most of the friends that agree with you that resting the hurting part is magical in relieving pain , I agree with you.I have not yet developed the pains and aches at a regular basis but I know from my profession that resting a hurting part of the body helps and when there’s need to do that, that is what I exactly do with very good results. Thanks Rose for sharing
Good blog rose, Having RA the only thing i do not attempt is heavy lifting other wise can mostly do what I used to be it in stages lol. like you giving the tired parts a rest when necessary is the way to go, thanks rose xxx
Skippy, sometimes I am taken unawares. I woke up one morning in terrible pain, then had to learn a lot about aggravating a rotaor cuff and cause and therapy. I just googled it and did my therapy and I am fine, but everyonce in a while, I’ll get a little problem. I got all upset some years ago, but now I just expect some trouble and don’t bother the doctors unless I am confused or needing medical intervention. Rheumatoid arthritis is different and may need antibiotics. I want to be sure you know that, but in most or all cases the pain has to be a heeded warning.Thank you for your comment.
thanks rose xxx
im not confused with it bloom i have it cant remove it just got to live with it
Very concise and perfect, but how you live with it is not that simple. You definitey have the right attitude, total acceptance.
I should imagine lots on here are feeling a bit warn, torn and rusty. I know I am. I wake up every morning and my mind is full of what I fancy doing and then I move and have to accept that the body is not willing. I could pop more pills and try but they scramble the brain so its easier to do stuff and when it starts to ache, rest and stretch and then do a bit more. So OK it takes 10 times as long to do stuff but its better than being so drugged up you can’t function anyway. However, I have also learned the hard way that if you do not use it ….you loose it. I am worse for loosing some muscle strength due to resting and giving into the intolerable pain. Do as much as you can but listen to your body as well. I would also say get your vit D levels checked as they are being blamed for many older person aches and pains and low levels were a major player in what happened to me.
MHB, Sharing these issues help us. My issues pale by comparison. I hope it helps you in some way. I think we all try harder to accept and adhust sensibly.