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egon
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Embarrassment
06/25/08 05:37 AM
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Yesterday I installed a the window air conditioner for the summer. I'd got it to front steps and then had to carry it inside. Normally I use a plank and rug to slide it on. Yesterday a young fellow that was working on the roof next door suddenly appeared and asked if he could help. So we both grabbed a side, carried it in and placed it in the window. Took all of maybe three four minutes and all was done.
The embarrassing part is this young fellow could have easily lifted it himself with no trouble. It was almost as if I was in the way. Somewhere over the years I have left my strength behind?? 
Do any of you other seniors have this problem? 
Egon
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jml755
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Re: Embarrassment
[re: egon]
06/25/08 07:33 AM
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Yeah, I'm not that old (58) and it just happened yesterday at work. I wanted to move a small cardtable-sized lunch table out of the employee lunch room onto the shop floor about 50' feet away. It was kind of heavy but more awkward to move than anything else. I asked one of the welders to help me. He came over, we started to move it and he just said "here let me get it". He picked it up, turned it sideways and carried it out. 
I can't lift full cans of gas out of the back of the pickup over the side anymore with one hand. Stuff like that. Nowadays I think a lot before I just go snatch a toolbox or some other heavy object and fling it around.
Sometimes I can do it but I'll feel a muscle strain or snap and pay for it for days with lots of Advil and limping around.
I don't jump up on fences or equipment like I used to, either.
My FIL was always a strong guy who worked in a shop. It bugs him at 80 to know that he can't do stuff like he used to.
Bottom line is to keep active but warm those muscles up first. Getting out of bed too fast in the morning can pull a muscle for me. 
I know I'll never get the strength back, but at least I can stay moving. If I lay around too much, I'm afraid they'll bury me. LOL
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jimbrown
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Re: Embarrassment
[re: egon]
06/25/08 09:19 AM
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Yep every time I go and buy hay. Those guys pick up the bales and just throw em in the truck. I have to drag them out and use my tractor to move them.
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Bird
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Re: Embarrassment
[re: egon]
06/25/08 01:49 PM
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Not only a similar problem, but almost exact. I've removed and installed a few window unit air-conditioners in the past, but a couple of years ago when I put the 12,000 BTU unit in the shop, I did the framing and installed the case, but had to wait on a younger brother to come visit to help me lift the unit and put it in the case. And I recently had to move some folding tables. The largest one is something I can carry by myself, but it's tough. So I told my son-in-law to get one end and I'd get the other. Danged 39 year old kid said, "I'll get it", grabbed it in the middle and walked off with it like it was nothing.
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CJDave
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Re: Embarrassment
[re: egon]
06/30/08 01:48 PM
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 There was a 5 HP electric motor on the bench at my neighbor's shop not too long ago. All I did was pick it up and sort of shove it to the back part of the benchtop, and you'd have thought I tried to lift the back end of my pickup the way my lower back reacted the next day. I find that now that I'm sixty-five, WISDOM is more important than IMPULSE when it comes to lifting stuff around.  I see these reality shows where these young guys wrestle heavy stuff like crab pots and breakout tongs and I think: "Hmmmmm... I used to do stuff like that!" I would think absolutely nothing about loading a truck and trailer load of baled hay; catching the bales off the side conveyor that brought them up from the ground; with out so much as a stop-and-swig. 312 bales; all placed strategically so that they interlocked. I'm a firm believer in Chiropractic and as such keep my chassis in as good alignment as I can to prevent wear on my suspension. I've got a lot of miles on me so I'm careful to not let something run outa line for very long.
CJDave
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Pat
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Re: Embarrassment
[re: CJDave]
07/02/08 02:49 PM
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Gee, after reading this stuff I am starting to get concerned about how I will fare when I get old. It doesn't sound like very much fun.
I already have my small disappointments, now and then. Just today a buddy and I were trying to sneak up on a week old bull calf of his out in one of my pastures. I managed to get close enough to make a dive and grab a hind foot. I got a two handed grip on the right rear leg just above the hoof BUT the calf took off and dragged me and even trying as best I could the little thing pulled its leg away from my two handed "death grip." All I got for my effort was road rash on my left elbow, right through a long sleeved shirt.
Prior to this a few weeks ago we roped one and it was all the two of us could do to hold the rope. Had to get it tied off to a post in the barn before it got away. The two of us could barely hold him down long enough to tie its feet together.
I already have visions of cargo nets to yank up when the target animal walks across it.
I notice my grip is beginning to fail me. I used to be able to pick up a bathroom scale with both hands and slowly squeeze it till I maxed out at 300 lbs or more but those days seem to be gone.
Pat
"I'm not from your planet, monkey boy!"
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Bird
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Re: Embarrassment
[re: Pat]
07/02/08 03:56 PM
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Sure would have liked to see a video of you hanging onto that calf's leg. And it's been many years since I tried the trick with gripping the bathroom scales with 2 hands. Naturally, your post made me have to go try it again. I only got it to 120.
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JazzDad
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Re: Embarrassment
[re: Bird]
07/03/08 08:43 AM
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It's a pride thing. We think we have to be tough. But CJDave hit the nail on the head: as we get older we should get smarter. Why pull a muscle or permanently hurt yourself when you can ask for help? And if that younger guy still has to prove something, let him. But what if that youngun hurt himself? Hey, all you did was ask for help- not for him to be some glory seeker and do it alone.
I will gladly trade physical strength for brain power as the years go by. Then all can climb the mountain and seek out my wisdom. 
All kids are gifted; some just open their packages earlier than others.-Michael Carr
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egon
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Re: Embarrassment
[re: JazzDad]
07/03/08 10:37 AM
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But when you ain't got nothing to trade what then?? 
Egon
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Pat
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Re: Embarrassment
[re: Bird]
07/03/08 11:13 AM
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Bird, I guess it is a good thing that it is summer and not the middle of winter 'cause I might have said something about sticking your tongue to the pump handle!
I can still get the scales well over 200 (by squeezing) but if I want to get them to 250 I have to stand on them (unfortunately.)
I was not doing so good energy wise for a while. I could hardly do anything without huffing and puffing and I made lots of musical notes when I inhaled and exhaled. Went to family doctor who sent me to pulmonologist. I was on three meds including an inhaler twice a day. I tapered off as per instructions on the one med and stopped the second by instruction. Then on my own after I started to feel a lot better I cut the inhaler to once a day instead of twice and a week later stopped it altogether. I am pretty much OK now.
I didn't like the side effects listed for the inhaler: 1. glaucoma 2. death (in some cases)
My lung capacity tests said I had the lung capacity of a 120 year old. Then 6 weeks later I was 90% of normal and now even better. The return to normal has reduced my embarrassment regarding loss of physical capability but it still peeves me that I can't do what I did even 10 years ago.
Oh well, I'm glad to be above ground and still able to TRY to calf wrestle. I can still reach over the side of the pickup bed and yank out a 5 gal bucket of feed (only about 32 lbs) but I don't hold it out at arms length very long and thats for sure.
Pat
"I'm not from your planet, monkey boy!"
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Bird
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Re: Embarrassment
[re: Pat]
07/03/08 09:17 PM
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Pat, I do a lot of huffing and puffing myself if I do any work. However, my two brothers are 5 and 6 years younger than I. The younger of the two had his second little heart attack and a stint installed late last summer and the older of the two had a stint installed last month. I've never had an angiogram, stint, etc. so far.
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Pat
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Re: Embarrassment
[re: Bird]
07/04/08 07:06 AM
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Bird, My dad died at age 51 from a heart attack. I have been to the emergency ward with a suspected heart attack (it wasn't one) and now I know how to distinguish a severe heartburn/indigestion from a heart attack.
Take a good hit on a bottle of antacid or pop a couple Tums. Instant relief ensues if it is indigestion and no relief if it is your heart.
It is scary waking up in the middle of the night thinking you are having a heart attack when actually it is indigestion but you had never had the experience before and didn't know any better.
Well, there is good daylight now so I will be gone out to install a water trough and automatic float valve.
Pat
"I'm not from your planet, monkey boy!"
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Bird
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Re: Embarrassment
[re: Pat]
07/04/08 08:41 AM
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Gosh, Pat, another place we're much alike. In June, 1975, we were attending a Northwestern University Traffic Institute re-training seminar in Shreveport, LA, when I had a severe attack of chest pain, numbness in my jaw on the left side (in fact, the whole side of my face), and numbness in my left arm. So I got to the emergency room of a hospital and spent 20 hours flat of my back in a coronary care unit hooked up to all kinds of wires and tubes. The chest pains went away pretty soon and my personal diagnosis is that I hyperventilated. Anyway, after 20 hours my back hurt so bad, I told them that I was getting out of there, and did so. The doctors tried to convince my wife that I'd had a heart attack, gave us a bottle of nitro pills and said if I was going to insist on leaving, to get home and get checked out in Dallas. So several days later, in Dallas, I did a stress test and all that good stuff, and learned that I have a hiatal hernia. The doctor prescribed Gaviscon, which I used for a few months before quitting. Then for a long time, I took Alka-Seltzer every night before going to bed. I finally quit that, also. I learned many years ago that when I have an attack of severe chest pain, all I need is a couple of big swallows of a carbonated drink, I burp, and the pain is gone instantly. I never go anywhere (not even to the grocery store 2 miles away) without a 7-Up or Sprite in the car. I may need it 2 days in a row, or not need it for a month or more. It can happen while I'm sitting here at the computer, or wake me in the middle of the night; no identifiable pattern, it can happen anywhere and anytime, but relatively infrequently. It can be a terrific pain, but at least, I know what to do about it.
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Pat
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Re: Embarrassment
[re: Bird]
07/04/08 04:38 PM
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Bird, What size shoe do you wear? Just kidding, probably smaller than my size 13 but gee man, the similarities just go on and on and on. You got any relatives from Mississippi?
I have made two emergency rushes to the ER for "heart attacks" but now that I know how to disambiguate between a heart attack (never had one) and painful indigestion or the like, I can "FIX" the problem quickly with Mylanta, or tums or...
I have had it twice in a day or two days in a row but more likely go for months between incidents or clusters of incidents. I have heard all the suggestions about tilting the bed and taking Mylanta (or similar) as a preventative and such. Between events or clusters of events I typically do nothing. Sometimes I give myself heartburn from bouncing around in the tractor. I typically have a fanny pack and if not wearing it, take it with me like a purse. Among other "just in case" items like my .45 ACP "baby Glock", I carry a roll of Tums.
My family doctor is a fellow sufferer. He says if he gets up in the middle of the night to pee, (with no symptoms) he takes a small swig of Mylanta. If he has symptoms he takes a big swig.
Pat
"I'm not from your planet, monkey boy!"
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Bird
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Re: Embarrassment
[re: Pat]
07/04/08 04:59 PM
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I guess that's where the differences start, Pat. I just wear a 9 1/2 shoe and no relatives from Mississippi that I know of. And I just never did like Tums or Mylanta, although I have tried them and guess they worked to some extent. A 7-Up works better for me, although Cola or beer work just fine, too.
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Pat
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Re: Embarrassment
[re: Bird]
07/05/08 09:12 PM
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Bird, I sure don't like Mylanta's taste but it gives me INSTANT relief. Tums aren't too bad in the fruit flavors, give me pretty quick relief and they are very convenient to carry. I haven't have many episodes in the last year or so maybe 2-3 and a couple bonus sessions due to overly enthusiastic tractor work.
Pat
"I'm not from your planet, monkey boy!"
Edited by Pat (07/05/08 09:51 PM)
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egon
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Re: Embarrassment
[re: Pat]
07/06/08 05:23 AM
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I have always had acid indigestion. Several years ago I had the privilege of an endoscope which showed what the doctor referred to as Class Three type symptoms. He put me on a drug called Losec and all has been well since. Last year another endoscope and indications of great improvement.
Egon
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Bird
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Re: Embarrassment
[re: egon]
07/06/08 07:15 AM
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Egon, I wonder if your endoscope is the same as the esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) I had at the same time I had a colonoscopy on 4/17/08. The same doctor did the same procedure 5 years ago, said I had "two erosions at the EG junction less than 5mm in length which is consistent with LA grade esophagitis" (whatever that means). Anyway, he prescribed 40mg of Protonix daily, so I'm currently taking that. Now of course, he also told me it's the same as it was 5 years ago. In other words, it ain't gotten any better or any worse without the Protonix.
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Pat
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Re: Embarrassment
[re: egon]
07/06/08 09:26 AM
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Egon, I used to have a "cast iron" stomach. I could eat anything with no bad outcome except sometimes with really hot foods which could later make me wish I had followed up with ice cream (not stomach upset but later on.)
Now certain spicy things sometimes cause a little indigestion problem easily handled by antacids. The upset is not predictable as two or three times a certain spicy dish will cause no problem and then another time it will. I haven't noticed a pattern so I don't know why many times it will be OK and seemingly at random it will "get me." So long as it is easy to fix with antacids I don't worry about it.
Now then about aging and loss of brute strength and soreness from exertion... I hooked up a 150 gallon water tank to a hose and float valve. Stock were sort of tripping on the hose so I new I had to have a better situation. I picked up the side of the nearly full tank and dumped the water out. A full tank weighs well over 1200 lbs. I then set up the tank with one end (it is sort of oval shaped) against the well house and ran the hose through the wall where the stock could never step on it. I didn't use a level and GOT IT WRONG. Tank filled to the brim on the low side and when a cow got a drink water splashed over the low side. Didn't suit me to have that water wasting and super mud producing system so once again I grabbed the side of the tank and strained mightily to tip it enough to start pouring out water and eventually rolled the tank over emptying it completely.
A little FEL and shovel work interspersed with 4 ft spirit level checks and I got it right. This morning I notice more back pain than usual. I always have back pain but the degree changes depending on many variables. Apparently advancing age is one of the variables. Uh, maybe trying to lift a really heavy weight is one too.
Pat
"I'm not from your planet, monkey boy!"
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egon
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Re: Embarrassment
[re: Bird]
07/06/08 09:56 AM
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Chances are its about the same thing Bird with a little different terminology. All I know is that there were raw spots that disappeared after the six months of Losec.
The clonoscopy showed diverticulitis. Due to ongoing inflammations on the descending portion of the colon I had a bowel resection last winter. Still feel quite week after that and no endurance. This thing had been slowly dragging me down for about four to five years I figure.
Egon
Edited by egon (07/06/08 09:58 AM)
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Bird
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Re: Embarrassment
[re: egon]
07/06/08 12:53 PM
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Egon, I believe the couple of polyps I had removed in April was a lot easier on me than your bowel resection. Although on 5/29/08, I had a little rear end surgery that was probably just about as bad.
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JazzDad
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Re: Embarrassment
[re: Bird]
07/07/08 08:28 AM
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Hey, I stubbed my toe last month an it hurt really bad.
All kids are gifted; some just open their packages earlier than others.-Michael Carr
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Pat
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Re: Embarrassment
[re: JazzDad]
07/19/08 01:55 PM
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Yeah, and I got these really tight shoes!
"I'm not from your planet, monkey boy!"
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