A Happy New Year to my reader! Certainly to Roger, who I know is a reader due to the comments I get back.
2022 has been the year when my age (I'm 68 in March) has finally started to impinge on my activities. I've reached that stage when one starts discussing ailments with contemporaries.
It started with lower back pain, which I used to suffer from once or twice a year due to a displaced sacroiliac, but in 2022 it was almost constant and I can't recall a single day when I didn't have a twinge of back pain. It doesn't bode well for my plans to rebuild a Triumph GT6 I have my eyes on, as it's very low and requires several contortions to gain entry and exit.
The eyesight is nowhere near as good as it used to be and I'm now requiring a new prescription every year. Night time driving is a nightmare, as I can hardly discern the difference between the road and the verge on country roads and get blinded by oncoming traffic; however, the latter my possibly be due to the fact most cars now have halogen headlights, which blind you at the best of times.
Then the knee pains started in the latter half of 2022- first in my right knee, heralded by a clicking on descending a set of stairs. This rapidly transformed into acute pain when the knee was bent beyond a certain angle and subsequently migrated to my other knee, resulting in great difficulty going out for robust walks that involve steep inclines. Nor does this bode well for the GT6 mentioned above.
A recent X-ray diagnosed osteoarthritis of the knee, which will only get worse and likely result in replacement knees, unless medical science progresses fast to the stage where I can get injections of a new hydrogel, which is apparently stronger than human cartilage and eliminates the need for replacement knees for those with the condition. My brother, who is 10 years older than me, has already had 2 replacement knees.
The old stability has certainly taken a nose-dive. Climbing over things, such as country stiles, is infinitely more difficult, and I've occasionally felt myself off-balance even on the flat. As for putting on trousers and socks - that's now become a sitting down procedure, rather than balancing on one leg, and is probably due to a combination of the knees and poorer balance.
The bladder is becoming an embarrassment too, with frequent visits to the loo to deballast, possibly indicating prostate issues. I can't go out without knowing the location of every public convenience within a 1 mile radius.
The memory isn't what it used to be and I'm increasingly forgetting famous people's names and town names.
The most embarrassing thing, however, is the involuntary farts when coughing, laughing or simply bending over. I used to chuckle at older people who suffered in this manner, but I'm certainly not laughing now, just in case I fart.
At this rate it won't be long before I'm seen wearing those large, shapeless, nondescript jeans favoured by old blokes. Oh, and a nice cardigan. And, of course, I'll have to trawl the 2nd hand furniture shops for a Father Jack chair.
2 comments:
Oh no, sounds like a right pain in the ***! I get LBP also, light yoga/stretching every day seems to keep it mostly at bay for me, anyway, best of luck with the ailments and HNY!
I am sorry that be late with this email but I would like to wish you and yours a happy and healthy New Year. With regard to ailments: I am a little older than you, I turned 70 last October. One of the problems where I live is that’s it’s almost impossible to see a doctor. The local GP practices have all been taken over by an American company and most of the older practitioners have left and the practices are now classed as inadequate. If one has a minor ailment then because of the trouble needed to even get an appointment with a practice nurse then you don’t bother and the result is that the ailment takes hold and gets worse. I am fairly lucky, I have a bad knee resulting from an accident at work, severe tinnitus and a cough that recurs every time I get a cold.
My wife and I were poorly all through December with covid. I had worked as a volunteer vaccinator for a year and a half and thought that I had escaped catching it myself but it caught me off guard. I too have my eyesight checked every year and have to have new lenses. This year I am having my lens remade for the third time as they can’t get the prism right.
When you are 70 you will have to have a new driving licence. I applied to keep my C1 and D1 entitlement and I am still having to go for medical examinations! On the bright side, at least I am getting to see doctors :-)
Keep up the good work, I look in nearly every morning before I go to work. I am returning completely at the end of March.
Roger
Post a Comment