It's a bitch getting old...

[Lord Jim]

So about a month ago, I'm in the garage, (which like most San Franciscans, we use for storage) moving boxes around to pull out our Halloween decorations, and move our Christmas decorations to the front...

When all of a sudden I feel this pull in my left heel tendon...

And I knew immediately what it was; I'd done it before...

Running or playing tennis...not just moving boxes...

The pain isn't particularly excruciating; just annoying...just favor it for a couple of days, and it goes away...

But after a few days Lady Kelly is on my case to go to the doctor...which strikes me as ridiculous...

(I really think that men would die out as a sex if it weren't for women; being a man, my attitude towards any physical problem is "if you ignore it long enough it will go away"...and frankly, a lot of the time, that approach seems to work...but I digress...)

I'm not going to go to the doctor for a pulled heel tendon...(You'd have a hard time talking me into going to the doctor if I was having a massive stroke..."Hey, my right arm still works"...)

Give me a couple of days and I'll be right as rain...

But after a few days I was still hobbling and pretending that I wasn't, so we compromised and I agreed to call my doctor...

I refer to my Doctor as Doctor Vinny Boom Bah...(Old Rodney Dangerfield line...)

And he knows that's what I call him...(I've been going to him for nearly 20 years; he's got a Harvard MD, but he's a frustrated stand-up comedian...I can't imagine why we get along... )

So I call Dr. Vinny Boom Bah, and explain my situation....

And he says, "how long ago did it happen?"

And I say, "about two weeks ago"

And he asks, "are you in pain?"

And I say, "well not really in pain, it's just damn annoying; it's slowing me down..."

And then I asked him what I should do...

And he said:

"Do nothing. You can tape it up with an ace bandage, but at your age it's just going to take a while to heal"...

I took that opportunity to remind him that he's only a couple of years younger than I am, and then queried him on the meaning of "a while"....

And he said, "well at your age, (there's that 'your age' thing again) it could be a couple of months.... "

"A couple of months"? for an irritation that used to take a few days to clear up...

Sometimes I feel like the warranty's run out...

[Joe Guy]

You missed a perfect opportunity to get some good pain meds. On the minus side, drugs might cause you to develop some Asperger's symptoms when you post things here at Plan B so it's probably best if you live with your pain for a while.

[MajGenl.Meade]

[Big RR]

[wesw]

hahahahahahhahahaha....

[dales]

You missed a perfect opportunity to get some good pain meds. On the minus side, drugs might cause you to develop some Asperger's Arseberger's symptoms when you post things here at Plan B so it's probably best if you live with your pain for a while.

A better course of action would be to fire up a blunt.

[wesw]

must be nice to have enough weed to roll blunts...

...not that I would. Tops for me.....

[Long Run]

Well, be glad it was minor enough, apparently, to not need surgery. I guess you need to get a warm up routine down for moving boxes around in the garage.

[wesw]

yeah, after it heals you had better start stretching regularly....

[dales]

must be nice to have enough weed to roll blunts...

...not that I would. Tops for me.....

Legally in CA under prop 215, I can legally posses 1/2 lb!

[Lord Jim]

I can't hang around with you pot heads...

You're a bad influence on me...

[dales]

In that case, have a martini (shaken not stirred).

[Scooter]

I get this nagging twinge really low in my back, more like the top of my ass, at a spot just beside my spine. Nothing that will make me scream out loud, but it is constant because there is no position that gives me relief. Unlike some other back issues I have had, chiropractor doesn't help, pain meds alone are useless, the only thing that helps is taking a muscle relaxant like methocarbomol pretty much around the clock for days until it works itself out. Which in itself makes me too dopey to be functional for most of the day, can lead to a really black depression which is replaced by an anxious jumpiness when I stop them. My doctor says, "your discs are going to start wearing out at your age," (fuck him, he is at least five years older than me). Fuck me, my father started having disc problems at 50 or so, but that was after a lifetime of heavy manual labour beginning when he was 8 years old. What the hell is my excuse?

[Gob]

Glucosamine and Chondroitin Scoot? works for me.

[Scooter]

My doctor discouraged it because of a theoretical interaction with a common HIV drug which I take (the scheduling gymnastics I have to go through to take a fucking vitamin supplement - ¡ay!). Research to determine if said interaction actually exists has not been a priority, apparently, but as more HIV+ people age it will probably get on the radar, along with a laundry list of other "aging issues" that tend to hit HIV+ people earlier in life, even if otherwise in good health.

[Gob]

My doctor discouraged it because of a theoretical interaction with a common HIV drug which I take (the scheduling gymnastics I have to go through to take a fucking vitamin supplement - ¡ay!).

Dear god, that's a pain, (scuse pun.) Hard lines mate.

[Crackpot]

I make myself feel better bay finding young people and tell them what they're in for.

[MajGenl.Meade]

.
.
CP finds a young person:
.
.

[Guinevere]

This may make you feel better, LJ - It actually has very little to do with age. Achilles' tendon injuries are very difficult to treat and take a long time to heal because they tendon is very fibrous and tough and there isn't a lot of blood flow to the area (which helps with inflammation). I had an awful Achilles injury years ago, when I was racing - and even then, when I was in some of the best shape of my life and a bit younger, and getting regular treatment, it took a month plus to heal.

My best advice to get relief and "speed" the process is to find a chiropractor who practices ART (active release therapy, a type of myofascial massage and manipulation). And who may also give the tendon a little shock treatment. Those techniques all help stimulate blood flow and healing to the area.

[wesw]

find a good stretching regimen scooter.

proper stretching for back problems is yoga-like in many ways. the first stretch is to lay on your back and pull your knees to your chest. hold that for 15-20 seconds, and repeat 15-20 times

stretching the backs of your legs and stretching your ankles in all directions is extremely helpful. it stretches the muscles that contain the nerves, and stretches the nerves too, this allows a bit of slack where the disc is irritating the nerve and makes a big difference.

glucosamine and condroiten are good. and fish oil. get the expensive bands if you can take them. counterfeits abound.

stretching my thighs is hard for me, so I stand beside my kitchen counter and throw a leg up, and stretch them that way. with your leg up, you can stretch your ankle too, by simply moving your foot in all directions.

there is a type of tai chi for back problems too, I use some techniques from that too that I picked up on a PBS show, I can t remember the proper name tho....