This Danged Growing Older Thing!

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So a few years ago, it was bifocals. Now, for the second time after an x-ray, I heard the A word.

Arthritis. So.

On the one hand, at least I know what is causing this new, unwelcome pain.

On the other, it’s chronic. I gotta learn to live with it.

On the one hand, I also have arthritis in my shoulder, and after some therapy, I have learned to live with the pain, and most of the time, to avoid experiencing it in the first place. When the pain strikes, I know what to do.

On the other hand, in order to get to that point, I gotta have that therapy. For which I must wait.

In the meantime, it’ll take gentle back stretches, heat packs, anti-inflammatories, and time. Oh, and Aspercream. I may also look into tai chi.

There are some other things that might be contributing to this issue, one that can be somewhat controlled with diet (and which I manage to control most of the time) and the other which may be fixable with surgery. Maybe in the next year. Not now. I’ll try the therapy first.

So, now that I know what’s going on, and now that I know that the painful act of sitting is not actually causing any damage (even though it feels like it is), I am going to attempt to resume my usual activities. And, with a little discipline, I hope for that to mean that I resume a more regular blogging schedule. 🙂

5 thoughts on “This Danged Growing Older Thing!”

  1. I forgot my new What I’m Reading Now feature! I’m reading Wedding Bells, Magic Spells by Lisa Shearin. It is off to its usual solid start, with some nice backstory to reassure me that I have not missed a book, as I thought I had.

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  2. I don’t know if it works for arthritis, but I use arnica oil for my carpal tunnel syndrome, and it helps a little. It’s not a wonder cure or anything, but it does help. And I’m a writer, not a medical expert, but it’s something my massage therapist recommended a few years ago. I hope you get some relief. Chronic pain is awful. Hopefully you can find a combination of medicine and alternative therapies that works.

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    • I have not heard of it, but I will try it. And I’ll throw a tip right back at you. I had carpal tunnel for years and it finally went away when I went back to playing the piano. I don’t even play regularly anymore, but my hands still do not hurt. I asked a friend who was a therapist about it, and he agreed that the octave stretches were what helped, and he taught me some other stretches. So try searching for hand stretches on youtube. I bet someone has posted them.

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