The Body as a Tool

[Pat]

Bird, The first few times I read the fine print on some of my mom's meds and then mine I got a chuckle. Constipation and diarrhea seem to be listed on nearly everything. You'd think it would ballance out!

Yeah, the list of possible side effects reads like the unedited version of the Egyptian Book of the Dead. Shortness of breath, dry eyes, excessive tears, shortness of pants, tight shoes, and on and on... Even my glaucoma meds can cause heavier eye lashes and darkening of your iris (haven't noticed either but the prospect makes my wife jealous.)

All the statins have a warning about the possibility of serious muscle damage. I too tend to find weight that others loose so I need all my muscles in fair shape to move me around. I didn't experience so much weakness as pain. Lower back pain, joint pain below the waste (didn't seem to effect joints above waste. Anyway I think I have one statin left to try. They work well on my cholesterol but as they begin to build up during the first couple months the side effects get pretty bad. Then the alternative drugs are well tolerated but way less effective.

There is a drug you may want to look at. It is Zetia and it isn't a statin and works differently. It works well in combination with statins. Some statins come with it added in. It worked very well in combo with a statin for me but the statin side effects got in the way.

Pat

[Pat]

Hey, Egon buddy, lets avoid the stiff and cold thing, they bury people like that.

The bike trip sounds like fun. A couple years ago my SIL took a bike and barge trip through Europe and had a great time. Recently she did a couple weeks in Ireland doing the off the beaten track ancient ruins and buildings thing. She was luck and didn't get rained out.

Pat

Pat

[egon]

Supposedly the bike trip was the first item on my retirement agenda. Southern Ireland, Wales up thru Scotland, over to Holland and then up the Rhine, down the Danu and then over to Greece.

The Danu part may still happen but the rest is doubtful. In any case there is still a choice of three different bicycles that were on the cutting edge of gear at one time. They worked well then so they should still suffice as I'm not on the cutting edge either. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Chances are a good trip like that would get the resting heart rate back to the low 50's and lower all that other good stuff. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Now if only there could be a six month stay in Weins and a winter in Zermatt worked in! [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Egon [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[Pat]

Then after the "ACTIVE" trip it shouldn't be too hard to consider a more sedate one, like Copper Canyon.

State of the art bikes are always very pricey. Cost per pound spirals ever upward at a tremendously accelerating rate. Titanium and graphite seem to be expensive when shaped into minimalist structures whose design maximizes stiffness for a given structural weight.

My wife's cousin has been INTO bikes for quite a while and has some that are so light that they nearly float away on a light breeze like down on a thistle. He has shown me one of his bikes that cost like a car. I was marginally impressed, it didn't have a kick stand, chain guard, streamers on the hand grips, brake lights, horn, reflectors on the spokes or... A new tire for it looked to be the size of an O ring and hardly had enough rubber in it to make a good sized pencil eraser.

Pat

[egon]

No Popsicle stick on the spokes either?

My bikes are not near that serious. Just good old chromoly, mid line shimano running gear and still got the rubber brake pads. No disks. No chain guards or fenders either. One hasn't got a kickstand and another does have full suspension. The streamers on the hand grips, er tape, have long since been replaced by mirrors or road scars. Two got fat tires and one has skinnier tires but no serious racing stuff. Got racks on the back for all and a set of racks for the front on one. Heck, still got one with downtube shifters. Still wish the other two had the original click shifters instead of all them triggers or twisting things.

Now all things considered one could go out and drop 4/5 thousand to lose a few bike pounds but heck, just loosin a few belt line pounds be much cheaper! [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

I surely would not mind several with titanium frames but that ain't a gonna happen. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

The boy racer wanna be days are 40 years ago! [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Egon [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[Pat]

Kevlar and carbon fiber are needed in some places as better than titanium. Side note: The best titanium working technology in the world used to be in (are you ready for this) Mother Russia in the manufacture of their boomers (missile subs) but the genie is out of the bottle and we have a handle on it now. You can't beat carbon fiber for stiffness per unit weight so it is THE material in some parts of the bike. I haven't tracked this for a while so nanotubes (another carbon technology superior to graphite fibers) may have become the pre-eminent bragging right in frame stiffening.

We too pedaled around on OLD technology, but not lately. We have a couple CHROMOLY mountain bikes that are nowhere near serious competition equipment but they got us up and back in the mountains. I could have used better brakes on some of my rapid descents. If you really get going and have to slow quickly you just melt the rubber pads.

I haven't had an honest to goodness "road bike" since my 3 speed English Racer in Jr high and high school. Had fenders too so I cold ride to school with wet roads. My wife bought a bike with automatic transmission about 7-8 years ago and the tires rotted off (figuratively speaking, actually just fell apart with age) with single digit miles on it. Like new but essentially unused. YOu know how it goes... you explain why it is a BAD IDEA but the advertising copy makes it sound like it is better than sliced bread but reality rapidly set in and it was set to one side.

Anybody want a bargain on a LIKE NEW bike with auto tranny??? I rode it a few blocks and it worked for me but I like MORE GEARS and manual shift.

Pat

[bobkrack]

I, too, at 64 see some of the symptoms you describe.
The "cold one" always seemed to help.

I took Prilosec for years (for acid reflux) and a friend mentioned his joints started aching after starting on the prilosec. I stopped and went to Prevacid (as prescribed by my Dr.) and MY joint aches went away.

Last year I underwent a gall bladder, pancreas, and liver surgery and most all of my "old age" symptoms are now gone ('ceptin' wanting to nap every afternoon!)

Now, I am unable to tolerate the "cold ones" nearly as well!

Bob

[jml755]

I'm behind you guys a few years (57) but I feel the aches/pains more than I used to. Can still take stairs 2 at a time (some days) and can still ski a "black diamond" (again, some days). I think the key is moderation and planning. I try to use leverage & tools and avoid giving it that extra "oomph" when something won't budge. I've strained my back and pulled muscles trying to do the "Superman" routine. As for the medication, I'm on beta-blockers, statins, diuretics and can't attribute any increase in aches/pains to them. In fact, I ran out of the beta-blocker one time and while waiting for the refill went 2 days without it. Felt like crap and thought I was having a heart attack. As for the statin (Zocor) it keeps my cholesterol lowered, which is a good thing. My doctor had me on several others that didn't work as well for me. I also don't drink alcohol very much. The statins can affect the liver and I figure it doesn't need the extra work. Eating in moderation, exercising in moderation (no marathons), drinking in moderation, I think those are the keys.

[Pat]

Moderation, What a concept. I think I heard about that once before. Maybe one day I will have to give it a try when I have time considering all the other things I have to do.

Unfortunately there are those among us (I apparently am one) who get symptoms of advanced age from statin drugs. Muscle and joint pain, especially the major back muscles. Right now I am running an experiment, in consultation with my doctor, to see how I do cholesterol wise with ZETIA and NIASPAN (statin alternatives.)

Moderation. Interesting concept. I tried patience once (ONCE!!) but it took to long to learn and I gave it up!

Pat

[egon]

The old tool took a kicking last week. Developed a kinda tender spot on the lower left side about Friday.

After cutting down a tree at my Daughters on Sunday it was kinda sore. Had a little trouble walking and felt like a dishrag that had seen its day. [img]/forums/images/icons/confused.gif[/img]

Monday morning about 6:30 took it down to the local repair shop for a look see. It took about 10 minutes to get it into some of them fancy designer clothes that tie in the back and onto the bed with a standby roller stand dripping stuff into the arm and watching the pretty colour patterns dance across the wall. Got to donate fluids for checking and then got taken up to the penthouse floor with a four room suite all to myself.

Turns out one of the diverticula on the descending colon was infected. I've had this condition before but not as severe.

Anyway, after no food for two days and some nice trip taking medication I was finally allowed a bowl of broth that may have been close to a bone but never had one dipped in it. The next day more of the same but some juice, jello and even a Popsicle were added. This morning was heaven, a bowl of gruel that contained at least two mouthfuls of blessed nourishment. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

And then I was allowed to go home and told to sit around for a week or so. Gee - can't mow the lawn! [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Now I did notice during my incarceration that all the muscle aches and pains disappeared and the blood pressure dropped right down to where it should be. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

It does sound like I may be recalled for a repair job at some time in the future. [img]/forums/images/icons/ooo.gif[/img]

Egon [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]