It sucks growing old

W. Kevin Vicklund · #402

Finally got my appointment to see the neurologist scheduled.

March

Freakin'

3rd

June bug · #403

That’s awful. I’m so sorry, WK.

#404

My 9-year-old grandson needed a referral to a specialist last month. Four months.

jez · #405

I called to get an appointment for my annual squish (mammogram for the men folk). When scheduling called, the place I typically go to doesn't have any openings until February. And well.... (gross girly stuff under spoiler)

► Show Spoiler

She checked other breast centers near me and one has an opening on Friday. Yay! So, going for the squish.

#406

To the tune of ‘thanks for the memories’

Thanks for the mammogram
The left one and the right
You squished them really tight!
But now I know that I’m ok
And I can sleep tonight, so…
Thanks for the mammogram.

#407

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyl ... rove-yours

Can you stand on one leg for 10 seconds? Why balance could be a matter of life and death – and how to improve yours

Until we start to lose our balance, we barely notice that it’s there at all. “It starts for a lot of people with simple stuff,” says Dr Anna Lowe, an expert on healthy ageing and physical activity. “Maybe you used to be able to quickly stand on one leg to put a shoe on, and you’ve stopped doing that at some point. Maybe you used to get out of the bath on to a slippery floor without thinking, and now you have to hold on to something. It’s easy to either miss the signs or just put it down to ageing – but it really is something you can affect.”

The key, it is increasingly becoming clear, is to address the decline before it gets serious: and that can happen earlier than you might think.

What is balance? Perhaps surprisingly, those who deal with it have struggled to settle on a single definition. Technically, it’s the complex interaction of several different systems in your body – from muscles, nerves, eyesight and the inner ear to the sensory system that lets you recognise where your body is touching the ground, along with movement receptors within your joints that tell you where your body is in space. It’s not something we’re born with, but also it’s not something we learn in the same way as speech – not quite a sense or a skill, but an ability that we gain early and lose over time.

Most simply, balance is often defined as the ability to distribute your bodyweight over your base of support – a definition that muddles up movement and physical ability with what other people think of as innate. George Locker, a long-term practitioner of tai chi and the author of Falling Is Not An Option, suggests that we think of balance as the thing that lets you learn how to ride a bike after your first few hours of falling off. He describes it as “the rapid and automatic response by your postural muscles to the sensation of imbalance”. Or thinking of balance as something you build, and then something you have – not something you do.

Whatever your definition, a lack of balance is, globally, associated with serious health problems. Earlier this year, the British Journal of Sports Medicine published the results of a decade-long study involving more than 1,700 middle-aged participants, which concluded that an inability to balance was associated with an almost twofold increase in risk of death. Among other health tests, volunteers were asked to stand on one leg with their other leg pressed against it, arms by their sides, eyes fixed straight ahead. After accounting for age, sex and underlying conditions, an inability to hold the position for 10 seconds – given three attempts – was associated with an 84% heightened risk of death from any cause.

Roughly one in five participants failed to pass the test, a percentage that rose in tandem with age – more than one in three (37%) failed between ages 66 and 70. Other studies have made similar connections, with the ability to rise from the floor to a standing position, balance with one eye closed or simply walk at a brisk pace all tied to longevity.

#408

Good luck, jez. Also, too loved the "thanks for the mammograms! At 4' 11 1/2" tall, getting tested is a real "stretch" for me!

Annrc · #409

, Jez. This is so hard.

And, thanks, Andy for the balance article. Last year I was sent for pt by the neurosurgeon. I have fused vertebrae with bone on bone and disintegration of the vertebrae above and below the fusion. When I first visited the pt I could not do simple balance exercises. I was amazed. I can now easily do all the balance exercises and will keep doing these exercises as long as I am able. Due to increased pain and lack of sleep, which affected my memory (early Alzheimers?), i was back at the neurologist this year. After two months of experimenting with pain pills, the neurologist finally sent me to a pain management specialist, who, after performing an ablation, sent me back for more pt. The exercises given to me are amazing and totally different than the balance exercises given to me last year. The new exercises, in addition to the ablation and the balance exercises I learned last year, have allowed me to be almost totally pain free. Plus, my memory is recovering!

Hope this helps someone. I could have avoided several years of pain with the new regimen I am on. Balance is so important. Keep on keeping on. Don’t give up.

jez · #410

I have had balance issues since 1999. Turns out a small rupture in my eardrums when I had an ear infection led to my inner ear getting messed up. Left me with what the doc called bilateral persistent vertigo.

It has slowly gotten better over the years, but my sense of balance will never be the same.

Glad the PT is working out for you!

Life is a Tilt-A-Whirl!

mojosapien · #411

During my 2nd colo in the requisite 10 years, I was fed 100 mcg of the F-word thru IV and some stuff called Versed.
The final report is yet to arrive, but the good doctor's camera was able to bypass any suspected brain tissue that he may have come across.

In other words, except for that I need to watch the diverticulosis; I have a clean one.
Take that; John Harvey Kellogg be damned!

The Road to Wellville.

Lani · #412

Next week I'm having an infusion to improve bone strength. I stopped eating when I had covid and still am not interested in eating. Weighing in at 99. down from 120. Almost no clothes fit me. I'm about to take my clothes to consignments. Sigh. I really love some of my clothing. Meanwhile, it's hard to find 0 Petite.

W. Kevin Vicklund · #413

W. Kevin Vicklund wrote: ↑Tue Nov 01, 2022 3:02 pm Finally got my appointment to see the neurologist scheduled.

March

Freakin'

3rd

They had a cancellation! Appointment at 9:20 am tomorrow morning. Dr. Vicklund will be thrilled to find out when she finally wakes up. Also she'll be just thrilled to find out she has to get up early tomorrow. She didn't wake up until 4 pm yesterday, and today looks to be similar.

p0rtia · #414

#415

W. Kevin Vicklund wrote: ↑Thu Nov 03, 2022 1:47 pm They had a cancellation! Appointment at 9:20 am tomorrow morning. Dr. Vicklund will be thrilled to find out when she finally wakes up. Also she'll be just thrilled to find out she has to get up early tomorrow. She didn't wake up until 4 pm yesterday, and today looks to be similar.

Congrats!

#416

W. Kevin Vicklund · #417

Guess who has

and clearance to drive?

jemcanada2 · #418

#419

OK, nice, W. Kevin.

#420

W. Kevin Vicklund · #421

It seems it was just my blood sugar getting out of whack. I'm going to get a follow-up EEG, but if that turns out fine, I'm good to go as long as I keep an eye on things.

#422

W. Kevin Vicklund wrote: ↑Fri Nov 04, 2022 4:42 pm It seems it was just my blood sugar getting out of whack. I'm going to get a follow-up EEG, but if that turns out fine, I'm good to go as long as I keep an eye on things.

I'll insert a plug here for Abbott's FreeStyle Libre glucose sensors to easily keep track of your blood sugar levels.

W. Kevin Vicklund · #423

Yep, got that (not sure the same model, but definitely an Abbott FreeStyle)

#424

#425

: download (7).jpeg (16.86 KiB) Viewed 467 times

Freestyle Libre made me think of Nacho Libre!