Does Your Body Betray You?

Ah, Robert, the joys of carrying all of that gear around. :-)

My body no longer betrays me because I'm digital. Unless I loose my head or right arm, I'll keep on going.

I'm too physical, it gets me out of my head Roseann

Fingers crossed that it eases up for you.

Thanks..You know I had a really bad cold and I must have been in bed for ten days and my neck and shoulder never felt better but now that I'm back at it for over a week now it's coming back.. the pain that is

Hi Robert.. I have recently had to take a break from my main medium of stone sculpting due to sciatica.. I can no longer lift the heavy stone or move them around...and I can no longer sustain the position of leaning into the work.. so in my case, the answer to your question is surgery :o( I have to get a piece of one of my discs removed. I've been assured I will be able to return to my art when healed and that it wasn't the sculpting itself that caused the injury..so there is light at the end of the tunnel.
I think it's quite ironic that i have to have a bit of me "chipped away" so I can continue chipping away.. :-)

edit: The medication helps a lot!

Thanks Barry, surgery not an option for me, I have nerve damage from previous surgery that took some of my neck muscles .. I would destroy my life on narcotic pain killers so my own physical therapy is my option at this time...good luck with yours barry..do you think you are in here more because of your injury?

turmeric. sprinkle it over your food or in your coffee or get some capsules at the health food store. it cures almost everything. is wonderful for inflammation and for arthritis and all sorts of things.

Barry, good luck with your surgery when you have it. you will be better than ever afterwards. i've had four spinal surgeries over several years and i am as good as new. :)

Hi Robert,

So nice to see you around! Getting older is a huge proposition, but it doesn't bother me in general. I too, have been physical my whole life and now I can't keep up with my past standard of physicality, yet I'm happy. I feel really good in my skin these days, go figure…Be well, and happy!!! :-)

Thanks Carolyn. I've done that before ..I'll try it again ...

Hi Kelley, thanks.. I woke up this morning all anxious about not being able to keep up with all these younger painters out there that I follow on FB... some really good ones out there..

Sorry to hear about your limitations, Robert. I know them all too well. I've gone out and taken some photos that I wasn't happy with, only because it's hard for me to kneel or crouch. I decided I'm not going to put up with it, so I've been doing strength exercises. Strength training helps build bone, too. Getting and staying strong is a priority for me right now. I'm starting to feel like a new person! So much is said about aerobics, but aside from walking my dog, I'm not going to go running around, lol.

Sounds like you're doing all you can. Motrin helps if I get any aches, but only Motrin. Nothing else works for me. Good luck!

Thanks Patricia, I'm still out there doing it I just do it with pain.....I just started some really light dumbbell work out but still in the sore phase ...

Yoga.

Last week I loaded up the camera gear and the family for our annual pilgrimage to the Outer Banks in NC.

The first night there, I fell on the loose sand and tore my ACL in my knee. The week was an absolute bust! worst vacation ever!

I hike in some rigorous terrain alone sometimes. That could of happened miles away from help. It is making me realize my age and physical shape. It will be a long road to recovery physically and mentally.

If I want to pursue my photography in the future, I guess I will have to step back and get serious about my health. I weigh too much, drink too much, and have high blood pressure. A serious injury, even though not life threatening, is a definite eye opener!

-- Brad

RJ,

Enjoy the pain! How many years did it take to get this painfull? You have earned this pain,it is now you! It's like complaing about the gray in your beard! Learn to work with the pain as if it was a "tax" on your old age!!! LOL! As bad as today is, you may never feel "this good" ever again!!! I'm only talking about physical pain, not anything mental. This is the "new" you! Be proud and get your work done. Every pain, joint ache,etc., is a "notch" on your gun! Be proud!

I'm 65 now and in a few months, 66 and my physcial "self" has always been very important to me, part of my "ego", lift more,run further,work longer, but that was the younger Rich and the older Rich has come and taken his place. Almost 10 years ago, I injured myself, body surfing some big waves in New Jersey, shouldn't been out there and certainly not alone, in the storm surf, but the waves were "perfect"!!! An nice strong offshore breeze and you couldn't have kept me from the water. Anyway, big wave,shallow sandbar and a vertebrae and there you are. Lucky to be here. But those days are over. And thanks to Diclofenac, which is a strong Ibubrofen, I manage! Can't run or jog, but I can still get around. Having a pretty good time,learning about this new "Rich" and what he can and can't do! And waiting for the vote on medicinal herb here in Florida!

I think, most of the pain, is mental, in that it's a mind game, letting your mind tell you, you should still be able to do thsi or that and letting the mind win. Ego, of course pays a large role here to and the more "macho" the guy was, the more the mind plays that card.

So, it seems it's up to you! No whining, just wining...........

Good Luck,

Rich

"do you think you are in here more because of your injury"

Hell yeah!...lol.. I'm essentially immobile and stuck on this machine day and night for sanity. I try to look on the bright side of life tho..and it's only because of my injury that i discovered faa and it's fine community. I've also been forced to adapt artistically by returning to digital/graphic work and creative writing etc which was an old love of mine before sculpture.
I know what your saying re: meds.., I've developed a bit of a physical dependence to tramadol. Fortunately I'm in a position to ride this out until after the surgery without messing up my life anymore than it is already lol.. that's going to be one hell of a cold turkey when it comes though and I'm not looking forward to that!

edit: wishing they had the sense to allow medicinal herbs here in the UK too..but alas..

I do know some movements I should get back to Marlene.
Bradley, sorry to hear about the fall, lucky perhaps, time to listen ..Good luck healing..

Wow Thank You for those words of wisdom Rich, I hear you and I'm in the process of knowing the new me...Hey Scars are tattoos with better stories ...

I understand very well Robert. I had to swirch my career around quite drastically due to the inability of my physical being. It was hell. Right now I am surfacing out of the hell to a better place. The art form I do now is more suitable to my physical ability. However the reality of whats ahead is always considered. I may need to make more changes as I go. Its been said that Monet suffered from eye problems hence his work looked different. We all know Vangogh's work reflected much of his bodily turmoil. I wanna turn it to a positive

Good luck Barry and I think FAA is glad you found them too... keep us posted..yes herb is a god send... but I also noticed that hydrating well kills a lot of pain

Good Luck L C .. yes the magic synthesis is what we must do

Hello Robert I can relate , two heart attacks , several attempted stents, and one open heart surgery, but I stand every day , and say thank you.
In reality if we couldn't create then there would be no need to stand in the first place. So as you and all of us do; we get the juice from our creations , keep creating brother.

You too Michael ... thanks

Barry you can buy turmeric in the supermarket. its a spice. my sisters use it because i nagged them too.

I had picked up a kilo of white turmeric in Indonesia years back and would make a tea for compromised immune system and headaches..worked well I didn't die .can't get white here

oh i bet that really helped, Robert. i really find it helps. it even stops my bones from crunching. no, i can't find the white here. i get the organic one and it works well enough.

sometimes i can get the roots at wholefoods or the indian stores. it makes everything yellow and i've often wondered if i should paint with it.

Thanks Robert.. Kind words and advice. I do forget to drink water as much as i should..

Carolyn..I'm familiar with the benefits of Turmeric..and it is my favourite spice of them all for flavour too.. ;o) It is used as a fabric dye. Our good friend Mario sells it wholesale methinks...

I spend a lot less time in the field these days and a lot more time at the computer. I can't be outdoors as much because of vitiligo and another skin condition. So basically i am restricted to going out when the sun is not strong and there are no bugs since i don't heal well from bites. I had gained a lot of weight and also my joints hurt a lot. I joined a gym this year. I am in a program there called Silver Sneakers. It is for older people and we run in age from 45 to 95. 3 times a week I go there for an hour of moderate exercise and I am much better for it. I also hired a trainer for a month and worked on weights and machines to build muscle strength. I lost 30 pounds this year, dropped a few pant sizes and look and feel better. I have more flexibility and stamina in the field and it shows in my photography.

well done you, Bradford.

Mario, good idea. i shall ask him if he can get the white one. i'll look in the indian spice stores too. i bet they have it. :)

Thats Good to hear Bradford, bummer with the sun though.. I'm working in the bright clear dry New Mexican sunlight these days and that alone is taxing...

A natural remedy like turmeric sounds like a good way to go, you may be able to buy it in bulk on Ebay. I'm no youngster either, found myself suddenly hypoglycemic (headaches, nausia) about five weeks ago, sitting for too long of periods in front of the computer. I increased my walk/jog by ten minutes (30 min total) and now well. I'm with you Robert exercise is extremely important whatever you can do, do it!

I tripped over boxes of siding (house is getting a new skin) in the hardtop driveway when taking the dog out at night. Fell flat on my face hitting my knee cap that broke my fall, thought I might have to get a skin graft. I didn't go to the doctor, everything is healed now. I take calcium supplements, believe it kept me from shattering my kneecap, thankfully I'm still exercising. Calcium/magnesium supplements also gives a feeling of well being and supplies the sheath that covers nerve endings.

Suzanne, glad your fall wasn't more serious, it reminded me of a fall I took in the REI parking lot in Santa Fe last year, I had my new hiking boots in my arms and was practically running back to my truck to avoid a parking ticket, my toe caught a curb and I suddenly found myself flying forward through the air with this box in my arms, lucky old martial arts training kicked in, I tucked my shoulder and rolled out over the pavement springing back up into a standing position without a scratch, then other days I'll through my back out getting out of bed wrong..

Good for you Bradford, keep up the good work! It sounds as though you have already discovered the benefits of exercise with looking/feeling younger to boot! I'm the same, it takes getting your back up against the wall for most of us to exercise, the benefits are far reaching though. I'm also getting it more together with my diet, cooking with simple ingredients and no transfats for a healthier heart.

speaking of diet I sometimes find myself grazing to distract from the pain...

Wow, Robert I can picture you flying through the air, glad you had a good landing and could react with past exercise experience! I don't have any pain and I can identify with grazing, that's another reason I have to excercise, trying to burn calories.

RJ,

This is all new to ALL of us and just another part of this journey. Some of these journeys are long and some short, but they all have the same end point. What we do and how we enjoy these steps we take on these journeys, will determine how we enjoy transition.

Tying any physical ability to what you're doing as an artist, is wrong and bad energy. I can say that I'm certain, you are a better artist and a better man, now then 20-30 years ago and isn't that the right "yardstick" to use............

Way too deep for a Monday!

Rich

Suzanne, my dad was a baseball player and even in his 80's with cancer he never got hurt when he fell.... he knew how to.
Rich, I'll try to relax into it more..thanks

Yes...my body does betray me once in a while...but, the images I want to capture tend to require a hike or a good walk or 4-wheeler ride. :) So that alone helps keep me in shape...but I'm nowhere near the shape I was 20 years ago. :( Ugh!

Diane, I've been hiking for about two years now and not only find it visually and spiritually rewarding I find some of my hikes to be great adventures ... Did 7.6 miles yesterday with canyons and dessert trails and I'm beat today, thats why I started this thread... I would love to do El Camino someday..

Wow! Almost 8 miles! That's WAY more than I do at a time! LOL! That's awesome!

Practically the only time I'm at peace is when I am in nature.

Robert, It has not betrayed me yet, I have taken some precautions, for one I have quit smoking (cold turkey)some 3-4 packs a day and going on my 3rd year, so long as I remember that I am naturally aging and treat my my body accordingly their seems to be little problem, once I forget it quickly reminds me. I've seen the mention of turmeric which as mentioned is excellent for many ailments, India has a much lower documented case of cancer mainly attributed to the high consumption of turmeric. Their are actually three types of it all related, the white, black and yellow, studies have shown that the bright yellow turmeric have the highest amount of curcumin which is the active medicinal ingredient in it. The flavors for cooking due very as they are not all of the same plant but the same family of plants.

Diane, My partner Penny and I did a 17 mile loop in the grand canyon last year...it was awesome ..
Mario thanks for the info

going to a good chiropractor & / or acupuncturist works wonders for me..

Being a baseball player your Dad would know how to fall! I never thought how training could help. How cool, was he a professional player? His legacy of exercise was handed down to you! You are lean and your lifestyle shows.

I don't want to be the bearer of bad news but coffee may be causing some of peoples aches and pains. I have exhausted adrenals which have something to do with cleansing your body of toxins, it takes longer for my body to rid itself of them. I can look at the color and condition of my skin, ringing in my ears and know if a food has had a lot of insecticides and man-made fertilizers.

I know from experience, coffee (chocolate, commercially produced citrus) have a lot of chemicals in them. I just noticed today my joints no longer ache in the morning since I have cut way back on chocolate and coffee in the last couple of weeks (I buy organically grown oranges). Generally, arthritics don't get enough calcium. Organic coffee may be OK.

I stretch/do yoga for about 15 minutes every morning. I also hike and this summer added regular swimming to my exercise routine...it worked wonders for my knees especially.

I'm also a fan of turmeric!

I think we all feel pain in our bodies. In order to keep the aches and pains down, I have to get my Vitamin D, Tumeric and Magnesium. I walk, hike, do push-ups and yoga. I make myself do at least an hour or more daily. But because I also love to eat, I've noticed that a bad diet really causes me more problems than not exercising. I have to eat fresh veggies every day and water fasting about six hours is usually a good idea. Of course cutting down on wine and java is always a really good idea for me as well because I get gout from that kind of use.
Good luck to you, Robert James...you're like the rest of us.

Turmeric seems to be high recommendation ... Suzanne my dad played baseball through college but was a good all around athlete, hockey and dancer. .... How do you Take turmeric without getting yellow teeth. ?

Do a 5K, a two mile walk, 8 miles on my bike, strength training and swimming at the gym, Monday-Friday, rest and heal Sat/Sun. Have managed to aggravate every skiing injury I have ever had (was a bad..bad skier!) munted my knees, hips, back etc...Doc said everything ok..just don't go crazy...sometimes I think I slide into crazy..

Capsules or Rembrandt mouthwash which strengthens enamel with deep whitening agents. I have been using this product which seems to be effective and is inexpensive when compared to other whiteners, does double duty. The comments are running the gamete of subjects! Lol

I'm digital so the only time my body betrays me is when my damaged ribs hurt.

I haven't noticed that turmeric makes my teeth yellow but then again, I've only been eating it a lot for about a year. One other thing I do regularly is drink green smoothies...usually a blend of celery, cucumber, carrot, kale, spinach, some other greens like swiss chard, 1/2 avocado (makes it creamy), a few strawberries, lots of water, and more turmeric, of course!

Most likely - over the years - you have betrayed your body. Moderation in all things, a healthy food diet and exercise, and sleep. Yes, sometimes things happen which you have no control over - but when we are young - we are invincible - now in our later years - we find out we were not.

i've never noticed yellow teeth either. yellow fingers when i am cutting it up if i use the roots but my fingers are always covered in paint anyway.

Peggy that smoothie sounds good :)

Roy, i still think i'm invincible ;

My body is letting me down big time and like Barry was diagnosed with Sciatica, but now after 10 months I have discovered that I not only have an Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm,I also have a blocked artery right next to it,so not only can't I walk very far it appears I also have a creative blockage because I am going "Stir Crazy" awaiting the first of 2 operations, which will be a bypass operation which hopefully will give me my leg back.

Once I can walk again God willing,the brain will improve and the creative juices will flow once more I hope!

I wish you well for the future :)

I eat mostly vegan but giving up coffee maybe an issue, I only drink organic dark dark roast.... This morning we are trying to pick where to hike, Taos is heaven for hiking...I'm lucky..very very blessed..

Barry, good luck with the surgery, sorry to hear it is something you have to go through.

It too see the irony of the situation. Can we expect to see those "chips" show up here in a tiny, tiny little sculpture or worked somehow into a larger one?

There is an artistic challenge for you to ponder to take your mind off having to do the surgery.

Back to my body betraying me.

Yes it does.

Over every downhill, slippery, four foot putt on the 18th green when I was stupid enough to agree to double or nothing when I had them down by three holes. Every damn time it seems!!

Floyd... Thanks for the support. that is a great idea.. I must insist on keeping those little bits they remove from my spine and we'll see what I come up with :-)

I just started taking turmeric capsules so it will be a couple more weeks to see if anything changes. As I type this, I have an ice pack on my neck. Sitting at the computer too much has screwed up the muscles supporting my head.
My body definitely betrays me. I can't squat to take lower photos because my knees are shot. I have a congenital defect of my L4 that causes the disk below it to slip (I should have been 5'10" instead of 5'8") so I'm at the chiropractor's often.
I'm a smoker-I keep quitting then going back-so my lungs aren't great. And every time I quit, I gain 25-30 lbs so now I'm overweight. I go to the gym 2-3 times a week, including a session each week with a trainer, so I'd probably be in pretty bad shape if I didn't do that.
What gets me even more frustrated is that I don't look or mentally feel 60, but physically, I feel older.. Anyone who hears me tell my age is shocked; I don't even dye my hair-I have maybe 10 gray hairs in the front.
When I complained to my doctor about all these little annoyances and how I've never had them before, her reply was, "Well, you've never been this age before either." Sigh...

Yes! My body does betray me, consistently. I made very poor choices early in life and ended up divorced (abusive marriage) and raising my two sons alone. I devoted every moment to them. Did not remarry until they were grown. In those years, I worked jobs that took their toll on my body. I worked many years as a paint contractor for new construction homes. Much too hard for a young woman but the pay was the reason that I did it. I had to make enough to support my sons. Now, from my head to my toes hurt every day. I will try the turmeric, since I refuse to use medications. What I find that helps the most are several walks daily. This seems to loosen up all of the stiffness.

For the past 20 or 30 years I have had a few cocktails or glasses of wine every night until a weeks weeks ago when a 40-something friend died of liver failure. She did her share of drinking.

So I decided that my liver could probably use a rest and I quit. I thought I would miss it, as I did when I quit smoking years ago, but I haven't really missed it at all.

I would like to tell you how my whole world has changed since I quit drinking, but it was good before and it's good now, so all I can say is: I hope my liver is happy.

Looking forward to my 83rd birthday in November.

Robert, I'm with the yoga crowd here. I have arthritis in my neck and shoulders (seems like a lot of us on a computer a lot have that issue), and every night I do what's called an advanced plow position, where you lie flat on your back, bring your legs up, bend your knees and place your knees right next to your ears. It's the only way I can keep those ligaments stretched out so they don't hurt as much.

That and juicing. I swear I get a buzz from any juicing I do with spinach leaves.

I'm going to try the tumeric. I didn't know about that....will have to add that to my smoothies.

I went to yoga classes every day for about 10 years and I think it's the greatest.

Chuck! Good on you!

My grandmother lived to be 98 and every single night for the last 50 some odd years of her life she drank 2 oz of Mogen David red wine. Nothing else and never more and never less. An old country doctor told her to do this. (That doctor lived to be 101)

The funny thing was she was a total tea-toddler for all of her life. She would not allow any booze (other then the MD of course) into her house and that included all of the holidays where we all went for years.

I drank heavy for years. One day in my late 30's I just decided to pretty much quit. No real reason, just quit. Since that day I average maybe three drinks a month. Sometimes you have to have a drink just to be polite. Like a good friend of mine just turned 95 and he insisted I have a drink with him. Things like that. But other then that, I don't drink and I don't miss it.

Trivia: Mogen David is made from the same grapes that are used in Kosher wines, juices, jellies and preserves, not the normal grapes that are grown just for wine. It is thought or was thought back years ago to be a health drink by some doctors when used in moderation of course. Not sure if anyone still thinks that was beyond the idea that red wine is good for your heart.

So, maybe we should all be drinking Mogen David MD 20/20 and lacing it with turmeric! lol

Turmeric (in my experience) does help with "old bones" and their ways of getting even with us for past discretions ..... BUT ..... please be aware that one of the side effects is bleeding. If you are on a blood thinner, please consult your doctor before starting a turmeric regimen. Turmeric is known to reduce blood clotting so it could become a serious situation. There are a few other side effects but the slow clotting is definitely one to consider.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turmeric

Floyd, I agree. Every now and then I plan on having a drink with friends or on special occasions.

I never abused booze and I think one of the reasons is because my father ruined it for me by telling me as a teenager:

The liquor is down here. If you want to drink it, drink it. But don't go sneaking out on us and getting into trouble.

That and the fact that we lived in a dry county kept me sane.

I lift a LOT of wieghts, mostly so I can look half as in shape as you are.

MD 20/20.. It was a big seller among the youth of Scotland around 15-20 years back.. The Mogen David part of this was lost on me as they all referred to it as mad dog 20/20..lol This has now been replaced by another so called "tonic" by the name of Buckfast.. Made by the monks of Buckfast Abbey. It is "fortified" with loads of caffeine and it sends the kids crazy, although if it was used like Floyd's granny used the MD then I'm sure it would have health giving benefits. At the moment it is generally abused and only serves to keep the hospitals and police busy at the weekends.

Wow, Floyd, thanks for the tumeric link. I'm definitely going to get it now. I have several of the conditions it mentions in that article that it may help.

We killed ourselves today on the Yerda canyon trails near Taos Ski Village 10.5 miles 4000 foot elevation gain . I'm flat out ouch!

Tomorrow is spa day!

I eat a diet of mostly raw fruits and veggies although I did have a cinnamon roll this morning. I also walk an hour or two a day. My big motivation for staying in relatively decent shape is my love of travel to exotic places.

Good for you Robert, keep up the good work! I would love to see images of your trek in the Yerda Canyon. Do you carry a camera? It is exotic stuff for me here in VA.