for my fellow WPers who feel [or ARE] old and struggling

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Oh, thank you, Aunt Blabby.

Sometimes he gets depressed and says he's just a burden to me and I'd be better off without him. And I reply that he gives me a purpose in living.

Bea,
You're a gem! That post made my day.

I'm struggling but for a different reasons that were usually mentioned in this thread.



It wouldn't matter if I'm young and fit, blessed with lesser vulnerabilities.
Or if I'm old or feeling old and crippled, cursed with a lot of vulnerabilities.

From where I came from, having vulnerability is expensive.
Whether or not I need an aide, there won't be an aide. Unless I'm rich or very lucky.



In my own case, I'm in this weird see-saws of states that may never be solved without any aides.

I can be young and feel younger and blessed, or young and feel older and cursed at any given moment.

And I do not know why...
Somewhere, within this body's system, I'm not healthy.
Or just inanely sensitive and it frustrates me to not know where it's coming from.

If I speak of it, it's just dismissed as 'autism' or some feminine problem.

Or worse, at risk of misdiagnosis, further miscommunications and complications because people around me do not know any better.

... So... There is no aide here.
No available aide. I had to solve it alone.

I can't solve it alone.
I can't solve it with anyone clueless interfering and reacting and blow everything up. I don't own a room for myself for this.



If I'm feeling old and actually crippled and cursed all around... And if everyone knows...

They'll cage me with it. They'll react in the name of 'worry'...
I ought to be grateful, yet I never truly felt grateful. Only guilty. Or angry. Basically ungrateful.


And my worst problem in my whole life is having chronic sinus rhinitis.
Definitely a nothing compared to everyone's circumstances in life. Nothing.

I'm just a brat who's feeling very entitled not to suffer, by complaining about having 20+ year long sniffles that doesn't seem to go away, that gave me more trouble and embarrassment than autism or getting older ever did.

Gained Number Post Count (1).
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Lose more time here - Updates at least once a week.

i had chronic sinus issues also until i changed my diet. [got rid of refined carbs, basically]

sometimes you have to tell people, "i must take care of myself!"

Went to help the Boy Scouts with "Clean Up Day".
Got there late - Ryan one of the other dads got there about the same time.
Ryan noticed one of the log splitters wasn't in use so he asked and he and I were "volen-told" / given permission to split logs.
Scouts (youth) are not allowed to use power tools.
The entire point of a log splitter is to make smaller logs of big ones.
So the job: repeatedly pick up big logs (like the size of a trash can lid - about two or three feet long) about a foot off the ground and put them on the log splitter.
I did ok the first few - I am not in THAT bad physical condition. And Ryan was clearly heavier than me.
But half a giant log is still kind of big, and the pieces needed to be carried a few yards away so the Scouts could stack them.
Then my heart started pounding. So for Covid-19 I have been doing a lot of sitting and not much walking - which usually how I exercise. When I went to my work place I would go up and down 3 flights of stairs about 4 times a day and sometimes a few extra times. The last time my heart did this I was trying to show off some dancing - fast steps to Cotton Eyed Joe at a friend's 50th anniversary. The time before was on a bike trip with the Scouts when the leader told the scouts to "speed up if we wanted to get there before noon". It started pounding and wouldn't stop - I felt light headed. I had to tell Ryan I needed a break - this was embarrassing - Ryan wasn't even winded. Tried drinking water. I walked to a shady spot and eventually my heart slowed down to a dull roar. I stood up and felt light headed again. Gee I felt OLD. I never had any trouble with stamina when I was in college - or even when I was first married and my wife and I used to go dancing. If I just pushed myself I could always do it. Now - I - just - couldn't. How did Jack La Lane do it? I went and tried to find another adult to help Ryan. Nobody wanted to - one guy had already been spitting logs for a few hours and he decided he had put in his time. I drank some more water and then eventually I felt my body was co-operating. I used to have a bicycle in college I would ride everywhere. Never had any problems at all. Up and down some very steep hills. I went back to help Ryan and he let me operate the hydraulics while he hefted the logs up onto the I-Beam that was the splitter bed.

"What a Drag It is Getting Old".

Replies to Edna and Fenn

Re: chronic sinusitis - have you tried irrigation, such as with a neti pot or flushing system for nasal irrigation? Two different doctors recommended this, and after doing it a few months and then stopping, I've gone for years without any problems. You do need to use distilled water, or boiled tap water, to avoid pathogens that survive even in chlorinated water. The other thing to consider is it may be not food allergies but environmental allergies, such as pollens, dust mites, allergies to animal fur or feathers, mold, and so on. I take Zyrtec (cetirizine) for hay-fever (seasonal plant allergies) during the growing months but not during the winter.

Re: body not performing. Well, I've lost a lot of strength and stamina during the pandemic shutdown. I hope to restore functioning by resuming an exercise program, but it's much harder to do the older one gets. Muscle mass is simply lower! Our cardiovascular system may be compromised by plaque, etc. When doing volunteer work with the Boy Scouts, remind yourself that having a fatal heart attack in front of the boys will be traumatic, so don't let that happen! If you continue to have post-exertional symptoms, that don't resolve with gradual increase in exercise, see a doctor. You might have a condition that could be well managed with medication, but you don't know until you get assessed.

jack lalanne was a freak of nature.

I think I am just going to get that Jack LaLanne Juicer and that should fix me up

Didn't think I'd get folks trying to diagnose me - thanks to all who are concerned. It could be a side effect of some meds I take. Or caffeine. I may contact my doc and ask to have a stress test - I guess I am about due for one. If I do she will be sure to get after me about that colonoscopy I was supposed to get before covid-19 shut down here in the USA. I am a typical male - I don't like to go to the doctor and I don't like to go and get those tests the doc wants me to get. I guess I should "man up" and just get the tests like I am supposed to - as folks pointed out it is not only in my best interest in the interest of people I care about - the BSA troop and my family come to mind. I just don't like admitting that I am not 20 any more.
As for COVID-19 - I don't think that is the root cause. I am fully vaccinated and the symptoms have been happening over a 5 year period before and after (not during) the COVID-19 scare in the USA. 3 times in 5 to 10 years isn't that bad a record - I doubt I am going to keel over any moment now, but I should take care of my health instead of waiting for something to go kapow. I kept thinking about my dad - he has lots of issues of all different kinds. I guess now I know how he feels sometimes.

^^^i hope you never let your urine darken past pale, as kidney stones are no fun.

To my knowledge and based on known symptoms I have never had COVID-19. The odds of my getting it now that I am fully vaccinated are much lower than before I was fully vaccinated. Odds are not magic. There is always a chance but the odds are now very slim.