Gettin' Old Ain't for Sissies

And it is one of the few things I can take.  Both Advil and Aleve are contraindicated with some of my other meds.  At least my doctor does keep up with stuff like that. 

The temps have dropped, it's cold and damp, do you feel it in your bones?  My mother-in-law used to say if anyone lives in a cold climate long enough they will eventually develop arthritis.  That's probably the only time I quoted her, lol. 

Neely said:

 
The temps have dropped, it's cold and damp, do you feel it in your bones?  My mother-in-law used to say if anyone lives in a cold climate long enough they will eventually develop arthritis.  That's probably the only time I quoted her, lol. 

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Trust me, that happens in warmer climates, too!

Chilly and sunny today.  Same for tomorrow, they say, then WAY warmer and raining on Tuesday.  SIGH.

Mamanyt1953 said:

 

Neely said:

 
The temps have dropped, it's cold and damp, do you feel it in your bones?  My mother-in-law used to say if anyone lives in a cold climate long enough they will eventually develop arthritis.  That's probably the only time I quoted her, lol. 

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Trust me, that happens in warmer climates, too!

Chilly and sunny today.  Same for tomorrow, they say, then WAY warmer and raining on Tuesday.  SIGH.

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There are two kinds of arthritis; osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.  Osteoarthritis is caused by damage to the cartilage, which comes from injuries.  It's more common as we age because we tend to give ourselves very small, unnoticeable joint injuries frequently, and they can add up.  Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease.  Neither of them is caused by the weather, though frequent walking on ice can be a good way to injure your joints.  What does happen is that after you have arthritis, things like temperature and humidity changes and even more (in my experience) air pressure changes can cause the arthritis to "act up."

Contrary to common belief, osteoarthritis can improve.  That's what taking glucosamine and chondroitin is about -- giving the cartilage the building blocks it needs to repair itself.  When we bought our house in 1988 we made a point of getting a ranch style home so that I wouldn't need to climb stairs very often; my arthritis was a big problem back then.  Now it bothers me very seldom.  The FDA (or some government agency) says that glucosamine and chondroitin supplements aren't effective against arthritis.  I say that they seem to have worked for me, which is anecdotal and therefore doesn't count.  My cousin says "Well, you've lost a lot of weight.  Couldn't that be it?"  Yes, that could have something to do with it.  However, I had also begun to have arthritis in my fingers and that's gone as well.  And since I don't walk on my hands...

Weather here in Denver today is lovely.  Warm and sunny.  Unfortunately, it shouldn't be.  We've had so little snow that they're recommending we water our perrenials and trees, and wildfire season begins earlier and earlier every year.  And I can't just use the hose to water things; if I do it will put water in those outside pipes (that we have blown out professionally every autumn) and then when we get the freeze that I know is still coming we'll have burst pipes.  Also, if we get much more of this weather the trees will leaf out early and later in the month we'll have another branch-breaker of a blizzard, for the second year running.  We used to get these around one year in five.

Margret

Margret said:

 
There are two kinds of arthritis; osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.  Osteoarthritis is caused by damage to the cartilage, which comes from injuries.  It's more common as we age because we tend to give ourselves very small, unnoticeable joint injuries frequently, and they can add up.  Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease.  Neither of them is caused by the weather, though frequent walking on ice can be a good way to injure your joints.  What does happen is that after you have arthritis, things like temperature and humidity changes and even more (in my experience) air pressure changes can cause the arthritis to "act up."

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Shhhh, don't tell my mother-in-law, she never thinks she's wrong. 

Neely said:

 

Margret said:

 
There are two kinds of arthritis; osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.  Osteoarthritis is caused by damage to the cartilage, which comes from injuries.  It's more common as we age because we tend to give ourselves very small, unnoticeable joint injuries frequently, and they can add up.  Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease.  Neither of them is caused by the weather, though frequent walking on ice can be a good way to injure your joints.  What does happen is that after you have arthritis, things like temperature and humidity changes and even more (in my experience) air pressure changes can cause the arthritis to "act up."

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Shhhh, don't tell my mother-in-law, she never thinks she's wrong. 

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It shouldn't be a problem then.  In my experience, you can't really tell people like that anything and expect to be believed.

I have congenital anosmia (i.e. I was born with no sense of smell).  I once knew a guy who asserted with great certainty that if you can't smell them you can't taste the difference between an onion and a pear.  I happen to be an expert on what you can taste without a sense of smell, and I informed him that pears and onions taste nothing alike.  He wrote it off as a texture difference -- they didn't actually taste different to me, they just had a different mouth feel.  Trust me; they taste different.

Margret

Margret said:

It shouldn't be a problem then.  In my experience, you can't really tell people like that anything and expect to be believed.

I have congenital anosmia (i.e. I was born with no sense of smell).  I once knew a guy who asserted with great certainty that if you can't smell them you can't taste the difference between an onion and a pear.  I happen to be an expert on what you can taste without a sense of smell, and I informed him that pears and onions taste nothing alike.  He wrote it off as a texture difference -- they didn't actually taste different to me, they just had a different mouth feel.  Trust me; they taste different.

Margret

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For most people, taste and smell are tied. That's in fact how Jelly Bellies work, by using smell to trick the taste buds. I have had a few close relatives born without a sense of smell over at least four generations and the rest of us tend to have a complete divorce between smell and taste, we have no drop in taste when our noses are completely blocked.

arouetta said:

 

Margret said:

It shouldn't be a problem then.  In my experience, you can't really tell people like that anything and expect to be believed.

I have congenital anosmia (i.e. I was born with no sense of smell).  I once knew a guy who asserted with great certainty that if you can't smell them you can't taste the difference between an onion and a pear.  I happen to be an expert on what you can taste without a sense of smell, and I informed him that pears and onions taste nothing alike.  He wrote it off as a texture difference -- they didn't actually taste different to me, they just had a different mouth feel.  Trust me; they taste different.

Margret

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For most people, taste and smell are tied. That's in fact how Jelly Bellies work, by using smell to trick the taste buds. I have had a few close relatives born without a sense of smell over at least four generations and the rest of us tend to have a complete divorce between smell and taste, we have no drop in taste when our noses are completely blocked.

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Oh, yes; I'm aware of the connection.  He was just wrong about pears and onions.

Coffee tastes terrible, unless I doctor it with stevia and (sometimes) cashew milk.  That "rich flavor" that people talk about is all in the nose; without the fragrance, coffee is just bitter.

What I do miss out on are some of the nuances.  To me, most spices are just "hot," none of the subtle flavor effects that make people enjoy them.  Ah, well.  I've never had it, and probably never will.  In the grand scheme of things it's pretty much a minor disability.  There are plenty of other things that are much harder to cope with.

  Barely 5:00 and I'm already yawning over my keyboard.  I was up too early.  I'd better get busy with other tasks so I can head to bed early.

Margret

All I know is that if there are two kinds of arthritis, I have all three of them !

.

1CatOverTheLine said:

 
All I know is that if there are two kinds of arthritis, I have all three of them !

.

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Actually there is a third form, psoriatic arthritis.  It's a variation of psoriasis.  Most sufferers have psoriasis, the remainder have close family members with psoriasis.

Rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis are basically the immune system declaring war on the joints.  Osteoarthritis is the normal for most people.

Margret said:

 
Oh, yes; I'm aware of the connection.  He was just wrong about pears and onions.

Coffee tastes terrible, unless I doctor it with stevia and (sometimes) cashew milk.  That "rich flavor" that people talk about is all in the nose; without the fragrance, coffee is just bitter.

What I do miss out on are some of the nuances.  To me, most spices are just "hot," none of the subtle flavor effects that make people enjoy them.  Ah, well.  I've never had it, and probably never will.  In the grand scheme of things it's pretty much a minor disability.  There are plenty of other things that are much harder to cope with.

  Barely 5:00 and I'm already yawning over my keyboard.  I was up too early.  I'd better get busy with other tasks so I can head to bed early.

Margret

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LOL...when living with cats, sometimes a lack of or diminution of the sense of smell is a good thing.  Consider the cat fart.  Or, rather, you  don't have to consider it.   I have a bluntied sense of smell, and have had since a serious concussion years ago,  For a long time I had no sense of smell at all, although I would (and I know how strange this sounds) feel certain smells in my nose.  Hot parking lots and cars being the strongest.  I think one of the reasons that I love vanilla so much is that it is the first smell that came back to me.

I'm a little gouty today, but not badly.  How the HECK did I end up with gout?  All of my bloodwork was within normal range except my uric acid levels.  And those were only slightly elevated, but believe me, SLIGHT gout is plenty!

  I was just thinking to myself that I hate to get on here and gripe all the time, but...that's what this thread is for!  SILLY ME!  

Mamanyt1953 said:

 
I'm a little gouty today, but not badly.  How the HECK did I end up with gout?  

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You must be royalty, it's known as the disease of kings! 

I just found out that my friends husband who is 40 has bouts of gout.  While he does eat terrible, he doesn't drink.  I also know a few older people who have this.  I always thought it was a thing of the past.

I hope you're okay.

I know of a guy in his 20s with gout. He also has a horrible diet. Not sure about the drinking.

I really think mine might be linked to my adoration of the tomato in any and all forms.  I can eat a good, vine-ripened tomato like an apple.  One of my favorite quick meals is a grilled cheese and tomato sandwich.  And I eat pasta (whole wheat or vegetable, must be sensible here) at least 2 or three times a week  Sometimes with pesto (another favorite), but mostly with tomato sauce.  LOL...I've been known to skip the pasta and just eat a bowl of sauce, if I made it fresh!

Me...EVERY SINGLE MORNING...

Mamanyt1953 said:

 
I really think mine might be linked to my adoration of the tomato in any and all forms.  I can eat a good, vine-ripened tomato like an apple.  One of my favorite quick meals is a grilled cheese and tomato sandwich.  And I eat pasta (whole wheat or vegetable, must be sensible here) at least 2 or three times a week  Sometimes with pesto (another favorite), but mostly with tomato sauce.  LOL...I've been known to skip the pasta and just eat a bowl of sauce, if I made it fresh!

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We're from the same mold.  I made tomato sauce with diced and crushed tomato added sauteed onion, celery and eggplant and ate it like stew, topped with a little parm.

I suppose you can't eat citrus either? or is that a different acidic component.

HUH...I have no clue, mainly because I can so rarely afford citrus.  But I do drink my tea with lemon.  It doesn't seem to be a problem, but that's only half a cup to a gallon of tea.  LOL...other people pre-sweeten their tea..I pre-lemon mine!

I would think that citrus down south would be cheap.  I'm so lucky, my neighborhood has fruits and veggies for dirt cheap.  Interesting.

Oh, gout is definitely still around.  Roger was diagnosed when he was, what?, 23? 24? something like that.  And, while it may be related to diet it isn't caused by diet.  The body either just makes too much uric acid, or is unable to completely get rid of it.  There's a strong genetic component; Roger's father had it, too.  The reason it seems like an anachronism is that there are now effective drugs for it, so you don't frequently get people having huge gout attacks that last for months at a time and completely disable the patient.

Margret