Health issues

Big-Un · Aug 13, 2016

I have noticed a few engravers here with some very serious health issues, me included, that keep on engraving, just learning to work around their condition. That indicates to me a love of the craft and the desire to creat beauty, in spite of the limitations of the old body. I get inspiration from those here that work through and around their issues and you all don't complain, just mention them once in awhile. We don't need to know all that ails us, but it does place us in excellent company.

Bill

JJ Roberts · Aug 13, 2016

Bill,My only problem is getting up every three hours to go the bathroom thanks to my prostate witch is cancer free,I have a good doctor who specialize's in the prostate,it's just something I have to live with.Heck I'm 77. J.J.

delder · Aug 13, 2016

It seems in life we are always preparing for the next step. We prepare for the next grade , prepare for college, for a career,for a family ,for that promotion, for retirement..... whoops....then what? Nothing to prepare for? I live in place where many retired people have settled. I hear it all the time." I'm bored. Got tired of playing golf.I watch too much TV. I wish I had a hobby ." There's not a day goes by that I'm not grateful to have engraving as my passion.Although, if you ask my wife, she may not be as grateful. LOL..... just kidding. Having sites like this one make it all that much easier and enjoyable. Thanks Sam and all my fellow engravers that have been willing to share.

Brian Marshall · Aug 13, 2016

Well, there is no "pension" for full time self-employed engravers - so unless you've been smart enough to put a sufficient amount away, you simply have to keep working. (There is an idea for the younger engravers to mull over, it may still be early enough to learn from some of our mistakes?)

Brian

silverchip · Aug 13, 2016

More of an indication that we should have gone on and gotten a degree in something more lucrative?!?!?!?!?!!

DakotaDocMartin · Aug 13, 2016

My wife keeps telling me nobody wants to hear it so... I don't mention it much. A handful of pills and a couple beers can work wonders however.

Dani Girl · Aug 14, 2016

Brian Marshall said:
Well, there is no "pension" for full time self-employed engravers - so unless you've been smart enough to put a sufficient amount away, you simply have to keep working. (There is an idea for the younger engravers to mull over, it may still be early enough to learn from some of our mistakes?)

Brian

Haha... spout all the wisdom you can cough up Brian, I'll soak it up like sunshine

diandwill · Aug 14, 2016

:banana:

DakotaDocMartin said:
My wife keeps telling me nobody wants to hear it so... I don't mention it much. A handful of pills and a couple beers can work wonders however.

I tend to go the other way, a handful of beers and a couple of pills!

The medicos have tried, w/o success, to get me on cholestreal lowering drugs. There can be serious side effects, and none have tried to address the issue through diet. None also are interested in what MY cholesteral numbers should be, not the ones off a chart. I liken it to the chart that grades a professional football player with 3% body fat, as being obese because of his height/weight ratio.

They did get me on blood thinners after a mild stroke 2 1/2 years ago. The side effects of those ar nasty as well (Tell your Dr if you have experienced death! LOL) I tapered off those and seem to be doing well. The stroke was caused by a surge in blood pressure caused by slipping on ice and catching myself, and I normally have low blood pressure. I do try hard to keep it that way.

Anyway, Best of Health to all!

monk · Aug 14, 2016

DakotaDocMartin said:
My wife keeps telling me nobody wants to hear it so... I don't mention it much. A handful of pills and a couple beers can work wonders however.

doc: forget pills-- too many side effects. beer--too much flatulence! scotch-- no known side effects if used in therapeutic dosage levels.

monk · Aug 14, 2016

Big-Un said:
I have noticed a few engravers here with some very serious health issues, me included, that keep on engraving, just learning to work around their condition. That indicates to me a love of the craft and the desire to creat beauty, in spite of the limitations of the old body. I get inspiration from those here that work through and around their issues and you all don't complain, just mention them once in awhile. We don't need to know all that ails us, but it does place us in excellent company.

Bill

for me, the greatest difficulty comes when telling old customers i no longer have the confidence to do certain types of work. i mainly hand engrave stuff of my own creation. if i screw it up, it's a minor problem.
luckily, for me, i do such a diversity of work, i'm still able to keep busy, tho not always what i really want to be doing.

diandwill · Aug 14, 2016

monk said:
doc: forget pills-- too many side effects. beer--too much flatulence! scotch-- no known side effects if used in therapeutic dosage levels.

My wife says NO to most therapeutic applications of Singlr Malt. It is why I have 2 un-opened bottles of Glenlivit and another half full one!

DakotaDocMartin · Aug 14, 2016

monk said:
doc: forget pills-- too many side effects. beer--too much flatulence! scotch-- no known side effects if used in therapeutic dosage levels.

I tried going without any pills but the high levels of burning nerve pain got me. It feels like my hands, arms, shoulders and neck are being boiled in hot oil down to the bone. 2700mg of Neurontin and 1200mg Ibuprofen per day cuts it down to where it's like a bad sunburn. I wish something could stop it entirely. The only thing the modern witch doctors suggest are injections into the nerve roots. NO WAY!

Big-Un · Aug 14, 2016

Brian Marshall said:
Well, there is no "pension" for full time self-employed engravers - so unless you've been smart enough to put a sufficient amount away, you simply have to keep working. (There is an idea for the younger engravers to mull over, it may still be early enough to learn from some of our mistakes?)

Brian

I learned a long time ago that if someone in their early twenties would save just 10% of what they earn every time and place it in an ordinary savings account, by the time they actually retire, at normal retirement age, they would be making the same income that they retired at for the rest of their life and never touch the principal. Of course, I didn't listen until later in life but even that late start was good. A little selective investing in growth plans help tremendously. So, start planning and saving now, 10% ain't much. I tithe more than that!

Dani Girl · Aug 15, 2016

At 25 I don't have much to contribute to this thread physically I'm doing alright so far except for some shoulder ligaments that ache some days more than others. I can get a few hours in at the bench before it gets too uncomfortable to work well. I try to put up with it most of the time and very rarely need to pop some pills for it.

It's good to know that we're never as alone as we may have thought we were with what we're going through, nice to see a thread like this.

Darrell · Aug 15, 2016

At 71, Looks like I joined the right crowd, and may fit in, with a herniated disc in lower back, had every known attempt to fix other than the knife, a hand full of Norko's and I'm good to go, just wind me up and good for a few hours. don't complain much, no one will listen, not even my Doc...................the JERK!. just wish my Enset will get here!

monk · Aug 15, 2016

DakotaDocMartin said:
I tried going without any pills but the high levels of burning nerve pain got me. It feels like my hands, arms, shoulders and neck are being boiled in hot oil down to the bone. 2700mg of Neurontin and 1200mg Ibuprofen per day cuts it down to where it's like a bad sunburn. I wish something could stop it entirely. The only thing the modern witch doctors suggest are injections into the nerve roots. NO WAY!

doc: i'm never against real progress, medical or otherwise. but, many of the "miracle cures" offered up by big pharma-- hell, the side effects are worse than the disease!! at least many of the older meds have few side effects, and seem much more safely used.

DakotaDocMartin · Aug 15, 2016

monk said:
doc: i'm never against real progress, medical or otherwise. but, many of the "miracle cures" offered up by big pharma-- hell, the side effects are worse than the disease!! at least many of the older meds have few side effects, and seem much more safely used.

Neurontin (Gabapentin) isn't a pain killer in the normal way of looking at it. It was actually developed for use as an anticonvulsant for people with epilepsy. It was discovered that it also lowers the burning neuropathic pain for people with diabetic neuropathy. My pain comes from a failed cervical spinal surgery at Mayo in Rochester. They partially paralyzed me. And, it was the head of the neurology department that did it besides! It lends credence to the adage "Those who can, do... those who can't... teach."

Big-Un · Aug 15, 2016

I've learned that doctors don't cure anything, just treat the symptoms, the way they're taught in school. I'm fortunate to have a doctor that prays with me every time I see him and also believes the patient has a right (no, obligation) to control his health program. He has no problem with me saying NO to certain medications, which I do often when studying the known side effects. We have friends that were so sick they could barely get around and when my doctor drastically cut their medication, they miraculously got better. They were over medicated, with one drug interfering with another creating the prescription for another drug to treat those symptoms, and on and on it went. I think most of us here are intelligent enough to recognize what our own bodies are telling us and not fall into the drug trap. Too much is worse than not enough. After all, most doctors are still "practicing!"

JJ Roberts · Aug 15, 2016

Bill,After talking other people about med's I think I'm darn luck to only having to take one blood pressure pill a day. J.J.

grumpyphil · Aug 15, 2016

There's a small percentage of health problems that are genetic but by far the biggest health issues in this country are smoking, obesity, addiction, and lack of exercise.
If you fall into those categories you have placed yourself at risk. Why expect a doctor to fix what you broke? Some may say that you can take care and still get cancer or some other dread disease and that's true but being lean and strong gives you a hellova lot better chances of survival should that happen.
You can dance around it all you want but if you willingly damage your own carcass you've got no one else to blame.

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