No one’s going to take care of you.
I don’t want to get all HIPAA non-compliant on a Thursday but I have my share of health problems, some earned, some inherited and some just bad luck I guess. And not to bore you with them but they’ve started to really impact my life and the enjoyment of it. The thing is up until now I’ve pretty much ignored them.
Sure, I’ve made some attempts in the past few years to fix some of these. Heck, I’ve even managed to sustain those attempts for weeks, months even! But, unfortunately I’ve always reverted back to the “ignore it and it will go away” philosophy. I think the term my friend Stacey the Physician’s Assistant used was non-compliant. She sort of hinted that my doctor might actually fire me. I can’t really say that I would blame him if he did.
Over the years I’ve lost track of the number of meds he’s prescribed that I’ve either never took or took for a month or so and then trashed. I’m probably responsible for all these “super” bugs that people get that are resistant to antibiotics. I just hate taking pills. And here’s my jam, here’s what I tell myself ‘I’ll change the way I live/eat/exercise (or really don’t exercise) so I don’t need the pill.’ Hogwash! Most people just do what they do and I’m no different I’m afraid. So how am I going to change? How is this time going to be any different than all the other times? Well, I’m glad you asked.
The answer is a very simple one: Pain. You’ve probably heard that humans do things for one of two reasons: to experience pleasure or avoid pain. I don’t find much pleasure in taking pills or doing (sometimes) monotonous exercise but I’ve just about had it with this pain crap. Again, not to bore you with the details, but when it becomes painful to stand up from a chair (a chair!) something’s gotta change. I’m no rocket surgeon but when rolling over in bed hurts (I used to joke about sleep-related injuries but they’re a real thing dang it!) we have to go a different direction, people. To be completely forthcoming there’s probably going to be some pain involved in the process of quitting ignoring my health too.
Surgery is going to be part of the “fix” for my back and knee. I can’t un-grow calcification and I can’t re-grow cartilage so we’re going to have to remove one and replace the joint on the other. That will be painful and almost as much as I detest pills I despise being laid up and gimping around. The thing is I’m laid up and gimping around now so I think we’ve reached the tipping point.
So it’s off to the doctor/surgeon/gym I go. I’ll keep you informed. I’m sure I’ll find plenty of things to bitch, er write about as I go through this. I’m shaking my head and grimacing but it’s gotta happen. Wish me luck.
Don’t you just hate having to admit you have to do something? I do too, but when it’s your body telling you this stuff, there’s not really any hiding from it. So, here we go. Sorry for the rant but sometimes a person just has to vent. If you know someone that’s up against it and this might encourage or cheer them up, please share it with them. You can use the social icons below to make it easier.
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