# I ain't as good as I once was...



## Rigged for Quiet (Mar 3, 2013)

I don't think it's so much the model year of the chassis so much as the mileage. A good chunk of those miles were kind of rough.

I'm one of those Vet's who didn't make it to his 20 yrs thanks to structural damage. As a result I have kind of turned orthopedic surgery into somethinbg of a hobby. Now you can't have this hobby without learning to master the art of physical therapy/rehab. I just turned 50 about 4 months ago and I had a knee replacement back in September of last year. Another chunck of titanium to go along with the shotgun slug looking chunks that hold my lower spine together.

I just don't remember healing up taking so damn long 20 or so years ago. I've had three back surgeries, 4 knee surgeries, a foot surgery, and a shoulder surgery. Now the knee replacement got a bit more complicated than the average removal of OEM parts and the installation of hot rod aftermarket parts in that once I got to recovery they hit me with some kind of synthetic super morphine and the next thing ya know pl' Rigged got real quiet for a couple of minutes while he popped in for a surprise inspection of the big bunker in the sky. Cost me 4 days in ICU and a couple of weeks or freaked out blood pressure and blood sugar levels.

The biggest side affect of this little cameo appearance on "The Lifestyles of the NOT Rich and Dead" was a set back in the early stages of rehab. Probably the biggest thing was a delay in strength excercises while we concentrated on range of motion and scar tissue. The one thing I was told to do was walk as much as I could. Now, my job is one that has little in the way of actual physical work, but I am on my feet for most of the day and I walk quite a bit.

When they told me to walk as often as I could while I was out from work, I took it to heart. Think Forrest Gump, but instead of running I walked. In fact, I walked too much and set myself back. Same thing when I got to work and was supposed to limit my time on my feet. Didn't listen then either. 

So, it seems that what ever endurance or stamina I had befoer the surgery is just a memory. My body has fought the healing process battle admirably, for the most part, but damn it just seems to be taking forever. I have done a lightly loaded 10 mile walk just to see if I coiulod make it. I did it but my rate of advance was much slower than befoer the knee gave up the ghost. I guess in fairness, it was faster than the few months before the surgery though. The most notable thing to me was recovery though. Seemed to take a couple of days.

What the hell, you are probably wondering, is this all about? Well, lemme tell ya. Today after I finished all of my yard work in mid 90 temps I got the brilliant idea to go eliminate some impending Zombie Brush and weeds at one of my favorite getaway places. Two hours of swinging a machette in the heat and I'm done. Finished. This is a major concern when one considers throwing a 50 to 60 lb load out on, along with a rifle and pistol, and heading for your escape and evade route. It looks like I'm going to have to start planning on doing some weighted hilkes on a regular basis and ramp up the cycling time. I'm thinking maybe even joining the Y or someplace that has a pool where I can do lower impact excercises and swim. Running on a regular basis is not a great idea for me.

Oh ya, and the only non surgically repaired joint that went through the thump is my right elbow. I had it drained and shot up about three weeks ago. X-Rays showed bone chips and a major bone spur. None of which have ever really bothered me that much until recently. My two hour Zombie brush killing excercise has it pretty irritated with me. I need elbow surgery like I need another hole in the head. At least we know now to hold the spiffy synthetic super morphine happy shot.

It kind of gives me a new appreciation for the old saying, "If I knew I was gonna live this long I would have taken better care of myelf" lol.


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## roy (May 25, 2013)

You will find as I did that a 20 lb load works out much better.


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## Meangreen (Dec 6, 2012)

The older I get the better I was. I'm right there with you with the joint replacements. I got a knee and a shoulder done, back was broken in two places, pelvis in 4 places, and the right hip dislocated and broken in three places. The list goes on and on, I made it through a police academy and the Federal Law Enforcement Training center by trashcans full of ice at night and lots of grit. My job keeps me in shape but it gets tougher and tougher everyday and it's a young man's game. I'm in a lot of pain most everyday but I found that moderate exercise and a good diet is key to staying in the game and avoiding a lot of the pain and stiffness.


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## Rigged for Quiet (Mar 3, 2013)

roy said:


> You will find as I did that a 20 lb load works out much better.


I've got two 45 mile legs if we have to ever walk out. I'm not seeing 20 lbs as enough gear for it, even though I do have a cache at the midway point.

If I have to walk out I seriously misread the tea leaves.


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## roy (May 25, 2013)

I walked more than 2,000 miles with less than 20 lbs of gear. You can do it.


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## inceptor (Nov 19, 2012)

Meangreen said:


> The older I get the better I was. I'm right there with you with the joint replacements. I got a knee and a shoulder done, back was broken in two places, pelvis in 4 places, and the right hip dislocated and broken in three places. The list goes on and on, I made it through a police academy and the Federal Law Enforcement Training center by trashcans full of ice at night and lots of grit. My job keeps me in shape but it gets tougher and tougher everyday and it's a young man's game. I'm in a lot of pain most everyday but I found that moderate exercise and a good diet is key to staying in the game and avoiding a lot of the pain and stiffness.


I keep telling people this: I'm just too damn old to be a commando. Walking out will be an issue for me mostly because of one bad knee and too fat to go too far. I had back surgery in my mid 30's and now just have occasional muscle problems. I didn't used to be this bad until my current job has me sitting behind a computer the majority of the day.


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## rickkyw1720pf (Nov 17, 2012)

I am not nearly as physically capable as I was when I was 20. But now I have a lot more things on my side that would probably give me better odds of surviving a TEOTWAWKI event. 
I have much greater skills, mechanically, electronics, gardening, shooting, medicine, and just general survival skills. Plus I have all the necessary tools and equipment.
Possibly one of biggest advantage being 60 instead of 20 is that you realize you aren't indestructible. I would take much greater precautions for things like infections and avoiding injuries. I do need to start getting into shape again and probably loose some weight but I do have decent endurance.


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## roy (May 25, 2013)

"Old age and treachery will overcome youth and skill."


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## Montana Rancher (Mar 4, 2013)

I'm "almost" a very daunting individual. 6'4" tall and 210 pounds very lean and mean, my wife likes it when we travel to big cities with her as I have great situational awareness and the physique to back it up.

That being said I have pains in places at 52 that menace me daily. I work a farm, before that I worked furniture and daily threw around pieces twice my weight. 

My point is F*$# you I will never go under a knife to replace something GOD gave me to use till death do us part. If the URSA doesn't kill you, the doctors most likely will, plus the down time for "healing up" which makes me love the hitches in my giddy up. Don't even get me started on scar tissue! 

You will live a lot longer putting up with the pains life gave you and a shot of Jack than you will trusting those butchers that put metal in place of bone!!!

Rant off


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## Chipper (Dec 22, 2012)

Saves lots of money/time once you admit your going to "have" to stay and not bug out. More cash for food, supplies etc and not waste it on BOV's, and BOL.


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## Go2ndAmend (Apr 5, 2013)

I ain't as good as I was either, but I'm as good once as I ever was. In fact, I am better than I used to be in many respects. I'm more cautious, capable, and self-sufficient. I can plow a field all day long, I can catch catfish from dusk till dawn.


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## roy (May 25, 2013)

I'm 67 and I am stronger than I was a 21 but my stamina is way off. It takes me much longer to recover from injury.


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## Meangreen (Dec 6, 2012)

inceptor said:


> I keep telling people this: I'm just too damn old to be a commando. Walking out will be an issue for me mostly because of one bad knee and too fat to go too far. I had back surgery in my mid 30's and now just have occasional muscle problems. I didn't used to be this bad until my current job has me sitting behind a computer the majority of the day.


As a sup I'm stuck behind a desk way more than I like. Knees suck and of all my injuries, the knee has given me the most problems. I have had 4 surgeries on it total and it looks like the right knee will next with it's first surgery.


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

Time gets us all. I still do PT. I figure it got me this far why stop. My 2 mile is still under 12 minutes max out push ups and sit ups truth is I can beat most half my age at PT. The problem is doing it over and and over like I once did.
Years of pushing, broken and torn up shoulder, broken ribs, broken clavicle ect this stuff never goes away it just goes into hiding and comes back once in awhile just to remind you.
I am not the soldier I once was, for more reasons than just wearing down body. The motivation I once had has faded.
Yep not done yet, still bring a lot to the fight but it is not the same man showing up that once did.


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## Rigged for Quiet (Mar 3, 2013)

Smitty, I think there is a mind set that is hardwired into us that never goes away. That mind set that the mission is not finished yet, to hell with physical issues or no sleep,

I hear ya on the motivation. That's what part of my OP was really about. I used to approach a physical set back as a tactical problem to over come and set about solving the problem as quickly and efficiently as possible. These days it just seems harder to do that but at the end of the day you find a way. The end of the days just hurt more than they used to...


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

Pfft. Sure, I've had a few repairs and am carrying a few parts that don't need blood and won't rust, but they'll just give the anthropologists something to look at in a few centuries. As for now, they are allowing me to do what I wouldn't be able to do, otherwise.

And, no; I am not as fast as I was, or as strong as I was. That's OK. Hard-headedness has filled in the gaps, and the drive to excel helps, too.


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## Rigged for Quiet (Mar 3, 2013)

Denton said:


> Pfft. Sure, I've had a few repairs and am carrying a few parts that don't need blood and won't rust, but they'll just give the anthropologists something to look at in a few centuries. As for now, they are allowing me to do what I wouldn't be able to do, otherwise.
> 
> And, no; I am not as fast as I was, or as strong as I was. That's OK. Hard-headedness has filled in the gaps, and the drive to excel helps, too.


I figure when some ol' boy with a bugle plays my final taps they can just recycle me, lol.


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

Rigged for Quiet said:


> I figure when some ol' boy with a bugle plays my final taps they can just recycle me, lol.


That's pretty good, and a good attitude. Bit of a Texas attitude, I'd venture to guess.


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## PaulS (Mar 11, 2013)

I probably would be in a care facility if I had not had my two surgeries. The first one restored the use of my right arm and the second got my right lung working and took care of the loss of feeling in my left arm. I gained a few pounds while I was unable to do anything but I kept eating like nothing had changed. Today I am better than I have been in the last eight years. I stopped using pain meds other than aspirin and I occassionally have some muscle spasms but I am able to breathe and lift more than ten pounds. I can walk at three miles per hour for two miles and I am increasing that. I fully intend to get back to my fighting weight, ba able to walk at 5 mph again for at least fourteen miles and get my strength back to where I can lift a couple hundred pounds without dying. Those were the things I was doing eight years ago on a daily basis. I waited until I was more afraid of losing my arm and the ability to breathe before I went under the knife. I knew that back surgery has a poor record for recovery but when I made my decision it was to get back to where I was before the accident. I have been told that I would probably never regain what I have already done. Doctors don't know what guts and hard work coupled with real intent can do. With the grace of the creator, the help of my wife, and a bit of work, I know I can completely recover and get back the strength I once had. I guess one would say I am determined to get there and only God can stop me and I think He is on my side.


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## roy (May 25, 2013)

After all that, I feel pretty good.


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## rickkyw1720pf (Nov 17, 2012)

There is one great advantage that I have now that I didn't have when I was 20 and that now I have 20/15 vision without the need of glasses or contact lenses. I always worried that in any situation if I lost my glasses or contacts I would be SOL. So I had LASIK eye surgery done about 2 years ago and I would say that is the single best prepper thing I ever spent my money on.


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## Inor (Mar 22, 2013)

I had a knee replacement surgery at 16 due to a car accident. Now at 46, my body is a bit worse for the wear. I do not mind the aches and pains so much as I find a good attitude allows me to get through those just fine. What does bother me is the fact that my joints just do not move in all the directions they did 20 years ago and when they do, they make all kinds of weird noises.

But that being said, there is no way in hell that I would trade the stuff I have learned over the last 20-30 years to rid myself of the minor physical limitations that have crept in that last few years. I have always figured the strongest muscle we have is the one between our ears and that only gets better with age - until it doesn't. :-D

The four signs of old age:

1 - You forget names

2 - You forget faces

3 - You forget to zip up your fly

4 - You forget to zip down your fly


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## Meangreen (Dec 6, 2012)

I still think youth is wasted on the young.


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## Lazerus2000 (Jun 15, 2013)

*"If I knew I was gonna live this long I would have taken better care of myself".*

YEP! At 64, I can testify to this as being so true.
Next week I go in for some work on my ankle and knee ... and soon more work on my hands as well.
Most of these repairs are a legacy from my youth ... 
too many years of martial arts and construction work and motorcyling will take its toll.

A while back, I got my very own WAKE UP CALL about personal fitness.
My wife's beater 4X4 broke down on me [ alternator dead] and I had to walk a few miles along a muddy trail with an M14 rifle, 
100 rds of .308 WIN ammo, 
and a small day pack with my BOB load.

Just a few miles of muddy trail ... 
an M14 rifle ...
a hundred rounds of ammo ...
a small day pack with essentials
basically the old "fighting load"
NO BIG DEAL,
RIGHT!!!

Back in the day, as a twenty year old infantryman, I used to do this all the time, sometimes with an 80 lb load.
We used to go for miles at a time like that.

NO BIG DEAL!
RIGHT?
*[;(*

As I slogged through the mud back to my brother's place I remembered a recent conversation about how one of his neighbors [ MY AGE ] had a stroke on that very same trail, and spent a couple of days out there before any one found him. My brother used to be with the local search and rescue unit, and he has lots of stories like this to tell.

When I got back I was sure glad to dump that light load and take a hot bath.
I knew for certain now that I ain't that lean mean fightin' machine I used to be 40 years ago!

So I decided to do something about that.
I have been bicycling several times a week.
Not every day ...
and so far no further than 75 Kms in one day,
but I can see and feel the improvement.

Today I was out on my bike for about 3 hrs.
Weighed myself before and after ...
and I lost 2 lbs.

I may NEVER AGAIN be that lean mean fightin' machine I once was in my twenties,
BUT I CAN be in better condition than most men my age.
Even with a few parts that don't work as smoothly as they used to.
*[;{)
LAZ 1*


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## Deebo (Oct 27, 2012)

Well, I guess Im kinda opposite, I am better than I used to be..
At 12 or so, I started getting heavy, by junior high, hi school, I was one of the three biggest kids on the football team..
At around 27 I got heavily involved in some "weightloss drugs" and lost some weight, and almost lost my life a few times..
At 29, I was clean and slowly putting on plenty of weight..
By plenty, I mean plenty. I would diet, and my body would rebel, and would just slowly gain weight.
I did all the diets in the world, but Phin-Fen kicked ass. I was loosing weight, eating less, and really feeling good...But, some 16 or so people had a heart attack, so it was removed..About 16 million people taking the drug, and yes, some died..
I had an EKG and was told I had slight regurgitataion and a small murmor, but not to worry.
Then I was diagnosed with sleep apnea, reportedly some of the worst blood/oxygen numbers the docter had even heard of..He asked me if I woke up with headaches? And I said yes, he said i was experiencing brain damage due to lack of Oxygen.
He told me I could have a stroke at anytime...
I have an "extremely narrow air passage", so It kinda started the sleep apnea, which started the weight gain, then tumbled out of control..
I had good insurance, so I got a CPAP machine and it helped, I actually slept, I usually fight, have nightmares about suffocating, being trappeed under dirt, all kinds of crazy death dreams..
With the better insurance, I decided to have a "lapband" surgery, even if I had to go to mexico, Thankfully, my insurance did cover 80%, So on Nov. !0, 2011, I was surgically altyered to eat less. 
I was 418 pounds at the biggest I remember, and Today, Im at 235. I dont use the sleep machine anymore, althou I prob should...It is still on superhigh pressure, so i cant seem to wear it.
I am shooting for 209, then I would be half the man I used to be. 
People think that as a fat person I sat around and ate bon-bons. You should have seen the look I got at redlight one day while I was eating an Icecream cone, the lady was looking at me like I stole her baby...
Well, all that is behind me now....
I can walk into any store and find clothes, I was in a size 60 pants, now Im slowly fitting into 38's, my nephew hates the fact that I can jack his clothes now..
So, Long story short, My knees are way better, still wont bend right, but they dont hurt..
My heel spurs, which were murder, are gone, my feet love me now.
My bloodpressure is perfect with my meds, and i think I will slowly wean myself off the "grey day" medications..
I haven't touched anything illegal in about 12 years, and I only drink a little. Turns out the lapbad really gets you drunk fast..
so, in conclusion, Im way better than i used to be...In fact, if I could just drop these damn cigarretts, I would feel perfect..
Anything is possible, and its never too late...


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## retired guard (Mar 7, 2013)

There's pins in my knees and gray is my hair (what's left of it) but I'm in it to win it until I'm called home.


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## Rigged for Quiet (Mar 3, 2013)

Deebo, good on ya Brother. Some of those demons are real bastards to slay.

Well my Sunday adventures with the machette have caught up to me, lol. I not only whacked a ton of brush and weeds but I alos helped lay a fair amount of sod. This involved numerous repeated trips to a pallet of sod and back to the run and placing them. I also spent a lot of time on my hands and knees and getting up.

I felt fine Monday when I woke up from 4 hours of sleep save the elbow that was screaming. I worked half a day and headed home to head back ro my home town an hour or so away for baseball game. Since everyone I wanted to go over early to see was unavailable I took a noap. Hehe. When I woke up my hamstrings were in violent revolt and my 3 Time Surgical Champion lower back was initiating a coup. Somewhere about the 5th inning I had to get up to go find the indoor facilites. YOUCH! I felt like I could hardly move, lol.

It is much worse today, and am I glad I had planned today as a day off. The good news is, all these aches and pains are muscular in nature and my fairly new knee is doing rather well. The back is even just letting me know I don't do a lot of physical labor on a regular basis. I'm still awaiting the final blessing on the new knee from the Medievil Barber who put it in, but by all appearance it seems to have passed it's first stress test. 

I think it's time to ramp up the cycling and day hike routine.


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## Deebo (Oct 27, 2012)

Rigged- yes sir, I usually hurt the day after a good session of something like that serious yardwork, but day two is usually a reall MF. I try to take aspirin and drink lots of water the first day, becouse on day two, after the pain really hits me, my legs will buckle while im walking, and yes, i get some terrible spasms in my quads and glutes.. Once woke up punching myself in the inner thigh, many times my thigh muscles cramp so tight I have to go limp into the shower and put the spray head right on them..I had a lot of leg cramps from football, and if you keep a paperbag by the bed, and a cramp kicks in, breath in and out of the bag, it does really help. My cramps are funny, becouse its like someone pulled the tendons tight, and I cant relax the muscles..VERY painfull.


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## Lucky Jim (Sep 2, 2012)

Night cramps in my legs hit me sometimes, I wake up with one of my calf muscles in spasm making my toes point down like a ballerina on point and the muscle feels like an iron bar to the touch, so I have to leap out of bed and try to place my sole flat on the floor to stretch the muscle out before the pain goes off the scale.
If I'm too slow the pain gets so bad that I actually faint, ha ha..


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## Deebo (Oct 27, 2012)

Lucky Jim, sounds worse than mine, Damn....Don't know how the prescriptions and medicine are where your at, but I used quinine when I was a teenager, but since then, it has been unavailable in the US.
The worst one I ever had in my calf, was wierd, kinda like a hernia, the muscle actually came out of the tissue, and was sticking out like an innertube about to explode.. I pushed it back in, and damn it was jacked up for days..For real, try the paperbag after you straien out your foot.


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