Get off my LAWN! "Grumpy Old Farts"

[StereoPlayer]

I officially entered a new era of GOF'dom yesterday with my 60th anniversary around the sun. I do not know how this happened. By all rights, a reckless child like me should have shuffled off this mortal coil long ago. Yet, I am still here.

I do not like that I am growing old and have always said that I'll go down kicking and screaming. This appears to be true. But I do like that I can challenge everything people think they know about aging by dressing funny, wearing my hair in blue pigtails, and generally behaving as age-inappropriately as I want to.

Not sure how many more trips around the sun I'll get, so I might as well yuck it up for maximum effect while I still can.

And now, in other GOF news, I have the need to lose 20 lbs and, apparently, get GERD under control again. So diet is going to be a thing now. Been waking up in the middle of the night choking, with a killer sore throat, and finally realized that it's most likely acid reflux giving me a whole new set of symptoms. I was diagnosed a few years ago with something called Barrett's esophagus, a nasty little pre-cancerous thing that happens due to GERD and was taking medications for that which were later found to increase the odds of dementia. Since dementia is in my immediate family, I stopped that medication once I learned that my pre-cancerous condition had cleared up, but it looks like I'm going to have to start that again, if I want to sleep and breathe at the same time .

Getting old is not for wimps. I choose my battles carefully, but I know that, in the end, it's a war that won't be won.

I’ve taken a single antacid tablet before bed...as a deterrent to acid reflux. Sometimes depending what I had for supper. It seems to work for me. Reducing acid before the problem.

 

[Jeff Scott]

I officially entered a new era of GOF'dom yesterday with my 60th anniversary around the sun.

Happy belated birthday, you youngun'!

...generally behaving as age-inappropriately as I want to.

Isn't that what we're supposed to be doing?

...increase the odds of dementia. Since dementia is in my immediate family...

From what I see, sometimes dementia can be a good thing. Goes along well with age-inappropriate behavior.

Edit: spelling - what's a thig?

 

[StereoPlayer]

I officially entered a new era of GOF'dom yesterday with my 60th anniversary around the sun. I do not know how this happened. By all rights, a reckless child like me should have shuffled off this mortal coil long ago. Yet, I am still here.

I do not like that I am growing old and have always said that I'll go down kicking and screaming. This appears to be true. But I do like that I can challenge everything people think they know about aging by dressing funny, wearing my hair in blue pigtails, and generally behaving as age-inappropriately as I want to.

Not sure how many more trips around the sun I'll get, so I might as well yuck it up for maximum effect while I still can.

And now, in other GOF news, I have the need to lose 20 lbs and, apparently, get GERD under control again. So diet is going to be a thing now. Been waking up in the middle of the night choking, with a killer sore throat, and finally realized that it's most likely acid reflux giving me a whole new set of symptoms. I was diagnosed a few years ago with something called Barrett's esophagus, a nasty little pre-cancerous thing that happens due to GERD and was taking medications for that which were later found to increase the odds of dementia. Since dementia is in my immediate family, I stopped that medication once I learned that my pre-cancerous condition had cleared up, but it looks like I'm going to have to start that again, if I want to sleep and breathe at the same time .

Getting old is not for wimps. I choose my battles carefully, but I know that, in the end, it's a war that won't be won.

Forgot to mention....Happy Birthday!

 

[shadowtippy]

I officially entered a new era of GOF'dom yesterday with my 60th anniversary around the sun. I do not know how this happened. By all rights, a reckless child like me should have shuffled off this mortal coil long ago. Yet, I am still here.

I do not like that I am growing old and have always said that I'll go down kicking and screaming. This appears to be true. But I do like that I can challenge everything people think they know about aging by dressing funny, wearing my hair in blue pigtails, and generally behaving as age-inappropriately as I want to.

Not sure how many more trips around the sun I'll get, so I might as well yuck it up for maximum effect while I still can.

And now, in other GOF news, I have the need to lose 20 lbs and, apparently, get GERD under control again. So diet is going to be a thing now. Been waking up in the middle of the night choking, with a killer sore throat, and finally realized that it's most likely acid reflux giving me a whole new set of symptoms. I was diagnosed a few years ago with something called Barrett's esophagus, a nasty little pre-cancerous thing that happens due to GERD and was taking medications for that which were later found to increase the odds of dementia. Since dementia is in my immediate family, I stopped that medication once I learned that my pre-cancerous condition had cleared up, but it looks like I'm going to have to start that again, if I want to sleep and breathe at the same time .

Getting old is not for wimps. I choose my battles carefully, but I know that, in the end, it's a war that won't be won.

You should have let everyone know that you were reaching such a milestone. You would have received a lot of birthday wishes instead of belated birthday wishes, to which I'll add: Happy Birthday, a day late.

 

[GwenOnBass]

Happy belated birthday, @LBS-bass

 

[LBS-bass]

You should have let everyone know that you were reaching such a milestone. You would have received a lot of birthday wishes instead of belated birthday wishes, to which I'll add: Happy Birthday, a day late.

I guess so. It's okay to send me good wishes a day late, though. I am not having my official birthday party until the 27th so I figure I can celebrate up to and including . Many thanks for all the good wishes so far!

 

[sharkbait130]

Happy belated birthday there LBS. Now put on your tin foil hat 'cause I'm gonna ramble a bit about Reflux and similar stuff. Do not take anything I say as gospel. It worked for me. It might not work for anyone else.
I suffered from heartburn , reflux and the like for years. Barrium x-rays and all kinds of stuff done to me to figure out what was going on. Tagamet , Zantac , Tums and some other stuff was prescribed to me over the years. Pretty sure the high calcium in tums and high milk intake lead to several bouts of kidney stones. Woo hoo , what fun that was. Quit the Tums and cut way down on milk and haven't had any stone problems in years now. All any of the things I took only led to very temporary relief. Many years ago while working on a motorcycle part , I did myself the service of almost cutting off a finger with a hacksaw. Docs managed to put everything back together and in the process prescribed Amoxicillin to keep things from getting infected. Three days later , in addition to not having any infection in my finger , my heartburn was gone. Not modified , not lessened , but completely gone. It lasted that way for about five years and finally started coming back. Fortunately at about the same time I did something stupid again that required another round of Amoxicillin. Poof , heartburn gone again. I manage to keep doing stupid things to my self about every five or so years and each time the result has been the same. No infections and heartburn , reflux or whatever is bugging my stomach goes away. Supposedly in the last few years the medical community has come up with some studies that agree with me. Screw 'em. I was taking care of myself this way long before they said anything about it. My current doc agrees with me and has given me a script of the stuff if I tell him I'm having trouble. For any occasional flare ups , a half teaspoon of baking soda in 8 oz. water does the trick better than any medication that was ever prescribed to me.
So what have I learned from all this?
Too much milk and Tums can give you kidney stones.
Baking soda works better and doesn't cause stones.
Barrium x-rays taste awful. (I found out later they use the exact same stuff for the barium enemas.)
Be careful when using a hacksaw.
Docs don't always know everything.
If it works , try it.
If it doesn't work , stop it fer crissakes.
Ole Sharky may be totally full of it.
Hey , it's worth a shot.

 

[beans-on-toast]

Stomach pain and related side effects can be due to an ulceration. About 10% of the population suffers from this, it’s not their fault. At one point they discovered that the way to treat this condition is with antibiotics.

Here is one of the two guys that made the discovery telling his story. They received a Nobel prize for their work. How cool is that.

 

[the harp unstrung]

[QUOTE="sharkbait130, post: 22568316, member:
I suffered from heartburn , reflux and the like for years.
So what have I learned from all this?
Too much milk and Tums can give you kidney stones.
Baking soda works better and doesn't cause stones.
Barrium x-rays taste awful. (I found out later they use the exact same stuff for the barium enemas.)
Be careful when using a hacksaw.
Docs don't always know everything.
If it works , try it.
If it doesn't work , stop it fer crissakes.
Ole Sharky may be totally full of it.
Hey , it's worth a shot.[/QUOTE]

I used to live on a pack of Rolaids and 3 pots of coffee a day.
No kidney stones, but in retrospect, I realized that That many Rolaids added up to about one BM a week...and that ain’t right!

My sister (the nurse) turned me on to baking soda, and ship got better Right Away.

Changed careers and no longer felt the need for that much coffee...DUH!

That was 25 years ago.

(My Da taught me the thing about the hacksaw when I was 8...)

Baking Soda is the Way To Go!

 

[the harp unstrung]

Wait a minute...
That’s Not Funny!!

 

[LBS-bass]

Thanks for all these thoughts. Good info here.

I was tested for H. Pylori several years ago and that was negative. Not to say that it's not happening now but the GERD was there before the test. Just did a little reading and the papers suggesting a bacterial cause of GERD point to H. Pylori, so it's probably not that in my case. H. Pylori is the same bug that causes stomach ulcers.

However, when I go in to talk with my doc about this I'll bring it up. She might want to do another test. I'm hoping that the omeprazole (Prilosec) will fix it within a few days, because that will at least point to a correct guess as to what's causing the throat problem. After that, what we do long term is debatable, I suppose. I don't really want to be on the omeprazole long-term if I can help it. Might try the baking soda, and definitely will be taking antacids at bedtime.

 

[GwenOnBass]

View attachment 3391643

Wait a minute...
That’s Not Funny!!

Neither is this funny!

 

[LBS-bass]

View attachment 3391643

Wait a minute...
That’s Not Funny!!

That's terrifying. No wonder some kids grow up to be serial killers...

 

[sharkbait130]

Thanks for all these thoughts. Good info here.

I was tested for H. Pylori several years ago and that was negative. Not to say that it's not happening now but the GERD was there before the test. Just did a little reading and the papers suggesting a bacterial cause of GERD point to H. Pylori, so it's probably not that in my case. H. Pylori is the same bug that causes stomach ulcers.

However, when I go in to talk with my doc about this I'll bring it up. She might want to do another test. I'm hoping that the omeprazole (Prilosec) will fix it within a few days, because that will at least point to a correct guess as to what's causing the throat problem. After that, what we do long term is debatable, I suppose. I don't really want to be on the omeprazole long-term if I can help it. Might try the baking soda, and definitely will be taking antacids at bedtime.

All the stuff the docs prescribed me was at best a very temporary fix but I'm sure it kept big pharma happy. Don't remember if they ever tested me for H Pylori but I do know the Amoxicillin worked every time and cured me for five years or better each time. Doc was a bit hesitant to give me the Amoxicillin at first but when I told him I had a rusty hacksaw waiting at home he relented. Blackmail threats work sometimes I guess. He probably thinks I'm a nut case now but that's his problem to deal with.

 

[LBS-bass]

All the stuff the docs prescribed me was at best a very temporary fix but I'm sure it kept big pharma happy. Don't remember if they ever tested me for H Pylori but I do know the Amoxicillin worked every time and cured me for five years or better each time. Doc was a bit hesitant to give me the Amoxicillin at first but when I told him I had a rusty hacksaw waiting at home he relented. Blackmail threats work sometimes I guess. He probably thinks I'm a nut case now but that's his problem to deal with.

We do what we have to do to get the job done

 

[Jeff Scott]

...I'm a nut case now but that's his problem to deal with.

Doesn't Seahag have to deal with that, too?

 

[sharkbait130]

Doesn't Seahag have to deal with that, too?

Yeah , but she has a large cast iron frying pan to keep me in check.

 

[shadowtippy]

View attachment 3391643

Wait a minute...
That’s Not Funny!!

 

[GonePlaid]

I guess so. It's okay to send me good wishes a day late, though. I am not having my official birthday party until the 27th so I figure I can celebrate up to and including . Many thanks for all the good wishes so far!

Add me to the list of well-wishers.

 

[rust_preacher]

Congrats LBS-Bass. that's going to be ahead of me in a year. Hang in there!