When The Body Rebels

“And the highways getting longer and the saddle’s getting cold, I’m much too young to feel this damn old. All my cards are on the table with no ace left in the hole, I’m much too young to feel this damn old.”
Garth Brooks

46 years of age is, by no one’s stretch of the imagination, considered old. With that said though, it’s pretty obvious that my body is in rebellion right now.

Actually, it started about a week ago, when I was getting out of the truck at work. All of a sudden, my lower back started to ache, right above the belt line, to a point where I was walking around like I was in my 80’s. Damn but it did hurt. All of last week, whenever I had to do anything strenuous, the back would give me fits.

By the time Sunday rolled around, I thought I was getting better. The left side of my back didn’t hurt anymore, and the pain on the right side was manageable. Still not at 100%, but better nonetheless. Since one part of me was getting better, my body had a meeting and conspired against me.

Back: We’re not all the way good yet, but better.

Stomach: Really? Think it’s time I acted a fool then. Let me send the boy running for the toilet a couple of times, let him get some exercise.

Asshole: Let me get in on the fun too. Every time he shits, I’ll make him hurt so bad he’ll want to scream like a little girl. (And he did that)

Right Knee: Oh, I need me some of that action. Time to kick in some ache.

After they had their little meeting, the torture began. First, at 3:30 AM, my stomach sent an urgent message to my brain that it had need of the bathroom, right the hell now. As I was sitting on the throne where all men are equal, I noticed that my knee was hurting as well. Not a throbby or sharp kind of hurt, just a dull ache.

Going back to bed didn’t help much, and getting up was not a reason to celebrate either. The entire day has revolved around extra trips to the bathroom and doing so with back and knee pain. With all of this going on, I was understandably less than motivated about doing any serious work today. I got a few things accomplished, but nothing that required a lot of physical effort.

Now I’m home and fresh from the shower, and there has been some improvement. The knee isn’t so bad, but the back is still letting me know it cares, and I foresee the stomach having a Krakatoa-like reaction later on this evening.

I guess it’s my bodies way of telling me that I’m no longer in my 20’s or 30’s, and shouldn’t continue to act like I am. Start taking better care of things, maybe eat a little better and jack up the vitamin intake. Probably need to schedule an appointment with my beloved curmudgeon doctor again as well.