My shop plans have put on slight medical hold
last week i got my shop fully insulated and the bottom 2 rows of rock plus ceiling is up but my back was really hurting ,after 3 trips to my bonecracker he told not an alignment issue,,
I have 3 herniated disks and an annular tear on my lumbar muscle..
now my shop is so close now so far
so frustrating and of course Dr told me
" too much hanging over the belt bad for the back"
so until then i'll have to live in my garage through all of of you:

 

Yeah that's one of the real drawbacks to getting older. You can't get away with all the stuff you did at 30. I helped my neighbor hang the ceiling in his garage and it took over a year to get my right sholder back in order. I can honestly say I feel your pain. Your doc is right about your belly. It is also one of the things that causes heart problems. I have been fighting that balttle for years but I finally am only 7 pounds away from the weight goal I set. Believe me, if you can get it off amd keep it off you will feel so much better and live a lot longer to enjoy your garage.

Good Luck with the healing process...

 

thanx for the support it just seams that the golden ring is just beyond my fingertips
and it never fails to just slip further each time

 

I thought i was too young at 42 for this type of battle, but I guess I'm not
just a new way to deal with life's issues

 

But on a positive note i only have the top 2 feet to finish rocking when i'm able

 

Not too long ago a friend and I had talked about getting up there in years and how our work ethics might get the better of us. The common denominator was invest in proper tools, such as engine hoist, hydraulic lifting table, tractor/skid-steer, overhead crane, jib-hoist, etc.... and do it now, instead of too late. Granted, that's easier said than done, but the point was to make the tools work for us, and not push ourselves into a "corner" we can't get out of.

Ironically, I came inside from '80+ heat to check in on the FTE forum, and read this. I've been outside ripping down my trailer house, by myself, overdoing it, not drinking water, trying to make up lost time with my foot recovering from a nail that went thru the ball of my left foot, only to do it all against the having the right tools principle. Overdoing it, and carelessness can be a hazard as well. Hope you get on to a speedy recovery!

 

Havi, you're 100% correct. My wife is a stickler for doing it the hard way. For some reason she never wants to use a tool or machine to make life easier and jobs go faster. We live on a farm and have all sorts of machinery to use for jobs around the farm. A few years back I buried the power line from the poll to the house. I rented a trencher and dug the 75 trench from the poll to the house. Half way through I ran into a big rock, about 2½ ft X 1½, probably weighing around 150 pounds, about 3 feet down. I told the kids to go get the skidster to lift it out but my wife, "No, you don't need it, you should be able to get it out without it." I should mention my goofy in-laws own the farm and the equipment so my wife is always hesitant to use their stuff. Anyways, I worked on that rock for at least a ½ hour or more, finally my wife had to do something other than stand over me and nag the heck out of me. When she left I told the kids to get the loader, and with a chain, we had that stupid boulder out in about two minutes. Same thing with my business shop, I bought a forklift to two reasons. First to load and unload trucks and second, to be my full time employee. I use it as an adjustable work bench and to help upright and reposition projects. I work alone most of the time and I couldn't get half the work done that I do without the forklift. When I bought my first forklift my wife thought I wasted $1000 but it paid for itself within a year. When my wife helps in the shop and we have something heavy to move the first thing she wants to do is try to man handle it, I keep telling we have a forklift for a reason. She just thinks I'm lazy and it's a waste of fuel to use it. I tell her it's better to work smart than to work hard. I only have one back, I also have to two shoulders but I would like to keep all of them working as long as possible.

If you don't take care of yourself no one else will.

 

Dad always said poor people have poor ways of doing things.

My bigest problem thst I have to be very careful not to exceed my limits by trying to do the things I did at 30.

I have learned to enlist the help of younger friends and neighbors. All my contemporaries have either died or are too feeble.

Havi, I think maybe your point about our work ethics catcking up with and getting the best of us is what did my Dad in at 58.

One thing is for sure, only a minority of the current generation will have that problem. Most of them I have seen are a pathetic lazy lot at best.

 

When I was young; the tasks were met headlong-fast and furious...they got done...and often re-done. Now that I'm in my 60s; the tasks are met with more thought-steady and paced....and sometimes re-done!

 

One thing that i learned from my dad. is the older i got the smarter he got if that makes any sense to you

 

Oh that sucks. I'm no stranger to back problems, got mine when I was 16, didn't get rid of them till just this year. Sorry to hear this

Heat helps the muscles, ice helps the swelling. Ice will help the pain more than a lot of things.

 

I had to take a minute to acknowledge Havi as ever living in 80+...... but I can't quite see him wearing shorts..... Naw........

Sorry to hear about your injuries. I think we seldom slow down until an event like this occurs. Take your time to heal up and hire some young pups to do the hard-core labor

 

I feel for you Flying 51. I also am having lower back issues. Just took an MRI last week and I'm scheduled for an epideral needle Monday at 2pm. 3 bulging discs but not herniated as yet. I still think I can work the same as when I was in my 30's and 40's but it just ain't going to happen. I also agree on getting more tools to help if possible. It is hard to work on a truck (or anything) with a bad back. Take care.

 

Man , I thought I was the only old guy on here,you guys are making my back hurt .LOL . Flyin51, I'm sorry to here about your medical problems . I went though back surgery 30 years ago , so I feel for you . But you will make it though and it will take time . Mine was from building houses but I was able to continue in the trade until this year ,you just have to change the way you do things . I wish you lots of good luck . JIM

 

There are a lot of teenage guys out of school for the summer. I go to my neighbor's son and his friends when I need extra help. Labor rates are reasonable and they need summer work. chuck