April 18, 2010
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IBS, Swollen Feet And Other Bad Things About Getting Old-er…LOL
TALES FROM THE BRAT FARMToday is an IBS day for me. Not a bad one but it ticks me off that I have any problems with it at all. I was told by the doctor that it just might go away if I go without symptoms for a couple months. I can’t seem to make it through a whole month, let alone a couple of them. IBS is short for Irritable Bowel Syndrome. It’s a real pain in the butt (that’s literally :laughing) and makes for pain in the bowels that can be really dreadful. I found some OTC medication for it that really helps (thanks Bratsis2!). My sister read something about it in her local paper’s doctors advice column and forwarded it to me. I gave it a try since it works for either way that you are affected (loose or bound up). I found it to be a wonderful help and it did get me off the pain medication, which I think contributes to some of the problem as much as it helps.
The OTC medication is by Digestive Advantage and you buy the type for IBS. If you have problems with that, by all means, it can’t hurt you to give it a try. Just remember that it may not work as well for you as it has for me but I really hated having to take a really nasty stool *softener* or else something for diarrhea.
I also woke up with a swollen left foot. Not both. Just one. I think it has something to do with how I am sleeping. I’ve never heard of anyone having one foot slightly swollen unless they have injured it. I actually could have injured it with all the stuff I have been doing lately. I seem to injure myself easily these last few years. I know by looking at the loose skin on my thighs that my days of youth are long gone. I also have that paunch that comes with getting older.
We spend so much time learning things and, by the time we could really be talented and productive, our bodies betray us. *Sigh* It’s so sad. I appreciate the saying *Youth is wasted on the young* more now than when I heard it years ago (when *I* was young). At least, I understand it now when it’s too late to change a darn thing. Compared to some people my age, I am more active but I am less active than others that I know. I have chronic back pain from a bad injury I did to my back about four years ago. I now have a bulge in between two of my thoracic disks in my back and a bone that I cracked in my lower back. Although it’s healed, it gives me hell because it puts pressure on my spinal column. It’s a real bitch to get old.
Yet, you have to have a sense of humor about it. Otherwise, it would become depressing and life is too short for that. Especially at MY age…LOL. With my IBS, I have found that I have what people call *Granny farts*. Those are sooooooo embarrassing. If it happens out in public, you have to just put on an innocent face and then look around puzzled like you are trying to find the culprit. Works for me!
And, when you go to lift something with a bit of weight to it, WATCH OUT! Each and every time, you will emit an awful sound. It always makes me laugh now that I know it’s going to happen. Because the dog is always following me around when I get busy, it’s startled the hell out of him because that’s usually where he has his nose. And still, he hasn’t learned.
Sex has become something you vaguely remember because it’s just too much trouble and uncomfortable. Getting older is all about comfort now. Comfortable clothes, comfortable shoes, etc., etc. Camping out? In a tent?? Are you out of your mind??? Find me a nice motel. I WILL go on a hike but I’ll meet up with you after a nice breakfast in a nice restaurant. Or, if we are talking motor home, well….I might consider it except it still entails *keeping house* so-to-speak. But at least you can retreat to comfort when the mosquitoes come out to eat. See where I am going?
I do get a little strange with some of the things I like. Give me a warm rain and I LOVE to take a walk in it and feel it on my face. I even did that with Chewlee once and she loved stomping in the little puddles. Remember liking to do that as a kid? I love to watch some of the old cartoons on occasion because it takes me down memory lane and gives me a laugh or two. I love Godzilla movies. Partly because they are so bad but I remember how I even enjoyed them as a kid. At the time, they were so different that you could forgive them for their bad costumes and *special effects*. The plots were different. And just when did Godzilla change from being the destroyer of Japan to being it’s guardian? I don’t remember but he went from being scary to being looked forward to having him show up just in the nick of time to save Japan or some portion of it.
And when they started introducing other monsters that ended up inhabiting *Monster Island*, wow! That was even better. Mothra, Gamera, Kai, and a half dozen others. Not all were good ones; some were adversaries that Godzilla or one of the benefactors of Japan had to fight. Some were teaching the Japanese and other people of the world about the bad effects of pollution of various types. But, as a kid, they were just fun and good for developing imagination.
I love Science Fiction movies of all types. Bratfink and I used to watch the SyFy channel every Saturday just to make comments to each other via IM’s about how bad or good the various movies being featured that day were. The Beast thinks we are nuts but now, with my DVD’s here, I am passing along my love of that genre to Chewlee. She may not understand it all but she cheers for Godzilla and knows which monsters are bad ones. That’s part of the fun of being older.
I am also more patient now than I was when I was young. I handle things much differently than, say, the Princess. She is overworked, overtired and sometimes reacts badly to Chewlee’s fussing and little tantrums. She spanks and I never did (even when I was young and when SHE was young…but she probably doesn’t remember that). I DO know that I am naturally patient and I don’t have to count to 10 like I did when I was young. It wasn’t a natural calm like I can enjoy now. But then, I am out of the work force and not dealing with four kids.
Oh well, I’m sure you are bored and probably falling asleep now but, trust me, what I am saying is true. And aren’t you really looking forward to getting old-er now?
Love you all and have a great day. Smile a lot and don’t forget to reach out and touch someone today. 
