An aspect about your body you took for granted?

TheTruthIsMine

I'm specifically talking here about something you didn't anticipate. Can you think of anything harmful that you'd been doing to your body over time, that you were completely unaware of? Or was there any habit that you'd been doing on a regular basis, that thought little of, but then one day realised that it had been having an effect on your body?

For me, it's my hips. I first noticed a clicking noise when I was 27, as I would turn into the foetal position when in bed. It was something I'd never have had anticipated. Physiotherapists tell me it's nothing to worry about, and that it's not a sign of ageing. But why has it started all of a sudden? I think that as I've gotten older, that DOMS seems something I've to be more weary of after exercise.

Another example would have been years of hunching over to see my fret board (as I played guitar), which I'm almost certain played a part in a trapezius problem I later got. Tinnitus is another. It came in my left ear about 2 years ago. 6 months later, I got it in the other ear. Doesn't bother me, but I mostly need to sleep with audio of "rain" or "waves on the beach". Hope my future wife won't mind that!

The more recently observed, and more bizarre issue, would be something I noticed that could be happening to me as I pick my nose. I was always aware of the puppet lines that form over time, near the mouth and nose, as we smile and laugh. Thankfully I don't really have these lines. But I've only realised recently, as I picked my nose while looking in the mirror, that as I shove my pinkie finger deep inside (as I do) and twist, that this causes a crease. The creases caused by this differ from the creases we get from smiling, in that they are nearer to the nose, rather than the mouth. So if I were to keep doing this, I might end up with puppet lines that are deeper towards the nose than in the areas lower down.

I know, most people just blow their nose, but I love that morning pick. There's quite a sensation when you feel the hardened snot shift inside your nose, and then come out almost like a mold. Then once the hardened snot is out, there can be huge amounts of fresher snot behind it.

OneOfThem Stumbled

TheTruthIsMine wrote: »

I'm specifically talking here about something you didn't anticipate.

Such as the following quote

TheTruthIsMine wrote: »

Something I noticed that could be happening to me as I pick my nose. I was always aware of the puppet lines that form over time, near the mouth and nose, as we smile and laugh.

But I've only realised recently, as I picked my nose while looking in the mirror, that as I shove my pinkie finger deep inside (as I do) and twist, that this causes a crease. So if I were to keep doing this, I might end up with puppet lines that are deeper towards the nose than in the areas lower down. I know, most people just blow their nose, but I love that morning pick. There's quite a sensation when you feel the hardened snot shift inside your nose, and then come out almost like a mold. Then once the hardened snot is out, there can be huge amounts of fresher snot behind it.

Just. Don't.

Fr_Dougal

IBMS

Mint Sauce

My stomach, then middle age spread appeard a few years early, thankfully summer fitness seems to be keeping it at bay.

Also my big toe. Arthritis, in my fcuking toe!!

Cina

My bowels.. i.e. IBS.

Constipation is evil and buggers up my life at times.

Tough sh*t, literally.

seamus

My back. I'd had "back pain" before, but it went into spasm about two months ago, fncking agony. Could barely walk for the first two days. Between moving and stretching I was back to normal in about a week, but since then it's been on a knife-edge.

I sit a lot for work, so I'd never realised just how bad long-term sitting is for your back. It had never been a problem before. Now if I don't pay attention to what I'm doing and let myself sit too much for a few days, I'm in pain again for another 2-3 days.

Now I try to make an effort to get up every 20 minutes if I can.

TheTruthIsMine

Fr_Dougal wrote: »

IBMS

What's that?

wexie

TheTruthIsMine wrote: »

What's that?

Google says Institute for Biomedical Sciences or International Bulkmail Systems.

Perhaps he meant IBS? (which is a right bitch )

TheTruthIsMine

Cina wrote: »

My bowels.. i.e. IBS.

Constipation is evil and buggers up my life at times.

Tough sh*t, literally.

How did it start, and any idea what brought it on?

You wouldn't have taken large amounts of antibiotics?

Graces7

That sitting or kneeling is easy but the getting back up! OH MY!

With age the leverage has gone..
PS I learned this one day at Mass in the Cathedral. When we were supposed to stand at the end I had been kneeling and literally was unable to....

Had to stay there , trying to look holy, until everyone had left so I could in ungainly fashion slowly and painfully lever myself to the pew then, 1,2,3 HUP!

Nowadays one knee is prone to suddenly giving way with no warning. Happened as I was getting off the ferry one day and I was saved from a watery end by three strong men...with the fastest reactions ever.

Wibbs

Nothing so far.

pickarooney

TheTruthIsMine wrote: »

What's that?

In Before Mint Sauce. Which he was, by a minute

bee06

My pre-baby stomach

Conservatory

Knees back kidneys+liver stomach. The building site hard drinking lifestyle. It’s not cool to be a party animal kids. It’s not cool.

Well kinda is cool but you can’t do it forever.

I can only do it part time now or all of the above start acting up again.

DEFTLEFTHAND

Conservatory wrote: »

Knees back kidneys+liver stomach. The building site hard drinking lifestyle. It’s not cool to be a party animal kids. It’s not cool.

Well kinda is cool but you can’t do it forever.

I can only do it part time now or all of the above start acting up again.

At what age did you start to slow things down a bit?

TheTruthIsMine

OneOfThem Stumbled wrote: »

Just. Don't.

It's fun also to blow my nose. I put a thumb over one nostril, and blow. The spatter pattern on the wall can look amazing. Beautiful the way the moment is captured in time.

wexie

TheTruthIsMine wrote: »

It's fun also to blow my nose. I put a thumb over one nostril, and blow. The spatter pattern on the wall can look amazing. Beautiful the way the moment is captured in time.

that's not blowing your nose, that's blowing a snot rocket

TheTruthIsMine

seamus wrote: »

I sit a lot for work, so I'd never realised just how bad long-term sitting is for your back. It had never been a problem before. Now if I don't pay attention to what I'm doing and let myself sit too much for a few days, I'm in pain again for another 2-3 days.

I'm aware sitting isn't good for other reasons, but assuming you've good posture in your chair I wouldn't have thought it'd be bad for your back.

JupiterKid

If your liver and kidneys are starting to cause big problems then it’s time to give up the alcohol for good.

As a recovering alcoholic I can freely offer this advice. Whether you take it is of course up to you. I have had liver issues from the drinking but thankfully nothing irreversible. I’ve been very very lucky. Others haven’t been.

My back is something I used to take for granted but as I get into my early 40s it is definitely acting up more and more.

TheTruthIsMine

wexie wrote: »

Google says Institute for Biomedical Sciences or International Bulkmail Systems.

Perhaps he meant IBS? (which is a right bitch )

I was thinking IBS, but then what would the M be for? Sometimes acronyms vary... just as with LGBT, and then there's LGBTQ, and there's an LGBT something else too.

Lorelli!

A few small things but not doing too bad so far. Built like a car. I got a hub cap diamond star halo

bee06

bee06 wrote: »

My pre-baby stomach

My pre "not giving a fück about dieting because I love food and life is too short" stomach

SnazzyPig

Mint Sauce wrote: »

My stomach, then middle age spread appeard a few years early, thankfully summer fitness seems to be keeping it at bay.

Also my big toe. Arthritis, in my fcuking toe!!

Try gout......

Conservatory

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

At what age did you start to slow things down a bit?

If you are asking this the answer is probably today.
For me it tapered off. Class a about 12 years ago, spirits about 10 years ago lager and stout only on weekends since then.
Sometimes they are long weekends. I probably need a few months of rivita to get back to top top shape but ye know yer self.

seamus

TheTruthIsMine wrote: »

I'm aware sitting isn't good for other reasons, but assuming you've good posture in your chair I wouldn't have thought it'd be bad for your back.

Good posture can help, but we're not biologically designed to sit down for 8-10 hours a day, we're designed to move around quite a bit and bend in all sorts of different ways.

When you sit for long periods, the muscles in your back become accustomed to the position and will weaken/strengthen in the areas that are least/most used.

Thus, when you then get up to move around and do normal stuff like lifting and twisting and bending, some of the muscles in your back are not as strong and supportive as they should be and you end up straining muscles and getting stiffness. The effect is cumulative over time so you may not even feel it until you've been doing a desk job for 20 years.

keano_afc

TheTruthIsMine wrote: »

I'm specifically talking here about something you didn't anticipate. Can you think of anything harmful that you'd been doing to your body over time, that you were completely unaware of? Or was there any habit that you'd been doing on a regular basis, that thought little of, but then one day realised that it had been having an effect on your body?

For me, it's my hips. I first noticed a clicking noise when I was 27, as I would turn into the foetal position when in bed. It was something I'd never have had anticipated. Physiotherapists tell me it's nothing to worry about, and that it's not a sign of ageing. But why has it started all of a sudden? Another example would have been years of hunching over to see my fret board (as I played guitar), which I'm almost certain played a part in a trapezius problem I later got.

The more recently observed, and more bizarre issue, would be something I noticed that could be happening to me as I pick my nose. I was always aware of the puppet lines that form over time, near the mouth and nose, as we smile and laugh. Thankfully I don't really have these lines. But I've only realised recently, as I picked my nose while looking in the mirror, that as I shove my pinkie finger deep inside (as I do) and twist, that this causes a crease. The creases caused by this differ from the creases we get from smiling, in that they are nearer to the nose, rather than the mouth. So if I were to keep doing this, I might end up with puppet lines that are deeper towards the nose than in the areas lower down.

I know, most people just blow their nose, but I love that morning pick. There's quite a sensation when you feel the hardened snot shift inside your nose, and then come out almost like a mold. Then once the hardened snot is out, there can be huge amounts of fresher snot behind it.

Similar to you, to be honest. The hips I mean, not the snot.

I was playing 5 a side twice a week, staying pretty active. One evening my right foot got planted in the ground and the rest of my body turned. My knee appeared to take all the impact and i was out injured for about 3 weeks. Came back to playing but had this pain in my right hip that niggled for a couple of days after I played. I thought it would go over time and ignored it. I was young, what ever the issue was would go away, I was sure. A couple of years passed and I stood up one day in work and my right leg just went from under me. Told the wife when I got home and she drove me to the Beacon.

Long story short, one keyhole surgery that didnt work and a lot of pain later, I had a total hip replacement this February. I'm in my 30s, so its pretty rare, but if I'd taken it more seriously when it happened I wouldn't have needed the replacement.

Moral of the story: listen to your body, kids. Youth does not equal invincibility.

munster87

Pre carpal tunnel syndrome in my left hand

B0jangles

Seconding back pain stuff - mine's fine at the moment, but I well remember the time when anything I dropped on the floor was basically gone forever, and even bending over slightly was a project that had to be fully planned and prepared for.

wexie

B0jangles wrote: »

but I well remember the time when anything I dropped on the floor was basically gone forever,

it's the only reason I have kids, to pick stuff up for me

little feckers are made of rubber bands stuffed with gerbils

Ultimate Seduction

Pretty stupid of me, but my lungs. Destroyed them with heavey smoking , cocaine, and speed for almost 20 years. Can't walk to the bathroom without getting breathless now.

_Brian

Back.

From age 14 I worked heavy work at home in our business.
Handled 50kg bags all the time, I could unload 10-12 ton loads from a truck by hand in 50-60 minutes.

By 25 I’d degenerated a bunch of discs in my back.

In my late 30’s I had a bad car crash and destroyed my back and neck completely. Was down for 18months. Had to change job as old job couldn’t accommodate my condition.

I manage mostly now but have bad bouts where I’m in bed for days and recently needed a walking stick for a few days.

I’m careful now that my kids are athletic and take care of themselves rather than make the mistakes I did.

5starpool

You read about hairs growing out of your ears, but it doesn't prepare you for the reality of having hairs growing out of your ears, your nose and extra mad wiry hairs in your eyebrows.

wexie

5starpool wrote: »

You read about hairs growing out of your ears, but it doesn't prepare you for the reality of having hairs growing out of your ears, your nose and extra mad wiry hairs in your eyebrows.

always a bit of a watershed moment the first time the barber asks would you like him to do your ears and eyebrows

5starpool

wexie wrote: »

always a bit of a watershed moment the first time the barber asks would you like him to do your ears and eyebrows

Stopped going there years ago! At least that had been flagged a few years in advance anyhow.

_Brian

5starpool wrote: »

You read about hairs growing out of your ears, but it doesn't prepare you for the reality of having hairs growing out of your ears, your nose and extra mad wiry hairs in your eyebrows.

Bought my own “personal trimmer” it was getting so bad

Teyla Emmagan

My knees (skiing accident) and my back (slipped disc). About twice a year my knee goes and I have to hop up and down the stairs for a few days. Can't put any weight on it. Is a PITA. And chronic back pain for about 2 years now. Very tiring, it really takes it out of you.

wexie

_Brian wrote: »

Bought my own “personal trimmer” it was getting so bad

me too, but not after I cut myself with a nail scissors, the feeling of blood dripping out of your ears was really something I only wanted to experience once

pickarooney

My ears. I'm going gradually deaf and there's apparently nothing I can do about it.

My knee. Just got an operation on my ACL and everything is a massive chore. Can't drive for 3 months.

Hector Bellend

I have a whopping of man tits.

They are blowing my back out

Wibbs

keano_afc wrote: »

Long story short, one keyhole surgery that didnt work and a lot of pain later, I had a total hip replacement this February. I'm in my 30s, so its pretty rare, but if I'd taken it more seriously when it happened I wouldn't have needed the replacement.

Hip replacement in your 30's. Jesus that's tough.

5starpool wrote: »

You read about hairs growing out of your ears, but it doesn't prepare you for the reality of having hairs growing out of your ears, your nose and extra mad wiry hairs in your eyebrows.

So far so good on that. The odd stray one, but no tufts as yet. Then again my hair has always grown very slowly. If I shaved once a fortnight it would keep my face looking clean shaven. To grow a hipster type beard would take me a lifetime. As a kid two haircuts a year were all it took.

keano_afc

Wibbs wrote: »

Hip replacement in your 30's. Jesus that's tough.

I could have soldiered on until later, but i've 2 young kids and one on the way. Got to stage where I couldnt even run after them in the park. I only get 20-25 years out of this prosthesis apparently, but the kids will be grown up by then. I was missing out on too much.

somesoldiers

5starpool wrote: »

You read about hairs growing out of your ears, but it doesn't prepare you for the reality of having hairs growing out of your ears, your nose and extra mad wiry hairs in your eyebrows.

I get random ones growing out of my forehead also, nothing there for ages then all of a sudden there's a thin, fair hair about an inch longing that just appeared...

seamus

The hairs inside the ear and even just on the tragus, I can deal with.

It's these weird ****ing long ones that appear randomly on various other parts of the ear that make no sense. What possible purpose could they serve?

A couple also appear on the tip of the nose every now and again, but they don't get very long and are easy to pluck. You still see aulfellas these days with a small forest growing on the tip of their noses. I've sworn that will never be me. ��

somesoldiers

seamus wrote: »

The hairs inside the ear and even just on the tragus, I can deal with.

It's these weird ****ing long ones that appear randomly on various other parts of the ear that make no sense. What possible purpose could they serve?

A couple also appear on the tip of the nose every now and again, but they don't get very long and are easy to pluck. You still see aulfellas these days with a small forest growing on the tip of their noses. I've sworn that will never be me. ��

We used to have a Christian brother like that, Brother Hairy Nose!

TheTruthIsMine

somesoldiers wrote: »

I get random ones growing out of my forehead also, nothing there for ages then all of a sudden there's a thin, fair hair about an inch longing that just appeared...

I remember about 5 yrs ago, I had an extremely thin hair coming out of my forehead, that gradually grew very long really long. It was so thin that I could only see it when the light from a mirror was reflected in a certain way. I left it grow away for several months for the laugh.

TheTruthIsMine

keano_afc wrote: »

I could have soldiered on until later, but i've 2 young kids and one on the way. Got to stage where I couldnt even run after them in the park. I only get 20-25 years out of this prosthesis apparently, but the kids will be grown up by then. I was missing out on too much.

At least you don't have ED!

TheTruthIsMine

seamus wrote: »

Good posture can help, but we're not biologically designed to sit down for 8-10 hours a day, we're designed to move around quite a bit and bend in all sorts of different ways.

When you sit for long periods, the muscles in your back become accustomed to the position and will weaken/strengthen in the areas that are least/most used.

Thus, when you then get up to move around and do normal stuff like lifting and twisting and bending, some of the muscles in your back are not as strong and supportive as they should be and you end up straining muscles and getting stiffness. The effect is cumulative over time so you may not even feel it until you've been doing a desk job for 20 years.

Well I sit in a way that's very good for my neck. I've the middle of my PC screen at eye level.

I exercise anyway, so that should stand to me when I'm old, if I keep it consistent.

.......

This post has been deleted.

seamus

TheTruthIsMine wrote: »

Well I sit in a way that's very good for my neck. I've the middle of my PC screen at eye level.

I exercise anyway, so that should stand to me when I'm old, if I keep it consistent.

Sure. The lower back will do you in though.

Exercise is good, any kind of getting up and moving around. Regular exercise that specifically focuses on bending and flexibility is good too; yoga or any of the non-voodoo equivalents.

But as a general rule you need to be getting up and moving around at least 3 times an hour, even if that's just walking to the end of the floor and back. If you're going into work and sitting all day, then you're unlikely to be adequately compensating outside of work unless you're into all sorts of stuff 6 or 7 days a week.

TerrorFirmer

Back, definitely. A good few years ago now I just simply woke up one day (I was in my late 20s) and an actual scream of agony rushed out of mouth with no warning the moment I attempted to sit up. I had pulled something in my back overnight somehow and it wasn't right for weeks - I could barely dress myself, the slightest movement even whilst seated would send lightning flashes of pain down my back and often lay in bed for hours in the morning (or just slept sitting in the chair in the living room at night) because I couldn't face the ordeal of trying to get up.

Ever since then I've had a totally different appreciation for people who suffer chronic back pain/conditions.

gmisk

Cina wrote: »

My bowels.. i.e. IBS.

Constipation is evil and buggers up my life at times.

Tough sh*t, literally.

I have been taking acidophilus (high dose one) for years...it works with IBS.

I can second the hair out of ears....it is bizarre! (im 36 only started happening last few years).

Also can I add eye brows...jesus the sprouting of some of the hairs in them...overnight massive.