05-14-2018, 10:01 PM
(05-14-2018, 01:16 AM)The ferret_imp Wrote: Only plan on riding bikes a couple more years. Ok... I'm going to be completely honest with you guys. Please forgive me. I turn 68 this Friday. My goal has always been to ride until I am 70 (given that my family history indicates 78-79 for the end of the line). That will be 55 continuous years of riding on the street and 10 years of racing motocross. It's been a GREAT time on 2 wheels. but.... I am having some medical issues. Of course the arthritis in the knees, but that is minor. A knee replacement can fix that. More importantly I have been battling Microscopic Colitis for just under a year now, ever since I returned from last year's rally in Arkansas. It's an incurable disease from what I understand, and it's kicking my butt. Sick every day. Stomach cramps 24/7, diarrhea 6-8 times a day starting about 3 am. Can barely eat. Can barely sleep. I've gone from 184 pounds down to 168 pounds. Have zero energy. Depression is starting to set in, and the thoughts you have when you are depressed, are downright scary. I'm seeing a Gastroenterology, and on meds, but, as you can tell, they are not getting the job done. My family doctor (a motorcycling friend of 35 years) is considering sending me to the Cleveland Clinic, or to a hospital at the University of Indiana to see if anything can be done. I just want the misery to be over with. It wears on you when you are miserable every minute, of every hour, of every day...day after day after day. Trying to stay upbeat through all of this.
I am NOT looking for sympathy, I have had a GREAT motorcycling career, and a wonderful life. My wife and I have toured this country, Canada and Europe for 45 1/2 years. We have had GREAT adventures, ridden to some of the most beautiful places on earth on the best roads available for motorcycling on some truly great motorcycles. I am not regretting one minute. Sometimes, other things in life just catch up with you. Things you can't avoid and have little (if any) control over .
I'm still going to try and ride 2 more years, but right now, that's a day by day decision. I'm going for a CB ride in 1/2 hour. I love riding. I actually feel my best when I'm riding, and not thinking about things. I have 6 more states to hit to have ridden to all lower 48 states and have my dealer trying to find me a left over FJR so I can try and get that done in the next 2 years. After that, who knows. Probably pass the FJR on to my son. In the meantime I will figure out what to do to the ST and determine what I want to do with it after that.
Sorry to lay this all on you guys, but if you can't talk to your friends, who can you talk to eh? No Boo Hoo's for Ferret please!
BUT... if anyone knows anything to help with microscopic colitis, or know someone else that's battling it with success, please PM me. I'd be VERY interested in the info.
Mickey, I know little about your condition and reality is what it is so I won't offend you with baseless platitudes (at least I find them offensive) but as we briefly talked about before I was in a deep depression last fall before my surgery. I was probably only 1-2 days away from taking the one way drive into the woods.
Sometimes it is easier to talk to someone who is not so emotionally invested in us (I guess that's why therapists exist?), if you need to talk to someone who has been in dark places you can have my number.