01-21-2018, 03:35 PM
(06-06-2017, 02:57 PM)Randy B_imp Wrote: So I went to the doctor today about the pain in my hip that I experienced the last time I rode my bike. I had taken some X-rays a couple days after, but today was the first time I could get in to see him.
A little back story...a little over two years ago I had surgery to repair a torn labrum in my right hip that had been plaguing me for quite some time and that made things MUCH better and riding became much more enjoyable. I could actually swing my leg over without any pain, something that I hadn't been able to do for a good number of years.
So anyway....I thought I was having some sort of relapse and might need to go under the knife again. Thankfully (I think) that isn't the case, but the news isn't what I was looking for either. He told me that I am dealing with arthritis in my hip joint and right now the best course of treatment is just Aleve or Motrin for the pain. There doesn't seem to be any other deterioration of the joint as the spacing looks good on the X-ray so no hip replacement (I wasn't suspecting this, but you never really know until you talk to the doctor).
It's REALLY fun getting old....ugh.
Oh and he told me to lose some weight....about 50-70 lbs would be good. I would love it, but it's probably not in the cards.
I've mentioned elsewhere that a particular medication that I require throws my eating habits all out of whack (it actually messes with me in a number of different ways, but the weight gain is the only physically obvious side effect). As my tolerance to the drug increases, I have to increase my dosage of the medication. Along with that comes additional weight. Once the side effects outweigh the benefits, the doctors will switch me over to an alternative medication for a while, which I'm on now.
in general, I have decent "will power" when it comes to food. But when I'm on higher dosages of the primary drug, that all goes out the window. I rarely stop eating even though I'm no longer hungry and I eat far less healthy foods. As a result, my weight tends to go up by around 30 - 40 lbs. or more depending on the length of time I'm on the drug. Once I switch medications and get the primary drug completely out of my system, I no longer have the crazy food cravings and I'll eventually return to a more typical weight. I'm 5' 8" and normally I should weigh in somewhere in the low 160's. This last time around on the weight gain roller coaster I stopped checking the scale when I was getting ready to pass 200 lbs (I know that I passed 200, I'm just not sure by how much and I didn't want to know, lol). It feels good to be on my way back down again simply by returning to more normal eating habits. By the end of this week I'll be back in the 170's but the rate at which I'm losing weight has already started to slow. Now I'll also have to consciously work at it if I want to make it back into the 160's. Eventually my system will build up a tolerance to the medication I'm on now and I'll have to return to my primary drug and then I can look forward to this process repeating itself.
Going through this experience has helped me develop much more empathy for anyone that has to contend with weight issues. I realize that some have an easier time controlling their diet and exercise than do others and a few never have to worry about this sort of thing (I used to think I'd be one of them, lol). All I can do is wish you the best Randy and let you know that I'm rooting for you. I like to think of every pound I loose as a performance upgrade for my CB (or any vehicle that happens to be lugging me around for that matter). As goofy as it sounds, it does help me stay focused on losing the weight and keeping a better eye on what I eat. That might not work for anyone else, but it does help me, which is the key when it comes to my own battle with trying to lose weight. I hope that you find whatever it might be that helps you do the same.
I should add that I've spent a fair amount of money on moto-gear and I definitely want to be able to still fit in that gear and make use of it. At the rate I was going this last time around, it felt like if I had kept it up I might have been able to start selling advertising to Goodyear on the sides of my Aerostich suit.