How many of you have....

[dartman]

Medical issues? Nerves and shakeing in particular.My health has declined in recent years and am starting to have problems with my

hands when trying to build.Are there anybody else with the same issue and if so what have you done to help your self or is just me?

please discuss.

[DavidG]

I have no medical issues whatsoever and the doctor says that I should live to be several hundred years old.

I also have some land for sale.

Ok, seriously, I had a heart attack in February that scared the dickens out of me. I've been on blood thinners and hypertension meds since then and I also have been weak as a kitten. I'm doing good to walk across the room without gasping for breath. Even when I am working on a model car, I can only go for about a half an hour before I'm so fatigued that i have to lie down and either sleep or try to just relax. However, everyday is a little better.

I think that you are going to find that you are definitely NOT alone and that you will even be surprised at the amazing array of maladies that so many others are suffering.

Edited June 4, 2014 by DavidG

[Agent G]

A previous gunshot injury has left me with partial numbness in my left arm and hand. It developed slowly over the past 20 years. I can still function quite well and remain an active law enforcement officer, but some nights it just bothers the heck out of me.

G

[Dale W. Verts]

I had a stroke four years ago at just 46 years-of-age. A minor stroke but still, EVERYTHING changed. All my motor skills are a little weird now, and my guitar playin' is a problem. Anyway, I don't mess too much with finite detail items if I'm tired. I do my best model car stuff (and pickin' music) in the mornings, just the opposite of what I used to do. Patience is everything, too. Deep breaths.

Dale

[disabled modeler]

I have numbness and dexterity issues plus at times my hands shake its all from nerve damage I have...it comes and goes.

[English Jules]

Sevre spinal injury when i was 24, so 18 years ago, broke my back in 4 places. Horrendous back ache, even worse when damp (in UK thats just about all the year round). One destroyed knee, crunches and gives way, stairs etc are a pain. Dislocated hip that i was born with, just aches a little.

thats about it, so often cant sleep cos of the pain. Its how i got into making models as a adult as not much else i could do to pass time after my accident

[Deathgoblin]

I have problems sitting for a long time at my desk because of issues with my legs swelling and my knees are shot. For a long time I built on a lap board so I could keep my feet up while I worked.

[grayghost]

I have 4 herniated disk and spinal stenosis.

It causes me to have numbness and dexterity issues.

My hands shake very bad from the pain meds.

But I keep plugging away. The worst is the mental aspect of it.

As in not being able to do the things I use to. I love to hunt fish

and be outside. But now I sit in the house all day.

[slusher]

I have had Multiple Sclerosis for 22 years and have very little use of my right arm and hand. So I build with one arm and I can hold parts in my right. I have a twitch in that arm from time to time. I still build but its a challenge...

[DynoMight]

I've had ingrown toenails and also broken fingers and concussions! I also have a shake in my hands that makes it hard to paint small details

Not much compared to you guys but it's still annoying..

Edited June 5, 2014 by DynoMight

[Miatatom]

Most everyone is posting their ills and I have quite a few myself. Just turned 70, shaky hands, etc. The biggest obstacle I've overcome is holding onto parts while gluing, detail painting, etc. I solved it with one of these:

http://www.harborfreight.com/2-3-4-quarter-inch-articulated-vacuum-vise-3311.html

I took the suction apparatus off the bottom of mine (I have 2) and mounted each of them on a short 2 x 6. The swivel head allows a part to be turned and held at pretty much any angle/orientation. My detail painting is still pathetic compared to some but it's much better than it used to be. Gluing parts is much easier.

[Swifster]

Like Dale, I had a small stroke at 48. Very slight motor skill issues. The biggest issues are the effects of the blood pressure medication. Fatigue is the biggest issue.

[CJ1971]

Shouldn't this topic be in the General section, as nothing is actually on-the-workbench?

[dartman]

I have too many issues to list them all but nueropithy is the one causing me problems.I get

a good shake so doing the small stuff is realy getting hard.I guess all I can do is keep

plugging along like the rest.Oh and sorry if I posted in the wrong catagory.

[DrGlueblob]

"We ain't no Spring Chickens 'round heah"..

[Pete J.]

At 64 stuff is just deteriorating. That is a fact. My darned arms are to short! Well, the Doc just says it is my eyes going bad, but I insist the arms are shrinking. I am not a steady as I use to be, but I get by by resting my hands on the edge of the bench to get a little more accuracy. I have been getting progressively stronger lenses for Optivisor. The problem with that is that I get really close to the model and then the fumes from the glue start to sting the eyes and I have to take a break. My back won't tolerate sitting hunched over the bench like it use to but that just means I have to take a break a little more often.

Growing old sucks but it sure beats the alternative!

Keep after it until you drop at the bench.

[uncle potts]

2010 I had my right hip replaced, last December it was my left knee that was replaced. End of April I tore two tendons in my left rotator cuff, and they had to cut the bicep at the shoulder and reattach it. I'm off work for at least another month can't use the arm, thus I can't build. Now I have insomnia and can't sleep. I have muscle spasms in my lower back and legs, and can't sit for any length of time. I'm only 55 and so miserable most of the time that its hard to spend any time at the work bench. Growing old sucks!

[charlie8575]

I have occasional bouts of sciatica, back gets a little sore once in awhile as a result of a couple of bad falls and a piano coming down a moving truck ramp.

When my sciatic nerve kicks in, I can't do anything...sleep, sit, stand, walk, build, read, whatever. Wow, it drives me nuts.

Charlie Larkin

[Custom Hearse]

Had a "Widowmaker" heart attack at the age of 49, leaving me only 38% of my heart undamaged, and I have COPD from years of smoking. My legs cramp and stiffen if I sit at my desk where I build and go online, but that is probably a result of old age. It's funny how you think you're indestructable as a kid, only to learn that all those stupid stunts I did as a kid have come back to haunt me!

[High octane]

How much time do you guys have, as I've got a list just like everybody else. LOL! As we get older (not old) I truly believe that ALL of us start having a few to many medical problems that we have to deal with. My uncle used to say that as we get older we're like old cars and our "parts" start to wear out. I thank GOD for everyday I'm here to enjoy life and deal with the problems I have. Sometimes when I hear of other peoples medical problems, mine aren't so bad.

[Agent G]

How much time do you guys have, as I've got a list just like everybody else. LOL! As we get older (not old) I truly believe that ALL of us start having a few to many medical problems that we have to deal with. My uncle used to say that as we get older we're like old cars and our "parts" start to wear out. I thank GOD for everyday I'm here to enjoy life and deal with the problems I have. Sometimes when I hear of other peoples medical problems, mine aren't so bad.

^What he said X2^

G

[Tom Geiger]

I'm in pretty good shape at 55 (with a lot of miles on me!) but I can feel the affects of old age coming on. I have the start of arthritis in my left hand, two of my fingers click at the joint and need a bit of coaxing, but overall I cannot complain.

A suggestion for those seeking some stability, I know painters who use a bean bag (or a bag of M&Ms) on their desk to steady the holding hand. The bag contours itself to your hand giving you a steady hold. Try it.

It's no secret that this hobby attracts people with disabilities. It's perfect for those with leg mobility issues and a lot of time on their hands. Long ago at NNL East we discovered that our clientele way out numbered the provided Handicap spaces at our hall. So we bought an additional 10 Handicap signs and posts and added additional spots. Over the years we've had the obnoxious ignore or outright knock over the sign to park, which is the reason we only have 8 of the signs remaining. But I think we'll buy a new stock for next show and provide an additional 20 spaces!

[High octane]

Only 55 Tom? Give it another 10 years and see how you feel. You'll probably have a longer list of ailments as well. At 55 I was still doing construction work and building America, now I chase the lawnmower around the yard and thank God that I'm still able to paint occasionally and do other things around the house & yard.

[Tom Geiger]

Only 55 Tom? Give it another 10 years and see how you feel.

Geez Nick, I said I can't complain. Only anticipating the future! I'm working for a guy who just celebrated his 42nd birthday and he's whining about feeling old. I told him to just wait! He ain't seen nuthin yet!

[Custom Hearse]

A suggestion for those seeking some stability, I know painters who use a bean bag (or a bag of M&Ms) on their desk to steady the holding hand. The bag contours itself to your hand giving you a steady hold. Try it.

Nice idea, but it wouldn't work for me... Those M&M's wouldn't have a snowballs chance in Hawaii of lasting long enough to help steady my hand!

But now that you mention it... I gotta make a trip to the dollar store, I NEED CHOCOLATE!!!