Anyone still playing?

Well done!- Smoked myself for 30 years but now clear for nearly 13 years. Well done to everyone else who stopped

 

I stopped smoking in November 1988 after my eldest was born.
Not touched one since!

 

I stopped smoking in 1994 when my eldest was born. Stopped playing football within the year. became self employed at the same time, the two were connected as I had not long had an ACL that put me on crutches for 9 weeks, I just couldn't afford the injury with a brand new business to run.. I look back and wish I had played longer.

Life changing moments having kids.

 

No....

I have Arthritis in my left knee after an Arthroscopy in 2008 to trim a damaged cartilage and clean up the knee cavity, and following a flare up over the weekend, I had a lot of fluid drained from my knee by my GP yesterday so am hobbling pretty well at the moment.

 

Its bit like marmite but ...glucosamine .... ( it started a couple years before ) but in 2009 I had "anguish in my right knee" when for 2 weeks every end of April/May, this time was on walk with a GP, who happily gave me a couple of his Voltarol tabs, I querying why if he only had a couple he said he wished to monitor his left knee as he did not want to any serious damage!!!!! Over the years I persevered with a variety of pain reliefs ibuprofen/voltarol/ stronger than co codamol etc even tried glucosamine.
In December 2015 I was again in the North West of Scotland and discussing " my 7 day paralysis in August" when my friend told me his story. He lives and works in the very NW and as part of his employ he has to travel almost 400 miles annually to have a health scan check up ... anyway end result he did an annual shop at the Tesco and saw a 3 for 2 on "health care tablets" he bought 6
ANYWAY for about 3/4 months or so he took ...glucosamine ( I had done similar ) started with 3 a day went on to 2 a day and didn't really feel his knee's were any better (had to climb 200 steps twice a day! ) however a week after stopping, in the pub one of his drinking mates said that's a waste of tablets ( 400) and money! He agreed, must be something in them to do me good, so kept on taking them! 1 a day
at his next annual check up ( just before we met that year) after his scan there was confusion as what was seen on the print outs "was not his" ...it actually was it was better than last time and had not gotten worse!
I had been off ...glucosamine, taken for about 3 months ... for about 4 months, still had 300/400 tablets, so took up the challenge 2 a day for a bit, then one everyday occasionally 2, a year later my arthritic knee is almost 99% free of pain, odd awkward manoeuvre sometimes is an ouch! It also aided my shoulder and elbow! I suspect peeps who try it and condemn it are in the group like us..try it no patience doesn't work bin it and run it down? it wasn't an overnight cure it was so gradual you just seemed to be less bothered. MY case was 1 year later I did the same walk carrying 25kgs over 7km's up a vertical range of 1000m with out the 3 or 4, 5 minute stops .. and just a slightly sore knee for a few hours!

 

Well, last night was a complete d1ck1ng from a sharp young Fairford side. 9-1.
I was extremely frustrated - I could beat them with my speciality Cruyff turn, but they were back biting my ankles before I could look up and make the pass. They were around us like wasps. Christ I feel old
Nice welcome in the clubhouse after though - with sausages and chips provided!!
I bloody ache today!!

 

Very interesting. Did you ever have any surgery ? I was told before the Arthroscopy that there was a very good chance I would develop Osteo Arthritis after the operation.

So as soon as I had come round from the Op in 2008, the surgeon recommended that I take 1,500Mg of Glucosamine a day, which I've stuck to religiously ever since. I also take Cod Liver Oil Capsules daily and also had a synthetic lubricant put into my knee shortly after the op which is presumably now long gone. I had the operation done privately in St Marys in Clifton when I had personal medical cover with my job, but that disappeared with redundancy in 2011 so it's the good old NHS now.

There is also Condroitin which you sometimes see combined with Glucosamine in tablet form. The surgeon said he wouldn't/couldn't recommend that as it was unproven back then. Condroitin seems to be big in the USA though.

So I also had a Steroid injection in my knee in 2008 after the op and another flare up, and it looks like I'll be having another in 2 weeks time when I go back to the GP.

I might try cutting back on the Glucosamine though given it's had s. I've been told that the end game will be a new knee but at 56 I'm too young by about 6 or more years.

And I gave up smoking on 2nd January 2006 after a 30 plus year love affair with tobacco....which I found out afterwards I never needed or wanted.

 

Funnily enough, although I never smoked anywhere near 60 a day (20 at most), I am still reminded on occasion that the habit hasn't completely left me.
I have absolutely no trouble whatsoever resisting smoking whilst awake and conscious (in fact, I don't like being around people smoking), but in my dreams, whatever scenario is being played out, I often light up a cigarette and smoke it. Sometimes, when waking from a deep slumber, I think to my self 'f... it, I had a fag last night - I'm back on them...', only to come round properly and realise it was just a dream.
It reminds me of the potential danger of allowing myself 'just the one'.......

 

chondroitin along with MSM and glucosamine is my 2-3 tabs a week, " the occassionally 2 a day bit" for Joints and bones.( thought it was for muscles as well?) Glucosamine = JOINTS AND CARTILEDGE.
It is often the cartilage that causes most pain, in 2012 A friend with knee replacement at 70 y o was advised to sit on the edge of a table, before op, and swing his legs under it for 30 -40 times 3-4 times a day.. that worked for me also eased the pain which might be due to a small fragment between bone and cartilage, you basically work it flat / grind into the cartilage ! do it few times a year for about 10 mins when knee is a bit stiff or slightly painful.
not had an op, but a great believer in use it or lose it. MY LAST GREAT adventure was 2011 when I visited the mountains of Slovenia and Croatia for 2 weeks above them and below them, and spent 2 weeks coming back across the alps /dolomites Did about 90-100km of walks over about 18,000m . I had walking poles and managed most walks with minimum stops.. maybe 20 or so "unintended"

 

That's very good going then JGF2 !

My knee seems a bit easier now the fluid has been drained despite a very disturbed nights sleep last night, although it's still very tight and painful to move in certain ways. When I don't have pain/swelling I can walk several miles a day with no problem, but my Wife and I are going on a cruise to Scandinavian Capitals and St Petersburg in the Summer sailing from Port Of Tyne so I need to be fighting fit and able bodied by then. I don't want to be confined to the ship when I could be checking out the bars of Tallinn, Oslo, Riga, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Klaipeda or St Petersburg !!

 

I am currently building up to 10 days in NW Scotland, it involves a near 5km walk up, about 300m vertical range and back again, 10 k a day! possibly will make 7 trips, our destination is a point where we stay for 4-6 hours and can shift around up to 2000kgs of mud rock and gravel from a 15m long 1m x 0.8m tunnel possibly filled after the last inter glaciation over the period to modern day... needless to say knee pads or protection is a must.
I have been off napro painkillers for 4 months, in so much as I have taken just 10 tabs in that period, a 3 a 3 a 4 last year I was on 3-5 a day up there. the year before ibuprofen 4-6 a day!
Hopefully your knee will improve and you get to wander the pubs of those fine cities

 

No
Used to, and dreamed of becoming a player when I was a kid.
I played to no level well into my 40s, but I think it would be tempting fate to attempt it now

 

Take apple cider vinegar it has amazing properties. 1 tea spoon before meals in a small glass of water. It is amazing for freeing up joints and related pains.

 

A friend of mine says he was recommended to do that, he already used to finish off the vinegar in pickles.. not in one go of course and this recommend was a result of a conversation regarding that. our mutual friend makes cider and is going to utilise some of last seasons or that before to make some... not tried it, but do not waste the vinegar in beetroot!

 

Playing intramural football at uni. We were 2 minutes away from winning the top league!
Won and drew against the winners.

Typical Sunday league stuff and more socials then training sessions, can't beat it.

 

Not quite haha

Intramural is a league where different Societys / halls of residence have teams playing in it. I think there's about 40 teams at my uni. Its a lot more casual than playing for the uni and 11 aside.

 

Needs to be organic. I use Aspalls organic cider vinegar, cheap and available in tescos. Another property it has is that it reduces hunger and it is also good for cleaning the door on my log burner.

 

apparently my cider making friend says it is basically brew a good brew put some aside and let air into it ! his is very organic.. own apples and no chems some of the maggots in his eaters are over an inch long !