My Kaiser Doctor was right

(I am a slow learner)

As we all know, I am averse to taking any kind of pain medication or drugs of any kind.  However, over the past few years, I have found that my muscle recovery time from bouts of strenuous activity has been taking longer and longer.

This past Thursday, I spent the day with a dozen fifty-pound bags of dirt of various sorts: first loading them in the car, then unloading them to my backyard; then opening and adding them to my new garden cabinet.  In total, that meant lifting a ton of dirt.  The day before I built the new cabinet: measuring, cutting, drilling, screwing; wielding tools and wood; and clearing the area (hedge-trimming) for the new cabinet.  The day before that, I loaded and unloaded the car with a load of walnut wood from Calico, climbing in the 10-foot high scrap pile; selecting armfuls of pieces; filling the back of the car with about a yard of fireplace-sized pieces – about 600 pounds.

When I was younger, my muscles would bounce back the next day.  No Longer!  By yesterday, end of week Friday, I was sore allover: back-ache, leg ache, and arm ache.  These past few years, it has taken me days, weeks to recover.  When I have complained to my Kaiser Doctor about this problem, she said, “Take an aspirin”.

So last night I did – one 200-mg Advil PM.

My lifestyle isn’t going to change – I’ll be as active forever.

But I’m going to add that one 200-mg Advil PM tablet to most of my Friday night’s regimens in place of the 81-mg aspirin.

I took the day off today, partially because I was feeling so good this morning: arms strong, legs bouncy, and no lower back pain.  A good night’s pain-free sleep did the trick.

I even have them around only for a situation, probably once a month or two, where I know I’m going to have a problem sleeping.