catnine Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 It's amazing how I lost my timing and such. I had a trigger thumb on my left hand that lasted a few years and my thumb locked and hurt bad and that was what started this. I have been playing the last month on and off and some days everything clicks and I'm back and other days nothing works for me. I even got blisters which before were heavy duty callous. I am working on it a bit each day. Things used to just flow out without thinking about it now it's off and on. Less than a month and I hit 64. Hope that is not the reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CowboyBillyBob1 Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 It's amazing how I lost my timing and such. I had a trigger thumb on my left hand that lasted a few years and my thumb locked and hurt bad and that was what started this. I have been playing the last month on and off and some days everything clicks and I'm back and other days nothing works for me. I even got blisters which before were heavy duty callous. I am working on it a bit each day. Things used to just flow out without thinking about it now it's off and on. Less than a month and I hit 64. Hope that is not the reason. What does your Doctor say? I have diabetes and a bit of neuropathy in my hands. I had to make some adjustments. I can't play as fast as I used to but now I am more conscious of my note choices and I think my playing is actually more interesting than it used to be. I was dropping picks all the time and then I found these acrylic V-picks that stick to your fingers without being sticky. I never drop picks any longer. Keep at it. It is worth the struggle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catnine Posted October 23, 2012 Author Share Posted October 23, 2012 What does your Doctor say? I have diabetes and a bit of neuropathy in my hands. I had to make some adjustments. I can't play as fast as I used to but now I am more conscious of my note choices and I think my playing is actually more interesting than it used to be. I was dropping picks all the time and then I found these acrylic V-picks that stick to your fingers without being sticky. I never drop picks any longer. Keep at it. It is worth the struggle. I didn't even talk to a doctor about it. I knew a few people who had this trigger thumb and it cost thousands for an operation . Something to do with a ligament swollen catching on the sort of tube it fits inside. I just rode it out and finally it went away. Took two years. Now days it doesn't catch and hurt but it feels different than it did before this happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CowboyBillyBob1 Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 I didn't even talk to a doctor about it. I knew a few people who had this trigger thumb and it cost thousands for an operation . Something to do with a ligament swollen catching on the sort of tube it fits inside. I just rode it out and finally it went away. Took two years. Now days it doesn't catch and hurt but it feels different than it did before this happened. You do not have any health insurance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catnine Posted October 24, 2012 Author Share Posted October 24, 2012 You do not have any health insurance? No I don't . I just go to a local clinic when I can and pay the $85 they charge. It's a long story. Suffice to say I lived off savings and sold almost everything I owned and had a few part time jobs here and there and cut all the costs of living I could down to the bare minimum then retired at 62. I have medicare hospital ins and hope I don't need that anytime soon. I still look for any sort of work I can do yet there is nothing out there. I just do without , whatever breaks I fix it and if it's gone then I do without. All I kept were three strats i built and two acousitcs I had and two amps I built and all my woodworking old power tools just in case and fix my own car which is a 1973 VW squareback i rebuilt in 1985 and then in june this year so fellow ran a red light and so of ruined the front of my car but his ins paid to get it fixed but it's not the same now. He ran the light and I was just moving on the green and he came out of no where so I hit his left rear wheel. I haven't been in an accident since 1970. I have my girlfriend too of 33 years. She has been out of work for a while too and gets her SS. I'll never get used to not working , I would have gone on till I dropped yet guess not. I am far from alone dealing with this sort of situation. It's all part of the reason I stopped playing guitar on top of the trigger thumb, that was just an extra bonus. Part of it was it reminded me of better times everytime I picked up the guitar the past settled in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CowboyBillyBob1 Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 I don't know what to say. Keep strong and never give up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAC Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 I wish both of you the best! I just turned 57 last month. Thank the Lord that I don't have any health issues that affect my playing! ( I'm guilty of being lazy though!) Find a jamming partner and that may help! One of my pals I jam with, that is a musical monster has issues with his health like you fellas! Keep working on that mojo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChanMan Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 Just keep playing. You'll get back what you can and you'll fill in the holes with newer and, perhaps, better mojo. Good luck sir! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 Life is not as easy as one believes in teens and 20s. I'm reminded of the college prof who said one shouldn't read or watch King Lear until age 40 - and then it should be mandatory. I don't think age per se will steal one's mojo, but depression can. I call myself a fat old man - and I think I'm still about the oldest regular here and wouldn't mind winding back to 64 or so - but I figure I've got more going in terms of "seeing" than I did 10, 20, 30, 40 or 50 years ago. As we age as entities, I do think it in ways not dissimilar to the aging of liquors... we lose the rawness and are spiced and cured by the containers and environment that surround us. What we lose in raw power, we gain in what we might have to say, both musically and otherwise. The potential tragedy arises when one becomes like the Sybil of Cumae trapped and physically declining in a hermit's cave with so much to say and none to perceive it. A bad thumb in comparison is but a lesser challenge, I think. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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