Tired tonight, and my hand is sore and has been for several days. It's more like the wrist, actually. It's a fairly deep pain, something inside the joint, and whatever it is, it's pretty much immune to Icy Hot. I've noticed some soreness in some of my other joints recently too.
I hate when this kind of thing happens. I told this story a few months ago... I'm going to tell it again now. Several years ago, I finally went to a doctor over a persistent soreness in my hip and lower back. After doing several tests and eating up my entire day, the best they could offer with certainty was "these kinds of things happen once you reach a certain age" and a recommendation of regular old over-the-counter Tylenol — I didn't even get a prescription for the good stuff. When pressed, they said it could be sacroiliitis but that was often hard to diagnose. It was such a relief to have the professional medical community on my side there. (Not!)
Anyway, ever since then, I've kind of given up on going to the doctor for mystery aches and pains. Sure, that sacroiliitis thing was years ago, and sure, it wasn't exactly a top-notch medical facility. It was actually one of those sadly, optimistically misnamed "urgent care" type places, kind of an "ER lite" with the same wait time at a cheaper price. I just can't imagine it going any differently today, really. "Oh, it's probably nothing, just bite the bullet and get the hell out of here. Ok, fine, it might be bubonic plague. Now get out!"
I am — to coin a phrase — painfully aware I'm getting older, and I know there's a certain spryness slipping away more each day. I also know somebody older than me is going to read this and say, "Hey, kid, you ain't seen nothin yet!" True, I'll grant you that in advance. But that doesn't mean it's a bed of roses now.
Happily, it feels like the Tylenol is kicking in tonight. Now let's see if I can sleep through the entire night, another problem that's surfaced within the last nine months or so. What the hell is wrong with me?