But I believe it has a huge impact on us as we age. Aging past sixty I mean.
I observed myself yesterday. I had lab work booked in anticipation of an appointment with my internist on Thursday. I pulled out the requisition from my medical file (I am much more organized in old age) and lurch off to the lab. Pain has been a challenge in the past week so I bring George, my trusty cane.
Only to learn I had brought the wrong requisition.
This included hormone testing so rather than tell them I had the wrong requisition with me, I underwent a session on how to correctly perform hormone testing.
Hauling - with difficulty, keeping my balance on top of George - the two unneeded and unnecessary enormous hormone jugs and all their attendant instructions all the way out to the parking lot and the safety of my car. Breathing a huge sigh of relief, I headed home, wondering how and where to dispose of these jugs.
But the day wasn’t done with me by a long shot.
Suddenly, I realized I had no memory of receiving my health card back from the technician. I called the lab, no card. Panic.
Finally, after a few hours, in despair, I looked in my wallet and there it was. No memory of receiving it or placing it carefully back in my wallet. What the hell?
I come to the conclusion that a pain filled day seriously affects the brain. There is no room for anything else. The whole focus is on keeping it together, keeping the aforementioned befuddlement away from medical observation.
The brain is on overdrive just putting one foot in front of the other with a watchful eye cast outward for the men in white coats ready to pounce.
And in case you’re wondering, there has been little to no research done on pain in old age, apart from a few offhand observations that it possibly might contribute to rapid onset of dementia as neurons firing constantly wears out an elderly brain.