Colt Case Ingersoll Garden Tractors

Well I guess I did it this time, and I don’t even know what I did. Pulled muscles and pinched nerves in my back have pretty well left me useless for the moment. Doc says fatigue and overwork. So here I sit with beautiful weather outside and I can’t do a danged thing. Pretty aggravating. Hopefully it won’t take long to heal. In the meantime i am enjoying seeing what you all are doing. Keeping up with your projects is a lot more fun than just sitting and staring out the window! Thank you guys for the posts you make!

That will conclude today’s thankfully short poor me rambling !

You might try some basic stretches/exercises. Seems to help in my case. Youtube has tons of videos on this subject. Another thing that helps is a good supportive pair of shoes. Worn out shoes can cause pain from your feet to you upper back. I've got some Brooks Beast 20 shoes. They are good and supportive but I still have to replace them by 6 months. Looks like they are actually on sale... not the usual $160 when I need a pair
https://www.amazon.com/Brooks-Mens-Beas ... th=1&psc=1
Anyways take a couple of advil and kick your feet up

I feel for you . I know the pain. Like Matt said , stretches are a good thing , but change depending on what is hurt . @JSinMO Where is the pain / affected area ? I have had my fair share of back injuries and might be help based on what I had to do to recover .

Well that’s to bad Jeff. Pain is not good of any kind. Rest and relaxation is a great start. Don’t do anything too quick. Easy back to it. Little bits at a time. Whiskey helps too, but just little bits.

Noel.

I know the feeling!! I was injured in 2019 and mostly recovered, but at my age things tend get worse with time so I am limited as to what I can do.

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/hz9gH5 ... tid=D5vuiz

I don't know if link will work but let's try it out.

Sorry to hear you are laid up Jeff, Lots of good advice from everyone else ~ rest up and be patient with yourself and try not to go stir crazy

Fellas, thank you for the thoughts, ideas, and some humor. I really, truly appreciate it.

@DavidBarkey it starts between the shoulder blades left side. Quite painful and aggravating. I’ve had some back trouble over the years but this is one of the more severe cases I’ve had. The muscle won’t relax and the nerves are pinched, basically making my left arm and hand useless.

It’s going on 5 days of this nonsense. At this point I’m on steroids and muscle relaxers, some stretching, and a heating pad. Unfortunately patients is a virtue I have yet to master and I doubt I ever will. I’m m hoping I’ll see some improvement in a few more days.

Thank you again everyone. Hopefully I can get back to the never ending list of things to do quickly.

It’s not easy sitting back and doing nothing especially when you’re in PAIN! Try to find something to keep your mind active even though the work you wanted to do is not getting done. I was never much of a reader but as I’ve gotten older I like to read more. Hang in there Jeff, you’ll get through this you’re a persistent person and time will pass. I’ll keep you in my prayers. Harry

JSinMO wrote: ↑Wed Jul 17, 2024 10:39 pm Fellas, thank you for the thoughts, ideas, and some humor. I really, truly appreciate it.

@DavidBarkey it starts between the shoulder blades left side. Quite painful and aggravating. I’ve had some back trouble over the years but this is one of the more severe cases I’ve had. The muscle won’t relax and the nerves are pinched, basically making my left arm and hand useless.

It’s going on 5 days of this nonsense. At this point I’m on steroids and muscle relaxers, some stretching, and a heating pad. Unfortunately patients is a virtue I have yet to master and I doubt I ever will. I’m m hoping I’ll see some improvement in a few more days.

Thank you again everyone. Hopefully I can get back to the never ending list of things to do quickly.

Ok, I know that one well . That one is from working overhead or holding a weight out front like installing a large wheel on a vehicle . That injury is why I don't work in an auto shop anymore . Doc. is wright fatigue and dehydration while doing these tasks is #1 cause in men . Look up T4 Syndrome . This is not one you push to get back at doing some tasks . I did and now if I do too much of overhead work ( and doesn't take much) one or both of my arm go numb and can't use them . You need to re-hydrate and I don't mean just water . Dehydration , look it up ,is more than water loss . Calcium to contract muscles and magnesium to relax your muscles ."When magnesium levels are low, your muscles may contract too much and cause symptoms such as cramps or muscle spasms" All the meds in the world will not help if your mag. is low .
Look these things up for yourself and assess how it applies to you .
I hope this helps , I didn't learn this stuff till it was too late .

Sorry to hear Jeff. Everyone else has said it best, we can all relate to wanting to get back to it but let your body dictate what you are able to do. One day at a time as they say.

Or like like Tom Petty said "the waiting is the hardest part!"

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Oh no! When you're body tells you things like this it's time to listen. Wishing you a quick recovery Jeff!

I also feel your pain. I had generalized pain that matched what I did in my back. But I could usually medicate, heat, or cold it to regenerate it for the next day.

Sometime during the winter my pain was in all my joints. I do mean all my joints. I knew that something new must be wrong. After seeing my PCP, I was referred to a Rheumatologist. In the area where I live, that was a months-long wait.

I read about what it may be during my off time. The one I did not want the tests to say was psoriatic arthritis. That is the one I have. I am still trying to come to grips with what that will mean for me. I know that the damage that it causes is forever. The key is taking the new drugs that slow the damage and ease the pain.

This is a disease that can put you in a power chair. But, I will pray that I find a way to keep on keeping one. And I know it is in God's hands, and he knows what his plan for me is.

So, here is why I hijacked your post JsinMO. I call it my rabbit hole. I have tech of all sorts. My smartphone is for when I leave the house. A Chromebook with nearly the same hardware as a regular laptop. And a Chrome cast on my TV. Lastly, my Home PC is connected to my main TV.

Using usually 2 of those pieces of hardware, I can listen to music and then chase a rabbit down the hole. You can find something that interests you, and then similar content will be next to every link you click on. I find it enjoyable, and the hours can go by fast, and it eases my wish that I was doing something physical.

ssmewing, thanks for the suggestions of what to do when you can’t. I’ll have to remember “the rabbit hole idea.” I’m having a procedure in late August and limited activity for three to four weeks after. I know I’ll be itching to get some seat time in. Harry

I have had the procedures. I can never wait. I figure that if I sit in my chair that long, of course, I would not have the pain I had from being active.

I also do not think it works. It is medically approved. That means it is a billable event. So, of course, they are going to offer it. Everyone I know, mostly, has a back problem. I asked them all if they had had the procedure, and they mostly all had had the procedure. I asked if they think it worked. No one said it was worth doing it, and did not notice any benefit.

I hesitated to post this, but now I’m glad I did. Keeping in mind the hobbies we share and enjoy working on, it’s a fairly high chance a lot of us will have something like this happen in our lives. I’m my mind the information you guys are sharing in this thread is just as important as anything we work on.

@DavidBarkey i did read up on that. And the symptoms sure are close. I talked to the doc he told to watch the calcium intake as too much could lead to kidney stones but magnesium shouldn’t be a problem. So I’ve add some supplements to my diet.

@ssmewing you hit the nail on the head for going down the rabbit hole! That’s pretty much what I’ve started doing for the moment! I’ve got my fingers crossed for you, ( well at least the ones that work at this point). And I’ll keep you in my prayers that you find a solution that will allow not to end up in that chair.

As for me they are saying I have a bulging disc which is causing the nerve and left arm problems. And some very strained muscles. Right now they are saying 2 to 4 weeks depending on how things go. To me the crazy part is there was no one event that caused this. Nothing that I was specifically doing and hurt it. So fatigue is the best answer I have for a cause. Thank god that it looks like I will heal up.

Again I want to thank you all you guys for sharing your input and experience here. Valuable information.

Since I worked in industry my whole life I’ve met a lot of people who have back problems, even my wife has back problems. My Dad had back problems and always preached to his sons about lifting with their legs. So I have always tried to be careful when lifting. I have noticed if I overdue any lifting activity, I get a lower back pain on the lower left side. Take some ibuprofen and the pain is gone. Ifeel lucky that I don’t have the many problems many people have. Harry

I don't know if this is the right place to complain about back problems but I got that too. Sometimes it's worse, never completely pain free though, in the last few years. At the very least we know how you're feeling now.

I thought I would give an update to the situation here. I’m going to call this one, “when it rains it pours”.
I’ve given up on trying to work on any projects at the moment, working one handed and hurting doesn’t make a lot of sense. I’m focused on trying to get healed up, a lot of doctors visits and frustration with not a lot of healing yet. I know you guys can relate.

I was informed yesterday that some of the equipment my company has was damaged in the recent minor flooding we have had in the area. I decided to take a drive out to the river to investigate and get some photos of the damage. Since it would just be driving and taking pictures I figured it would be ok. Well sure enough there was a broken pole that carried a cable across a canal that feeds into the Mississippi River. Both the pole and cable are presumably making their way to the Gulf of Mexico at this moment.
I decided to get some pictures from both sides of the canal and talk to the people there to see what services were down. I was just about done when I got attacked by a dog!
Not being able to move to fast there wasn’t a lot I could do. He got ahold of me on the left knee and bloodied me up a bit. Luckily he didn’t get a very good bite on me, no stitches required but it’s still rather painful. The rest of the day was spent filling out paperwork and trying to get shot records for the dog.

So now I have a screwed up back and just about useless left hand, and a torn up knee. If someone was telling me this story I would never believe it. I think I’m going to just stay in the house for awhile!

OMG , what did you do to piss off the powers that be . If they are trying to test your resolve , they gave you that advanced test . And yes I can relate .
For those who work with there hands , losing that ability even for a short time is frustrating .

Better not buy a lottery ticket, I think like you said stay at home and heal up. I can relate to being bit by dogs, I think they sense I hate them which I don’t. I grew up around dogs and never had a problem as a kid. I have been bit by five dogs over the years and the owners told me they had to put them down after they bit me. Harry

I think you should buy a lotery ticket . Luck has a habit of making big swings and your ready for it to go the other way .

I'm sorry to hear about yet one more aggravating event. Wish you a quick recovery from it all.

Thought I’d throw an update in here. The dog bite is healing nicely. No issues there. The back problems not so much. Making very slow progress but some progress nonetheless. I have resigned myself to the idea not much will be accomplished around here the rest of the year. They are telling me because of nerve damage I kinda have to lean to use left arm again. Quite a strange sensation and very frustrating but I will fight through it. Can’t wait to get back at it.

@JSinMO . Glad you are making progress, so is better than none . Your projects right now should be designing aids for when you get can start doing things again to take the load off the damaged area so to not aggravate again . This is what I did while I was down and out . Things like a winch rail to lift thing onto the bench for working ect. Barn door hard ware (the real stuff ) and a harbour fraight 110 volt overhead winch . Multy direction unit can be made by installing 2 rails on the rafters a little less than the width apart of a 3rd rail which will ride on them.Then the winch will ride on the 3 rail. This will give you 8-10 of x-y axis movement for a few hundred pound depending on the build and the rails . Only you know what your needs will be . A vertion of this is something I am going to add to my shop . As you guys know I have a hoist and a I beam crain already but can't get stuff to the bench from there .

Good to hear from you Jeff, and that some of your parts are on the mend. This will not help you, but maybe it'll give you some perspective. Years ago I was involved in an accident at work, my right hand was caught scissored in a machinery, which thank God was not hydraulic, but pneumatic and didn't have enough power to sever my hand. My wrist though was pressed really hard for several minutes and there was enough nerve damage that my hand was completely non functional, and had no feeling, like it wasn't there. The doctor told me the nerves would recover, but I could not believe it, seeing how it felt. Well, took me about 6 months to be able to use the hand and have partial feeling. Eventually it got back to normal, but it was every so little at a time. Our bodies have the ability to recover greatly from nerve damage, but it's not fast. I wish you a quick recovery though!

@DavidBarkey Thats a really good idea. I’ve kinda been thinking along that line. How do accomplish things with out hurting thing alone the way. Have been thinking the 648 would do the job. It’s a pretty handy shop tool for lifting things. We’ll see how it goes.

@Eugen it’s really funny how one injury can lead to another and how a pinched nerve can affect muscles and strength. They have given me pages of exercises to do to help this all heal. I want to say they told me nerves can grow back 1 millimeter a day. The body can do amazing things.

Well the road to recovery continues. Dog bite is all healed up and fine now so that’s good news. The doctors tell me it’s time to start exercising and the have given me almost enough exercises to do to right a book! Which it fine, the stretching is painful, but it does seems to help. I ask them if I could start doing some things around here and they said yes, within reason. I did a little today , which I’ll post in the garden section, and now I’m rather fatigued and there are things I just can’t do yet, but I’m thrilled to be trying to move again!

@JSinMO It's over a year now since I blew my back out . I am told still not to lift more than 30lbs and be careful doing it . Do I go past that at times , yes a little . But I am very carefull and the slightest twingg and I stop .

JSinMO wrote: ↑Sat Sep 07, 2024 7:13 pm Well the road to recovery continues. Dog bite is all healed up and fine now so that’s good news. The doctors tell me it’s time to start exercising and the have given me almost enough exercises to do to right a book! Which it fine, the stretching is painful, but it does seems to help. I ask them if I could start doing some things around here and they said yes, within reason. I did a little today , which I’ll post in the garden section, and now I’m rather fatigued and there are things I just can’t do yet, but I’m thrilled to be trying to move again!

Yes, I find the stretching helps a lot first thing in the morning. It’s painful some days more than others but it helps get this old bidy moving again. Keep up the exercise and keep us posted on your progress. Harry

Thanks guys. I know there are fellas here that are injured worse than me, @DavidBarkey a herniated disc certainly qualifies! Anything you can do to avoid surgery is the way to go. I’m not sure I could quantify 30 pounds when I’m trying to work on something but in a way your body kinda knows what’s too much. My problem is I don’t always listen to it! If you don’t feel comfortable sharing I understand, but do they think you make a full recovery?

On a side note I hope I’m not sounding too whiny about my situation. I don’t mean too. My hope is this turns out in some way as a chance to support each other. Our group shares a lot of the same interests. When your laid up it’s easy, at least for me, to feel rather isolated and alone. Anyone out there that’s wants to engage and let us know how your doing please feel free to do so.

For those that are doers , being laid up really gets on your nerves . Having somewhere to vent among your peers doesn't fix it , but does help release some of the pent up frustration you experience . @JSinMO Yes , as long as I don't re-injure it . It is one of those things that when you take age into account the chances of re-injuring will always be greater now and will take far less to do it . If that happens , Drs will most likely have to fuse the joint . My wife tells me I have selective listening skills , her , my body , ect. so your not alone , but like me you will have to pay attention better .

I’m working on building strength back into my left arm and hand. Waiting to see the neurologist. They are going to do an EMG test on me. The way it was explained they put needles in the muscle from the neck to the hand to test function. Then see where it goes from there. The doc didn’t make sound like it was much fun! Has anyone had one of these tests before?

JSinMO wrote: ↑Sat Sep 21, 2024 10:49 am I’m working on building strength back into my left arm and hand. Waiting to see the neurologist. They are going to do an EMG test on me. The way it was explained they put needles in the muscle from the neck to the hand to test function. Then see where it goes from there. The doc didn’t make sound like it was much fun! Has anyone had one of these tests before?

I have not had that , so can't report on that . I have had an elector something test on my wrists that told me I have mild in one and moderate carpel tunnel there . 45 mins in the MRI machine and I am closeter phobic . I can tell you that was no fun .

JSinMO wrote: ↑Sun Sep 08, 2024 12:16 pm On a side note I hope I’m not sounding too whiny about my situation. I don’t mean too. My hope is this turns out in some way as a chance to support each other. Our group shares a lot of the same interests. When your laid up it’s easy, at least for me, to feel rather isolated and alone. Anyone out there that’s wants to engage and let us know how your doing please feel free to do so.

Oh no, whining sounds a lot different. We appreciate you sharing with us what happened to you, and the updates. Pretending we are just tractor enthusiasts and nothing else happens to us would be in fact fake. We are human beings and life is like that, with wrenching that goes well and not so well, with adventures and also with tribulations. We will leave the showing off and fake lives for the folks on facebook and instagram.

My dad (74) had a mild stroke Tuesday night. He was able to walk into the hospital with help Wednesday morning but over the course of the day slowly lost most of his ability to move his left arm and left leg. His speech is pretty good. Seems to be stable today and started some physical therapy today and is relearning to use the muscles again. Tomorrow he will go to a rehab/physical therapy facility. Not sure how long he will be there.

@MattA - Thoughts and prayers for your Dad... and wishes for a speedy recovery

Saying a prayer for him @MattA. Sorry to hear this. I’m glad he was able to get into the hospital pretty quick. I’ll keep my fingers crossed he gets out of that rehab facility quickly.

JSinMO wrote: ↑Thu Sep 26, 2024 9:38 pm Saying a prayer for him @MattA. Sorry to hear this. I’m glad he was able to get into the hospital pretty quick. I’ll keep my fingers crossed he gets out of that rehab facility quickly.

Would have been a lot quicker if he had called 911 at 2am when he didn't feel right. He was home alone and around 9am my mom called him from upstate NY while visiting with family and realized something was wrong. She immediately called my sister who was about 5 minutes away. She being a registered nurse immediately diagnosed the problem and gave him the option to ride with her or ride in an ambulance. She also works at the hospital he is at and was able to get him some better care and a private room. He could literally have called any one of us or 911 for help

@MattA hope your dad gets well again soon!

I'm so sorry to hear that @MattA . I'll be praying for your dad, and for your whole family during this stressful time.

Bob

@MattA Hope your Dad recovery goes well and quick.

@Matt, Your family is in my thoughts and prayers. My Dad and Mom both ignored dads symptoms days before the big stroke hit in his mid 70"s. Dads family has a history of strokes. At 64 I had a mild TIA which lead me to a diet and life style change. Health improvements have been a 2 year and externally slow process but well worth it. Will these changes help dodge the bullet? Maybe not, but guys, listen to what your body is telling you. We aren't as invincible as our younger selves thought.

If I can't fix myself, there is always a GT to work on.

P.S. Sometimes there is a slight urge to load a 12 cup pot of coffee and fry up a mess of bacon

Matt, prayers for you and your family at this time. Good luck in you Dads recovery. Harry

I appreciate the support guys. It's been a busy weekend. My dad is anxious to get better. He is doing physical therapy and very slowly starting to get his left arm and left leg working again. He may move to a rehab place tomorrow. The delay is the insurance company dragging their feet. Sounds like insurance will pick up $1450 per day for rehab and my parents will pick up the other $350 per day. I guess $350 per day isn't that bad considering a basic hotel room runs around $200 a day.

I thought I’d give an update. I finally had my appointment with the neurologist. I got poked and shocked in spots from my neck down to my hand. They marked the testing spots.

For anyone that might get this test in the future I can report that it was not comfortable by any stretch, but it certainly wasn’t the worst thing I have ever experienced. It felt like touching an electric fence. The part I found interesting is the doctor was listening to the voltage running through my muscles. As he had me move my muscles you could hear the static on his machine change in tone and intensity.

Nerve damage for sure and now I wait for results and what the path forward will be. He did say to continue the stretching and a normal multi vitamin use maybe up my B1 a little bit. He did warn me to stick to light exercise in that arm for now.

So I assume this is at least some progress.

I had that when they were first looking into why my hands go numb when trying to work over head . It was the weirdest thing . I agree with your assessment of it . I was lucky they said no nerve damage at this time , but I have Carpel tunnel , mild in right wrist and moderate in left wrist . How she could tell that from the machine I have no idea . I guess thats why I am not a Dr. @JSinMO nerves can repair themselves to a degree from what I have read , but takes time and doing all the right stuff . The news isn't great , but could be worse and at least you have some answers and direction . I would like to say speedy recovery , but the reality is it takes time and you must be patient or you will go backwards . And that is no fun I can tell you .

Sounds like progress to me Jeff. Keep the course and walk the line, your hand will recover in time, I am sure of it.

DavidBarkey wrote: ↑Thu Nov 28, 2024 5:36 am I had that when they were first looking into why my hands go numb when trying to work over head . It was the weirdest thing . I agree with your assessment of it . I was lucky they said no nerve damage at this time , but I have Carpel tunnel , mild in right wrist and moderate in left wrist . How she could tell that from the machine I have no idea . I guess thats why I am not a Dr. @JSinMO nerves can repair themselves to a degree from what I have read , but takes time and doing all the right stuff . The news isn't great , but could be worse and at least you have some answers and direction . I would like to say speedy recovery , but the reality is it takes time and you must be patient or you will go backwards . And that is no fun I can tell you .

I had that version on both sides and then had to have bilateral carpel tunnel surgery. That has been great not to have my hands go numb so easily.

I also had my leg tested decades ago for sciatica on the right side. That was a waste of pain on pain. I still have it, and no help.

Just wanted to give a quick update. I’m finally scheduled for surgery this coming week. No pun intended but on one hand I’ll be so happy to lose the numbness and hopefully get full use back. But on the other hand even though it’s routine I just can’t help but have anxiety about it and I really just rather not go at all. Hopefully in 4 to 6 I’ll be much better.

Good luck , hope it all works out ok and speedy recovery .

I hope it’s like you said just routine. My brother just had both hands done and he’s glad he can play pickleball again. Let us know how it goes. I’m considering having it done myself. Harry

I have an evaluation for CT surgery the end of April. has been going off in my fingertips all winter long.

@JSinMO Wishing you all the best for your surgery and a speedy recovery without too much discomfort...

Good luck Jeff. You’ll be good as new soon.

Noel

I pray the surgery goes uneventful and to see you back to normal soon Jeff!

Well the surgery went fine. But cabin fever is already setting in. Can’t do much right now except stare out the window and watch it rain. I guess having this done in bad weather is a good thing. If it was sunny and warm out I really couldn’t stand sitting in the house! hopefully it won’t be long and I’ll see good results.
I can say doing it endoscopic was much less invasive just a couple of stitches.

Thank you all for the well wishes I very much appreciate it!

Jeff, thank you for the update. Merri and myself are wishing you the best.

Glad the surgery went fine , hope down time is not long for you . Is there much pain from the surgery , or do they got on happy pills ?

DavidBarkey wrote: ↑Fri Apr 04, 2025 5:30 pm Glad the surgery went fine , hope down time is not long for you . Is there much pain from the surgery , or do they got on happy pills ?

They did give me the pills but I haven’t needed them much. More sore and achy and stiff rather than sharp pain. Bearable most of the time so that’s good.

On the mend.

Noel