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Metallosis Health Scare
The last couple of years has brought so much change and happiness with marrying my High School Sweetheart and then building our dream home overlooking Grand Junction, CO. However, 2024 started off with a bout of Shingles as I turned 70 and finished up with a couple cases of Covid. But all was trending to great with my first annual ski pass at Powderhorn.
At the beginning of March of 2025 I experienced what seemed like a Kidney Stone due to centralized pain in the lower back and abdomen. After a visit with my doctor and a blood test for Cobalt, I realized that I was undergoing a Metallosis event from my 2 Wright CONSERVE® Femoral Resurfacing which are made from Chrome/Cobalt. My hips were resurfaced in 2006 and 2010 and I have been extremely happy with the results which allowed me to continue my love for backpacking. I did experience a Metallosis event back in 2016 when I took up playing my beloved game of Handball. I quickly realized that the lateral movement of this court game was causing metal fatigue in my hips confirmed by a high concentration of chrome/cobalt in my blood. When I realized the similarity of symptoms with this latest event my “A-Ha” Moment pointed directly at the amount of skiing I had done this winter. I didn’t equate lateral movement with skiing, however, after thinking about the stress put on hips from skiing, I knew what I had done.
After my first encounter with Metallosis, I scrambled to understand more about health ramifications from metal poisoning and it was scary. I had friends with hip resurfacing who shared with me their terrible experiences of tissue dying around their hips that were somewhat confirmed by the Documentary: “The Bleeding Edge” that I wrote a post about. Luckily it appeared that my specific brand of hips had a superior metal alloy and design which limited the amount of metal fatigue. But I was not sure how much damage had been done from the skiing. I was definitely in severe pain for many weeks but I was not sure how much permanent damage had been done. In my earlier research I found that the over the counter supplement N-Acetyl-Cysteine, NAC, was a natural chelating agent for your blood. (An earlier Post about NAC) It was OK to increase my dosage of NAC from 1200 to 2400 mg which I did along with shutting down my exercise routines that did not sit well with my almost 1 year old Labrador Retriever or my golf game.
The severe pain began to subside and I was able to walk the dog again, I was daily monitoring the muscle cramping and weakness of the muscles around my hips. The slow but steady progress through March was encouraging and now I am able to walk 18 holes of golf at least once a week in April. I have an appointment with a Orthopedic Surgeon in May when I hope to get more deliberate about a maintenance program for monitoring the metal fatigue. (Update)I met with my Orthopedic Doctor to discuss my MRI of my hips and all looks good. No reason to be concerned so now I can exercise without fear of doing more damage. Overall, it appears that I will be able to manage this problem and continue my plans for a return to Backpacking.
Why Backpack?
How does an old retired guy end up becoming a backpacker, and why? This passion is not a common pursuit for any age. The older I get the more lonely I find myself in the pursuit of my favorite activity. Lonely is not a bad thing, solitude is actually a huge part of my backpacking pursuit. I just find myself wanting to share my passion with others of similar age and experience. I do love seeing so many young people exploring the backcountry even if it does make the pursuit of solitude that much more difficult. I think it would be great to still have those backpacking friends from my youth, but life intervenes.
I learned how to survive in the wilderness as a young man while living in Colorado. Then, backpacking was more about conquering the wilderness, proving that I could go to these remote beautiful places. And I am so thankful that I did, but life intervenes. Yes, family, job and many other hurdles replace that freedom for a period of time. When freedom returned, backpacking again emerged as a passion, but now with wisdom and some restraint. So the Why? Can be answered by the passion, but How does this happen?
Backpacking is physically demanding and can definitely be uncomfortable which is why most all of my friends do not share this passion with me. Sure, everyone wants to be on those mountaintops but reality does not allow that for most. I believe that getting in shape in order to pursue serious backpacking would be extremely difficult at my age, which is why I am so thankful that I have stayed in shape. This was not really an option. I have inherited a bad back and I have paid the price for not maintaining strength to protect against throwing my back out. So I have pursued exercise throughout my life primarily seeking out games to fulfill the goal. Basketball was my mainstay, however, a lifetime playing roundball rewarded me with both my hips needing to be replaced and that was the end of basketball. Because of the hips I could not participate in any exercise that created lateral stress, however, hiking only creates forward stress. Luckily I have found that backpacking physically agrees with my chrome cobalt hips.
Without fitness getting in the way, the question becomes, “why would you want to place yourself in such uncomfortable situations”. And this is the real challenge. Committing to a backpacking trip when the comforts of home are so appealing is the greatest hurdle. The pressure to stay in shape especially in old age is a significant motivator, however, it is the reward of the adventure that drives you to the trail. Of course the process gets easier and your experience tends to help you overcome most unnecessary hardships. But it is the defiance of old age that may be the ultimate driver. Experiencing the beauty of true wilderness for as long as possible is the ultimate motivator.
The reality for everyone is not knowing when your body will finally give out. For me I have to always be concerned about my hips, but that unknown is a motivator as well. Do it while you still can. That is why I am placing the more difficult adventures at the head of the bucket list. The Adventure Continues.
The Adventure Continues 