Getting older is bullshit and I'm only 59!

I just turned 67 the other day, and some days I feel every single year of it. I don't take any medicine for it, most likely arthritis, but nothing so major to be considered a lifestyle changer-I don't know if my family has an average age, because father died at 69 from cancer, aunts died in 80's/90's from Alzheimer's, other relatives lived to 89, etc.

But I don't smoke (any more) I walk a lot (even though my sciatic nerve hates me for it) and I try to keep from eating too many goldfish at one sitting.

I really am not going to go overboard in getting to age longer than I should-because I feel that extending your life beyond what it is naturally takes up more resources than necessary, and that's ridiculous to me. I'm also the kind that will not allow anyone to put me on life support should I get so sick it's required unless there's a very decent chance to survive. Otherwise, just let me go.

I don't have any close relatives who would weep too copiously at my death, so I'm not going to overrate my existence.

I will live as long as I'm able. Maybe 20 more years or 2 more days-we can never tell what's in store for us.

I'm so sorry you're having problems! I'm 56 and *knock wood* very healthy so far. I think a lot is genetics. My mom is almost 89 and looks 20 years younger. My grandmother was healthy and active until 91 (died at 93). I do think that my diet is really helping me out, though. It's very vegetable-focused, and I also eat a lot of fruit, legumes, seeds, nuts, and whole grains. (No meat, eggs, or dairy, either, but I know that's not realistic for most people.) I have avocado every morning. And I drink lots of water. And I try to walk at least five miles a day. I know that's not the magic solution for everybody, but, like I said, it's working well for me ... so far.

Your balance issues could be chemo-induced. Im a breast cancer survivor- had to do chemo for almost a year. Besides chemo giving me metabolic syndrome (which is really only controlled with keto diet) it gave me really shitty balance and I used to have zero problems in that department.

I work out with a ballet, yoga, and pilates instructor who has had several clients who’ve had chemo and she swears that it fucks with your balance.

I am chuckling (and secretly weeping) reading this. I have exactly the same experience in the shower and it started around the age of 60. Much sooner than that, I started having trouble discriminating loud noises, which leads quickly to oldster crankiness.

Our cerebullums are slowly turning back into primordial ooze. Life is a rental.

I try every supplement I can find to try and fight this shitshow . I am currently giving Tru Niagen a try. Nothing has ever worked. Other than that, I try to eat well, I walk 4 - 6 miles every day, I have a 40 minute stretching routine that I do every day, and I do some kind of resistance training most days. I can’t think of anything else I can do. I would have to say that overall, the benefits have not kept up with the amount of time I spend on this shit every single day. Of course for all I know, I’d be dead right now if I wasn’t putting in all of this effort.

Buckle up buttercup…

JK hahahaha sorry I couldn’t resist. 😀

I am only 61, but I am afraid of falling. When I was a teen, I was a cheerleader, on a gymnastics team, and with a dance troupe. I have permanent damage to the ligaments in my ankles. I have torn ligaments in all 4 groups in both ankles. Sometimes, I’m just standing still, and an ankle will just snap out from under me. We have a lot of stairs in our house, so I’m careful. It makes me feel like the game’s over.

So I'll be 72 this year. Mom died at 70 and my sister at 72. Dad almost made it to 91 but Alzheimer's was too much for his body. I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia 10 years ago. Do yoga and walking to combat pain and stiffness. Have had surgery on both shoulders. Use a cannabis tincture to help with pain and insomnia. Before Covid 70 was the new 50, now 70 is the new 90.

Get off my lawn, you youngster (today is my sixty-second birthday).

I get it: A couple years ago I was enrolled into a study of rural veterans to see if osteopenia can be halted before it continues to osteoporosis. The definitions for the disease are framed around the peak bone density of women (about age twenty-five) and men were not considered at all (medical researchers considering it a women's disease).

When enrolled I fell right on the line (meaning I have osteoporosis). I'm not ready to be old yet: I still embarrass my wife doing things like riding grocery store trolleys across car parks and getting strange looks from people. I'm very slight in build and until recently would run in my town's annual 5k fundraiser (though I'm always in the middle of the pack). Doctors have advised me no running any more due to the risk of bone breaks.

I can relate to the balance issue; I'm 62 and have the same, but deal with sinus congestion from allergies. Stay strong friend and enjoy the day.

So all you experiencing vertigo I have a suggestion. My hubby complained to his doctor about having issues (btw he has a heart condition so was completely checked out) And doctor told him to look into this. He’s started having relief days after starting these exercises.

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/benign-paroxysmal-positional-vertigo-bppv

I'll be 69 next month and riding my Harley for a couple of hours makes me feel like I've been bucked off a horse the next day, but it's still worth it!

Don’t worry. It doesn’t get any better. I have hearing issues and lots of back pain likely due to way too many years of sitting hunched over a desk. I also have a pissy attitude toward anything that makes noise. I often find myself mumbling something like “shut the fuck up” whenever I hear anything noisy. Doesn’t matter what it is, though lawncare equipment and loud little sick substitute pickup trucks are the things I hate the worst.

Also lots of “so this is how it ends“ types of aches and pains. It seems like new ones every day.

“Golden years” my ass. Nothing golden about this shit. Whoever came up with that phrase needs a swift kick in the nuts.

My mom (90 yrs) had been gradually putting on weight and couldn't figure out why, because she wasn't eating very much. A few years ago she asked her primary caregiver why, and the woman just rolled her eyes. "Overeating?" "Yup." A few months later, she was getting _really_ uncomfortable and felt like her insides were like jelly. After seeing a few more doctors, they figured her body cavity (not legs or arms) was retaining a huge amount of water (relating to weakened heart function). They put her on a diuretic that in the first three days sent her to the toilet every 15 minutes. Over the next 3 weeks she lost 25 pounds--all water.

Sometimes doctors can be lazy bastards, and when they deal with older people, they tend to automatically assume certain things--that whatever it is, it's always one of the usual ailments. A similar thing happened with my father around 30 years ago. He was always physically active well into his 70s--bicycle trips, doing long walks (5 miles and more regularly, etc.). One day he was out walking when something went SNAP in his knee and it put him in agony. He called my mom and she picked him up. The doctor's diagnosis: "You have arthritis." Of course, all he saw was a old guy with pain in his knee, so it was automatically arthritis. Prescribed all kinds of arthritis medicines. He was the expert.

When I heard about it, I was incredulous, because he never had any joint pain whatsoever before this. After a year of haranguing and cajoling (during which time the knee didn't get any better), I finally got him to see another doctor who was "outside the plan", and it turned out that his knee had been injured (something with a ruptured tendon, I no longer recall exactly)--but being left untreated, the joint had indeed become arthritic since then. His physical activities by then had largely stopped.

One comment, maybe more. I lost weight due to a med.

a couple of months after, I began to get fatigued. My med go-to has proven to be a twit in some areas. I won't get into that except to say that one of the precepts of the medical field is to "Listen to your patient".

I had a few complaints and mentioned I'd had this or that diagnosis previously but it went away. Doc said in effect that I was a pussy who was on the pity pot. OK so fuk you and I reported her lol. This is IHS who is known to employ those who are trainees or can't be hired elsewhere. No consequence for Dr. it turns out. I had a flare-up of the old problem/diagnosis.

I went on a trip still fatigued. Then began the dizzy spells which ruined my trip. Wah wah, I know. I was seeing stars and such. But this was my first trip in years.

I cut my blood pressure (BP) med in 1/2 on my own and had some recovery. A couple of weeks after I returned, the genius doc discovered my BP was very low and said to reduce the dosage. I replied I had already informed them I had reduced the dosage myself. Long story short, my bp med is now 87.5% less than it was. I'm not the athlete or go getter of the past but at least I'm not passing out. Similar with my toe. "Oh it doesn't look that bad", the doc said. Off to the specialist who then immediately schedules the removal of my toe later that day to prevent the spread of the bone infection to my entire foot. I lost my toe unnecessarily but there is no legal relief/remedy for patients of IHS.

Oh boy. I read all of these comments and many made me chuckle. I'm in my early 50s and I'd say doing ok so far (apart from needing to plan out possible bathrooms along my daily travels in case they're urgently needed...) but have started trying to practice the balance thing on each leg with my eyes closed. One piece of advice an older person gave me a long time ago was once you lose something (like muscle mass, balance, etc.) when you are older it is very difficult, if not impossible, to get it back. I've done nothing with this advice, LOL, but hope to try to stem muscle loss and balance issues soon. I notice my age more with not jumping out of bed quite the same way I used to and thinking about everything I do with more caution...will doing this make me fall? If I drink this will there be a bathroom nearby in an hour? LOL Things you never ever would have thought about before. One thing about SAV that surprised me the most is that it seems the average age skews older than I would have thought and that's why I've liked it so much. Let's enjoy every vaccinated day we have, even with aches and pains! 💗

My mom always said that I was “eight going on eighty” (mentally) and now I am sixty going on eighty (physically).