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).

Amen. I am 43, and arthritis pains are kicking my ass. I have seen multiple rheumatologists and have had the full battery of tests -- I only have standard osteo-arthritis, and none of it is outside of what would be considered normal for my age. So why am I in such damn pain all the time from it? Nobody knows, because as stated everything looks normal for age, and my inflammation markers are all real low.

Meloxicam is a damn miracle drug for me and virtually eliminates all my aches and pains, but it is super nasty on the liver, so I try to take it only on bad days, and I have to have my liver regularly checked.

Mentally, I am fine, other than a few bouts of mid-life crisis feelings here and there, but those are innocent. Some people will go nuts and leave their spouse for a younger model, run off on their kids, etc. That is not me at ALL. I love my wife. I love my kids. My mid-life crisis moments are along the lines of "I want to buy a Jeep Rubicon" or "I want to live in the middle of nowhere". When I feel like that, I spend a couple weeks watching youtube videos about whatever I have got a bug up my ass about, and the feeling subsides.

Health and aging .............. poor mental health leads to physical illness. Mental illness is institutionally stigmatised and largly untreated.

Don't ask me how I know. 😠

Hineni, hineni.......

I'll mention the balance issue to my GP and see what he thinks. Oddly, I don't need the elbow touching the wall to offer actual support, I think it just orients my brain to where I am.

How old am I? I'm this old.

Around here we have way too many Ford F150s, Hemis, etc. Some are louder than others. Seems the louder they are, the shorter the owner.😉

As for music, stuff I like I play it loud. On earbuds. As a college student, I certainly inflicted Led Zepp on a lot of people back in the 70s, so when someone starts blasting rap figure I am getting some karmic payback. Not a rap hip/hop fan.

However, after the Play.It.Loud. musical cornucopia of late 1960s-1970s rock, city decided stricter noise ordinances were needed. No more blasting the stereo after 10 pm around here.

No ordinances against the ungodly loud exhaust systems however.

Mate I'm only in my 30s and so far I need reading glasses when only a year ago I didn't, I'm taking multiple meds like an old guy and I ask people to turn music down, I'm fucked.

I'm 66, and while I don't have any issues with balance (get that checked out, could be anything, including HBP) it sure does hurt to get old. When you fall, it hurts for days afterward, and you feel pain in places you didn't know existed.

But it's sometimes offset by the comments one gets from acquaintances..like yesterday: "You wear 66 far better than anyone I've seen!"

I thanked them and then sat down to rest my aching bones. I did not make a trade with the devil, believe it or not, and if you ever see me first thing in the morning, you'll be sure I don't look that young.

But I get my revenge by outlasting people younger than I am. The only sin I've had to beat is smoking, which I did successfully.

What was that line? "The sweetest revenge is living well".

PS: I'm living proof that the old are not the only people who need hearing aids-I've had mine since I was 11. Gone through at least 6 pairs by now. Yes, it's 55 years, but it's better than being deaf. (and yes, my radio/CD player is turned up that high and you can stick it where the sun shines!)

When I mention a similar thing, Mrs Wolfenbane says to me "Getting old isn't for sissy's".😮

I have issues with balance when I close my eyes. I have excellent balance otherwise. In fact I had no idea I had the problem until I took a test and they said, “close your eyes”. Shock and awe! Eyes open and I can stand around on one foot all day. Closed, I tilt immediately. It’s a proprioception issue with me. Takes multiple systems to maintain balance, this one is off for me. You can do training to improve it. I’m pretty intermittent with my efforts to improve it. You should def address this with docs. Aging sucks and what gets you is the falls.

Dear Blue, that balance thing sounds dangerous! I would ask your doc. I notice a little less balance when 1st getting up, but not like that. I’m about to turn 64, though maturity-wise you might not think so…

I'm in my 60s and don't have any of that problem with balance (fortunately!), but my wife is 59 like you, and she sometimes has balance and dizziness issues. I'd say it's an inner ear issue, and you probably should get your ears checked.

Loud cars, engines, and beatboxes just piss me off. I always think those drivers (always male) are "arrested development" cases who never got beyond the time they were 8-year old boys and thought the height of being cool was to get a microphone and amplify their farts, or compare who could fart the loudest. Well, now they're supposedly adults, and all those loud jet skis, motorboats, motorcycles, souped-up sports cars, and so on, if you really think about it, sound just like prolonged, amplified farts. Mentally, the owners are still 8.

Yes, caught early, all gone and I'm down to only twice a year for check ups with the oncologist so all good. Thanks for the concern!

Aww..Blue am so sorry. But I am glad you are an ex-smoker, so am I, although to be honest, I have been sneaking a few every once in a whole recently. Congrats on being an ex-drinker!! And wow, cancer, well I am so glad you survived that ordeal. But you are ok now, right?

Ugh, I chock it up to having really shitty genes!!