Younger Folks Posting in the Retirement Forum (years, best, year)

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Note to self ... start a thread on firing health care providers in the near future.

[mlb]

I post younger than I look......

But seriously - when I was in my mid-40's I panicked because we had not yet begun to save in earnest for retirement. I would have LOVED the advice I have gleaned here. Fast forward 17 years and we are STILL learning. But doing much, much better. Still can learn, too.

I encourage everyone to participate and learn and share.

[msgsing]

I started day dreaming about retirement in my late 40's so a place like CDF if it had existed then would have been a great place just to hang out and interact with other folks thinking the same thoughts.

[Sojj]

Yeah ... except I had an NP go all wonky on me for no reason I could discern. I had just turned 50, I think, or maybe I was about to. But I had been having excessive bleeding and flooding - you know, "female troubles". I was still having regular periods, if you could pick them out from the flooding. Which I could, because they were, well, REGULAR.

So I went to the clinic to see what was up. The NP walks in, I tell her what's up, and she tells me that it is impossible for me to be having "that kind" of bleeding because I'm post-menopausal.

No exam, nothing. Purely based on being a dried up old prune of (nearly) 50. I offered to let her do an examination right then and there, as the "imposible" was currently in full-swing. She got VERY angry, started to lecture me - VERY insulting though I can't remember exactly what she said anymore. VERY disrespectful. I wasn't having it, politely but firmly redirected her back to the issue at hand, and she walked out of the room and left me sitting there.

After about 20 minutes of sitting there twiddling my thumbs, I got up to see where she'd gone and found her in the clinic director's office complaining about me. The director told me someone would be with me directly, and I waited probably another 15 minutes. The director herself came in, I never saw Ms "I HAVE UMPTY-BAZILLION YEARS OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE AND I KNOW WHEN A WOMAN IS POST-MENOPAUSAL, YOU ARE TOO OLD BY FAR TO STILL BE HAVING PERIODS" again.

HOWEVER. She was apparently responsible for processing my paperwork to get me the OB/GYN referral. When I showed up for that - which took nearly a month btw - the doctor started to do an exam and remarked - "I can't do this exam, you're bleeding!"

I said "Of course I am, that's why I'm here. Excessive bleeding and flooding. Been going on for 5 years now, maybe 6."

he says "Aren't you here for a well-woman visit? That's what (np's name) referral says ..."

SO I go through the whole 'splanation again. He is looking more and more thunderous. He says, "Well we will see to it. You should have been seen for this IMMEDIATELY, we certainly won't put it off any longer."

So he gets down to it and soon I hear - and this is exactly, I'm sure, what EVERY WOMAN dreams of hearing when she's in That Position and her doctor is in That Other Position - "OH MY GOD! WHAT IS THAT??? I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT!!!"

Yeah, we had something potentially serious going on. And that NP's high-and-mighty (and, I might add) ignorant attitude had put me in danger. This was potentially cancer, and things were scary looking even to the OB/GYN guy who thought he'd seen it all up to now. He apologized PROFUSELY that I had been made to wait so long, and made it clear that there would be repercussions for Ms High and Mighty.

Fortunately for me it was NOT cancer, but it was quite serious enough in and of itself. Cancer is not the only life-threatening ailment on the planet.

And it is almost a decade later and I'm STILL not POST-menopausal. So there.

And then I had an interaction with an NP the other day - about my age (but then so was the other one) that was perfectly fine. I liked her.

You guys are right. Sometimes some people are just jerks.

But I still can report with some accuracy and certainty that of the last several doctors I have had (due to several moves), the ones who were my age or perhaps a bit older were the ones I have had the best relationships with, and the ones who convincingly portrayed understanding of and empathy for my conditions. understanding the problem means they were more effective at finding ways to ameliorate my situation.

So I still intend to make sure I get an age-range for whoever my next PCP ends up being. I just think that increases my chances of getting effective medical care. Kid Medico just isn't cuttin' it for me.

[jlawrence01]

There are a lot of doctors who are BLUNT. In my younger days, I used to avoid those doctors Ike the plague.

Now that I am older (and wiser), I look for BLUNT doctors. Those are the doctors that give you a kick in the rear to change those aspects of your lifestyle that will lead to problems down the road.

Here is a typical exchange:

DR: "When you were working, how many hours did you work a day?"
ME: "Ten to twelve."
DR: "How many hours are you now working?"
ME: "None."
DR: Grins. "I guess you could give me one hour of exercise at the gym a day, Right?"
ME: "Hard to argue with that logic."

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Originally Posted by jlawrence01

There are a lot of doctors who are BLUNT. In my younger days, I used to avoid those doctors Ike the plague.

Now that I am older (and wiser), I look for BLUNT doctors. Those are the doctors that give you a kick in the rear to change those aspects of your lifestyle that will lead to problems down the road.

Here is a typical exchange:

DR: "When you were working, how many hours did you work a day?"
ME: "Ten to twelve."
DR: "How many hours are you now working?"
ME: "None."
DR: Grins. "I guess you could give me one hour of exercise at the gym a day, Right?"
ME: "Hard to argue with that logic."

How about?: "Get rid of the spare tire or you'll end up a Type 2 Diabetic."

[AK-Cathy]

I'm one of the younger retirees (Retired at age 48) that occasionally comments on this forum mostly regarding relocation because that is something that we have a lot of experience with. I couldn't begin to comment on senior issues and I don't.

All over CD, one finds people talking way outside of their depth and experience. It's pretty evident when this is the case. Take what is helpful and ignore what doesn't fit IMO.

[meo92953]

I agree. If I would have explored this site earlier I would have possibly learned how to save better & possibly made better plans. I certainly have listened to good advice now.

[tamiznluv]

Originally Posted by TuborgP

AT age 65 do you have more in common with and similar thinking with folks age:

55 or 75?
45 or 85?
35 or 95?

Please young folks stayyyyyyyyyy

At age 62, I can converse with people of any of these ages. I may not be able to DO what a 35 yr old can do now but I can still find commonality and with older folks I like to listen to them.

[silibran]

Frankly I take advice from my kids all the time about my Ipad and Iphone. And I take advice from the guy who does landscape work for us too. I've also learned a lot about the latest, mostly good, child rearing techniques from my kids as well.

But DH takes financial advice from his brokerage firm with a grain of salt. People have been trying to get him to take more risk for years. He is sticking to his guns, and so far things have been fine, even after the awful market collapse in 2008. (We"ll see about the present market collapse.) And, our youngish realtor tried to convince us to consider a two story house in 2012. We knew we wanted a one story, and we managed finally to find one. However, she had good advice in other respects.

I have a couple of doctors who are quite a bit younger than I. Mostly, I listen to what they tell me. Once my gp blew me off though about my anemia. I simply got a bottle of iron pill and began taking them. I have been feeling much better since starting to take them. I will insist on getting a proper blood test next time.

So, for me it is a mixed bag. I listen to some advice, and discount other advice. It isn't so much about the age of the person giving advice, as it is how I evaluate the actual advice.