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I see no comparison at all between you (63) and someone in their 80's. 63 is not that old! I'm 55 and I hope I can maintain that until at least 63 and would not be bragging about it if I did. You may THINK you can outwork someone half your age but I guess if I were you I'd confirm that with one of my kids of that age. I mean, good for you! But knock on wood and keep doing what you're doing because I have a feeling that in 20 years you will be feeling different than you do now. Enjoy these years!
BTW, how infirm and demented can they be if they are going out and doing bus trips? They may not be climbing Mt. Everest but you'll learn just how bad off you can be so thank your lucky stars and never be smug.
I also hear people talk about "back when" and old people seemed in better shape - but I wonder if our perceptions of age were different back then and if we could even accurately judge age. Think of Edith Bunker (yes, I know she was on tv) - she was meant to be maybe late 40's, early 50's at the oldest. But looking back at her she acted OLD, looked old, and dressed old compared to what most 50 year olds seem like now. I just wonder if our memories and perceptions fool us when we are trying to make comparisons.
I read some of the posts from the "young kids" here and I started to supplement about 25 yrs ago and now I'm 80....so MOST of you are young in my book.
I'm in good health except for the advancing OA which all worsened with hip replacement, talk about some regrets....
There are many things I don't do anymore, but I'm OK with that....not dealing with a 50 yr old body anymore.
See my general doc once a year and have been talking to ortho docs about arthritis alternatives....the thought of another replacement leaves me in chills.
For me, it seems like so much depleted after menopause in my early 50's....
I can still hear a friend's words, she felt "old" when she hit 80...well here I am. I don't like to tell my body it's old, so I watch my words.
Threads like this make me think about my Grandma. She was a widow for over 40 years. She never drove and an injury she suffered in a hotel fire left her unable to lift her leg high enough to get on a bus so she had to rely on friends and relatives for all her needs. But they stepped up and did it!
She lived outside of Pittsburgh, had a large house, property, fruit trees, and a huge garden. She took care of all of it, mostly herself. Sometimes kids or grands would come over and help but she worked all day every day. She canned all the veggies from her garden and made jams and jellies.
She had more energy than I did at 20. I knew even as a kid I could not keep up with Grandma. She died at home at 93 after a short illness. She was a winner in the genetic lottery for sure but I think all her hard work contributed to her longevity. I usually visited her once a year. The last time she was well over 90 and laughed with delight because my suitcase was full of lemons. I wanted her to make a pie while I was there. When I arrived from the airport...she was out mowing the yard!
All I plan to do is live until I die!
The key thing is to do things, not just sit around. My two aunts don’t exercise like Jane Fonda either, both are in their early 90s, still crack jokes when I see them, although I wouldn’t call them robust in health, but they are still cooking and doing lite household chores and gardening slightly, no driving though, but they dont know how to drive either. Just relying on others for transportation for years.
Late fifties here the only medication I was on was a statin but due to side effects, I am taking a hiatus to see if I can lower it without meds. I am not too optimistic though and probably will have to switch to another statin.
The jury is still out on whether high cholesterol is as bad as doctors say.
Late fifties here the only medication I was on was a statin but due to side effects, I am taking a hiatus to see if I can lower it without meds. I am not too optimistic though and probably will have to switch to another statin.
I was on a statin for about six months and due to side effects, started taking half dose. Still had weakness in my legs, particularly noticeable when cycling. Doc was going to let me forego them totally since the numbers were okay, but said the benefits were worthwhile. He switched me to another and no side effects from the new stuff.
If you elect to resume, ask for something different.
I'm 76. I have always considered myself to be in good health. Always believed I could do just about anything within reason. I don't feel a need to prove myself to anyone. A lot of my life I have felt I was in survivor mode and knew if I failed, it wouldn't be good for me.
Over the past few years I have developed some health problems (according to my doctor) and am taking several Rx meds. I know all the blood tests they run on us during our physicals are what the doctors have to decide if we need medicine or not. But are we really all the same? What is not normal for some.... is that all we have to go by? Can't some of us be different?
Some of the things that bother me the most is not enough $$ to do things I would like to do. Have always thought I would drive through our country. Life circumstances, no life partner, kids who aren't interested in having a relationship. That does get me down at times.
A year or two ago I "suddenly" realized my age. Always felt younger that what I am. But that is fading away and I anticipate life to get a bit bleaker.
Me: i have degenerative disc disease in my back, had part of my neck fused due to removal of a badly herniated disc, and will probably have another herniated disc removed and fused next year, if not, then in 2020. Ive dealt with this since age 24. I have stage 3 avascular necrosis in my right hip. I have torn ligaments in my right knee, and now my left knee, which has been well used while favoring the right, us starting to aggravate me. I have bad arthritis in every bone and joint in my body. There is rarely a time im "pain free". I use a cane to get around.
My OH:
Has Pagets disease in left hip, which remodels the bone by adding extra bone. But also has osteoporosis in the right hip, which takes bone away. Has a bad back also, often uses a cane for longer walks. My OH is often in mych pain as well.
Quite simply at one time wed be dead, dying, worn out and ill used. Now we MIGHT face another 30 (+) years of living. FIL is 90, my father is 84 this month. FIL is frail, but still does his own thing. My father is starting to seriously decline.
We can forecast wet weather all seasons by the way our bodies feel. Its NOT a happy or pleasant feeling....lol.
My mind says im about 30, ( not 18 like every one pretend s), but my body says " much older than that!!!"
Ive learned to listen to my body, and fortunately i have a great general physician who listens and does something or refers me to the right specialist. I Do have a specialist already for most possible and ailments i have.
I have a positive attitude but days im in a lot of pain its hard to remain that way, when walking to tge bathroom causes my kees to give way and buckle. Im not prone to falling YET, but.....
I am 63 and in absurdly good health. Oh, I have my days (usually after a brutally hard work day) when things ache, but overall I can out work and out play kids half my age.
I want to ask the folks on this forum a question about their health in general because I don't personally know anyone my age to compare myself to.
I live in Branson, Missouri and this time of year we get lots of retired folks, mainly on bus tours. I work at a hotel in the breakfast room and I see, literally HUNDREDS of folks between the ages of 60 and 90 every single day.
What gets me is the physical and mental condition. A good 80 percent of them are hunched over, using walkers, deaf, shaking like a leaf and very obviously over-medicated. Over-medicated to the point that I seriously doubt that they could function without someone there to guide them.
Now I understand that bus trips will greatly appeal to elders who are infirm and not capable of driving off to a vacation independently. And I understand that many of them may be in their 80s, which typically is close to the finish line and results in a body that has been worn and torn for many decades, including participation in wars and being from Iowa, occupations (farming) that are extraordinary physically demanding and damaging.
That being said, why is everybody in such bad shape? Thinking back to my parents, when they were that age, and other order people I've known in my life, everyone was fairly active and certainly in decent physical shape well into their 80s. Mentally, I don't recall any relative that became "dody" or mentally clouded at all. Even thinking back through my youth, aside from a few acquaintances who were raging alcoholics, i don't recall a single encounter where the order person was not 100% totally on the ball.
So I guess my question is, since many of you live in communities and hang out with folks your own age (and older), how common and consistent do you find feeble (mentally and physically) old people? How often do you encounter people who are so over-medicated that they cannot function normally? Are my experiences simply a result of circumstances whereby these folks don't feel confident going somepace alone and so they join with others and are managed by a keeper (tour guide)?
Since I have no other frame of reference I really want to know.
It all falls apart when you reach 64. (kidding, well, kinda)
I am 73 and I work 40 per week. Retired twice, hated it, now back to work for the past 6 years. I am in relatively good health, although I just went through quadruple bypass 10 weeks ago, but am back to work again and it was like it never happened, I feel great. I liked it so much I may go back every year on my vacation for another one !
A lot has to do with your mental state. I live in Florida, and I see old people all the time, and there are young old people and old old people. I see 90 years olds who golf, fish, boat, and run. I also see 70 year olds who are ready for a rocking chair.
I keep active, I build hot rods, love speed, and hang out with my two 47 year old sons. I have the usual aches and pains, and I don't move as fast as I once did, but overall, I have nothing to complain about. God has been very good to me, and I thank him every day.
So, don't sweat it, you are just a pup. Age is just a number. I always remember George Burns saying, when someone asked him "Who would ever want to live to be 100?" and his answer was "A guy who is 99!" Truer words were never spoken.
Elderly people getting off a bus in Branson might have put in a long day on the road or maybe had a busy day of stops and activities. I'm glad they are out there.
I have led a very sedentary second half of my life and, at 70, it has been catching up with me. I'm only on blood pressure meds and that takes care of that problem. I used to play soccer and run 4 miles a day until back surgery stopped that at 38 and I also had a desk job 8 hours a day for 30 years. But I retired early and could have been more active than I was. I think sitting is the worst thing we can do and I've done a lot in recent years and still do. I slowed down even more as my hip went bad over three years with arthritis but (Ta-Da!) I have a new hip and it seems like I'm ten years younger now. I'm doing more than I have in years. I have friends my age that go mountain biking 20-30 miles a day a few times a week. I probably won't be doing that but there are other things. I enjoy day-hiking and will do more of that. I play Bocce with a crew of elderly Italian folks so I get some social and physical activity there -- plus I'm learning Italian. I'll get back to flyfishing next year.
My late neighbor was ten years older than me and kept active doing handyman jobs and with family activities and bowling teams. I know he had gout and changed his life habits (more healthy) some years before I knew him. But his family had a history of major heart problems and he said that that was what would happen to him someday. It did, quite suddenly. I wonder if the inevitability weighed on him and he just took it as a given -- brushing it off instead of getting proper attention.
I also hear people talk about "back when" and old people seemed in better shape - but I wonder if our perceptions of age were different back then and if we could even accurately judge age. Think of Edith Bunker (yes, I know she was on tv) - she was meant to be maybe late 40's, early 50's at the oldest. But looking back at her she acted OLD, looked old, and dressed old compared to what most 50 year olds seem like now. I just wonder if our memories and perceptions fool us when we are trying to make comparisons.
Really good point. I have pictures of my grandmothers when they were my age (or younger). They were nice ladies with ample, fluffy waists and sensible shoes. They did not swim, bicycle, snorkel or paddle a kayak. I don't know if my paternal grandmother EVER did any of that although my maternal grandmother did know how to swim. Our notions of what older (>40!) people can do has changed drastically and sometimes I wonder what my grandmothers would think about my 20+-mile bike rides and my competing in 5Ks and in 250-meter swims at age 65. I'm VERY glad those perceptions have changed.
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(kidding, well, kinda)
