Poll: what's the worst part of getting old?

Okay, finally, a couple years into this bogus 'forties' bullshit and the joint pain has finally begun in earnest. I can tell a nor'easter is on its way jist by listenin' to m'knees, a-yep. Yessir. (returns to whittling while rocking on the front porch of the general store)

Picked this off my shelf out of the blue the other day; highly recommend it to anyone over, I don't know, 50 or so.

http://phildellio.tripod.com/cowley.jpg

Starting a physically demanding job this summer has really shown me the limitations of this aging flesh-suit. My wrists and feet are mad as hell at me.

Much empathy for that, WmC - oldness + fatness means compression socks every damn day and icing as much as possible to keep foot pain from being completely crippling.

I may have to look into compression socks, thanks Jaq -- in the meantime, since my previous post I tried Aspercreme on my wrists and it worked surprisingly fast!

I've been juggling a whole bunch of medicines the past few weeks as tests have been eliminating things (on top of all the pills I was already taking for chronic conditions).
I got this vision of an older me fumbling with those confusing wee pill sorters are supposed to help and realised it's probably not that far away.

Which is better, partial or bridge?

waking up at night to pee

― cum dude (Princess TamTam), Tuesday, May 10, 2011 10:48 AM

My biggest complaint atm. Last night was the first night in months that I made it through without having to get up.

― Miami weisse (WmC), Saturday, January 18, 2020 10:12 AM

Starting generic Flomax plus diphenhydramine (Zzzquil) has been great for my nights. I still have to get up to pee but don't have to struggle to squeeze any out, and I can fall back asleep afterward.

^ a report from the front lines

Am sixty next year...

Option Votes
Reduced energy levels No.
Deteriorating hearing No.
Memory problems Yeah.
Metabolism slowdown No (not sure what this means)
Bowel/elimination problems (including hemorrhoids) No (I think I know what this means)
Longer times to recover from injury or exercise No.
Deteriorating vision Yeah.
Growing hair where you don't want to grow it Abit.
Papery skin/loss of elasticity in skin/wrinkles No, no, some.
Dental problems No.
Fear of falling/fear of injury/loss of physical courage No.
Reduced libido No.
Graying hair A bit.
Slower reflexes Don't think so.
Thickening/yellowing of nails one or two toenails
Eating/Digestion problems No.
Moles hmm, a couple.
Melanin deposits/age spots Dunno, possibly.
Losing hair where you don't want to lose it Nope, all there

Where are back and joint pain in this list?

A fatal omission, must repoll.

I have this thing lately where I feel a faint sense of panic when confronted with technology (I'm going to go all Baudelaire: like feeling the wind of the wing of madness). I'm pretty computer literate and am happy to jump in with most tech but last night I had to change the clock on the boiler (oh, the glamour) and it all seemed horribly complicated - to the point where I was just staring at it, and getting that 'thunk' sound Windows makes when you're asking it to do something it doesn't want to. I'm hoping it was mostly tiredness, but ffs.

I'm 35, and my wife & kids recently took a trip to see her parents, which I didn't have the vacation for (not having your kids in school eats up a lot of it!). So I'm home alone, and I just realized something about getting older...you don't really know what's up anymore. Like in my early 20's I always knew where the party was, who's at the bar, who's got a poker game going, who's staying in getting high, etc. A lot of those people are still around but either they don't do much anymore or I just don't know about it. Obviously Covid is a big factor right now but even if there wasn't a pandemic, I wouldn't really know what to do with myself. Or what even I *want* to do with myself!

I'm 59, and this may not happen for another 20 years, but I know that my first hip replacement is going to be my right hip.

Hipeous Lump

I was pretty sick for a few months years ago, when I was around frog's age. After recovering, I realized that I didn't know what was going on around town anymore either. Hell, I had also lost touch with the whole world, in fact. (I recently read on wikipedia that The Police reunited about 10-15 years ago? Had no idea.)

But looking back, I'm not sure if the cause of that was getting sick or if it had more to do with ... getting older.

Alas, the two are not unrelated

1:00 this afternoon: "I should go spend some time on the bike before the gym closes at 3:00." 2:00: "I don't really feel like it."

3:00: "Okay--I'll drive into London, have dinner there, and go to that rep screening of Nightmare on Elm Street." Four hours later: "Forget it--I'll just make dinner here and watch something at home."

8:30: "I should at least go have a coffee at Tim Hortons and do some reading." 9:00: "It's kind of cold outside."

When you see the moans you posted in this thread 10 years ago and think "lol that kid knew nothing"

They were dressing up in costume at work yesterday. The Clueless girls as well as Forrest Gump were represented. So I ask Dionne Davenport, What's up with you millennials dressing up like 30-year old movies? She says they didn't seem 30 years old when they were running nightly on TBS while they were growing up.

I say, TBS? I saw Forrest Gump in the theater! And the look in her eyes when I said that, like I had just unwrapped myself to reveal myself as the Mummy. Good thing I didn't mention how amazing I thought the CGI was at the time.

my dewey youthfulness is due, in part, to never having seen forrest gump

I was forced to watch it five years ago as a DYING MAN’S LAST(ish) WISH and I am still pissed about it

On the bright side, he's dead now ...

Most millennials are in their 30s so yeah 30yo films are what we grew up with

I don't remember ever dressing up as Godfather or Deliverance characters.

lol

Let's not go too far down the path of what the preceding generations dressed up as for Halloween.

cut my tongue on the mouth hole

It's Friday night, and you find yourself watching an episode of Celebrity Bowling from the '70s with John Beradino, Greg Morris, and Frank Gorshin and his wife.

now on day five of my covid experience and the whole thing would be significantly more tolerable if every single cough and sneeze didn't wrench the fuck out of my lower back

Oof

sorry dude

*huggles* mookie

sorry mookie! hoping you recover quickly

lol @ me for not including gout and sciatica in this poll.
today sciatica is the culprit.

Not so much reduced energy levels, but aching joints. Combined with a sudden surge in energy, the results can be like the dancing contest in the final episode of Black Books.

― gonna win all over your face (snoball), Thursday, 9 August 2012 08:39 (ten years ago)

In the last ten years I've lost weight - ten years ago I was 38, probably at my heaviest when I was mid 30s. Last couple of years I've made a concerted effort to lose a bit more. Also I've really ramped up the exercise in the last eight years. There's a real difference between aching joints that are a result of exercise and aching joints that are a consequence of being out of shape. Same with feeling tired generally.

Feel better WmC. My dad is suffering sciatica and it is quite debilitating for him.

One sciatica symptom for me is that my left testicle feels like it's Shemp's head in the vise in "Brideless Groom," and Satan is saying "NOW will you marry me!?"

"Join balls you lovebirds"

hahahaha

Reduced energy levels Eh, my energy has been substandard as far back as I can remember.
Deteriorating hearing No. *knocks on wood*
Memory problems Again, this has been disappointing me as far as I can remember.
Metabolism slowdown Again, my "metabolism" (as such things are commonly understood) has been disappointing me as long as I grasped the concept.
Bowel/elimination problems (including hemorrhoids) No.
Longer times to recover from injury or exercise Not as I see it.
Deteriorating vision Eh, I've been nearsighted since at least high school.
Growing hair where you don't want to grow it Yes, but nothing that couldn't be conquered with some (expensive) electrolysis.
Papery skin/loss of elasticity in skin/wrinkles No, but I've had a skin care regimen since my 20s.
Dental problems No.
Fear of falling/fear of injury/loss of physical courage No.
Reduced libido Ha ha ha no. The libido is there, but the men I'm interested in ignore me and the men who express interest in me are the human equivalent of a windowless van with "FREE CANDY" painted on the side.
Graying hair A little, but I don't know if anyone else has noticed.
Slower reflexes Not that I've confirmed.
Thickening/yellowing of nails My toenails have been grody for years.
Eating/Digestion problems Occasionally, but usually connectable to a recent indulgence.
Moles None that have made significant recent changes.
Melanin where you don't want to lose it Slight age spotting but I don't know if anyone else notices it.

Missing options, in no specific order:
1) Physical and/or financial dependence on others.
2) The loss of family/loved ones/other people dear to one.
3) Arthritis and other physical deterioration.
4) Age discrimination (in workplaces and elsewhere).

I'd say the worst part for me is the growing consciousness of death.

Not even so much a growing consciousness of death but a growing knowledge that the ingredients are accruing.

Am sixty one nownext year...

Option Votes
Reduced energy levels No.
Deteriorating hearing No.
Memory problems Yeah.
Metabolism slowdown No (not sure what this means)
Bowel/elimination problems (including hemorrhoids) No (I think I know what this means)
Longer times to recover from injury or exercise No.
Deteriorating vision Yeah. Actually, last time I went to the opticians, I found my eyesight had improved! After many years of exactly the same. Then again, my contacts were causing soreness so sacked them.
Growing hair where you don't want to grow it Abit.
Papery skin/loss of elasticity in skin/wrinkles No, no, some.
Dental problems No.
Fear of falling/fear of injury/loss of physical courage No.
Reduced libido No.As long as I keep my Vitamin b12 levels up, all good.
Graying hair A bit.
Slower reflexes Don't think so.
Thickening/yellowing of nails one or two toenails
Eating/Digestion problems No.
Moles hmm, a couple.
Melanin deposits/age spots Dunno, possibly.
Losing hair where you don't want to lose it Nope, all there

― Mark G, Saturday, December 26, 2020 5:47 PM (one year ago) bookmarkflaglink

And the write-in lower backache thing, yeah which means getting up from standing can be slow.

Having taken it pretty easy in my 20’s, I’m not feeling that old yet - going a bit grey, and the odd ankle/knee twinge. Probably should eat better.

Chronic pain in general is the real soulkiller for me, wish i was less physically sensitive and healed faster

lower backache thing

This is number two on my list, after death anxiety. My brother and I are two years apart and have developed almost identical symptoms.

Worst thing about getting old is seeing my Dad get dementia and then die, and my Mum getting a stroke and unable to live independently. All the other bad things about getting older I'm OK with (for now), but what happened to my parents makes me acutely aware of how little time I have left to be alive, autonomous and healthy.

Back problems and aging parents