The pains of getting older.

Ouabache

On the radio show Car Talk (with Tom & Ray Magliozzi); I heard this recently:
In response to a caller riding in the car with the windows rolled up on a beautiful summer day
(she couldn't roll her windows down do to wind buffeting), Rays says
"I'd hate to be sealed up in a box". To which Tommy pipes in
"you're going to be sealed up in a box long enough".
As Ray realizes what Tommy said, he reiterates: " Did you hear my brother,
you're going to be sealed up in a box long enough... No sense rushing things"

Maui

At around what age do degeneration and suffering begin to impact severely one's daily life(assuming one doesn't have a genetic pre-disposition towards illnesses)? Do you know people who are deep in their 70's or 80's who are active and don't suffer much of the symptons described earlier?

lisab

It varies widely. But the good news is, you can delay a lot of trouble by taking care of yourself starting at a young age.

Borek

When my Grandma was well in her seventies, she went to see a doctor. It was obvious to her she must be ill, because everyone at her age has health problems. Doc checked her and asked "so what disease do you want to have?" She took offense and never went to him again.

Sadly, few years later she had a stroke which devastated her mentally in a strange, selective way. Then it was a fast ride down :(

turbo

My wife's favorite aunt died this morning. A very loving and understanding woman. These things happen, and I'm so glad that she didn't suffer physically or have to undergo degradation in her mental capacities. 93 years old with a relatively sharp decline after a great life... That's OK.

castro94

i maybe to young to understand this , but i dont think that growing up is that bad, i believe that there is a time for everything, even your body and brain tell you so , i read an article about how a teenagers brain is not good at handling stress , because it has not been developed "enough" , i see this just as nature way to let us learn and enjoy every single step of our life ,
you cant run without learnimg how to walk , when you learn to walk you are happy beacuse it is a lot of places you can go to, and youinow can do as your parents and the people around , but once you learn how to run the joy is differnet , not better , just different , you will never forget how to walk , but now you can do it " faster" , this doesnt mean that runnig is better than walking , it is just different , and its just the way it is supposed to be , nothing more. the same goes with everything else in life. we forget to enjoy all the different experinces life throws at us , we are to eager to get to the next step , and when we are there we just want to go back
dont ask for to much , but make sure to enjoy what you get, thats what i like to live up to

SecularSanity

I can no longer gain muscle mass by simply drinking a glass of orange juice. I have to work out hard just to avoid the saggy butt syndrome. My teenager can fart muscles, watch one episode of South Park, and know more about physics than me.

Good stuff, indeed. This was my favorite part.

I used to fear death. I thought I’d somehow be conscious of my unconsciousness, aware of my unawareness, how screwed up is that? My only fear now is the pain associated with dying and my lack of control over future events.

lisab

I think you have a good attitude about life, castro .

castro94

just something that life itself has teached me :)

nice quote

rhody

Sorry to hear about your wife's aunt passing today Turbo, my thoughts are with you and your family.

Rhody...

turbo

Thanks. We all have our allotted time, and she had a good life, with some devoted children. I haven't seen her for a few years (perfume problems) but whenever I spoke to her on the phone, she always seemed quick-witted with a decent sense of humor. I couldn't hope for more.

It wasn't until after my wife and I were married that I learned that her aunt had married into the family of a nearby neighbor. Her husband was a WWII vet that managed to survive Anzio. A decade or two back, he arranged to get his kids and their families to Italy for a vacation. Nice old guy. He wanted to tie up some of his loose ends and give the rest of the family a nice experience.

ThomasT

My right arm often falls asleep while I'm riding my bike, and my left hand cramps. While sleeping my legs cramp. The other day, while riding in the car with my girlfriend, I got a sudden painful twinge in my posterior area. My lower back always hurts. The tendon behind my right knee still hurts, and my right calf hurts. Other than that, I feel really good and am glad to be alive.

I don't think anybody should commit suicide just because they're dissatisfied. I don't think anybody does. People commit suicide because of unbearable, for them, pain, either emotional or physical. Mostly emotional I think. Deeply felt shame, embarrassment/humiliation, remorse can drive people to the depths of despair and to want out of life they're living.

I think that if a person has survived/lived to a ripe old age, then it's not likely that they're going to end their lives by their own hand.

Personally, I have all those "don't keep me alive", "don't do any life-support", if I'm hospitalized with a terminal illness or become a vegetable. I would prefer not to die in prolonged extreme pain, but that doesn't seem to be an option.

So, if it ever becomes inevitable that I'm going to die within a short time, and if, knowing that, I can still get around pretty well, then I might consider ending my life via jumping from a high flying airplane, or riding a huge wave, or base jumping and not pulling the parachute thingy, or some other really cool and exciting way of going that wouldn't hurt anybody else. Drowning, freezing, or being covered by an avalanche would be cool. Self-immolation is a bit scary. Drug overdose is just so mundane and overdone.

Anyway, I probably would never do any of those. Most likely, I'll die in my sleep, hopefully about, at least, 20 years from now (I'm in my 65th year).

jim hardy

Have you watched "Secondhand Lions" ?

I'm about your age and have given copies to several friends.

It's an "Older Guy" thing. (But Kyra Sedgwick is delightful.)
It speaks to the generation gap.

In a lighter vein, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzSaoN2LdfU

turbo

Some posts are a bit morbid here, but let me share a bit of info. My organic-gardening neighbor who got me started growing garlic is 50. I'm just a few days shy of 60. Our neighbor that suffered the blackout recently is 70. Guess who is fit enough and spry enough to do construction/carpentry off ladders and staging? Yep! The 70-year-old.

My younger neighbor and I spent decades working on concrete floors in paper mills and our knees are shot (including multiple surgeries to remove shredded cartilage), plus I have had a stroke and my balance is worth nothing when I get off a flat surface (not to mention ladders!). Still, between us we milled out and stacked enough lumber to more than double the size of the younger neighbor's house, and build that addition, so his daughter and her two girls would have living space of their own. Getting older isn't always equivalent with "decline" - there are gains, too, some small and some pretty significant. Got to re-calibrate expectations and take stuff in stride.

jim hardy

Yes - life we live forward but understand backward.

nitsuj

that's funny,

Borek

It is not.