I'm falling apart

[Zen]

Crankin, I suspect that you and I are rowing very similar boats.

[Crankin]

Well, my DH and I call ourselves "showboats." Look really good on the outside, but kinda ****** up on the inside. I only put myself in that category because of the osteoporosis. Most of my other stuff is common (allergies, asthma) or degenerative stuff from years of pounding my body, like in high impact aerobics on concrete floors. I had a sensitive stomach and weird muscle stuff in my twenties; it's not a function of age. DH on the other hand, has 2 stents and a CV family history from hell. He doesn't let it bother him and he still can out ride most other guys, except really elite ones. But, he has slowed down, both physically and in his attitude. You wouldn't know it, if you didn't know him, but he has.
I dislike it intensely when people say, "Aging isn't for sissies." My aunt constantly says this. Well, she wouldn't have half the physical issues she has if she lived a better life style and wasn't an angry person. Plenty of people have worse medical stuff than me and are out there doing marathons, tri's, etc.

[MomOnBike]

I'm starting to have some real medical issues, too. The embolism was a problem, the meniscus tear slowed me down dramatically.

The real issue I'm having is that those two problems, plus the bones I broke as a kid that are starting to hurt just for fun, plus the arthritis in the thumbs is starting to make me feel fragile. I really don't like that feeling. Most of the time I can talk myself out of that feeling, but not always. Bleh.

[spindizzy]

2 years ago my GP (after looking at MRI of R Knee) says "Your running days are over." I am running still, stronger than ever. Good GP for general things - not good for sports! Thank goodness for PT husband.

Today, at work (I work in a hospital) an intern (in her 20's) comes up to me and says "I want a butt like yours!" I'm in my early 50's - now that's a compliment! It totally made my day.

Age is a number - there are so many fantastic role models of older, active, engaging individuals. How could I not want to be like that?

[Bike Chick]

My mother is 73 with a whole page of health problems and a pill to "fix" every one of them. Most of her ailments could have been prevented and her overall general health would improve with proper diet and exercise. My husband and I have given up trying to get her off the couch and just take a walk down the block. She has an excuse for everything and it's pointless. She's not going to change but it is difficult for me to sit back and watch her deteriorate the way she has. We bike and run with people older than her that are the picture of health.

To add to this, she is constantly telling my husband he's too thin and he doesn't look well (he's training for a marathon) or that I shouldn't be out on a bike on the highway at my age (whatever that means) and takes it personal if we won't eat a huge piece of her cake. Mom is an example of what happens to you if you don't stay active and take care of yourself. She's my motivation to stay at it--I have the same genes.

The irony in my family is that my brother was the athletic one when we were younger. I'm 3 years older than him and he has high blood pressure and high cholesterol and won't watch his diet or exercise and I'm the one that is in decent shape. It's frustrating watching people you love ignore the obvious and not do anything to change their situation.

[Sadie]

I'm 60. I saw my dad, who has since passed away, with the stapled chest after bypass surgery, and I thought "whatever it takes, that's not going to happen to me". I ride, run, and workout with much younger people and can't quite keep up at times, but I'm still out there doing the best I can. Thanks for all the great posts about these feelings.

[Zen]

My mother is 73 with a whole page of health problems and a pill to "fix" every one of them. ...She's not going to change...

your mother belongs to a different generation. She most likely wasn't encouraged to participate in sports.

... takes it personal if we won't eat a huge piece of her cake.

Food=Love

It's frustrating watching people you love ignore the obvious and not do anything to change their situation.

Sometimes you just have to accept things for the way they are.

[Bike Chick]

You are very right, Zen! As frustrating as it is for me, I know in 20 years my kids will be echoing their frustration with me

[shootingstar]

No, I don't have any medical issues thus far. However in the past 5 years, I do tend to be more vigilant on what I eat, my balance so I don't fall.(After 2 unexplained incidents of severe vertigo..), etc. I'm 50 which I consider experienced in life, but still "young" and still much learn.

As mentioned months ago here, I do have a warped perception of aging because my partner is 16 yrs. older and he is cycling-fit, active, with occasional problems with a knee from an old injury decades ago. And our lifestyle is cycling oriented anyway without a car. We're friends with several cyclists in his age group so this messes me up how people normally "look" and move in their 60's and 70's.

I do come from a family, where there is clear evidence to me, that lifelong reasonably (though not always perfect) healthy diet, means ..less medical complications when one become truly sick/ill.

I would not say that in my family the previous generation did sports, etc. Their physical fitness was more due to physical labour/lack of mechanization for certain activities.

Attitude of one's own physical capabilities is important also. If a person believes that walking is not a huge effort, but an enjoyable daily activity then that also contributes to overall physical and mental well-being. Saw that in my partner's mother who walked to store for grocery shopping for 2 kms. or so in winter snow ..up to when she was 88 yrs. She didn't drive. What determined her physical decline, was when she could no longer walk her dog daily without tripping and falling over the dog leash several times (and breaking her glasses, bruising her face, etc.).

It was rather amusing when she in her early 80's was pals with another woman in her late 60's. The woman in her late 60's was suffering alot more (cardiopulmonary problems) and greater mobility problems...because she didn't eat healthy during her lifetime. She still nixed veggies much to the disgust of her older friend. It's wierd to see an older woman refuse to eat vegetables. Like part of childhood never left her.

[sundial]

Crankin, I suspect that you and I are rowing very similar boats.

Can I row too?

I came with a lousy joint package and as I get older I have to become more creative in keeping fit while not stressing the joints. I am a little slower but more tenacious so I'm spending longer periods in the saddle with more frequent small breaks. I've decided it's not about the ride, it's about the destination.

[solobiker]

I have noticed that the older I get the slower my body seems to want to recover. I will be 40 this Feb ( I know it is not old) and I can't push my body like I could in my early 30s due various reasons. I have found that if I keep on top of my stretching routine and work on core strengthening activities I can still do most of the acitivities I enjoy almost pain free. I have a friend who will be 59 this Jan and she is one powerful and energitic women. She is amazing in every aspect. She is also a cancer survivor which is awesome on its own.