Trouble with insomnia? "You can expect that as you get older." Bouts of vertigo when I lie down and get up? "You can expect that as you get older."Acid indigestion? "You can expect that as you get older." I expect if I told him I was growing a second head, I'd find out that, too, is just one of those things that happen as you... you know the drill.
I've been thinking about the last time my body ran away with me - puberty - and decided the physical process of maturing has a lot of similarities with what happens as we age, except that after puberty we get to drink and have sex, while after completing aging... again, you know the drill.
Puberty: I am horrified to find the skin on my face, to which I had never given any thought other than to make sure it was washed, is embarrassing and betraying my by breaking out in zits.
Aging: I am horrified to find the skin on my face, which I have been lavishing with elaborate and expensive serums, moisturizers and sun screens, has creases that don't iron out and has broken out in solar lentigines, AKA liver spots.
Puberty: Oh, no, my boobs are getting as big as my grandmother's!
Aging: Oh, no, my bunions are getting as big as my grandmother's!
Puberty: I wake up once a month wracked with cramps. (My first time, when I come downstairs complaining, my mother dances around the kitchen singing, I Enjoy Being A Girl.)
Aging: I wake up once a month wracked with cramps. I have dared to eat a little too much of whatever food substance my body's decided is verboten right now. Sadly, no on sings and dances in the kitchen.
Puberty: I worry a lot about nuclear war.
Aging: I worry a lot about nuclear war.
Puberty: My joints ache as they strain to keep up with my bones growing three inches in height annually for three years.
Aging: My joints ache from arthritis. Oh, and I've lost three inches in height! What the hell, bones?!?
Puberty: I experience a mix of panic and excitement with I think about cute boys in my middle school.
Aging: I experience a mix of panic and excitement when I think about the balance in my stock and bond portfolio.
Puberty: Whenever I'm feeling scared or misunderstood or overwhelmed, I escape into books. My fictional friends always make me feel better.
Aging: Me too, 14-year-old Julie. Me, too.
Dear readers, what is your time of life akin to?
Aging, with no thought whatsoever to the potion I've found that's supposed to make it smoother, softer, whatever . . . .
ReplyDeleteJoan, I've recently begun to think unashamedly showing your age as a woman in this culture is a radical feminist act!
DeleteJULIA: I also have a new resident family doctor (he's soooo young!!) and had my annual physical in early June. Fortunately, most of the preventative regular tests and scans for a patient almost reaching 60 were negative, except for one.
ReplyDeleteFIT (fecal coliform test) for colon cancer: negative, blood test normal.
Weight: lost some weight. Prolonged loss of taste & smell (past 10 months) due to third bout of COVID certainly made me eat less.
Allergist skin test: the usual suspects that my immune system doesn't like. Still have to avoid black tea & some red wine. And Spring allergy season is almost over.
Blood pressure: on the highish side. So, I am taking my FIRST DAILY MEDICATION ever. And I'm measuring my BP at home daily.
The same happened with me (only I was a bit younger when I was diagnosed with high blood pressure). It was especially annoying as I do “all the right things” that should ward off HBP. Alas! I get to thank my genetics for it! I am grateful for the low-dose medication that keeps it in check (and my heart and kidneys healthy and happy!)
DeleteOver 75% of over 60 years old get HBP, often undiagnosed. I think it's just part of aging. I try to do the right things: eat well, exercise etc. I was just surprised to get tagged as having HBP since I had the opposite: low BP in my 30s and 40s.
DeleteI also never smoked & rarely drink alcohol (first drinks I had in June were this past weekend in Montreal). Just glad my family doctor has not yet recommended I cut back on salt or caffeine that would be sooo hard!
DeleteGRACE: It may be genetic. May I ask if you ever had a health DNA test? I had a DNA test that included health and it warned me that I am predisposed to hearing loss, which I already have since before age 2. I remember my grandfather and his siblings lost their hearing as they became older. I cut out salty food at an early age because my grandfather said his doctor forbid salty food due to high blood pressure. Now I find myself dehydrated more often.
DeleteGrace, I was like you - surprised by high BP because I had had such low BP when I was young. As a teen, I used to faint if I popped up too fast! I think, like Diana suggests, it's genetic.
DeleteYes, I fainted in my 30s a few times due to low BP. But I had no symptoms hinting of HBP. Best to control it early via HBP meds before it causes other health issues.
DeleteOnly you could compare aging and puberty, Julia! My aging in the last couple of years has been plagued by ailments I never expected. Big toe arthritis put an end to my beloved cross-country skiing and can make walking painful. Recurrent UTIs - ugh and ouch. The same occasional vertigo as you described. Endometrium acting up, jealous that it no longer has a job? And now I have to worry about my damn electrolytes. Enough already.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what this time of life is akin to, I just know I want to stick around for a good long time more.
I learned to start taking electrolyte powders with my water on long summer walks.
DeleteSweating in the heat & humidity takes a toll on all of us.
Edith, I want you to stick around for good long time more, too!
DeleteThank you, Annette! Likewise.
DeleteMenopause, Edith? I asked because I noticed new ailments since the onset of menopause - dry eyes, dehydration, and allergies! More allergies than before.
DeleteWhere do those UTIs come from?!? I haven't had sex in eight years, I should at least get some benefit out of that...
DeleteCrazy, right? (I basically haven't, either...)
DeleteI move slower now and my sense of balance seems to have hopped a fright train going out of town, but I can't complain about old age. I am as forgetful as ever, but my hormonal-enraged teenage self has been replaced by a steady sense of well-being. Over the years I have had a couple of minor bouts with cancer and a mini-stroke but am remarkably healthy today and take no medication. I think my sense of humor and my appreciation for the world around us has increased. As with my teenage years, I still look at all women with awe and wonder, appreciating their natural beauty. Life is good and politics suck -- nothing has changed over the last 78 years.
ReplyDeleteYou've got the best attitude Jerry--there's a mantra for all of us--sense of humor and appreciation!
DeleteI love this perspective!
DeleteAgreed, Jerry, attitude and perspective is everything!
DeleteI love this, Jerry, and try to emulate you.
DeleteJulia, you're hilarious and we need that right now!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lucy!
DeleteHow timely as today I go for the new patient visit I scheduled 6 months ago(first available!) to get going with a new primary care provider since our move to Florida. I hope she doesn’t look like a 12 year old in person like the new dentist does. I also hope she doesn’t find a bunch of new stuff wrong with me. One of the main reasons for moving here was to be more active and hopefully that translates to staying fit and healthy to enjoy our golden years.
ReplyDeleteI guess I haven’t really anguished over either puberty or old age, just try to take things in stride.
One good thing about these young doctors and dentists: they aren't likely to retire anytime soon. I hate finding a health care provider I adore only to have them retire from practice and leaving me an orphan!
DeleteI know, right? I made my knee surgeon, who's my age, promise not to retire until after I have my left knee done, whenever that will be. I'm terrified some other guy will do the operation 2 cm different from the first guy, and I'll walk lopsided for the rest of my life.
DeleteCheck, check, check! Except, and I was thinking about this for some reason this morning, having had a hysterectomy in my late 30's took care of a lot of unpleasant stuff. And early menopause, age 41, meant figuring out how to manage certain other things way too soon in that funhouse.
ReplyDeleteJulia, you do NOT have to accept your NP's "that's just age" bit. Sometimes it isn't, and it's unacceptable for a medical professional to brush you off with that one. And it's rude and condescending, besides.
The biggest difference for me then and me now is that I no longer sit meekly and quietly, afraid to speak my mind. I guess you all know that about me, that I got over that.
Happy Canada Day to our Canadian friends!
DeleteThanks, KAREN!
DeleteI agree with Karen about the NP's "That's just age" bit. It struck me as dismissive and condescending and a huge red flag. My doctor retired a few years ago and it took us two tries to find a decent replacement. The one we did find is a fresh-faced lad, but I never feel that he takes me less than seriously. (The one in the middle was maddeningly non-responsive when my husband had a mini-stroke. Grrr. She's history.)
DeleteI completely agree! It’s too easy for them to say. Went to a clinic specializing in us oldies. OMG. I felt even older going there. They treated me like I have dementia and thank God I don’t yet. Yet? Hey, wrong attitude dudette.
DeleteKaren in Ohio, thank you for sharing. My previous doctor always said the full H word every time I complained about my perimenopause symptoms. I did not know it was perimenopause. My new doctor suggested that and it helped me understand why. My new doctor also discovered precancerous cysts inside my ovaries, which the sonogram completely missed! The new camera found these little peebles inside that was causing so much trouble (bleeding through four superpads during my period). The previous doctor, a woman, implied that the full H would remove my menopause symptoms. I did not have the H.
DeleteCheck, check, and check, Karen!
DeleteKaren, on the "that's just age" front, 18 months ago I did the usual unpleasant prep for a colonoscopy, which I had endured ten years earlier without a problem. This time I ended up in the E.R. with out of control diarrhea, vomiting, and agonizing, convulsing cramps all the way up my legs into my groin, causing me to scream and my husband to wonder how he could get me off the floor into the car. It turned out that my electrolytes had gone haywire and I was OK after a couple of bags of fluids. The young nurse said kindly to me: "We often see this in the elderly." I was 64. I had never been described as elderly before. (Selden)
DeleteOmigod, Selden. That would have made me bitey.
DeleteKaren
Okay in Julia's pattern: Then: Hair growing in Now: Hair falling out/ Then: get new knew pads for sports Now: get new knees/ Then Then: have crush on Diana Rigg Now: Still have crush on Diana Rigg / Then: make a to do list Now Make a list to look for a to do list. / Then: friends discover boys; I discover food Now: I discover heartburn
ReplyDeleteCoralee, next time it's my turn, I'm getting YOU to write the post for me! This made me laugh out loud. And yes to Diana Rigg, an idol at any age.
DeleteI'm a grandma, life is good. I swim, I dance, I weed, I walk the dogs and think nefarious thoughts.
ReplyDeleteBeing a grandma always makes life good!
DeleteI'm going to become a grandmother this October, and I'm much more excited aout it than I thought I would be!
DeleteJulia, I came to the same conclusion about puberty and menopause…the latter seemed worse because for 20 and a bit years I had lived with this body and known what it was going to do. Shorter time and lack of awareness between birth and 13. I am blessed with two wonderful physicians, both women, neither look 12 yrs old nor do they look over 40, and who say “No it is not because you are older. Don’t give in. Keep moving.” In the most encouraging and caring way. Elisabeth
ReplyDeleteSounds like you hit the physician jackpot, Elisabeth!
DeleteThanks for the hilarious post. My cute young optometrist told me once, "When you have birthdays, (whatever it was) happens." I left the office shaking my head in amusement. Just spit it out, my dear, I'm old; I've had many birthdays.
ReplyDeleteI have to say, I'm in general happier and more confident than I was during puberty. I wouldn't go back.
I’m with you on this Gillian: I wouldn’t go back
DeleteAdd me in Gillian and Danielle…there is nothing that would get me to redo my teen years! Elisabeth
DeleteAgreed with you all - it would be great to have perky boobs and perfect knees, but it's not worth the insecurity and ignorance.
DeleteThis was a great post, and I could relate to a lot: vertigo, some insomnia at times, some acid indigestion. Though, all in all, I can't complain. I'm having a great life filled with great people. But I loved the humor. And perspective. One of the great pluses of aging is perspective.
ReplyDeleteThat's the God's honest truth, Elizabeth. When I was 14, I had about an inch of vision in front of me. Now I can see the whole landscape.
DeleteFirst couple of years of perimenopause - it hurts to stand up from the couch. Why? Happily that has passed, as has the worst of the heartburn.
ReplyDeleteThe combo of menopause and COVID left me with a broken thermostat - instead of hot flashes, I was always hot. Then I returned from Japan in May with hot flashes on top of being hot. We’ll see if my weeks in the hot south of France do another thermo reset.
Fingers crossed for you, Lisa. I STILL have occasional hot flashes and I was officially post-menopausal ten years ago. What the what?!?
DeleteOh, Julia. I feel your pain. And aches. And fears. I have all of them. Also, stuff is drying up. I have dry eyes, dry skin, some other parts we won't mention, and the newest member of the dry brigade, dry mouth. This latest one is truly annoying. There are drops, ointments, and creams for the others, but nothing works for the dry mouth. Drinking gallons of water eases the discomfort somewhat but creates another issue that has already grown more aggravating with age. (My first question when entering a new venue? Where's the restroom???)
ReplyDeleteAnnette, dry eyes and dry mouth can be symptoms of Sjogren's syndrome. I was tested for it and it came back negative. I do not have dry mouth, but do have Sjogren's and lupus. With autoimmune issues it can be tough to get clear answers. Good luck to you. (Selden)
DeleteAnnette, I have found Biotene spray helps some with dry mouth. (Barbara)
DeleteSelden, I was tested for Sjogren's and it came back negative. Yes, Barbara, I use Biotene products, and they do offer some (very short-term) relief.
DeleteI had sore gums and dry mouth and Biotene toothpaste took care of both. Lucky.
DeleteI swear, it doesn't matter the issue, this community has the answers!
DeleteAnnette, I was also tested for Sjogrens's (and have a permanently numb lip to prove it) and it was negative. Every test on me was negative until I tested positive for lupus. Lupus typically affects women ages 15-45. I was 63. They did the lupus blood tests twice, even sending it to the Mayo Clinic. Still positive. As my neurologist said, I am an outlier for lupus and also with Sjogren's. I don't fit any of the "typical" profiles. (My feet were burning unbearably while going numb. This is a symptom of a rare-ish form of Sjogrens.) I finally went to Johns Hopkins, the world authority on both, for a second opinion. They confirmed it. What I learned is that the usual tests don't catch all these autoimmune diseases. I hope you get some relief. (Selden)
DeleteBrilliant essay Julia. I smiled throughout the reading.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Danielle!
DeleteJulia, I laughed a lot.
ReplyDeleteI have been worried by child doctors in the past but yesterday I drove two hours for an appointment with a new ophthalmologist who I believe is in his 70s. The photo in his bio appears to be 20 years out of date. My most recent symptom of the delightful Sjogren's + lupus I developed in 2023 is very dry eyes. He suggested I wear ski goggles while driving in winter "to create a humid environment for the eye." He acknowledged this might cause stares and laughter. Though I am mostly beyond caring about my appearance it did cross my mind to wonder if there were more recently introduced treatments available. (Selden)
Okay, Selden, now you made me laugh. When my opthalmologist sent me to an eye surgeon for my cataracts, he said you want a surgeon old enough to have had some experience but young enough to have very, very steady hands...
DeleteStill, as they say, better than the alternative! But Julia I prefer the honesty of "that is to be expected' as opposed to one medical guy I used to go to. I guess he thought it was cuter to say "that's due to the number of birthday candles on your cake." Gag!
ReplyDeleteLast night I was watching a new show that featured Alan Alda in a small role. Oh, be still my heart! I admit that I had the biggest crush on him way back when so it was great to see him again. He's still 10 years older than i am and he looks it, but I like that honesty or lack of vanity or whatever you want to call it. No hair dye, no teeth whitening (thank goodness) just a still handsome man! (oh, it just occurred to me - maybe he was 'acting' and just made up to look like an old man. Mmm. No, I don't think so.)
He's 89!
DeleteAnd I've seen Dick Van Dyke in things and he's something like 99, right? Those tall, lanky guys age really well.
DeleteThank you for making us laugh this morning! Thank goodness the pleasure of a good read is not affected by aging (although having just had cataract surgery, I now have vision the opposite of the near sightedness that developed in puberty). Recognized every one of those issues, plus several more others mentioned. It’s reassuring at least, knowing others are experiencing the same.
ReplyDeleteAlso like puberty, right, Debra? We're all going through it together. I wish we had a cute magazine like SEVENTEEN for us, though. The AARP Monthly doesn't quite cut it.
DeleteThanks for the laughs, Julia.
ReplyDeleteI suppose I should find a new PCP now that I've moved. Too bad; I like the one I have. Then again, I went years without seeing one because I see a plethora of other docs so... I did all the things one is supposed to do at 50. I'm up to date on my immunizations (hello pneumonia and shingles vax). I did the check for colon cancer (negative). My eyes are healthy, although I do use reading glasses now. Weight is good, blood pressure is good, resting heart rate good. I exercise 5x a week, which thrilled my neurologist. I wish "that time of life" would just get here already and get it over with though.
The only thing "wrong" with me is the MS and even that's been stable for going on... 10 years?
Now watch: everything will fall apart. LOL
I didn't finish menopause until I was 60, Liz!
DeleteI finally got the first shingles vaccine in June, no side effects. It's not free until you are 65 in Ontario but I was not willing to wait another 6 years.
DeleteWaiting until mid August for second shot.
GRACE: oh good, we had so many young friends get shingles, including one whose optic nerve was attacked, that we advocated to get the shots in our 40s. I reupped with Shingrex a few years ago. No problems with the first shot, second had me on the couch for a day. But so much better than the alternative.
DeleteYeah, I have heard horror stories about shingles symptoms. And like you, another friend mentioned that the 2nd shingles shot took him down. But it's worth it.
DeleteRULES: No vax until age 50, 65, 70? I have osteoporosis and GERD which precludes me taking pills for the osteoporosis. So, now even tho I qualify 2 0f the 3 requirements - age included - I haven’t broken a bone. So, first I have to break a bone to then get the Prolia so i don’t break a bone. OMG, rules follow us everywhere.
DeleteI got the shingles vax as soon as it was available to under-60s. My mom didn't get it when it first came because she would have had to pay for it. After she GOT shingles in her hand, she said she would have paid 100X the cost of the vaccine to avoid the disease, so good call everyone who's gotten it!
DeleteEdith, I'm not sure I've even started!
DeleteNo side-effects from shingles vax. I had shingles in my 30s and, um, yeah don't want to do that again. I think I got the pneumonia vax (which was way painful - like pushing a golf ball into my vein) and my tetanus booster at the same time. My arms were so sore - I couldn't lift either of them fully for at least two days. That was a mistake!
Reading these posts has reminded me that I've actually outlived 4 or 5 of my surgeons and primary care folks. My mom didn't think I'd live to be 50 and I'm 70. I figure I've earned my loss of height (Julia, I'm in the "where did 3" of bone go club." ) Of course, I look in the mirror expecting the vibrant 19 yo me and instead there is a steel-wool gray haired, slightly dowager humped older chick. Still, I am grateful to have the aches and pains and even the height loss because that means I have a chance to learn more, see more and read more books. I'll take that - along with a sweater inside in the summer. -- Victoria
ReplyDeleteLove your attitude Victoria!
DeleteVery, very true, Victoria, and attitude seems to be one of the most important factors in aging gracefully. I can guarantee I have better outlook on life now than when I was a grumpy 14 year old.
DeleteHappy Canada Day to our northern friends! 🇨🇦
ReplyDeleteThanks LISA!
DeleteYes!
DeleteYes, Happy Canada Day!
DeleteYes Happy Canada Day!!!!
DeleteI will have to wear my ELBOWS UP with crossed hockey sticks and the Maple Leaf flag HAT!
Happy Canada Day!
DeleteI have to keep thinking about my posture. AHHHH so aware of it now! I really think exercise helps with everything, but my upper body strength could not life a watermelon. (I am pitiful with luggage.) And someone please remind me to drink water. I never do, and that is so bad. And you are hilarious, Julia!
ReplyDeleteDrink water right now, Hank!
DeleteHANK: Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!! xx
DeleteWe're all supposed to lift weights, now, Hank - I heard it on NPR!
DeleteThank you darling friends! xx ANd oh, Julia, then it MUST be true! xx (I actually bought weights. Does that count?)
DeleteHahaha. I bought the cutest weight sets in rainbow colors ahem two and a half years ago. I have used them ONCE. But now I lift a twenty-something pound toddler, so that has to count for something. ;^)
DeleteSure it does, Hank! I have bought or enrolled in so many things that will help me lose weight, keep my brain active, or whatever. Somehow, just having purchased them doesn’t achieve the goal. Apparently you have to actually use them! Who knew?! — Pat S
DeleteHANK: Buying weights is a good start.
DeleteJust read that in California, Assembly Bill 432, which would require menopause coursework for doctors to renew their licenses — if at least 25% of their patients are women under 65 — is still moving through the legislature.
ReplyDeleteHard to believe it's not until 2026 - maybe - this would be required. Sheesh!
DeleteLisa, that would be great! Diana
DeleteIt seems lately that I'm in a contest to see how many specialists I can have. Currently, I've only got a basketball team, but hey, maybe I could work up to baseball. What the hell? I always loved the Dodgers.
ReplyDeleteIt's the new "little black book," Terry...
DeleteJulia, I’m waiting for your book of these delightful essays. Focused on growing older. I’ve been remarkable healthy and if I doctor tells me something is inevitable I get a second opinion.. And I do exercise. And try to work on posture, Hank! Like some of you I’ve just been put on BPM even though mine has always been perfect and I do everything right. Not fair ! My complaints are my knees and my skin. Most of my shoes don’t work and I’m now sensitive to latex, tough fabrics, hard water etc. so I have to agree, I’ve now become the toddler with eczema!
ReplyDeleteLOL Rhys! I totally agree, she needs to pull her essays together and publish. We would all buy that!
DeleteI feel like we even get the special toddler shoes now, Rhys. Easy-on, no laces!
DeleteOh Julia, even by the high standards of this blog, this is an extraordinarily good piece of writing! I really enjoyed it.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I work hard at taking good care of myself. I'm realistic enough to know that there are no guarantees that come with that, but it's the part I can control. I'm really hoping for a few decades more of good mobility and mental acuity, and all I can say is that I'll do what I can to make it so.
That part, at least, is different from puberty, Susan. I don't really spending much time taking care of my body - just my hair and makeup!
DeleteThanks for making me laugh, Julia. I hate all the age spots on my face, but things could be so much worse---and are for a number of people I'm close to. As long as I'm managing to avoid my mother's fate (dementia for over ten years), I try to be grateful instead of grumpy. Sorry if I sound like an elderly Pollyanna, but, as one of us has probably already written above, getting old is awful, but the alternative is worse!
ReplyDeleteThis is the place to vent, Kim!
DeleteGroan. Arthritis. (Stretches every morning only help so much). Groan. Glaucoma. (Nasty disease).This post really hit home. Thank goodness I don't have insomnia or vertigo, and my BP and bloodwork are all good. But I do have those pesky lines. And they are especially annoying when I'm feeling terrific and accidentally look into a mirror. Yikes! Who is that? It helps if I don't wear my glasses.
ReplyDeleteTerry, I've discovered my fear of spiders doesn't bother me nearly as much when they just look like little blobs without my glasses!
DeleteOh, I love this! Can relate to it all. High five, fellow traveller.
ReplyDeleteA couple of years ago my dr decided to have me do a memory test although he didn’t mention it was age related. By the way, I have always had an excellent memory and still do. I think it is something that the hospital he is affiliated with feels it should be included as part of the annual check up when a patient reaches a certain age regardless of whether they exhibit symptoms of memory loss..
ReplyDeleteHe gave me three words to keep in mind and then repeat them to him when we went back into his office. The only problem was that he forgot to ask me for the words. I had to remind him. The same thing happened the following year. After that I suggested that he not continue with it. He no longer asks me to remember anything since I think he realizes my memory is better than his.
Julia you mentioned "Bouts of vertigo when I lie down and get up?" It could be something in your ear(s). Ask NP to do a lavage if you haven't done so already.
ReplyDeleteJulia you mentioned "Bouts of vertigo when I lie down and get up?" It could be something in your ear(s). Ask NP to do a lavage if you haven't done so already.
ReplyDeleteJULIA: Great essay on puberty and aging. For me the difference is I knew little about puberty and I have many opportunities to learn more about aging, especially menopause. Since I am going through menopause now. I notice dry eyes and dehydration. It has been a year since starting HRT and 10 months since I started the estrogen patches. This month I started taking hydration powders to add to water.
ReplyDeleteAnd I notice that as I get older, exercise is a Must! Just spent time doing my exercises. I am determined to age with as little pain as possible.
And Happy Canada Day to our Canadian friends.
I went in for a physical since I hadn’t had one in a few years. I arrive to be told it’s really a mental acuity test since I am over 65. I play along and then ask when I am going to have my pelvic exam and am told that, because I am over 65, they’re no longer needed and won’t be covered by my insurance. Then my doctor says I should get a bone density assessment. I said no, because even if they find I’ve got osteoporosis, I’m not going to take the medication (it can cause all kinds of bad things to happen to your jaw and teeth). She smiled and said she agreed. As the saying goes, getting old isn’t for sissies… — Pat S
ReplyDeleteI remember as a young adult firmly believing that I was not going to ever need bifocals. I believed that it was all in your head that you could not see the way you previously did.
ReplyDeleteThen the day came when I needed bifocals. I think I was just barely 40.
I believed that I would never have hot flashes. I believed that that happens only if you expect it to. I told myself I would just “think” them away. Then I had hot flashes. (Now they seem like a distant memory!)
A couple of years ago I noticed that one or both of my hands were slightly trembling when I picked up something, usually a mug of coffee, or a bowl or a dish. I asked my doctor about it, and he said it was probably a side effect from one or more of my medications. And then he paused and said “or it could be your age.” I was not happy.
And those medications! I always believed that I would never need blood pressure medication, because I eat healthy foods and I exercise properly. Then I needed blood pressure medication.
I knew I would never need cholesterol medication because I rarely eat meat and I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. And I needed cholesterol medication.
I could go on and talk about the surgeries I “knew” would never need, and how I needed to have one of them redone two years later. And there were major and minor complications after a couple of them. People, sometimes doctors, and others tell me that I should expect to have problems because “after all, Deb, you’re getting older”’.
Well, I had better stop now. My fragile old self needs to rest.
As my father-in-law used to say, golden years my ass.
ReplyDeleteJulia, you made me cackle this morning. Agree with everyone above--we are going to MAKE you publish your essays!
ReplyDeleteJulia, this is hiiiiiiiilarious and also sadly so true. Sometimes when I think about how tired I am I remember that this level of exhaustion as the same when I was a teen. Even being a new mom wasn't as tiring as aging or puberty. Ugh.
ReplyDeleteJulia, you are hilarious, and I certainly agree with you publishing your essays. You really need to think about that. I have some advice for women (because we're the ones most likely to do it) in their 40s and 50s. Don't comment on how many pills someone older you know takes, or talk behind your "old" friend's back about how they fell again or that they are walking slower than they used to or that they seem to have a lot of doctors. Your time is coming, and will get here with a bang. There are lots of gentler ways of saying this, but the truth is, old age sucks. I will have my second cataract surgery in fourteen days, then shortly after that I will go to another ophthalmologist about my macular degeneration that has finally reared its ugly head in my eye that I've already had cataract surgery in. My mother had AMD, and it's hereditary. I just found out it's already affecting my daughter's eyesight in one eye, and she's only 41. She hadn't told me. I have way too many doctors because of this or that happening maybe even one time. My pulmonary embolism from around 8 years ago gained me two additional doctors, but I don't have to go to them any more. They're just my stand-by doctors. My bone on bone left knee is headed for knee replacement, but I'm going to physical therapy first (haven't had my first appt. yet). Why? I know I need a new knee, and I don't want to waste time. I will say that I have a wonderful Nurse Practitioner, who listens to me, so I feel good about that. I hate that I do forget words from time to time, or names I should remember, but they usually come to me, and I seem to have plenty of words left. Did I mention that old age sucks?
ReplyDelete