Getting Older

[aussiegirl]

Getting older stinks! I will be 50 next year, and I think my body is feeling it!

I spent last week stuck on the couch because of a backache/spasms. While I was able to spend time (from the couch at least) with the 2 girls who were home (1 from college, and my teenager) it would have been nice to have more mobility. We even had to miss out on going to the Henry Ford Museum because I was in pain.

So, not that I really want to know...but I kinda do. Does it get worse from here? What other fun things do I have to look forward to as I get older?

[jacinda]

I'm the same. I turned 50 in January, and seem to be getting injuries left, right and center for no reason. Tennis elbow, feet problems etc. Turns out it's because I've been too lazy and haven't been keeping my muscles strong. The physio and the podiatrist both said I need to keep up with regular exercise and strength training like I used to. If I don't work my muscles they get weak, then when I go to do something I injure myself because those muscles/ligaments aren't used to the strain.

So it's not just because I'm getting older. It's because I'm getting lazier.

[LynnZant]

I'm going to be entering my mid fifties this year, and it's no picnic. That being said, I still think that I feel better than in my twenties because I used to be a chain smoking booze pig who never exercised. I take better care of myself the older I get. Now that your kids are older, take time and focus on you!

[LJSDesigns]

Jacinda is right. My doctors says use it or lose it. I don't use it enough, so when I do, I feel it in all the wrong ways.

The key to staying healthy is to be healthy by getting enough exercise, sleep, sunlight, eating right, etc. I think it is harder to get a healthy program started and stick to it when you feel those aches and pains more.

I sit way too much at my job, yet I come home brain tired everyday, so I just want to sit some more. It's a bad cycle and the only way to change it is to change it. Change is super hard.

[JillW]

Man, you fifty something gals are so young - lol! I'll be 63 in July ... I think Lorie is right on the money ... if you take care of yourself now, it's better in the long run!! However; that said, there are still things that may pop up here and there that have nothing to do with age ... having a good attitude and outlook will surely help in those situations!

[Kimberly27]

Oh I feel you...I am only 43 but thanks to wonderful genetics, I have a set of health issues mostly related to arthritis, and body aches. To name one, I bent over...BENT OVER to get something out of a drawer in my bathroom and couldn't stand back up. My knees buckled and I sat down on the tub. Hubby came out of the toilet room to find me in tears. I was in so much pain. I manage to get up right, drive my kid to school (thank God for heated seats) then called the doc for a tordal shot and a narcotic pain reliever. I spent the next two days in bed sleeping bc of a migraine on top of the pain in my back. I didn't eat for those days due to nausea and just pain. I am still hurting but got a steroid yesterday in hopes it will loosen up some..MRI scheduled, had xrays...it is a degenerative protruding disc in my low back that is pinching on a nerve. So not fun at all!!!

[Kiana]

I am not 50 yet, however, I can tell you in the recent months I've been walking on the treadmill at home way more than I have in recent years, and I can definitely tell a difference at work.
I sit most of the day and I was finding it hard to get up and go to the bathroom/lunch etc and was walking like I was 100 for a few minutes while I "warmed" up....rofl

But now since I've been walking more, I can just get right up and go do what I need to. I've even started walking at work during a break just to get some extra joint movement.

But I agree with Lorie, it is SO hard to motivate yourself....most days I DO NOT want to, but I've been telling myself I HAVE to do it,.....I have to.

[HavaDrPepper]

Originally Posted by JillW

Man, you fifty something gals are so young - lol! I'll be 63 in July ... I think Lorie is right on the money ... if you take care of yourself now, it's better in the long run!! However; that said, there are still things that may pop up here and there that have nothing to do with age ... having a good attitude and outlook will surely help in those situations!

Yeah, but I'm 67! And, you are right on the money with your advice.

Any issues that you might have when you are younger but handled easily will be worse as you get older. I've had osteoarthritis in one knee for over 40 years. I was able to just wear an elastic knee brace when doing any activity. I at least still can get by with the elastic knee brace when active but I have to put an arthritic cream on my knees to loosen them up every morning. And, bending/crouching down is a no-no for me because I invariable end up on my rear end and can't get up unless I'm holding on to something to pull myself up. I just have had to adjust how I do things (because I want to avoid knee replacement surgery if possible... the orthopedic doctor told me when diagnosed with the osteoarthritis that I would be having knee surgery before I was 50).

[nesser1981]

I just turned 42 and I feel like so many things are getting harder already. Not that I lost weight quickly before, but it seems even more difficult now. I jacked my back up two weeks ago, and I’m pretty sure I did it sitting and scrapping.

[rach3975]

I hope those of you in pain feel better soon! I'm 48, and until last year I walked a lot because the school I worked at was so spread out and I had time to walk outside of work, too. But I no longer work at the school where I got 8000 or so steps just during the work day, and I'm back in grad school so all my extra time is spent at a desk. I feel the difference!

[bcgal00]

I'm 65 and in some ways, life is so much better. Health-wise, I am healthier than I have been in 20 years. I walk constantly and even though I have arthritis in my neck and back, aside from a few flare-ups, it is very manageable b/c I worked on my diet, my posture and my activity. There are things that I can't do anymore i.e. jogging b/c it's too much impact but I slowed down to walking a lot and bringing my camera so really "see" what's around me and take lots of photos so don't feel I am missing out by not jogging. There is a sense of freedom, I do what I want, I don't stress over little things and accept what I can't change in life. I wish I had my 20 year old body back, of course, but overall, reaching retirement wasn't bad at all. I don't know what the next 10 or 20 years will bring but right now, life is pretty darn good.

[nietis]

I am 38 but I've had backache so much the past 2 years because of the direct breastfeeding I do for my daughter. I am feeling that this time around it is affecting so much more than the time when I had our son in 2012
I really hope it will heal once the breastfeeding stops, because this backache is really hurting me. I do try jogging daily for 20-30 minutes, which helps in a way. I am also aware that I need to lose the pregnancy weight that's still stuck with me, so I obviously have a lot of homework to get my body to feel better.

[StacyLynn]

I turn 50 this November.... I am feeling all of the aging too.

I cannot imagine how bad my health n aches n pains would be ifI did not start my health journey in 2021. As it is, I have plenty to deal with... arthritis, cronic fatigue, back hurting... I really should be going to the gym 3-4 times a week and doing some strength training, but by time the littles ones leave each day, I am way too tired from keeping up with them...some days I take a walk, just keep myself moving. That being said, I am way healthier now than I was in my 30's and 40's.

[aussiegirl]

Thanks for all the advice, and encouragement! Sounds like I need to get moving more. Maybe talk the family into weekly walks (Sunday seems like a good day to get up and move after Church).

[lovely1m]

Being in the military in my early 40s means most of the people I work with are younger than me and we do a job that is particularly hard on our bodies. I constantly tell the kids that when they hit 35, our little injuries become long-term injuries. It's rough to get older.

[TraceyM]

[Scrapcrazy]

Yep. Just turned 51 and now I hurt in places and I don't even know what I did. I just wake up like that. Who gets hurt while they are sleeping?...lol!