Old Farts Corner

[phil c]

I was looking around at posts and came across a number of tribulations with aging.
To cheer you up,
The local paper had an interview with a 93 yr. old woman volunteering in a nursing home.  She really enjoyed it as one of several volunteer activities.  One question was: Do you think you'll ever want to go to a nursing home.  Her answer " Oh no!  They all are so old!"
In other words, get a life and stop complaining.  As Jordan Peterson says- life is suffering and then we all die.  In between all we can do is the best we can with what we've got.

Some suggestions:
Start weight lifting.  After 40 something strength starts to go down.  Things get harder to lift.  Weight training brings back some strength and makes life easier.  If your muscles don't get a bit sore after a day or two, work up to more weight.

Lose some fat.  Building muscle and larger muscles burn more calories.

Do whatever flexibility excercises the doctor will allow.  Don't try to touch your toes right after back surgery.  Complete all the re-hab and then keep on doing it.

Eat more veggies.

Meet people face to face and talk.

Learn some balance excercises- even just standing on one foot.

Hope we'll all meet somewhere out flying before it's too late.  I look forward to it.

Phil C

[Bootlegger]

  I am in that Group, as in August, if Jesus says the same I'll be 77 years YOUNG, and I try to go walk 1-1.5 miles every day.  Gotta keep going, if you rest you will RUST !!

[FLOYD CARTER]

I have NEVER indulged in strenuous exercise (not since my boot camp days in USAF).

I DO watch my weight and I avoid junk food..

I am 84 years old

[david beazley]

Good Lord willing I will be 66 in July. When I turned 63 I weighed 228# and was on cholesterol meds.  I started going to yoga classes 3 times a week. Changed my diet, (eventually became vegan, so yeah, I’m one of those) and now I weigh 162#. Never felt better! I now have the body I have been looking for for 50 years!  The only Rx I take is one eyedrop in each eye for inter ocular hypertension. Life is good!

[john e. holliday]

Well a neighbor lady we called Grandma Sigmond always told me that a long life is obtained by keeping busy.  She ran a beauty shop out of her house and was always seen working on her flowers...   She passed on to heaven at 83 and I think would have lasted longer if she had not been put in a nursing home.  Myself I have not tried as hard as I should but I am now down in the 240 range of weight.  They let me have my steak & shake once a month.   I keep telling them I have run out of veggies before the chicken bits are gone.  Any way I am walking more trying to get the knees from getting stiff by chasing the dogs,  feeding squirals and flying my planes.  Any way GOD willing hope to do more.

[Joe Ed Pederson]

I took a Gerontology class in college sometime between 1979 and 1983 and the statistics back then were encouraging.  Back then only 10% of the population ever spent a day in a nursing home.  I could be wrong, but I doubt the statistics have changed drastically since then.

Joe Ed Pederson

[phil c]

I think a big mistake is judging yourself by the people you see out in public. Once I knew what I was looking at almost everyone I see in public is morbidly obese. So, if you look normal at the mall, take a look at the BMI chart. It's amazing where mother nature draws the line. I'm 61, 6'1" and 190 Lbs. and I'm right on the boarder between healthy and overweight. When people see me they say I'm skinny and I say no, I'm actually over weight so where does that leave them? morbidly obese.

MM

MM- the BMI is a very poor indicator of overweight.  It was intended as a quick and dirty way for a doctor or nurse to get a quick look at where a patient was in terms of overweight.  It is NOT a hard and fast indicator.  Anybody at the high end, or the low end, is in danger of some added risk.  Anyone in the middle should take a look at their eating and exercise habits.  I had a friend at work who was deemed over the limit in BMI.  He died of a heart attack at 49, probably due to taking weird supplements in large doses, not from being obese.
My wife's grandmother was definitely overweight, about 5'6" at age 80 with swollen ankles.  She lived by herself until 93 keeping a garden and mowing the lawn in a house on the own farm.  She died at 99 in a nursing home from just getting old.

As far as weight gain goes, the majority of folks that live longer gain half a pound or so after age 40, for all health conditions.

[John Craig]

The  acronym for old Farts is CAC .  It is not paid for by insurance.  Primary care providers do not understand it. While it has been around for 20 years the cardiovascular specialists only now realize what a great screening tool it is, but don't use it because it is not paid for.  I found out about it during a lecture by a surgeon, who now his a believer, because he suddenly dropped dead from a heart attack & was only now alive because he was surrounded by other surgeons. His primary care doctor thought he was in great shape: a Vegan, ideal weight, no family history of cardiovascular disease, Mom & Dad alive & well @ 90+ years old, cholesterol numbers ideal; yet he ended up with his chest split open & all the major coronary arteries grafted.

I am lucky they offer it, CAC, at the local x-ray center for $50. but discount it 10% if you pay on line.
I waited longer in the waiting room than the procedure.  Just lay on the x-ray table for 5 minutes. No Needles! No treadmill!  The computer reads the amount of calcium already in your arteries & gives you a score for your age. Your risk of having a heart attack. I am a 97, low risk, mid pack, 50% are more likely to have a problem, 50% less likely. 1/3 of all heart attacks are the first indication of a problem & the last!  More women die from heart attacks than breast cancer.

With a score you can do something about it, before the heart attack.



http://www.cardiovascularbusiness.com/topics/imaging/cac-scanning-may-be-most-effective-screening-coronary-artery-disease

[Skip Chernoff]

My mom is 99. She never exercised a day in her life. She was always waaaay overweight, Smoked into her 50s. Her mind is still sharp (mostly).She moves slowly. Has a tremendous appetite. It's all in the genes.