Ageing Woes

pblakeney

morstar said:

pblakeney said:

oxoman said:

Your hoping, that's why A&E are always rammed because surgeries aren't open. OOPS sorry forgot the unless you pay for it. service. All my local quacks are locked down pretty much unless going for a paid for company medical.

GPs really are the people most guilty of hiding behind their sofas during this.
Nurses are despising them for it.

A lot of GPs are working mothers doing part time hours from home and living the perfect work life balance.

All power to them on a personal level but the health service needs to find a mechanism to address this as the service is no longer fit for purpose.
...
After complaining, I did get a prompt call but just referred to A&E which was totally disproportionate.

Ideally I need some follow up but don’t know how to address the situation successfully.

This is why nurses are so pissed off. They are treating patients face to face. Why can't GPs?
Your post actually highlights the issue. Is it cos they're old? Just to be on topic.

briantrumpet

One bit I don't get about getting old is the saying "It's all downhill from here"... the downhills are the fun bits, but getting older isn't.

The13thcog

I'm glad it's not just me then, reading some of these comments made me laugh!

Getting older is a real bummer in some ways, quite liberating in others. I used to wonder why 80yr olds didn't give a sh*t, but as I've got older (50 this year) Ive begun to see why. There's less time ahead than there is behind now, so I haven't got time for all the BS in life, and god there's a lot of it.

Cycling wise my PBs and avg speed has actually gone up since my early 40's, probably due to losing a few stone in weight a few years back but also doing more cycling consistency. As others have said though, recovery times are longer. Early 40's I could do a 50 miler on a sunday morning and by monday afternoon/tuesday morning (DOMS aside for monday) I would be good to go. Now if I do a 50 miler on a sunday morning its virtually wednesday afternoon before the aches have gone, so I have to manage the time spent on the bike alongside recovery a bit more.

Mentally I don't feel much different to when I was 28, my brain says 'go for it' but my body quickly reminds me that its not always on the same page as my head. I go to sleep trying several different pillows because 'my bloody neck hurts' in the morning, only to realise its just me and not the pillows. Same for shoulders and and hips etc

No time for the BS in life that as a youngster you just accepted, you see through it all now and grumble a bit more about it. The double standards and irony turn you into a Victor Meldrew...no plastic straws anymore, all paper, except in takes 10 paper straws to finish a drink so imagine how many extra trees to cut down for that...the local council want me to do more of the legwork when it comes to sorting out my recycling alongside less trash pickups...yet ironically, my council tax bills keep going up, despite me doing more of the work...the price of Jaffa Cakes has gone up and yet they've taken 2 out, there's only 10 now instead of 12....and so on...

When I look at cycling kit online I know weigh up if Im too old to be wearing a Le Col jersey in case I look like a middle aged t*t trying to look 20 again down at the cafe stop.
I look knackered in every family photo...despite telling myself that only a year ago I was still in my 40's.
If I lay down on the floor to play with the kids, it hurts getting back up and can't be done without making a 'ooooh' noise.
What my stomach could tolerate in my 30's it can't now. I could throw deep pan pizzas at it with extra tomatoes, garlic and chillis anytime I wanted without a burp. Now, I have to query wether that same chilli will keep me up all night as I neck a bottle of Gaviscon at 2am. Stick to porridge, it's safe..

Ironically, sex is still great despite all the scare stories I heard when I was a kid that you need Viagra by the time your mid 40's to 'get it up', so touch wood (no pun intended) thats all good, but the difference now is that if me and Mrs have a choice between a spot of 'jiggy time' whilst we're sitting down watching Clarksons Farm on Amazon Prime and a cuppa with some chocolate digestives, the tea'n'biscuits will win every time. The sex has become a 'treat' because it seems like too much effort after a hard day at work, but not long ago it was the other way round!

Still love cycling, buying kit and meeting other riders though, that hasn't changed and don't think it ever will.

The13thcog

Pross said:

oxoman said:

Your hoping, that's why A&E are always rammed because surgeries aren't open. OOPS sorry forgot the unless you pay for it. service. All my local quacks are locked down pretty much unless going for a paid for company medical.

That's why I haven't bothered yet. My experience with GPs in recent years hasn't been positive (several months wait to get a referral for my daughter who was diagnosed with a suspected brain tumour with 5 minutes of finally get seen by a consultant and operated on 3 days later). That said, I was impressed with the remote service I received but don't think it will help with the ongoing issue

Hope your daughter is doing ok?

Pross

The13thcog said:

Pross said:

oxoman said:

Your hoping, that's why A&E are always rammed because surgeries aren't open. OOPS sorry forgot the unless you pay for it. service. All my local quacks are locked down pretty much unless going for a paid for company medical.

That's why I haven't bothered yet. My experience with GPs in recent years hasn't been positive (several months wait to get a referral for my daughter who was diagnosed with a suspected brain tumour with 5 minutes of finally get seen by a consultant and operated on 3 days later). That said, I was impressed with the remote service I received but don't think it will help with the ongoing issue

Hope your daughter is doing ok?

Yes, she's fine now. 11 years post-treatment and loving life thanks. Could have been worse had we just accepted the GP's explanation that being sick every day was probably just down to nerves due to starting school

briantrumpet

Pross said:

Could have been worse had we just accepted the GP's explanation that being sick every day was probably just down to nerves due to starting school

Blimey, that's quite a misdiagnosis to make. Do you know if that misdiagnosis got flagged?

Stevo_666

briantrumpet said:

Stevo_666 said:

oxoman said:

Another sign of aging is the acceptance of the need to wear shin and knee pads for mountain biking.

I must have been old for a while then Oxo. I also wore Elbow pads for yesterday's ride.

Main thing I notice these days is how stiff my legs get after a decent ride or run. Only temporary though.

So's life...

Different timescales, fortunately.

elbowloh

We've had absolutely no problem getting appointments with the GP, are generally getting seen same day, even for fairly trivial things. Our issue is what they once you're there!

That and the bloody consultants at the hospitals, but that's another matter.

oblongomaculatus

lesfirth said:

oblongomaculatus said:

At 58 you are not old! I am old enough to be your bl00dy DAD!
Who needs hair anyway, of any colour?
You are only really old when you freewheel down hills rather than fly down in biggest gear, pedalling like ***k.

I know. As I said, I don't feel old, and I don't have any of the ailments people of a similar age, or younger, have been complaining of here. And it's true, you don't need hair, but I am very pleased to still have it. Helps keep your head warm in winter, and reflects the sun in summer… the fact that it hasn't changed colour is probably due to it being blond, ie not having much pigment to start with.

Someone mentioned recovery time, how they used to be good to go the day after a 50 mile ride, and it now takes three days. I haven't come to that stage yet either, and have, twice, ridden 100 miles on each of the 8 days of the Festive 500. I found that yes, tired at the start of day 2, tireder on day 3, even more so on day 4, but then something weird seems to happen. I start getting less tired day by day, so that at the beginning of the last day I'm feeling as fresh as on day 1 (Still pleased to put my feet up on January 1st though!) Grand Tour riders have mentioned the same thing, on a larger scale - they're shattered after stage 1, get steadily more so until they get to the third week, then start feeling stronger again.

webboo

I got a real reminder of my age when out bouldering yesterday. There was another guy climbing who was probably twenty maybe younger. When trying a problem he suggested a put my toe on a hold rather than my heel. I had to say I couldn’t because of the arthritis in my hip.
I never thought I would have use that as an excuse.

DeVlaeminck

Just watched an episode of the current comedy hit People Just Do Nothing.

It seems I'm now too old for current humour. Better check if that comedy gold channel still exists .

photonic69

DeVlaeminck said:

Just watched an episode of the current comedy hit People Just Do Nothing.

Current? Mate, this was last on in 2018!! (obvs available on various on-demand services too)

Actually I find it quietly amusing. It's a lovely study of pond-life. I'm well into my fifties so maybe that makes me young enough to be "down wid tha kids" - NAAAAHHTT!

Actually the aging woe that really gets me is having to need glasses. That really is the worst thing, oh, that and all the other parts of me that are failing/going wrong.

DeVlaeminck

Hang on are you saying it isn't still 2018 ... must have lost track...