Reply to Does anyone else not want to live to be very old?

Forum Index » Eldercare

Reply to "Does anyone else not want to live to be very old?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I’ve had TMJ since my teens. While the likelihood of health problems may increase as you age, there aren’t certainties. A lot of general health is related to lifestyle.  I’ve also had the heartburn problems since my mid 40s  (I think partly due to a hernia and partly due to bad gut health. Eating probiotics helped a lot.)

Of my four grandparents (all of whom I think lived into their 80s), the two who never gave up smoking cigarettes (heavily), had severe health problems and a lot of pain.  The grandfather who had smoked mostly cigars and given them up decades earlier (50s/early 60s?), had a heart attack when he was planting trees in his yard.

My parents are in their 70s. My mom had a terrible stroke in 2021 and it was basically a miracle she survived. While she had a terrible year, through the grace of God, the support of my father, and incredible hard work (she’s a formidable woman), she’s pretty much made a full recovery (just a slight tremor in one hand when she gets tired). She travels, drives herself around town, plays the piano, visits friends, crafts, walks over a mile a day, and does what she wants to do.  I’m pretty sure she’s in better shape than I am at 51.

My father is slowing down some, but still leads a full life. He can no longer lift heavy things, and probably has to hire people for home/yard maintenance and repair he would have done previously. I don’t think he misses mowing the yard, and considering his handyman skills, the house is probably better off in tge hands of a professional. Meanwhile, last November, he drove my mom 900 miles for a holiday in Vegas and then 900 miles back home.

My ex-father-in-law is in his 80s. I think he’s slowing down a little now, but until recently, he was cycling (a lot) daily and would travel around the world scuba diving.

My ex-mother-in-law, unfortunately passed away several years ago in her 70s. She had been leading an active lifestyle, including playing tennis, being an avid gardener, and visiting us from Georgia every year.

I think you can have a high quality of life in your 80s. While there are, of course, a myriad of interacting variables, I think if you avoid smoking, minimize alcohol consumption, and have daily exercise (this is where I fall short) to maintain bone density, muscle tone, and cardiovascular health, your chances of having “golden” years rise significantly. [/quote]

There is a lot of wishful thinking in this. I think longevity researchers would tell you that the reality is that your genes matter much more than lifestyle for many things like cardiovascular health and cancer, the two major killers. There is a huge overestimation of the ability of for example diet to play a role in reducing your chances of cancer. It's highly genetic. People attribute long life to healthy lifestyles and it certainly plays a role, but much smaller than people think. If you look at longevity research, this is borne out. The people in good health at 100 have genes for good cardiovascular health and they don't have cancer genes. You can reduce risk by exercising and not smoking, but much less than you think.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics