Six Things No One Tells You About Aging

I never learned about much about aging when I was younger, let alone how I should prepare for it. Who knew there was anything you could do about it, and here we are, fighting the War on Aging.

Now at 74+, I occasionally read and quote Dr. Suess:

“Oh! The places you’ll go!”

For sure. Aging has sent me to the emergency clinic, the pharmacist’s, the lab for blood work, and the Imaging center for pictures of body parts I never knew I had.

Somebody should have warned me… getting older is tough. There are days when I feel like 20, when I’m sure they made a mistake on my birth certificate. Then, bam, I’m hit with mysterious symptoms for as yet unnamed diseases.

I find myself wandering around in a brain fog and can’t get anything done. This morning I woke up late for my Pickleball match. My back and shoulder wanted to stay in bed. I felt like I’d been run over by a truck. Now I consider myself someone who’s fit and healthy for 74. Clearly my self-image isn’t aligned with the harsh reality of the here and now.

Harsh Realities and Weird Symptoms

Fortunately, aging comes in bits and doesn’t hit all at once. Still, I wish somebody had told me to prepare for it when I was younger. Here are a few things we’ve experienced…

1. Lifestyle is more important than family genetics. Don’t count on family genes from Papa Ralph who lived until 95. Longer life is predicted by exercise, nutrition, quality sleep and good health habits.
2. The “road gets narrower.” Meaning that your body can’t do a good job anymore of handling bad diet, alcohol, sugar, excess belly fat, sedentary habits, lack of sleep, stress, loneliness, and all the things you think you can get away with. There is toxic build-up in cells causing accelerated aging, when you have unhealthy habits.
3. You will wake up with weird symptoms you’ve never had before and read WebMD or another medical website, leading to excess worry. (Tinnitus, sinusitis, bursitis, psoriasis, vertigo, etc. Talk to your doctor when needed.)
4. You will feel tired, especially doing things you used to do with ease, and especially after exercising. Don’t stop exercising but allow more time for recovery. Make sure you’re getting good sleep. (Get regular lab checkups with your physician.)
5. You will have one or more falls for no reason at all. Even if you’re a healthy fit senior. Eye sight fails, self-perception in space falters, and boom, you’re on your ass. If you are fit, you’ll be better able to catch yourself and avoid fractures.
6. Although websites talk a lot about financial preparation for retirement, there isn’t enough attention to how you will enjoy yourself after 65. All the money in the world won’t be fun if you can’t walk. Make sure you have a consistent exercise program to prevent bone and muscle loss (or at least minimize it.) Work on balance every day so you can avoid falls.

As I said, no matter what your age, or how fit you started out, aging will floor your ass and get you in the end.

My hope is that you look at troubles with the wisdom of age. As Dr. Seuss reminds us,

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And you are the one who’ll decide where to go…”