Ever since turning sixty, my husband Rob and I have been taking better care of ourselves. It pays off, even as we still have to deal with the inevitability of growing older. The big goal—as we now see it—is to extend our “joie de vivre” as long as we can. Extending the prime of life is about growing older without aging. We say okay to normal aging, but then what is “normal aging?”
During the last century, the average life span for Americans almost doubled, to 76.5 years of age. At 76 and 80 years of age, Rob and I have benefited from many modern medical advances. Rob survived a major heart attack and now has several stents to keep his arteries open. An implanted cardioverter, a combination defibrillator/ pacemaker, keeps the damaged heart beating. Spinal fusion operations have kept his back functional.
For myself, I’ve also benefited from advanced heart medications, spinal fusion, cataract surgeries, and a total shoulder replacement. We both maintain active physical routines of playing sports and working out in the gym. True, we don’t look young and vibrant anymore, but we can say we appear about ten years younger than our biological ages. We’ve worked hard to preserve health in spite of some serious conditions.
The War on Aging Is About Normal Aging
As we wrote in our book about the senior War on Aging, we strive to extend our health spans, the number of years we can actively engage in doing all the things we love, in spite of growing older.
Unfortunately, medical science hasn’t done a good enough job slowing the degenerative diseases that accompany aging. There is a ballooning population of sick and elderly people, many of whom can’t take care of themselves. They face years of pain, disability, isolation and infirmity.
The goal of following an anti-aging health regime isn’t to live longer, but to live better as we grow older. We don’t always have a choice, but we do have some choices. We face those decision points at least three times a day with what we eat. And we face them all day long. What to do, how to engage with others, how to rest and relax, how to have healthy relationships, how to sleep well. Lifestyle choices make up the epigenetic differences of which genes get turned on, and which ones don’t.
Anti-aging strategies focus on helping you retain your physical vigor, mental clarity, and youthful appearance as we grow older. According to authors The Life Extension Revolution: The New Science of Growing Older Without Aging:
Anti-aging medicine is now the fastest-growing medical specialty in the U.S. It is no longer acceptable for doctors to dismiss a gradual deterioration of function and wellness as “what happens when you get older.” …It’s also not good enough to medicate symptoms as they arise, using pain relievers, antacids, arthritis drugs, and cholesterol medications. We must find a way to remain healthy, vital and productive as we enjoy the longer life span that modernity has made possible.
Know What’s Normal Aging
While it is normal for many people to get weaker, slower, sicker, or more forgetful as they get older, it is not normal to notice changes like these in the space of a week or a month. As active seniors, we must educate ourselves on what’s really normal and what is a change that indicates something’s wrong.
At the very least, when you notice rapid changes, get a blood test. As an example, my husband was noticeably slower and lacking in energy over the past two weeks. He lost his appetite and didn’t go to the gym four days in a row. Now, I can accept certain changes with age, but this seemed to be more pronounced than usual.
Blood tests revealed abnormal kidney functioning and he is now getting treatment in a hospital. We could have ignored the signs and it would have caused permanent damage.
Fortunately, he’s never inactive, so when he becomes that way, I know it’s time for a medication check or a lab test. Do you know when to ignore symptoms or when to get help? Denial is a great coping mechanism, and sometimes you have to ignore the little annoying aches and pains. Until it’s something not going quite right. Be wary of self-medicating and assuming Dr. Google or his online assistant knows what’s best.
Oh! I almost forgot to wish you all a Happy New Year. May this year see you healthy and wise.
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