Big Drop in Life Expectancy

[audreyh1]

+1

I have several motion activated night lights plus one hall light I leave on all the time. Once a visitor criticized me for wasting electricity and adding to the Earth's carbon issues. I told him that one call to the EMTs for a preventable fall plus the trip to the ER, plus the followup, would probably used about 100 times the energy that these lights consume over the rest of my life.

Yeah, perspective!

Gosh so many of them are LED lamps with light sensors!

 

[RobbieB]

Yeah, led's at 1% of incandescent power for same light are no threat to the earth.

 

[2177V]

+1

I have several motion activated night lights plus one hall light I leave on all the time. Once a visitor criticized me for wasting electricity and adding to the Earth's carbon issues. I told him that one call to the EMTs for a preventable fall plus the trip to the ER, plus the followup, would probably used about 100 times the energy that these lights consume over the rest of my life.

A typical led nightlight with a light sensor cost about 25 cents a year or about 2 cents each month. If a typical Emergency visit and follow up cost $5,000, then this is equal to about 20,000 years of operation! Plus no pain and suffering.

Sadly my mom did not have a night light and she passed away from the fall. I hope people remember this post when they get old and frail. Bad things happen when the elderly fall.

 

[ivinsfan]

Chuckanut..I'd not be entertaining that jerk of a visitor again

 

[W2R]

I just ordered some more nightlights after reading and posting on this thread. These are the kind I have bought before and I like them. I have no idea if they are the best, or the cheapest, but I have quite a few of them in use and I am satisfied with them, so I thought I'd provide the link.

 

[audreyh1]

Sadly my mom did not have a night light and she passed away from the fall. I hope people remember this post when they get old and frail. Bad things happen when the elderly fall.

That’s why I do yoga regularly to maintain balance and flexibility while aging as well as posture, some strength and muscle tone. It may not save me from that fall, but it seems like it would improve the odds.

There is also Sarcopenia - muscle loss while aging that accelerates mid 70s and on. Tougher to deal with.Tough to not get frail in your 80s. Some people don’t. DF definitely lost body mass, flexibility and became far more frail in his 80s even though he had been quite fit until mid 70s. He made it to 90 but the last few years weren’t great.

Maybe I’ll hire a weekly physical therapist once I get to a certain age.

 

[Koolau]

That’s why I do yoga regularly to maintain balance and flexibility while aging as well as posture, some strength and muscle tone. It may not save me from that fall, but it seems like it would improve the odds.

There is also Sarcopenia - muscle loss while aging that accelerates mid 70s and on. Tougher to deal with.Tough to not get frail in your 80s. Some people don’t. DF definitely lost body mass, flexibility and became far more frail in his 80s even though he had been quite fit until mid 70s. He made it to 90 but the last few years weren’t great.

Maybe I’ll hire a weekly physical therapist once I get to a certain age.

We'll have to ask Clint Eastwood his secret. Actually, I've heard that he works out daily and is virtually a vegetarian. Not sure I'd go that far, but it makes you wonder how to protect yourself. I'm trying to increase my level of activity - especially since Covid restrictions have eased a bit. YMMV

 

[ncbill]

It seems to me that once you turn 80, it might be time to ease off medications for chronic disease. I guess if you’ve had open heart surgery or stents maybe you still need some blood thinner, but medications in general for primary prevention at that age? Maybe not.

Some medications do cause problems in very elderly - like developing low blood pressure leading to balance problems, etc., so be careful about BP medications as you age. Some statins can lead to symptoms of dementia in elderly.

There's one gerontology researcher who advocates nothing but palliative care after age 70 based on what he's seen of how our elderly are treated here in the U.S.

Of course, he's nowhere near that age...so it's wait & see if he actually chooses that for himself.

On another forum one poster was asking for advice on a less invasive way for a 90+ year old relative to monitor their blood sugar apart from multiple daily needle sticks...my response was to have a frank talk with the doctor as to why that's needed for someone that age.

 

[Chuckanut]

Sadly my mom did not have a night light and she passed away from the fall. I hope people remember this post when they get old and frail. Bad things happen when the elderly fall.

As a young man, I saw several of my most beloved elders fall, break something (usually a hip), and their life was changed for the worse, forever.

A few years ago a friend was sweeping leaves off his roof. It was a bit damp under deceptively dry leaves, and he went down on his behind, off the edge and fortunately onto his lawn and not the concrete driveway a few feet away. He had a sore rear-end for weeks, but broke nothing and is back to normal. Lesson learned. Pay somebody to do that stuff.

 

[braumeister]

On another forum one poster was asking for advice on a less invasive way for a 90+ year old relative to monitor their blood sugar apart from multiple daily needle sticks...my response was to have a frank talk with the doctor as to why that's needed for someone that age.

My mother used to really enjoy it when one of her table companions at the retirement community brought up some diet or nutrition issue they were dealing with. She loved saying "My son told me that at my age I can eat anything I want, any time I want." She said it usually stopped the whining and got the subject changed. FWIW she was about 90 at the time, and lived happily for another six years with no meds of any kind.

 

[Koolau]

There's one gerontology researcher who advocates nothing but palliative care after age 70 based on what he's seen of how our elderly are treated here in the U.S.

Of course, he's nowhere near that age...so it's wait & see if he actually chooses that for himself.

On another forum one poster was asking for advice on a less invasive way for a 90+ year old relative to monitor their blood sugar apart from multiple daily needle sticks...my response was to have a frank talk with the doctor as to why that's needed for someone that age.

I hate to say it, but 70 sounds young to me - especially too young to more or less "give up" on 70 year olds. It's true that some 70 year olds are beyond much actual help and palliative care is appropriate. I know several 70+ that are very active, alert, interested and interesting who should (IMHO) try to hang around as long as they feel good. I'd worry about a gerontologist who "writes people off" based solely on their age. Agree that prolonging a dismal life could be the wrong thing to do. But helping folks stay active and connected - with appropriate health care - is something worth while (to me.) YMMV