At what age did you feel "physically old" and cranky?

[aaronc879]

25. Maybe a couple years sooner. Unfortunately I have had chronic pain since my 20's due to hard manual labor jobs. Now at age 39 and after three major hip surgeries including a THR in the last 2 years I have to use a cane if walking anything more than a minimal amount. I dread when I actually get old, if I get there at all. The pain may not be worth living.

 

[pacergal]

25. Maybe a couple years sooner. Unfortunately I have had chronic pain since my 20's due to hard manual labor jobs. Now at age 39 and after three major hip surgeries including a THR in the last 2 years I have to use a cane if walking anything more than a minimal amount. I dread when I actually get old, if I get there at all. The pain may not be worth living.

aaron--you have shared so much of your story since your accident and recovery. Hang in there! I pray that you body continues to heal and you get stronger. Take care.

 

[cyber888]

That's great to hear about your treatment.
I'm feeling much better too .. My leg pain has recovered .. thanks to CBD hot cream for temporary pain relief .. and hydrolyzed Collagen Peptides for a more permanent long-term relief. I think I can run for another 15-20 years I was feeling some leg pain from sprinting and running, but the pain is about gone the past 3-4 days since I wrote this thread.

That's good!


Sorry to hear that.

I consider myself extremely lucky. I felt fine all through my 1.5 years of cancer infusion treatments - no pain, no side effects at all. Treatments have gotten really good, specific, and effective in recent years for many cancers.

I take long walks or bike rides most days. Spend time with the grandkids at the beach. And I've started playing pickleball a few months ago. We enjoy being outdoors.

I need to work a bit more on my weight (I need better portion control). Other than that I feel terrific.

So I told feel physically old, nor do I feel cranky. At least not yet.

 

[imoldernu]

@ age 75, worried about health.

@ age 83, not.

Cranky?.... Alzheimer's equals a degree of short temper, that I guess = cranky.

Overall?... loving life!.

 

[sheehs1]

64 here. I had always been active and still am to a degree. I would even mulch my own yard at 30 yards of needed mulch, wheelbarrowing it around the yard, work out class 3 plus days a week, elliptical trainer at level 12, pruning trees and bushes, etc.

What slowed me down last year after painting an entire condo, lifting things up steps for the new condo,(always carrying something heavy on my shoulders) etc. is I was diagnosed with a facet joint strain in my cervical neck. Talk about stopping me in my tracks! There were days I had to lie on the sofa mid day just to rest my neck and shoulders. It took me 3 months to go to a chirorpractor because I am stubborn and thought it would all get better. Nope.

While it is much better, I can still tell when I am overdoing it with low weigh work or just daily life and I have not been back to organized work out classes because I'm a bit competitive with myself. So I have not gotten back to the upper body and arm work I used to do.

That said, I walk and still do elliptical and some light weights and in general stay physically busy. But I hired someone to mulch my yard this year.

 

[travelover]

Age 67, can still pull a wheelie on my bike.

 

[oldtrig]

I started noticing small changes probably in my late 50's. After turning 60 I definitely noticed a difference. After turning 65 it was unbelievable the difference I was feeling - I definitely was feeling old. I can't imagine 70...

It ain't bad. I turn 72 next month I work 6 hours a day 7 days a week ( for myself ) and love it even though I retired at age 65. For me working is my retirement. I feel better now than I did at age 40. I don't feel old as some might say.

 

[Lsbcal]

64 here. I had always been active and still am to a degree. I would even mulch my own yard at 30 yards of needed mulch, wheelbarrowing it around the yard, work out class 3 plus days a week, elliptical trainer at level 12, pruning trees and bushes, etc.

What slowed me down last year after painting an entire condo, lifting things up steps for the new condo,(always carrying something heavy on my shoulders) etc. is I was diagnosed with a facet joint strain in my cervical neck. Talk about stopping me in my tracks! There were days I had to lie on the sofa mid day just to rest my neck and shoulders. It took me 3 months to go to a chirorpractor because I am stubborn and thought it would all get better. Nope.

While it is much better, I can still tell when I am overdoing it with low weigh work or just daily life and I have not been back to organized work out classes because I'm a bit competitive with myself. So I have not gotten back to the upper body and arm work I used to do.

That said, I walk and still do elliptical and some light weights and in general stay physically busy. But I hired someone to mulch my yard this year.

Yep, we all have to learn to pace ourselves. I try to do yardwork in periods of maybe an hour each. I'll change the type of work so as to not stress particular body parts too much or too often. Same with all the exercise routines.

Your learning fast.

 

[ls99]

I was born cranky. What is this physically old feeling thing?

 

[sheehs1]

Yep, we all have to learn to pace ourselves. I try to do yardwork in periods of maybe an hour each. I'll change the type of work so as to not stress particular body parts too much or too often. Same with all the exercise routines.

Your learning fast.

I think there may be some truth to those of us who have been physically active all of our life regarding wear and tear on "things" like joints, tendons, bones, etc. and sprained or broke things along the way!
My cervical neck will now always be a source of potential injury and will keep me from doing a lot of what I used to do. Even now, there are some nights I put one of those weighted, heated neck wraps on it after simply an active day of typical stuff. But at least now, I can lift my 3 and 5 year old granddaughters and carry my 21 pound schnauzer when needed, while during the worst of it, I couldn't. That was a real bummer!
Yep..learned fast!

 

[Mdlerth]

Once I retire, I'll feel younger

14

I've been cranky my whole life.

I guess it was around the onset of adolescence that I first recognized my misanthropy. But I attributed it to being surrounded by irritating people rather than age-related crankiness.

I’m convinced making a point of staying active is critical to maintaining physical ability, especially as we age, so I exercise regularly and just generally choose to do yard work, household projects, ride my bike, walk the neighborhood, etc. at every opportunity. We just moved into a new (to us) house so there’s an endless supply of projects - I just hung two ceiling fans yesterday.

I find a vast difference between task-related activity and fitness-related activity. Yard work and household projects (we do them constantly) leave me exhausted and sore for days. I don't get stronger or lose any weight, I just feel crummy.

By contrast, after exercise-focused activity (which I don't do enough) I feel tired but it's more of a pleasurable afterglow.

One problem is that after a weekend of heavy lifting and bending and reaching, I hurt too much to feel like exercising, even though it would probably help. DW has MS, which limits her ability to help with our home projects. So when a room needs painting or some plumbing problem needs fixing it falls to me, and afterward I spend a week nursing my wounds instead of hiking or swimming.

 

[iloveyoga]

I just turned 60 this past February. I don't feel old or cranky yet. Like someone mentioned, I am sure it helps that I did not do any strenuous sports when I was younger. Now I walk, swim, bike, and do yoga 3 x a week. Stuff hurts a bit, like my low back and hip, but you do get used to that.

 

[Bestwifeever]

One problem is that after a weekend of heavy lifting and bending and reaching, I hurt too much to feel like exercising, even though it would probably help. DW has MS, which limits her ability to help with our home projects. So when a room needs painting or some plumbing problem needs fixing it falls to me, and afterward I spend a week nursing my wounds instead of hiking or swimming.

Perhaps it is time to pay someone else to do our more physical home projects so we can spend the following week enjoying things like hiking and swimming, not having to nurse our wounds.

 

[tmm99]

It ain't bad. I turn 72 next month I work 6 hours a day 7 days a week ( for myself ) and love it even though I retired at age 65. For me working is my retirement. I feel better now than I did at age 40. I don't feel old as some might say.

What kind of work that takes so much of your time is considered retirement?

 

[LRDave]

I haven't yet at 61. Now get off my lawn!

 

[iloveyoga]

I wanted to add on...I joined WW in January and lost 12 pounds that I had gained after retiring. That has really improved how I feel in any ways. I turned 60 in February.

 

[Jeffman52]

At 56 I still feel pretty good overall. I run 3 miles every other day and work out on the off days. I still ski in the winter and have not had any issues with the effort of that. However I do feel it catching up here and there. My reaction time is not what it was and my recall is slower than it used to be.

I visited my Uncle recently who is 87. He told me his brick wall was at 73. Until then he said he thought he was bulletproof.

 

[GLM]

At 61 I feel better than I did at 30, 40 or 50 .

My thyroid started to go in my mid 20's and I was over 40 before I found a Doctor that would listen to me and run the right tests. That took several years to treat correctly and years to rebuild lost muscle and strength. Then before 50 menopause hit and I needed to re calibrate again . Gluten free now- to keep my Thyroid antibodies and inflammation down. Supporting adrenals and repairing leaky gut.

Its great to feel good , even if maintenance is a pain at times. DH is fighting entropy with me , which is nice as it hurts to watch other friends and family who don't take care of themselves doing worse.

 

[skipro33]

I'm 62 and notice my strength is not what it used to be. I compensate by slowing down to accomplish what I used to be able to do much quicker. I haven't lost the ability to do anything I've ever done, but just more of a 'marathon pace vs a sprint pace.

I do find some of my recreational activities not as entertaining though. For example, I love to fish from my kayak. I returned from a 4 day trip in the mountains and was really tired of all the work it takes to prep and tear down from a kayak fishing trip. I'm thinking of dumping the kayak and just going on charter trips; let the guide do all the work while I have all the fun. I dropped out of adventure sport motorcycling in my late 50's for that reason as well as I knew my reflexes weren't as sharp as they used to be.
Also, I know my body isn't recovering from injuries nearly as quick as it used to. Once I didn't mind being out of commission for a couple weeks due to a recreational injury, it's not a couple months or more.

There's always new hobbies that I can get into. I'm thinking of getting into RC cars. The 4x4 crawlers that emulate those vehicles that can traverse the trails not by slamming and bouncing over them but by the snail's pace and crawl method. My body sure likes the sound of that.

 

[friar1610]

i've felt myself slowing down gradually since my early 60s but it seemed to accelerate at about 67 (I'm 74 now). I still maintain a goal of getting a good dose of exercise 75% of the days over the course of the year although the intensity/duration ain't what it used to be. i have intermittent stiffness, back aches and knee pain but (so far) nothing that seriously inhibits my ability to do what I want/need to.

Living in a condo community now, I don't have to do all the yard and maintenance work that I did with our own house. But when I do, I find that I'm not quite as anxious to complete tasks in one fell swoop, preferring instead to break them up into shorter jobs over a couple of days.

Generally pretty upbeat so no noticeable uptick in crankiness. Well, maybe a little related to the Red Sox' performance this year!

Overall, I'm happy to be in the condition I'm in at this point in life.

 

[Gumby]

Generally pretty upbeat so no noticeable uptick in crankiness. Well, maybe a little related to the Red Sox' performance this year!

It's enough to make anyone cranky. 10 games out; they're killin' me.

 

[aja8888]

It's enough to make anyone cranky. 10 games out; they're killin' me.

You guys don't remember the "good old days" of Red Sox baseball!

 

[Gumby]

Oh, I remember the Sox being 14 games up on the Yankees in July 1978 and still blowing it.

 

[friar1610]

You guys don't remember the "good old days" of Red Sox baseball!

Do you mean back when they were thinking of moving to the Philippines? Where they would be renamed the Manila Folders?

 

[morriss003]

Just curious ... at what age did you feel the physical old ? Like your body is not youthful anymore and you are feeling the brunt of age. Like muscles not recovering fast, arthritis, chronic pains, back pains, blurring eyes, knees creaking when you climb the stairs, feet not working, arm and shoulder muscles getting stiff, joints aching ...

For me, it mostly became pronounced at 54-55 years old. I'm still wondering if I should push my body .. like running 6 mph and more intense weigh training. MY DW keeps telling me not to exert too much. Anyway, I found supplements which could help and so plan to continue.

I'm still amazed at some people i see in the news who are pushing their body in their 70s and 80s and even 90s. Are you also gifted genetically, like these people ? or do you feel it in your 50s or earlier?

At 68 I am definitely more cranky. I am not aging gracefully.