Fellow retirees, when did you start noticing your age catching up with you?

[ZipZap]

And I should have added that the barn has finally come full circle. A bunch of old men talking about their health. I remember laughing at grandma for the same

[Jughead]

The older I get the less I know and the longer it takes to do things. Along with age comes loss of coordination, balance, concentration, memory, stamina and motivation.

I noticed these things starting when I turned 60. I'm now 70 and it's not getting any better.

Still working FT though.

[frodo84]

Originally Posted by Yadkin

You're slowly dying.

Slowly does sound better than quickly.....

[Torqaholic]

Originally Posted by Jughead

The older I get the less I know and the longer it takes to do things. Along with age comes loss of coordination, balance, concentration, memory, stamina and motivation.

I noticed these things starting when I turned 60. I'm now 70 and it's not getting any better.

Approaching 70 here and things have definitely changed. Didn't insure the bike this Summer. Rode last year and it seemed clumsy at stop signs. Even getting my leg up over the seat is no longer an easy task. Suppose my two wheeling days are done unless I switch over to a moped, and that's not likely

[Bruze]

Originally Posted by Torqaholic

Approaching 70 here and things have definitely changed. Didn't insure the bike this Summer. Rode last year and it seemed clumsy at stop signs. Even getting my leg up over the seat is no longer an easy task. Suppose my two wheeling days are done unless I switch over to a moped, and that's not likely

I sold my Harley at age 65 (rode since I was 19) not for your reasons, but because it just got too creepy.

I stayed alive all those years by ASSUMING at every stoplight, stop sign, etc. someone would pull out in front of me, or that someone pulling out of their driveway would not see me. My hand was ready to yank the brake in a second. You have to be a 100% defensive driver.

One thing I did is I would watch the front wheel of the suspect car. If it was rotating ever so slightly I would assume they didn't see me and I would honk or flick the lights. If it was completely stationary and the driver appeared to be making eye contact I felt pretty comfortable.

I had major neck surgery (bone spurs) at 61, and gradually started to realize that even a minor 5-10 MPH collision in a parking lot with the motorcycle could turn me into a quadriplegic.

I'd had my C6 for a year then, and was kinda liking the no wind, no bees in my helmet, climate control, being comfortable at 30° or 90°, and the ability to carry groceries and a lot of other stuff.

Oh well. "Time changes everything."

"The man who views the world at fifty the same as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life." -- Muhammad Ali

[Dan Dlabay]

I retired in 2018. When I found out I had cancer it aged me.

[Frankie the Fink]

When I had to start double checking that I had my pants on when leaving the house...

[Yadkin]

Originally Posted by Frankie the Fink

When I had to start double checking that I had my pants on when leaving the house...

Not that bad yet, but I do have to check my zipper now and then.

[Vette40th]

I am in mid 50s. Still working. The military tore my knees and back up, as almost all do.
50s you generally see the body breaking down, with long recoverys on even minor injuries.

[NotSlo]

I was in the mid 70s because of Apnea, CPAP straightened me out and I feel much better. that was 10 years ago. I was having 70 or so events an hour. Now I am having none. O2 is in the 90s.

Originally Posted by ZipZap

Yesterday…

I’ve been feeling “off” for about a year. We live at 7700 feet and actually considered moving lower. I have some lung function tests scheduled when I get back to the states.

Why “yesterday”? I finally, after many years, decided to get an at home sleep test before I left for vacation. The results showed up yesterday. I don’t know what “bad” is, but to me it looks terrible.

Avg 02 = 83%, Low 02 = 71%, 5 apnea and 257 hypopnea events in 7 hours for a lovely average of 36.6/hr. Normal is < 5. Guessing I should already be dead

The saving grace right now is that our trip is basically at sea level. The 5 - 10 miles/day walking is still kicking my butt.

[zeek]

Damn....I guess the secret to aging gracefully is staying active. I still hit the gym every other day, play pickleball, work on my hot rods and still ride my Harley on a regular basis. Oh yeah, and chase bad guys part time... Have I slowed down a little? Sure, but the secret is to not give in to it. It's too easy to put your ass in that recliner and say...fukkit, Ill get to it tomorrow.

Unless you have actual health problems, use it or lose it applies to old age.

[6spdC6]

I took early retirement in my construction union at 55. I had tons of OT behind my name and that kept me from getting a pension reduction for early out. I was very glad to leave as I started to understand construction is a young mans job! Weather and working conditions played a big part in my leaving, as age was certainly showing.

A big thing, other than breathing in or getting hit with nasty chemicals was the fall I took in 1977 that almost killed me. Fell 22' landed on my feet and then went over and fractured my shoulder bad (and a few other body parts) by hitting a 18'' concrete wall. Spent some time in hospital and quite a few months on therapy.

My doctor told me that with the amount of damage done, in my mind I should add about 10-12 years to my actual age to come up with a decent way to figure out what is going on in my body.

For a fact a lot of things have changed but thats the way things go. You play the cards your dealt and hope for the best.

As a person that did a lot of high work I now have developed a balance-vertigo problem and getting on a ladder, bosun chair, scaffold, roof is now a no-go.

[OnPoint]

I just retired. But, I'm relatively young (55), so the bod is still doing fine. That did a play a role in my decision on retirement timing. Misses and I wanted to do this while we are still young enough to enjoy it.

I have no doubt as the years pile up, the ol bod will start showing the effect of miles on it in various ways.

[Rodnok1]

Working on concrete and in freezing temps aged me 5 to 1 when I was younger. Thankfully my brain told me to move or I'd be crippled by now.
Bruising easier became an issue a couple years ago so had to start taking vitamins which helped greatly.
I don't see me making 70 or probably anywhere close to it either.

[Taurus]

Originally Posted by zeek

Damn....I guess the secret to aging gracefully is staying active. I still hit the gym every other day, play pickleball, work on my hot rods and still ride my Harley on a regular basis. Oh yeah, and chase bad guys part time... Have I slowed down a little? Sure, but the secret is to not give in to it. It's too easy to put your ass in that recliner and say...fukkit, Ill get to it tomorrow.

Unless you have actual health problems, use it or lose it applies to old age.

I agree, you have to stay active. I still get my 10 miles a day in and currently on my 318th consecutive day. I missed a couple days last August with COVID. I also never put off a chore or project, the day you start doing that it 's like giving in.

[Taurus]

Originally Posted by OnPoint

I just retired. But, I'm relatively young (55), so the bod is still doing fine. That did a play a role in my decision on retirement timing. Misses and I wanted to do this while we are still young enough to enjoy it.

I have no doubt as the years pile up, the ol bod will start showing the effect of miles on it in various ways.

Exactly, like one of my financial advisors told me, once you've won the game stop playing. That's why I retired early as well, get in as many good years as possible.

[OnPoint]

Originally Posted by Taurus

Exactly, like one of my financial advisors told me, once you've won the game stop playing. That's why I retired early as well, get in as many good years as possible.

Yup. I'm not sure when it happened, but it was fairly recent - the realization that the years had started to fly off the calendar really fast. It's not a fear of mortality issue or anything like that. Just a realization that there is only so much time left, and the self-asked question of whether I was going to fully enjoy what's left or not.

[Taurus]

Originally Posted by OnPoint

Yup. I'm not sure when it happened, but it was fairly recent - the realization that the years had started to fly off the calendar really fast. It's not a fear of mortality issue or anything like that. Just a realization that there is only so much time left, and the self-asked question of whether I was going to fully enjoy what's left or not.

You can always get more money but time is a limited commodity.

[VITE1]

Originally Posted by PLRX

Twenty-three years in the Marine Corps will put me in a wheelchair. I know I'll never make it to 75.

My Dad spent 20 years in the USMC ( 37-57) and was told by the insurance company he worked for he'd be dead by 72.

He made it to 89. Marines too tough to go to soon.

[Bruze]

Having a job that one doesn't particularly care for, or even hates and can't wait to get out of, is different than being self-employed in your backyard.

I loved what I did (moldmaker) and told everybody I would keep working until I couldn't. I started taking SS in 2013 so I didn't have to kill myself like I did before, so working just helped fill in the day.

Then came April 2021 and I woke up on Monday with severe sharp pains in my right hand, wrist, and shoulder. It got worse as the weeks went on, spread to my left side and I got dull aches in my legs, and that was it for me. The docs said it was arthritis but I don't buy that and I don't think they really know.

By late summer of 2021 the pain was starting to slowly fade. I could actually do things without stabbing pains. Since then I am probably 95% good.

If was tough mentally to give up my business, which I had since 1985 -- it was my life, was never a "job." But now, looking at 73 next month, I have zero interest in working.