The Ins and Outs of Changes with Age

SPEAKER_00 0:00

The following is for informational purposes only. For medical advice, please see a medical professional.

SPEAKER_02 0:17

Welcome to Staying Alive with Margaret and Susie. Hi, Susie. Hi. Good to see you. You know, we haven't been um together for a couple months, and we're back now, and I'm so glad. And today, what what we thought we would talk about is aging changes, like things that are changing as we age, and how do we decide what do we accept, what don't we accept, and the wisdom to know the difference. And so and we're talking about necessarily major medical concerns that we have to see our doctor, but just like day-to-day things with we're getting older.

SPEAKER_01 1:00

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:01

It takes being brave and honest and figuring it out and having a sense of humor, which we both do. That's great. Yes. Um acceptance, yes. And for me, it there's different things. Um I mean, I think with everybody, our bodies age differently. Like with me, um, you you might see that one of the ways my body is aging is that um my posture is getting worse and my gait is a little bit changed. There could be somebody else who's 90 years old and they still have the gait in the posture of when they were 20. And um maybe can I change that? Can't I? And uh for for somebody else, it might be something totally different, like their digestive track and what they can eat. My gut is as strong as can be. Not that I eat unhealthy things, but I'm just saying it's different with everybody, right? Right.

SPEAKER_01 2:02

And so um, yeah, I I um have digestive sensitivity as I've aged for sure. I used to be the kid in my family who could eat anything and everything and tons of it and never have a problem. And now I really have to be careful. On the other hand, I I have a mother-in-law who's 92, and the husband who they have an iron stomach. Yeah, you know, they can eat whatever they want.

SPEAKER_02 2:27

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:29

I mean, the the things that we can't change, maybe that's obvious to everybody that we live in a mortal body, and like the country song goes, we're not gonna get out of this world alive. And um, and there are a variety of diseases that come along with aging. And once we have those, um, and may maybe before we have those, we can't prevent those. And and and that's something that we just have and we deal with with our doctors. But I'm talking about other things to do with aging. And uh like I'll give one example for me that we decided we're gonna do a whole separate episode on. The lymphatic system gets sluggish. And so um, as LIMP builds, my face gets puffy, and I've learned what to do about that. We're gonna do a whole separate episode on that, so I'm not gonna say more. Um that isn't a big issue for me, and it's something that older people don't even want to think about, is that there really is something called uh old people odor or smell like that. The pH in our body changes. That's right. And then we have um we have constantly we're sloughing off dead cells in our body. And so there's certain things that can be done around that. Like you have to have pH balanced soap, you have to um you have to exfoliate your whole body and have some type of device for that. You have to have really clean, dry towels every time you you dry yourself after a bath.

SPEAKER_01 4:14

Um, there's yeah, there's there's things you can do. Um, you know, one of the things that happens is there is an oil that's produced by the body as you age, and it's an omego-7 oil, and it tends to stay on the skin and can even get in people's clothing. And so there are some things that you can do. You can use um vinegar in your laundry that can help so that you oops, so you get the the soap out of out of your laundry, um, or those the oil out of your laundry. Uh yeah, out of your sheets and uh-huh, and out of your clothes that you wear commonly. Um, there are some soaps on the market that you can buy. Um there are persimmon soaps. There's one out of Japan that's really popular.

SPEAKER_02 5:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:07

Um and you know, it's it's worth looking into. I mean, if that's something that you're concerned about.

SPEAKER_02 5:13

Keep your windows open, even if you have to like bundle up, like keep the airflow going in your house.

SPEAKER_01 5:20

Well, that's a really big concern of mine. I know when my mother was older, I was at her house once, she lived in an apartment, and I suddenly realized there was no air.

SPEAKER_02 5:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:31

I mean, it was like I said, Mom, we've got to open a window. She says, Well, it's cold. I said, I don't care. You gotta have some fresh air in here. And I think that that becomes a big issue in assisted living and people living in uh senior living, they don't have enough fresh air. Yeah, it's it's a big problem.

SPEAKER_02 5:50

I can remember when I was in my 50s, I had an elderly friend who was dying, and I happened to go visit her when her very uh verbal granddaughter came by, and she walked, the granddaughter walked in the house and she's like, Oh, old people smell. And I was like, Oh no. Well, yeah, I mean I remember that 20 years ago.

SPEAKER_01 6:12

You go into a nursing home or an assisted living, it smells different. Yeah, it does, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:19

Yeah, so so there are changes happening, but but we figured out how to deal with a lot of them. And um, yeah, the the things that I'm constantly working on, I know I can change. Like, for instance, there's um I'm constantly working on weight loss and increasing my muscle tone. Now, some older people, um, and maybe even some of the medical staff might think, oh, they're old, you know, you're fine the way you are. But like, I know that I continue to continue to change that.

SPEAKER_01 6:56

And I Yeah, you can you can start exercising at any age. At any age, yeah. That's right. And sometimes I think we've talked about this many times before, but you know, it can be in a chair. You can, you know, exercise in a chair. You don't necessarily have to get down on the floor, you don't even have to stand up.

SPEAKER_02 7:13

Yeah, you know, so there's a lot of options. I mean, right now I'm I'm uh I don't know if we'd want to have a whole episode on shoes, but right now I'm researching the best shoes for me to use for my balance.

SPEAKER_01 7:26

Um and so um balance is a big problem for me too, and I I I'm work on it because I I've had a head injury and um my balance tends to drift a little bit, yeah. So it's important. You know, you don't want to fall. That's all there is to it. And you know, being a fall risk is another thing that happens with aging, you know, and and so people have to be aware of it and decide whether or not they're gonna use a cane or a walker, or if they're really gonna try to do something to prevent falls. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:00

That's a really good point because um sometimes an aging person, and I've known a few of these, are so embarrassed that they've reached an age where they need a cane, they just stay home and don't walk anywhere.

SPEAKER_01 8:15

Or yeah, yeah. Um, or they think it makes them look old. Well, guess what? Yeah, there's numbers, and if your if your number is over 70, you're old and just accept it.

SPEAKER_02 8:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:28

Yeah. I I have a hard time with that.

SPEAKER_02 8:31

Oh, yeah. I mean, you know, politicians now hide hiding out in rehab centers, not wanting anyone to see anything. Like we are not gonna be one of those people. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:43

I have a few things that I um, you know, changes for me that are frustrating. You know, I've I've had issues with um veins in my legs. You know, I've had those for several years, and I've had an ablasion procedure where they go and they kind of kill the veins, but it just made me have weird veins in my upper legs. So circulation in my legs is a big deal for me. And I can there's some things I can do about that. Sure, I can wear support socks, that helps some. I can do certain exercises, but that that's been a frustrating thing for me. I think um I can't totally fix them. You know, I think that's that's an acceptance that I've had to had to give myself.

SPEAKER_02 9:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:30

And then the other thing for me is some fatigue. I think fatigue is something that comes into play for everyone. I think realizing that you might need to rest a little bit more than you used to, maybe go to bed a little earlier or or take a nap. You know, I I've found that I've well, being that I just went through surgery too, I've I've really started going to bed earlier, you know, and and I try to get a nap in if I can during the day. Yeah. I don't mean sleep like hours during the day. That's a big mistake, but you know, try to try to rest for half hour to an hour. Yeah. Yeah. And it helps a lot.

SPEAKER_02 10:11

That reminds me on on the fatigue topic. Um sometimes it is our medication, and I'm not gonna name anything or go too far into that, but we have to really stay on top of every side effect of any med that we take, because sometimes it could be that. And it could be our doctors, you know, some maybe it's an obscure side effect, but the doctor feels, oh, the benefit of this medication outweighs a little fatigue. But maybe for me it doesn't.

SPEAKER_01 10:45

Um benefit.

SPEAKER_02 10:48

And yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:48

Yeah, I'm taking a medication that can cause fatigue, and but it's hard to sort out because am I am I tired because it's summer and it's hot out, and and I or I'm I'm just tired, you know, I'm doing too much. So so I'm I'm monitoring it and and trying to do the best possible.

SPEAKER_02 11:06

And even if it is the medication, if it's something that you really need and that's the best medication for you, then you're just gonna take a nap. But if you find out there's another medication that maybe works as good and better, but it's really expensive to the drug company, then you might want to fight for that medication, which I would do, you know.

SPEAKER_01 11:30

So yeah, so you know, and then you know, there's all kinds of things that happen as you age. Um, you know, a memory, you know, it's kind of fun. I'm in a book group and I've been in the same book group for about 30 years, and it's so funny because sometimes we'll talk about a book we had read in the past, and it takes the whole group to remember the name or the author. And it's so it's kind of refreshing in a way to hang out with people your own age who were going through this the same thing that you are, yeah, and and to not feel bad about it, but to recognize, you know, I have a family member who was in the hospital and refused to take a dementia test. And I'm like, actually, you know, it was my brother, and he said, I don't want to do that. I'm like, well, why? It's not a big deal. It's you know, there's a certain amount of acceptance to the fact that, yeah, you're starting to forget things, and yeah, you know, it kind of goes with the territory.

SPEAKER_02 12:29

And it's so great to have friends and family that have been in your life all these decades because I I can call Susie up and say, What was that guy's name? It was Gary, and he had a boat, and we we went out to the San Juan Islands together. Usually Johnny, her husband, is the one that always remember the person's name, right? You know, but yeah, like, what's that guy's name, Johnny? So uh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:54

Yeah, I mean, it's just that's that's a thing that some people have a hard time accepting, that that they are gonna maybe start forgetting things. Um you know, that plays into my concerns about people driving safely. Um, I read recently that when you're driving or when you're doing anything, it's not that you don't see something, it's that you it takes your brain longer to register that you saw it.

SPEAKER_02 13:24

Yeah, believe me, I know all about that.

SPEAKER_01 13:26

So when you're driving, that means do you look three times when you're crossing or do you look five? You know, I mean, really double take how many times you look when you're pulling out in traffic because yeah, you don't maybe you don't see something. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:44

And that's so the things that I've changed are um I don't drive at night anymore and I don't drive on the freeway anymore. Because uh, as you may have heard in our cognition episode, I've had changes where my reaction time is slow enough that I feel that the responsible thing to do is I don't drive fast and I don't drive when you know it's storming out or there's anything that's gonna impair my ability to drive in any way. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:14

Yeah, I mean, knowing your limits. I mean, I've always said I'm gonna stop driving when I'm 80. Now that's in six years. So we'll see how if it really happens. But yeah, but I I really feel strongly that you know, I don't want to make a mistake. I I don't want to hurt somebody else. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 14:36

And the and then there's a whole opposite side of the coin about what do we do when people assume that we're just too old to do something, and we know that that's not true. We know better. Yeah, and and that means that we are facing being targeted by ageism.

SPEAKER_01 14:58

Right.

SPEAKER_02 14:58

And and that's what we're gonna talk about in our next episode. We're gonna just do a whole episode on that next.

SPEAKER_01 15:04

Yeah, I remember the first time somebody uh that somebody thought I was too old for something.

SPEAKER_02 15:10

Well, tell tell us in the next episode.

SPEAKER_01 15:12

Okay, I will, because it was a funny story, but it's a good one.

SPEAKER_02 15:16

I'm like, really? So stay staying tuned. And um uh I think on this episode we're we're gonna leave it here. I think I think uh remember to like and subscribe. Yeah, and until next time, we we are staying alive.

SPEAKER_00 15:34

You've been listening to Staying Alive with Margaret and Susie. This show is hosted by Margaret Cooley and Susie Hymas. To subscribe to our show, leave a comment or ask a question. Please visit staying alive with margaretandsuzy.com. Our podcast is available on all major podcast platforms. If you've enjoyed our program, please feel free to leave us a five star review. Thanks for listening.