An item for discussing health problems that are specific to, or at least more
frequent in, particular age groups, such as vision changes (first glasses or
first bifocals), skin changes (acne or dry skin), loss of flexibility (ripped
tendons, arthritis), changes in amount of body hair (hair growing in in new
places or falling out in old places), weight changes with age, etc.

45 responses total.

Ok, I'll start.  As Sini mentioned in another item, one of the better aspects
of my aging is that I almost never get colds any more, in spite of the fact
that I work in a few elementary schools and touch all the stuff the children
touch after they have picked their noses. (I do wash my hands about 10 times
a day with antibacterial soap).  Also, I am much more at peace with myself
then I was at earler stages and ages.  

Om the negative side, there is almost never a day that goes by that I do not
ache somewhere from something.  This includes GERD, vision deterioration
(especially night vision), need for bifocals (but that doesn't bother me at
all.)  I thought I was starting to lose my hearing, but was tested today the
U Hospital and told my hearing is perfectly within the normal range.  I asked,
"For my age?" and was told, "For any age."  Any decrease in auditory acuity
must be noticeable to me since I tend to expect excellent sensory and
intuitive skills.  If any of these skills fall into the "average" range, I
begin to think I am handicapped.

One of the worst things, is I gain weight at the drop of a hat (or at least
whenever I eat all the things I love).  I use to be able to eat everything
and stay slim.  Now, I have to watch my intake, deprive myself and excersize
constantly to stay even mildly overweight.  Feh!

If I ate all the things I love, I would also gain weight, I am sure.  Maybe
the trick is to start loving other foods?  What is GERD?  I read somewhere
that loss of hearing is usually mainly in the higher range, which
unfortunately is the range of the human voice.  People in primitive societies,
who are not constantly exposed to lloud noises, do not lose hearing.  I am
trying to wear earplugs when around loud noises.  But the vision loss is due
to other things.  I had not heard about the night vision, but notice that
glare, especially now that they have put in all those decorative lights
downtonw that shine sideways instead of down, makes me a bit night blind.

No, the human voice is in the *low* range. The telephone is limited to
something like 200-2000 Hz (I forget exactly). I used to be able to
hear the flyback transformer in a TV set - ca. 18KHz - but could not
after I was past 35 or so. *Everyone* loses hearing range, just by age,
but loud music will ruin your hearing quickly and permanently at any
age. 

High and low are relative terms.  Obviously you have lost some of the higher
range, and I thought people lost their ability to hear the higher parts of
the voice range.  What frequencies do hearing aids amplify best?  Maybe high
frequencies are lost first because the ear stiffens with age?

I copied down a short introductory web site as /a/k/e/keesan/presbycusis (from
the Greek meaning 'old man' 'hearing', or hearing loss.  A few people have
trouble with low frequencies (including a friend of mine who is very fussy
about getting good speakers) but age-related hearing loss if of the higher
frequencies, including the ones used in speech to distinguish consonants (mat
map mack all sound the same).  The ear drum loses elasticity and the joints
in the ear stiffen, etc.  Also the inner ear cells malfunction.  Clinton
recently admitted to getting a hearing aid, after a lifetime of loud noises
(noisy crowds, hunting, saxophone and rock music).  He also had a ripped
tendon in his knee.  A major problem of aging (starting in the late teens)
is loss of ability to tolerate stress of all sorts.  Clinton was 51.
Children hear up to 24,000 cycles/sec, some adults only to 15,000, the
telephone reproduces only up to 4,000, which is why you can't hear the
differences in consonants (s as in sam, f as in furnace....)
There is usually very little loss of taste buds and saliva, except in people
taking lots of drugs (such as in nursing homes, the food there was terribly
oversalted and sweetened).
        At what age did other grexers first need glasses, for near- or
far-sightedness.  I was squinting at the blackboard until I got them at 14.
My prescription got gradually more nearsighted until about 25, then despite
the optometrists insistence that I needed an annual checkup, it stayed the
same for 20 years,and recently I got less near-sighted, which apparently is
also normal for 'middle-age'.  Wonder why.

I dropped from completely normal vision to legally blind in about 6 months
when I was 7...both in near-sightedness and with a stigmatism....it's gotten
about twice as bad since then.  I can no longer wear sft lenses (I hate hard
lenses!  :), and am fighting bi-focals really hard.  At least my vision isn't
changing as much now as it used to.

What does it mean to be legally blind?  Is that only without glasses?  I know
several people who wear glasses about 1/3" thick and can't see much without.
How do you go swimming, or don't you?

From what I was told, it means that WITHOUT glasses/contacts, your vision is
20/500 or worse.  Mine is at this point about 20/1100.

Has your 20/1100 vision stabilized, or does your prescription change often?

Has anyone noticed that as they get older they need less sleep, or dream less,
or fall asleep later, or wake up more often during the night?  (I am waiting
to see at what time resposes come in to this question.)

I need about the same amount of sleep, dream less, stay up later, and
only wake up during the night for gladder relief.

<remmers amusedly speculates on the concept of nightime "gladder relief">

Hi, night owls (or are you waking earlier, John?)  Does it take older people
longer to fall asleep?

Gladder - the state of my bladder.

Re #13: I'm an early riser and usually start my day with Grex.
My day typically begins around 5 or 6 a.m., sometimes earlier.
As I get older, I notice the biggest change in when I wake up,
not when I fall asleep. I'm getting up much earlier than I was,
say, 5 or 10 years ago.

Oh yes, I do notice a dramatic change in my sleep patterns.  I rarely have
difficulty falling asleep, but I waken often and sometimes find it extremely
difficult to return to sleep.  My best sleep times are from 5 am till 9 am.
Unfortunately, I have to be in my office at 7 am.  That wrecks havoc with my
biorythyms.  If I drink any liquid after 6 O'Clock, I will have to wake to
go to the bathroom at least once.  My sleep is often less deep, seemingly more
superficial.

I keep waking around sunrise no matter when I fell asleep.  I wish I were less
bothered by traffic and aircraft noise and could fall asleep at 10 pm.  I have
always had to go to the bathroom after 4 hours sleep, I think that is when
I am in a shallower sleep pattern and wake no matter what.

re: #9:  It's stabalized a bit, but it's also sort of hard to tell, since my
last prescription was a bit messed up, and I'm still wearing them.  But
everytime I go in, both my vision and my stigmatism has gotten slightly worse.

My vision got worse until about age 25, then stabilized.  I hope that you are
under 25 for that reason.

ANyone remember what age they first and last had acne?  That is something that
stabilizes in most people, but I think some people always have it.

My last acne breakout was 2 days ago.  :(  I'm pretty much always going to
have it, but it's gotten a little better over the years.

Does it really get affected in any way by what you do or don't eat?  Or by
the weather, or PMS, or stress due to exams?

many times folliculitis is confused as acne.  both can be related to clogged
pores, and the former is an inflammatory process which can be painful (and
usually deeper in the skin than a 'zit').  stress seems to play some role,
at least, so I guess PMS would too.  diet plays a much lesser role, but diets
which affect the pH of your skin might contribute (usually, a more acidic,
lower, pH will inhibit bacteria).

once your vision has stabilized (around mid-20's, as described above), enjoy
it while you can.  In your 40's you'll likely find you need to take off your
glasses to see things close up...time for those bi-focals!   ;-)

It's time for the bi-focals now!  :)

PMS did cause it until I went on the pill to erase the massive amounts of PMS
I was having...(that got worse as I got older too..sigh)  

(If you people haven't figured out by now, my mom and I are alot alike.  :)
I've got the same type of acne that my mother does, but not to the same
degree....mine's mostly cleared up (for now, I suppose).  But the zits are
more like a cyst....sigh

Does chocolate really make it worse?  Or nuts?  I bought a big chunk of
chocolate recently, which I had to eat my share of before it disappeared, and
got one pimple, don't usually get any.

Last winter I ripped a tendon in my right arm, it hurt so much I did not use
the arm for a couple of months, and I am still recovering from both the injury
and the "frozen shoulder" that resulted.  A friend did something similar to
her arm at the same time, another friend pulled a tendon in her ankle.  This
is supposedly more commmon over 40, because the tendons lose elasticity.  My
arm still hurts and has not regained full range of motion.  How long do these
things take to heal?  When can you put full weight on them again?

Probably you need to build the appropriate muscles back up, which is what
physical therapy usually does.  Not just the muscles that attach to that
tendon, but all the ones related to the joint.  The related muscles keep
everything in alignment.

This is where a good regular exercise program will do a lot, especially in
preventing injuries.  As people age, muscles need to be excersized or else
they will actually start to shrink.

I am sure the problem was caused by too much exercise.  I cut 1400 square feet
of cement board siding with a carbide-tipped knife.  It got worse when I
continued using the muscles (and tendons, which get sliced through when you
use your arms in a lifted position). Myfriend injured her arm on exercise
equipment.  So not using the muscles was the first line of cure.  I am still
wondering when the tendon area will stop hurting.  It hurt worse when I
experimentally spent a few hours cutting drywall, and did not feel like muscle
ache but like the original problem, so I am taking it easy for a while longer.
Stretching exercises gradually restored range of motion and I do use the arm
for moderate exercise, but am afraid to overdo it again.

Too much exercise can cause injuries... especially doing an activity you are
not used to doing that much.  Building up a good level of generic fitness
tends to protect against such injuries by making the muscles stronger (and
therefore more supportive of each other and other body parts) and by getting
you more attuned when you need to rest.

The Ann Arbor school's "Rec & Ed" program has some good aerobics classes,
including one that meets at Mack school.  Price is usually about $40-55 per
term (2-3 months, 2 classes a week).  Before I moved on to karate, I did about
1.5 years in the Red&Ed classes, and it did a lot to clear up minor problems.

The reason I wrecked my tendons is that the building department was giving
us impossible deadlines, not my choice of how to work.  I have been to an
aerobics class and it did nothing for my arm muscles or tendons.  We get
enough aerobic exercise commuting daily 3-5 miles by bike or foot, not to
count building a house.  Can you suggest a good set of daily exercises to
improve general muscle strength?    (I knew I needed to rest.)

Well, you want to fill in the gaps left from your normal exercise.  So maybe
upper body (since your legs get plonty), but really you need to figuer out
what odd muscles and movements don't normall get used, and work on those. 

First I would like to know that my tendons are healed.  Anybody know how long
it takes?

THAT depends on how (if) they are injured.  Best thing, once the pain is gone,
is to do gentle stretching of the muscles/tendons.  Stress _gentle_, and hold
the stretched position for as long as you can, while letting the muscle relax.
This way you will "re-set" the 'spring' mechanism of the golgi apparatus in
the muscle tissue.

After the pain is gone, and you have increased flexibility from stretching,
you can target muscle groups for building.  Be sure to always work the
opposing groups to keep your joints stabilized.

I have been stretching for a year now, but it still feels like ripped tendons
whenever I try lifting heavy things.  How long until the pain is gone?  The
flexibility was a big problem last winter (could only raise the arm 45
degrees) but that is cured now, I just want to make sure I am not injuring
the tendons by doing things that hurt later.

You can try ice massage...along the course of the muscle/tendon, until your
skin remains red for 10-30 secs after you remove the ice.  During the massage,
do the stretching.  You can usually get more motion this way.

If the degree of flexibility/motion is not the issue, try some muscle building
techniques.  I'd think isometric exercises would be the best to start out with
(as opposed to isotonic) since there is much less chance to injure yourself.
Remeber, nothing should ever hurt...forget that 'no pain-no gain' BS.

Also, be sure to warm up (AND stretch) your muscles before _and after_ you
work them.  Don't try and be back to 100% too quickly...slow and steady wins
the race.

If you don't see any progress in a few weeks, or if you have any greater
problems, see your doctor asap.  You may have some problem which eludes us
in the on-line community.

Thanks, would you like to try predicting how long total it takes for the
tendons to heal?  It does not feel like muscle aches when I use my arms.  The
ice massage was something suggested over a year ago, shortly after the injury,
I think it was to reduce the pain.  The doctor I consulted refused to answer
any questions, kept repeating that the shoulder was 'tight', did not want to
talk about muscles or tendons, and just told me to go pay a physical therapist
for supervised exercies (at $100/session, three times a week for at least a
month, forget it).  I consulted a friend who teaches therapeutic massage, who
explained muscles and tendons and suggested several helpful stretching
exercises.  He said to not do anything that hurts othter than the stretching.
The useless doctor charged $90 for 45 minutes, the friend $45 for 90 minutes.
I stretched the arm against anything available, starting with forcing it up
to the level of a doorknob, progressing to a towel bar and the stair rail,
then walking it up the wall.  I am not concerned about the shortened muscles,
they are lengthened by now, I just want to make sure I will not be damaging
the tendons again, so would like to have a time estimate, if anyone else has
had a similar experience, on how long tendons take to heal.  Before
stretching, I either warmed the arm with a hot water bottle, showered, or
biked home (20 minutes of aerobic exercise witht he arm extended), rather than
pay for ultrasound ($50/session).

Tendons never heal completely (unless you get surgical reattachment or
shortening). But the local muscles and inflammations slowly heal, though
you will probably always run the risk of an identical injury. I creamed
the tendons in my feet decades ago, and can never thereafter use them
the way I did.

How many years did they hurt after the injury?

They still hurt if I do anything strenuous with my feet. I can't run
much less dance. But walking is OK. Serious pain subsides in a year
or two of careful usage, but I expect that depends on where and how
the injury occurs.

The 'or two' is very encouraging, at least.  Idon't have serious pain, but
will take it easy for another year, not lift heavy things.  At the worst, a
year ago, I had to learn to brush my teeth and feed myself lefthanded.
Do you know anything about how thoroughly the tendons heal?

- Backtalk version 1.3.30 - Copyright 1996-2006, Jan Wolter and Steve Weiss