On Getting Older - Pains, Heart Attacks, etc.

[ZenMusician]

After 30, I started noticing all kinds of fun new aches and pains - particularly in my neck and back. The scariest of these new sensations was a dull pain that didn't quite feel like heartburn, but in the general area. I decided to stop the early trips down to the roach coach for my morning nitrate and fat intake and begin to eat a very healthful and sensible diet.

Now, heart disease runs on both sides of my family, and I'll admit to becoming somewhat of a hypochondriac; every heart murmur, bubble or flutter and I'm Red Foxx getting ready to join Elizabeth!

The EDGDF has some finely aging posters. Please share your tales of getting older and the joys of bodily decline...and if you have had a heart attack or stroke, etc., tell us what it was like/how you got through it.

-ZEN

[gobbomom]

my family has high blood pressure & some sort of heart flutter thing. My older bro.(50) and I(46) would both get woken out of a sound sleep by our hearts kind of "turning over". It's scary, but doesn't hurt. I stopped mine from doing it by starting a walking/ jogging regimen.

[DING-DONG YO]

OP, that is really weird. I as well had some very strange pains in my chest starting around 30. I would best describe it as a dull stich or something like that. I used to be a ligh smoker (maybe 1 pack/week) and gave that up. The chest pain is around 90% gone after I quit.

However, I also got a physical around this same time and found out I have high cholesterol, triglycerides and blood pressure. It's pretty scary, because I know I'm on the path to a lot of problems in the next 10-20 years if I don't make some drastic changes.

Do you smoke and have you gotten a physical/blood work recently?

[Ray Zee]

its good you are thinking about this now. as you get even older like me you have a lot to worry about. mostly because of what we do while younger.
all of a sudden heart and cancer scares are real. but when we are young everything seems so far away till it hits. so get healthy. it only hurts a little and when you get older you will be still doing what the young people do and not like all the old farts limping around you see at the mall.

[Dominic]

I'm 44 but I look a bit younger. The last three years I've not really worked out or done anything very physical (thanks, poker!) so I definitely feel some aches and pains now and then...but I think it's because I'm simply out of shape and not "old."

However, I have started doing the old man "groan" every time I sit down or get up. I have no idea when that started. [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

[z28dreams]

I've been thinking about this for a little while now and have made a serious effort to be a little healthier.

I find it funny how some people can be so careful about maintenance of their car (oil changes, etc), but not at all about their bodies.

What kind of preventative maintenance measures are the most effective?

Here's a few I can think of:

- the obvious: avoiding fatty foods & exercising

- teeth: Brush and floss every day. A lot of people don't bother flossing - don't make this mistake. Something like 40% of the plaque that sticks to your teeth will be between the teeth. Visit the dentist every 6mos for a cleaning. Short term cleanings (free usually) can do a LOT to prevent nasty problems later

- skin care - When you're born, you're roughly 70% water. As you age, this number drops down to the 50-60% range. Do moisturizing creams actually do much?

Any other major things we should be doing?

[4_2_it]

I'm now 40 and my lower back will ache if I do not stretch it at least once a day (yay office job).

My wife is a fitness/health freak and while she doesn't try to guilt me into anything, she has read several recent articles that seem to link all sorts of male medical issues (heart attacks, high blood pressure, etc.) to the size of your 'spare tire.' I believe her.

I started working out (cardio mostly) again this year and have lost a lot of that 'spare tire.' I feel (and look) better physically and have noticed that my metabolism seems to have kicked it up a notch. It can't all be a coincidence.

[ZenMusician]

[ QUOTE ]
Do you smoke and have you gotten a physical/blood work recently?

[/ QUOTE ]

Do not use any tobacco products. I had some blood work done fairly recently with ok cholesterol, tri's and pressure.

Also, since eating well for about a year, while not fat by any stretch, I have lost over 35 lbs (I am 6'4") with no extra physical effort.

Since I am a sit-in-front-of-a-computer all day kinda guy though, I do need to start some sort of exercising again.

Anyone get an exer-cycle to ride while they are pokering? [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

-ZEN

[AZK]

this is going to be general, but few actually probably do it, so might as well say it again:

biggest thing most americans can do is diet. i'm surprised we live as long as we do with the western diet. After diet the next best thing is probably some form of exercise, walking between the fridge and couch don't count. then if you get past what kills everyone in middle age (heart attack, stroke, cancer, etc) you should pick up some sort of activity that makes your brain work. a new hobby, frequent reading, suduko/crosswords, etc. stuff that makes your brain actually think, not just work...

[earck]

I am still young, in my early 20's and i am overweight, borderline obese and I always go through spurts where i try and eat right and exercise but it seems like a few months later I fall off the wagon and start doing nothing but playing cards and eating junk. The time when I was the best about this is when I had a health scare where I though I was having heart problems, turns out it was just an anxiety problem, thank god, but I have not figured out how to stay motivated.

Does anyone have any tips on how to stay motivated and how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. This hobby/career we choose does not lend itself to healthiness by default either.