When you hit 60 be prepared to add many gizmos and gadgets and pills and prescriptions to your life! Your body starts to fail you but fortunately modern day science has many fixes for what ails you — lots of gizmos and gadgets and pills! Maybe you notice your hearing is starting to go, there are hearing aids to fix that. According to Healthyhearing.com two thirds of Americans over 70 have hearing loss! Maybe your snoring gets worse and you find out you have sleep apnea — there’s a machine to fix that also. Did you know that 50% of people over age 65 have sleep apnea according to the National Council on Aging? Maybe your vision is going due to cataracts, there’s lenses they can implant in your eyes to fix that. According to Eyecentersurgeons.com over 90% of people over 65 have cataracts! Maybe you can’t read as well as you used to. Don’t worry there are drug store readers you can purchase to help that. Maybe your cholesterol is high, there’s a pill for that. According to healthline.com “One in 17 US adults has high LDL cholesterol and one in 48 has very high LDL cholesterol. More than 40% of individuals with high cholesterol don’t know they have it and don’t treat it.” Maybe your sugar is too high there’s medicine for that also. According to the CDC, of people “65 years or older: 27.2 million people aged 65 years or older (48.8%) have prediabetes.” Maybe your blood pressure is high, there is a pill for that too. According to hopkinsmedicine.org, “even if you do not have hypertension by age 55 to 65, your lifetime risk for developing it is a whopping 90 percent.” These are all items people my age use regularly to stay alive and keep up a decent quality of life and prevent themselves from dying early.

So…. what you have to decide is do you want to live with all these gadgets and how are you going to handle them? There are definitely things you can do to mitigate this list of old age issues. I have started trying. I am overweight by about 60 lbs. I am out of shape because I did not make excercise a priority these last 10 yeaars. I do NOT want to have to take diabetes medications or cholesterol medication. It actually might be too late for the latter. I recently had a test done that measures the calcifications in your arteries. 3 of mine were clear but one had a 17% blockage. I am considered to be in the 45% percentile for my age but if I hit 55% then medicines are strongly suggested to prevent further calcification. The issue is the drug of choice for high cholesterol in the U.S. is statins. However, if you research them, they are very controversial and even outlawed in Europe. If I can avoid them I’d really like to!

Some people, however, would prefer taking medications over changing their lifestyle. I actually heard a man say that at a bar as he was scarfing down some whisky — “I’d rather take pills than give up my drinking!” That is their choice and I am sure many Americans choose that. Me, I am choosing to try to change my lifestyle even at the age of 63 it is not too late — at least for the things I can control like sugar and cholesterol and exercise.

My husband has a neurodegerative disease and his issues are not really in his control. He uses oxygen because his lungs are weakening. He is on a permanent feed tube and has liquid food delivered to the house every month. He has thyroid disesase and has to take pills for that too. Life will sometimes give you gizmos and gadgets even if you are not to blame!

I have a sleep apnea machine that I just got in the last year and managing the gadgets that go with that are a whole other story! Supposedly if I lose enough weight I might not need it anymore, that would be wonderful.

Teeth are another part of your body that really start to have issues with age. Root canals, caps, implants and even false teeth could be in your future after the age of 60. You might have had these done at a younger age but they often need redoing due to wear and tear eventually. I had a cap replaced for an implant and while I really like the implant, it, too, came with a plastic mouth guard I need to use everynight to protect that tooth. Another gadget!

I was never a big make up person but even without makeup I suddenly have a variety of creams the dermatologist has prescribed for various reasons. This also brings up the topic of skin cancer. Did you get a lot of sunburns as a child? If so, you might develop skin cancers as an older adult. Skin cancer is not something to ignore and you can even die from it so if you have spots on your body that look unusual get them checked out before it’s too late!

Another issue that is bound to catch you after the age of 60 is arthritis — the price to pay for wear and tear on your bones over the years. I have knee pain so I went to see a dr. and sure enough I have arthritis in my knee. Knee and hip replacements are common surgeries for people over 65. According to the VA 75% of all knee replacements are in people over the age of 65. Here again, losing weight can help with arthritis but not eliminate it. And, here again, lot of pills and gadgets are available to help you mitigate arthritis.

So hear I am at age 63 with a sleep apnea machine, mouth guard, and several creams I must use everyday due to skin issues. My husband, age 71, has oxygen and food delivered to the house regularly. We have had to purchase a blood pressure machine and oxygen monitor to monitor those things regularly. He also has a wheelchair and we have a motorized lift on the back of our car. We have lots of gizmos and gadgets!

So, the question is can we still take vacations? Can we still travel? Before old age hit us we loved to travel. Now, however, traveling is work! Because you are so dependent on your gadgets and gizmos, you must travel with these things and/or make sure they are available where you are going. Preparation for travel is a BIG deal now. Do you give up on life and just stay home because you are “old” now? Many people do but many people also do not. I am a travel agent and I can tell you people travel with their many gadgets and gizmos and even have portable dialysis machines they travel with! Wheelchairs can be taken on a plane or cruiseship and even be rented for such events. Oxygen can be delivered and traveled with and liquid food can be delivered too. You don’t have to become a homebody just because you have all these old age issues but you do have to be prepared to “work” before you travel to make sure everything you need to survive is taken care of wherever you are going!

I am writing this blog not to discourage you or depress you. I am writing it to encourage you to THINK about old age, to know these issues ARE coming to many, many people when they hit the age of 60+. What kind of old person do you want to be? What path are you on with your health? It is not too late to change your health if you are like me and on the cuspit of some serious issues but not quite there yet. I am on a diet where people have actually reversed their diabetes and got off insulin as a result. It is never too late too change. If you have a partner, discuss these issues with him/her. Their health will impact your life 60+ also. Don’t be blindsided like so many people who suddenly have high blood pressure, diabetes, skin cancer, hearing aids, oxygen (because they have smoked their entire lives) and need bypass surgery due to clogged arteries! Be proactive. Get tested and see your dr. regularly. Know what condition your liver, heart, kidneys and brain are in so you can proactively prevent a health crisis in your life. Take control of your old age years as much as you can so you can enjoy life as long as possible and know that old age is NOT FOR COWARDS!