How do you deal with aging?

My suggestion is that you KEEP your doctors' appointments in order to stay on top of any medical conditions that come up. To simply stop going isn't going to make any medical challenges disappear. Staying on top of anything that might come up will give you far more active years! 🙂

I guess that it depends on why we see doctors. It can become a habit. Sometimes I have a hard time remembering why I was in the office - it's important for me, because I can't depend on my memory, that I write in my phone notes what I want to talk about. I imagine that doctors are busy enough that they don't have time to have frivolous appointments with patients.

If anything, we might choose to have any follow up visit scheduled further out, or have a Telehealth visit. I like it when I can stay home and talk with one of my doctors virtually. It saves time and fuel, and if there's not a compelling reason for driving to an in person visit, I've found phone visits can accomplish just as much. Covid changed a lot of things, some things better than others, for sure, right?

Doctors are gifts to us.

Jim

I can't think of a better way to manage one's aging than the way you have done it to date, and that includes accepting new conditions and events and dealing with them constructively...like seeking medical advice or intervention when you have no better solutions.

As the late Jim Morrison famously said, 'Nobody gets out of here alive.' We're all going to have a tail-end journey, some at 45, some at 65, and some like my dad wondering when it's all going to end at 94. What that tail-end experience deroules (as the French say, unfolds or rolls to) is largely up to fate, the good will of others, and one's motivation to stay on top.

Thank you.
I reread this note every once in a while. to keep on track.
Dan

My experience
I’ve had to work at it. Starting small is ok! One step begins a 1000 mile journey!
Exercise : flexibility, cardio , strength
Diet: Mediterranean, moderate white carbs, eat fresh fruit and veggies, healthy fats, get outside help for sugar cravings, get labs for possible deficiencies.
Spirituality: Groups, reading, meditating, discussions with positive, like-minded friends
Do service. Find a way to be useful, contribute, and feel some power if you worry about social and world problems.
Social. Make friends, build up the acquaintances you already have, ask an interesting friend for coffee, use your phone, meet at the library, share a poem, get outside help if you fear reaching out. Renew conversations with beloved family!
Get outside of yourself and lose preoccupation with yourself, get outside help if you tend toward isolating,.
Get a doctor, healthcare professional who is proactive and empowers you to help yourself, and does more than concentrate on pathology, disease, illness!
Know that you are loved, and the Universe wants you to be happy and have serenity, and that you can be, even as life “happens”!!
Attention, acceptance, appreciation.
Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude!
Don’t give up!!

AWESOME suggestions ...!! I do a lot of things that are on your list, but your reminder is absolutely perfect! 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing.

Every day remind yourself of some good things that are happening to you.
Life is not a bowl of cherry Life is not fair. There is nothing in creation for man to have fun. You can make life fun and & push yourself for it to happen.
we were born to die.
dan

Personally I'd tend towards a more middle path. You can use a PCP or even a good nurse practitioner to help you oversee all the appointments. Which ones are truly useful? Can you trim some down? Maybe evaluate all of it and prioritize. I always tell doctors I'm a minimalist--less is more. This has helped. Even my dentist was happy to tell me what she thought was necessary and what could be optional. Do you have a friend or family member who could be a buddy in this?

For the most part, doctors are not the answer. The medical profession now is awful. Do you ever get examined by a doctor? Do they even remember to at least listen to your heart? I had to remind my doctor about this at my last visit. They just look at the computer but not at you. I was asked about my back pain. I thought he was crazy. I do not have back pain. They don't look at your chart. I had a dermatologist prescribe a topical solution that raised my blood sugar. I don't see her anymore. I will be 90 on my next birthday. How did I become so old? I don't look old and I don't feel old, but the fact remains that I am. I live alone and don't need personal care. I need a house cleaner and a gardener, which I have. I call myself a survivor. When I was 10 years old I contracted Scarlet Fever. Remember back then there were no drugs. They put me in a special hospital for communicable diseases - in isolation. I was there for quite a while, but I survived. Without the vaccines that we have today, I had every childhood disease. But I survived. Now I have reached the age/stage where I cannot predict how much longer I will survive, but you cannot dwell on it. I am going on a cruise in July, but don't think I will buy any green bananas. (That was a joke.)

I am 82 and know exactly what you mean. The bottom line is: death is inevitable so just hope you don't have to suffer too long before you die. I try to stay as busy as my meager life will afford which "changes the subject".