# does everyone fall apart at 40?



## SatNavSaysStraightOn (10 Dec 2012)

I've been going through that new patient's/new doctor's routine and it is driving me mad. 

My weight & BMI have been dismissed as not applicable thankfully. My BMI came back as borderline overweight for my height but anyone who as met me will tell you I'm not overweight and thankfully as I was standing there in full lycra at the time, the nurse concerned agreed it was nonsense (I'm a size 10-12) - quite refreshing for a change but my blood test results are driving me mad. 1 test leads to another, which leads to another and another...

1st blood tests came back with 2 issues, 1 low potasium (explained by reduced adreanal gland function) & 2 slightly elevated blood sugar (yet again - it has always been borderline)
2nd blood test - repeated 8 weeks later to check on the potasium levels show they are now OK but my platelet count is low - so needs another repeat in 8 weeks time (in the new year). (this is probably explained by a viral infection - I always seem to catch something visiting the dr's.)
3rd blood test (a week today) is for blood sugar repeats but with a 2 hour stay at the Dr's. How I will come out without an unwanted 'bug' remains a mystery. 

I'm a moderately severe asthmatic, but fit: my bike is my transport. healthy - seems to be up for debate!
I'm known to have reduced adreanal gland function (side effect of my asthma meds) & also have a pituitary adenoma. I also picked up a nasty dog bite earlier this year but had had the preventative rabies shots before hand and the addtional 2 shots in the required time period.

I turn 40 just after Christmas and want to know if anyone else is falling apart or is it just me?


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## Andrew_Culture (10 Dec 2012)

I'm a few years behind you and I feel better than ever! Actually I sort of don't, but that's probably due to a moderately heavy weekend on the homebrew.

I'm a naturally worrier so try not to go to the doctors unless I really must, and my wife is usually the judge of that.


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## fossyant (10 Dec 2012)

Not fell to bits myself, just yet.

1. I no longer bounce as well - taken 4 years for my shoulder to be good again after getting knocked off. 
2 Think my body doesn't responds well to surgery - bounce back fast, but it doesn't like being opened up, even minor stuff, shoulder took 12 months to be pain free after surgery, and my latest op has surprised me how long it's taking to recover. I'm 43 next month. 

Still doesn't stop me riding, despite Doctor's 'protests'


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## fossyant (10 Dec 2012)

PS I still haven't had the over 40's MOT.


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## SatNavSaysStraightOn (10 Dec 2012)

fossyant said:


> PS I still haven't had the over 40's MOT.


Not sure I want that ordeal - I'll never pass it!


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## summerdays (10 Dec 2012)

I haven't had an over 40's MOT ... but then I'd worry whether I'd need a retest

I didn't find turning 30 or 40 had any major problems from a number point of view (one of my friends ignores any birthday ending in 0). However I do feel as if post 40 (well it took till past 41), I seem to have more niggles. Nothing major just things such as low iron, investigations and aches and pains.


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## Rohloff_Brompton_Rider (10 Dec 2012)

Since May this year, I've been plagued by minor things. I'm 43 and have started with osteoarthritis (left elbow only) after a nasty car crash (non fault). 

Then my sinuses have been an issue since may as well, always dried up, except when riding where it leaks in long sticky strands that go all the way to my top tube.

Then I've picked up plantar fasciitis and now my daughter reckons I've suddenly become gluten intolerant (bloating, swelling, gassy, diaorreah). I'm currently going thru a ten day self test, so hopefully I'm not as I love my wheat based products.

Had sports massages which picked up I'd damaged my third lumbar, this has never bothered me, I didn't know until they pressed on it.

Apart from that I'm ok....., my bloods are spot on, blood pressure is within range and my pulse is low too. I'm 3 stone overweight tho, hopefully this will go back down to pre May weight now I'm riding again.

Edit: I can't believe I forgot about my cancer scares, first one in 1996 (27 yrs old) and then second one which led to a mastectomy in 2006 (nope I didn't know blokes could have them either).


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## BrumJim (10 Dec 2012)

Better at 40 than I was at 30. But there again, I haven't been particularly activity/sport orientated in earlier years, and doing a lot more now.


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## middleagecyclist (10 Dec 2012)

Forty five and still too fat but fitter than i've ever been. Normatensive, resting HR around 50bpm, four stone weight loss, no asthma probs for 3 yrs and no need of regular inhalers either. All down to cycling in my book. Of course I could have a massive MI and cardiac arrest next week but who knows what is round the corner of life?


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## carolonabike (10 Dec 2012)

I'm better at 50 than I was at 40, or 30 for that matter. So try not to worry, I'm a great believer in "if it ain't broke don't fix it"


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## lulubel (10 Dec 2012)

I'm 40 next year, and apart from a few more aches and pains when I've pushed my body hard, and symptoms that appear to be the onset of early menopause, I haven't noticed anything different. I think it's normal, to be honest. Once our bodies have finished growing, they're on path to wearing out!



SatNavSaysStraightOn said:


> I'm a moderately severe asthmatic, but fit: my bike is my transport. healthy - seems to be up for debate!
> I'm known to have reduced adreanal gland function (side effect of my asthma meds) & also have a pituitary adenoma.


 
What asthma meds are you on? I've always believed mine knock my immune system for six (although haven't found this listed as a side effect anywhere) because I seem to be the first person to pick up every bug that's going.

Your post really made me appreciate my doctor, by the way. Every time I visit him for my depo injection, he asks me how I am. I say, "Fine," he says, "Good," and we leave it at that!


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## SatNavSaysStraightOn (10 Dec 2012)

lulubel said:


> What asthma meds are you on? I've always believed mine knock my immune system for six (although haven't found this listed as a side effect anywhere) because I seem to be the first person to pick up every bug that's going.
> 
> Your post really made me appreciate my doctor, by the way. Every time I visit him for my depo injection, he asks me how I am. I say, "Fine," he says, "Good," and we leave it at that!


 
My asthma has deteriorated as I got older, instead of growing out of childhood asthma (since birth), it got much worse (I've been resuscitated twice over the years because of it). Also I can't take some asthma meds - they cause heart issues in me, and I can't have NSAIDs at all or have any dairy in my diet either (all relating to my asthma). Currently I have 3 inhalers and 4 set of tablets for it that I take each and every day, and then there are some more tablets than I have on standby. I have managed to come off 2 lots of medication whilst I was on the aborted RTW, and so far not gone back on them - not sure I will get through the winter without having to return to one of them though. My steriod inhalers (Clenil 250mcg) is at twice the level it should be but the alternative is oral steriods and generally my GP's have prefered me to stay on inhaled steriods rather than take the oral ones even if my dosage is too high (and has been for 10 years or so). I was seen at the asthma section of my local hospital (prior to me going off to try a RTW) and basically they changed a couple of meds and said there was little else they could do except put me on oral steriods permanately (not great and trying hard to avoid, but need them when ill/injured because I don't produce enough natural coritisol) or they would give me a nebuliser for home use - something I really do not want. I manage my asthma by staying fit and avoiding its triggers, so no perfume, make-up, scented candles, changes in washing powder, any smellies, varnish, paint, etc.

My asthma is bad enough to cause major concerns when I have had to have surgery - the last op required 2 senior registrars in attendance.

As a rule my last GP pretty much took my word for it when I was ill, the receptionists knew if I rang up and said it was urgent, I meant it and I would be able to tell my GP which antibiotics were needed and if I needed to take oral steriods etc, but given I have only met my GP once so far (to get a my repeat prescription set up) I don't yet have that relationship that I had with my old village practice and we now live 250 miles away from where we used to before the aborted RTW. I tend to avoid taking antibiotics unless whatever I have is affecting my asthma.


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## ColinJ (10 Dec 2012)

Ha ha - where do I start! 

The most obvious thing to worry about is my current health problem - dvt(s) in my leg(s) (they stopped looking once they found one, since the treatment is standard.) causing very serious bilateral pulmonary embolisms which almost killed me in August. My body is gradually healing, though there is a significant risk of a degree of permanent damage to my cardiovascular and/or respiratory systems.
Arthritic wear and tear in both hip joints and my right knee. I struggle a bit walking down steep slopes, but general walking and cycling are not affected. I can't run any more because my hips hurt too much. My finger joints feel painful if subjected to too much vibration or cold. (Winter bike rides can be painful!)
I damaged my right shoulder a few years back. For over a year, it was so bad that I struggled to put shirts or even get my arm over my guitar! That seems to be gradually getting better.
My eyesight is gradually getting worse. I struggle to read small print now, or anything in poor light. Nothing that wearing reading glasses doesn't sort out though.
My hearing hasn't been great since I was a teenager. I blasted myself with too much loud music when I was young and have about a 50% hearing loss. That problem hasn't got worse as quickly as I expected it to. I'm not good with soft voices, mumbling, unfamiliar accents or noisy environments, but can generally cope as long as people speak clearly.
My teeth have seen better days but I don't need false ones (yet)!
My hair is thinning, receding at the front, falling out altogether at the back and going grey everywhere else. (Apart from that, it's great!)
I suffered carbon monoxide poisoning about 10 years ago and I'm pretty sure that I suffered a degree of brain damage from that. My memory has been poor ever since, I get confused, my attention span is bad and I started suffering from motion sickness, which I never had before then.
I get a lot of backache, but I think most of that is caused by being overweight, and having poor core strength and flexibility. I think I could improve that a lot with exercise and stretching.
That probably does sound like I'm falling to bits, but I still feel that with a bit of luck with getting rid of the blood clots and 6 months of hard exercise after that, I could get back to a very good level of general health and fitness and work around most of the remaining problems. I'm not ready for the pipe and slippers yet!  

PS I should have mentioned that I'm nearly 57. I was in pretty good shape in my 40s apart from shooting up and down in weight all the time.


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## SatNavSaysStraightOn (10 Dec 2012)

ColinJ said:


> Ha ha - where do I start!
> 
> My eyesight is gradually getting worse. I struggle to read small print now, or anything in poor light. Nothing that wearing reading glasses doesn't sort out though. ...
> I suffered carbon monoxide poisoning about 10 years ago and I'm pretty sure that I suffered a degree of brain damage from that. My memory has been poor ever since, I get confused, my attention span is bad and I started suffering from motion sickness, which I never had before then.
> ...


 
yep - know those 2 as well. 2 bad head injuries in 6 months as a teenager (one of them being knocked off my bike whilst cycling to uni and the other leaving me with a permanent dent in my skull) has left me with eye issues including partial colour blindness due to retina damage, mypoia and very bad stigmatism which can't be corrected by contact lenses and I'm still 'getting over' the carbon monoxide posioning I had back in September of this year - that affects my speech to a small degree. My OH notices it the most, I can't seem to say words correctly anymore (or it is the wrong word completely) and have to really concentrate of pronouncing words - assuming I can actually get the words from thought to saying which seemed to be the process that was affected the most for me.
As for attention span - don't know, still can't work yet given I can't yet walk around a small supermarket, but can cycle 40 miles or so in a day, from the dog bite issues with the leg. hummm really does sound like I'm falling apart


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## Alun (10 Dec 2012)

ColinJ said:


> Ha ha - where do I start!


Colin, you old crock !
You'll still get around the SITD and the SoM when you get over your current health problems !


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## wanda2010 (10 Dec 2012)

Despite all the above, none of us are ready/willing to give up biking/running/whatever though are we?

For me reading glasses are a recent annoyance, as is arthritis in my right shoulder. I put my recent thought to speech and memory problems down to peri-menopause but am relaxed about that now. Am finally starting to take better care of myself as I aim to continue running and biking til the bitter end or the nursing home, whichever comes first .


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## dellzeqq (10 Dec 2012)

I like the deterioration, I really do. It's a whole bunch of new sensations. And I'm really liking my mental deterioration as well. It was always a pain in the rear remembering things that I can happily forget. If only I could remember what I'm supposed to be forgetting.


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## ColinJ (10 Dec 2012)

SatNavSaysStraightOn said:


> I'm still 'getting over' the carbon monoxide posioning I had back in September of this year - that affects my speech to a small degree. My OH notices it the most, I can't seem to say words correctly anymore (or it is the wrong word completely) and have to really concentrate of pronouncing words - assuming I can actually get the words from thought to saying which seemed to be the process that was affected the most for me.


Wow, that really sounds like me ...



ColinJ said:


> The poisoning has left its mark on me. For months afterwards I was slurring and mixing up my words. My sister asked me if I was drunk when I rang her to tell her what had happened because she couldn't make sense of what I was saying. I now suffer from severe motion sickness. I have to double-check everything I type because phantom and rhyming words appear without me meaning to put them there. For a few months, I wasn't confident that I knew the names of my family members. Even now, I struggle with the names of some forum members that I've met on several occasions. I can't concentrate for long periods of time. I feel as though I have a permanent hangover. I gave up drinking for over a year and it didn't go away, so it's definitely _not_ just due to my beer intake!


 


Alun said:


> Colin, you old crock !
> You'll still get around the SITD and the SoM when you get over your current health problems !


Definitely!



wanda2010 said:


> Despite all the above, none of us are ready/willing to give up biking/running/whatever though are we?


I'm not!



dellzeqq said:


> I like the deterioration, I really do. It's a whole bunch of new sensations. And I'm really liking my mental deterioration as well. It was always a pain in the rear remembering things that I can happily forget.


I have only one thing to say to that - *4867715*! That is the frame number of the bicycle which I had stolen from me in 1968/9. A totally useless piece of information which seems to have survived all attempts to eradicate it from my memory.

But then I now have totally embarrassing lapses of memory like doing a forum ride with Christopher and taking ages to realise that the reason he looked familiar was that he was the same Christopher who had previously called himself Frustruck and had done another forum ride with me a year or so earlier!


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## smokeysmoo (10 Dec 2012)

OMG! I hit 40 in early January, but no-one warned me about an M.O.T. 

I'd have taken this year more seriously if I'd known


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## SatNavSaysStraightOn (10 Dec 2012)

ColinJ said:


> Wow, that really sounds like me ...


 I wonder if it is a common problem with CO posioning then? My mind seems fine and I can think fast, clear replies and that side of things seems just as it was before but I can't speak clearly. I was left wondering at A&E if the conversation with the staff would have been quicker and easier if I could have written it down than try repeatedly to say something and fail.
http://www.cyclechat.net/threads/carbon-monoxide-posioning-confirmed-case-in-me-last-night.111099/

It does leave me wondering how bad we would all be if we were not fit and cycling a lot? dread to think about that one!


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## lulubel (10 Dec 2012)

SatNavSaysStraightOn said:


> My asthma has deteriorated as I got older, instead of growing out of childhood asthma (since birth), it got much worse (I've been resuscitated twice over the years because of it). Also I can't take some asthma meds - they cause heart issues in me, and I can't have NSAIDs at all or have any dairy in my diet either (all relating to my asthma). Currently I have 3 inhalers and 4 set of tablets for it that I take each and every day, and then there are some more tablets than I have on standby. I have managed to come off 2 lots of medication whilst I was on the aborted RTW, and so far not gone back on them - not sure I will get through the winter without having to return to one of them though. My steriod inhalers (Clenil 250mcg) is at twice the level it should be but the alternative is oral steriods and generally my GP's have prefered me to stay on inhaled steriods rather than take the oral ones even if my dosage is too high (and has been for 10 years or so). I was seen at the asthma section of my local hospital (prior to me going off to try a RTW) and basically they changed a couple of meds and said there was little else they could do except put me on oral steriods permanately (not great and trying hard to avoid, but need them when ill/injured because I don't produce enough natural coritisol) or they would give me a nebuliser for home use - something I really do not want. I manage my asthma by staying fit and avoiding its triggers, so no perfume, make-up, scented candles, changes in washing powder, any smellies, varnish, paint, etc.
> 
> My asthma is bad enough to cause major concerns when I have had to have surgery - the last op required 2 senior registrars in attendance.
> 
> As a rule my last GP pretty much took my word for it when I was ill, the receptionists knew if I rang up and said it was urgent, I meant it and I would be able to tell my GP which antibiotics were needed and if I needed to take oral steriods etc, but given I have only met my GP once so far (to get a my repeat prescription set up) I don't yet have that relationship that I had with my old village practice and we now live 250 miles away from where we used to before the aborted RTW. I tend to avoid taking antibiotics unless whatever I have is affecting my asthma.


 
That sounds tough. I keep mine under control (under control enough, as long as I don't get ill) with meds that are available over the counter here in Spain, and always keep an emergency box of steroid tablets in the kitchen drawer "just in case". I was also born with asthma and didn't grow out of it, for which I blame all of my family (except one grandfather) for smoking around me when I was a baby, and continuing to smoke even after I'd been diagnosed at 18 months. My mother still smokes. It's taken me a long time to admit that I wasn't given much of a chance to grow out of asthma.

I've been in hospital a few times, but never had any operations (so don't know what level of risk I would be for anaesthesia) and fortunately have never reached the point of having to be resuscitated. The idiot specialist who was in charge of my care last time I was in hospital told my mother my condition was life-threatening, though.

When you're asthmatic (or have any long term illness) I think having a good relationship with a medical professional is so important. I had that with the asthma nurse at my last practice before I moved to Spain - her adult daughter was asthmatic, so she'd made it her business to really know her stuff, and she was very aware that the patient has to be involved in decisions about how their illness is managed. I did have a very bad experience once with an asthma nurse when I changed to a new practice. She did the usual "asthma tests", told me the results showed I wasn't asthmatic, and dismissively said that I'd "probably grown out of it". I'm not sure what happened because there was another practice in town, so after I complained about her, I never went back.

My current doctor is a Dutch, pot-smoking, enthusiastic mountain biker, and he's great. I have no doubt that, if my asthma ever becomes an issue, we'll work out how to deal with it between us, and he won't bother prescribing any drugs I'm not happy to take because he knows perfectly well I wouldn't even pick up the prescription!


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## Alun (10 Dec 2012)

"_If I'd known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself._" — Eubie Blake.
Although I first heard it in a song by Waylon Jennings.


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## lulubel (10 Dec 2012)

Oh, another asthma related question.

I noticed your posts in the touring forum about touring in (what I would consider) pretty extreme conditions. How do your lungs cope with the cold air? Mine don't like it at all.


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## Alun (10 Dec 2012)

I get used to cold air after a few minutes, but going back into a warm room sets my asthma off every time.


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## mrandmrspoves (10 Dec 2012)

I am nearer 50 than 40 and generally my health has improved over the last 20 years. I used to be a severe asthmatic but decided to give it up. I used to be hugely lardiferous with severe attacks of lardosity (Words I invented to say fat and gaining even more weight despite being obese already!) I used to be a couch potato - but gave that up as well.

To be serious for a few seconds - I think describing your asthma as moderate SatNav is a bit of an understatement. As you have had life threatening attacks your new GP should have this flagged on their system so if you call and say you have an asthma problem you should get the same prompt attention you are used to. (You seem to have the right attitude though - be enabled by your abilities - not disabled by your disabilities!)

I have been extremely lucky with my asthma - it has nearly killed me twice and on one occasion when I called the GP out in the night he was so concerned he dragged me to his car and drove me straight to A&E himself.....considering I lived less than 3 miles from the hospital I guess he thought I was more ill than I felt! (often the case once your oxygen level drops far enough.
I was one of the first people to be put on Singulair (Montelukast) and for me it was truly miraculous. About an hour after taking my first tablet my lungs started to feel different as if bits of cotton wool were being removed from them. I haven't looked back since....over the last 15 years I have steadily reduced all my asthma meds and now just take a steroid inhaler and the occasional puff of Salbutamol. I have to be careful if I get a chest infection - but apart from that I could almost forget that I am asthmatic.
I do realise that my current asthma status may not be permanent and my symptoms could all return tomorrow - such is asthma's unpredictable nature.

Once I was off the steroid tablets, it made it easier to lose weight and to exercise - which also helped the asthma improve further...
I now weigh 5 stone less than I did in my 30's and feel much better for it too. 

Currently just my shoulders that are causing me grief (calcific tendonitis and impingement syndrome) and I hope the Awful Paedic (No Jimmy Saville jokes please!) Surgeon will have some good news when I see him on New Years Eve. They are so painful that good news at the moment would probably be we will have you in and operate on them.

As others have said, I wouldn't want to give up cycling.......which is why I had to resort to buying a bent recently.

As we cycled along the promenade on Sunday while cycling a 40 + mile route, one of my friends pointed out that bicycles were not allowed on the promenade - my reply was that I was not on a bicycle.....I was on my disability scooter! 

For all of you struggling with your health - may I be one of the first to wish you better health in the coming year!


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## Peteaud (10 Dec 2012)

I am 45 next year, and much much fitter now than since my teens.

As for doctors, i dont go to them.


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## SatNavSaysStraightOn (10 Dec 2012)

lulubel said:


> Oh, another asthma related question.
> 
> I noticed your posts in the touring forum about touring in (what I would consider) pretty extreme conditions. How do your lungs cope with the cold air? Mine don't like it at all.


 
I am used to the cold, don't generally have the heating on even during the winter and am rarely known for shutting windows. the joke about do you live in a barn and open doors, sort of applies - it is a converted stable block and we never shut windows. I consider closing the bedroom window if it gets down to -10C, but the truth is, out an about in the countryside, I am far less allergic to what is around me than in a house/city etc and sleep better in a cold tent with a down sleeping bag and down filled mat, than I do in a house in a bed. for me the worst thing I can do is stay in a hotel/B&B. I have to have windows open, have to stay away from smellies. I also don't worry about how slow I am and I know when to say we have to stay put for the day. There are several days in my journal where the entry just says "today did not happen" or something similar. That invariably means I was too exhausted and my reduced adreanal gland issues or my asthma had kicked in and we stayed put to play it safe.
@mrandmrspoves 
Regretfully, singulair is one of the meds I am going to have to see my GP about. some of the generic versions contain a variant of lactose in it that I am very allergic to and apparently Singular comes off patent at the end of this month and my prescription says 'monetlukast' rather than 'singulair'. the brand singulair seems OK, as does some of the generic ones, but I have very recently reacted badly to the italian generic montelukast - mild anaphalatic shock from the dairy in it! Why anyone would put a dairy product in asthma medication is beyond me, but there we go. Where we go from here is another matter, I have actually yet to meet my new GP, (when I saw the Dr to get my repeats, it was a locuum, so they did what I asked and nothing more!). 

Abroad on tour, it depended on where I was as to what I did to obtain my meds. In Scandinavia I simply paid to see a private dr who wrote a private prescription for what I asked, no questions asked - having suffered from it all my life and having undertaken an advanced medical training course for those going far from help (so can do sutures, canuala, IV antibiotics etc) I am pretty literate on the matter to say the least. Other countries we just asked for what we wanted at the pharmacy and purchased it... I rarely had problems.

I realised in my early 20's after the last rescuitation that I had to take matters into my own hands, stay fit and keep the weight off - luckily for me with a love of the mountains, staying fit has never been much of an issues and since the coritisol issues from too much inhaled steriods, ironically keeping weight on is the issue rather than loosing it. I did drop to a UK size 2 before being diagnosed, though ironically still weighed 54kg and was not classed as underweight! I am currently holding around 70-71kg and at 5'6" am a UK size 10-12. In lycra is shows it is closer to the 10 than the 12!


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## summerdays (10 Dec 2012)

SatNavSaysStraightOn said:


> does leave me wondering how bad we would all be if we were not fit and cycling a lot? dread to think about that one!


I look at my siblings, ok I carry a few extra pounds than I would like but not the amounts they all carry.


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## SatNavSaysStraightOn (10 Dec 2012)

summerdays said:


> I look at my siblings, ok I carry a few extra pounds than I would like but not the amounts they all carry.


same for all my siblings (3 of them in this country that I am related to ) and all of my parents - mother and 3 father's. 
I grew up with a fear of fat (anorexic teenager) still can't cope with it, and apparently got my asthma from my father (as well as both parents smoking, but after the 1st divorce my mother was told categorically that she was killing me and it was enough for her to quit). My love of the outdoors/hiking/mountaineering also came from my real father, but some how I ended up moving motorbikes to bikes - my real father, one of my brother, both uncles, grandfather and 2nd step father all are bikers. one of my brothers was a bike courier in London for a while, but moved back to motorbikes, otherwise I am the only cyclist in my family. I suspect my real father being having an alcohol and drug habit probably did not help my early years either!


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## biggs682 (10 Dec 2012)

i scrolled down the page , got hear but cant remember what the question was !

who said 40 was old !


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## dave r (10 Dec 2012)

If you lot have started to fall apart by 40 what chance have those of us in our 60's got. When I was in my 40's I was in the best shape ever, its only in the last 5 years that health problems have arose, most of them recently and I suspect most due to fair wear and tear.


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## wanda2010 (10 Dec 2012)

Those in their 60s are there to show us the way before we get to our 60s (I hope that makes sense to someone ) .


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## ColinJ (10 Dec 2012)

I've never suffered from asthma but I got a very nasty taste of what an asthma attack must feel like when my lungs virtually packed up due to my illness this summer - absolutely horrific - so I feel very sorry for those of you who suffer from it! There definitely seems to be more asthma about now. I can hardly remember anybody suffering from it when I was young, but about 10% of the people I know now seem to be sufferers.


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## SpokeyDokey (10 Dec 2012)

56 a fortnight back.

Dodgy thyroid - being sorted.

Trigger finger on right hand - remnant of an old climbing accident.

When descending mountains my knees are not the shock absorbers they used to be.

Cuts take quite a while to heal.

I have a variety of glasses for different situations as well as contact lenses.

****

However, I can still churn out long mountain days and more importantly I am at peace with myself.


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## colly (10 Dec 2012)

Turning 40 for me made not a jot of difference. I felt no discernible changes between 40 and 50.
OK I grew a few grey hairs and my fizog acquired some 'character', but physically I felt pretty good. I took up cycling early in my 40's and I'm sure that helped.
Turning 50 seemed no big deal either to be honest but as time passed I noticed that the rigours of the daily grind would have more of an effect. Just general tiredness which, seeing as my job can be quite physical at times, was no real surprise.
I turned 60 just over a year ago and I am very fortunate that I am in disgustingly good health. No undue aches and pains and everything seems to be functioning as it should. (Touching as much wood as I can get my hands on)
I find I get tired more rapidly and I also find I work at a slower pace.
I eat 'sensibly' but by no means do I stint on stuff I enjoy and exercise probably more than most people of my age. But nowhere near as much as I would like.
Maybe because I have always had to be active for work it means I continue to be active. I still have to lift and carry and again because I've done it for so many years it seems no big deal.

The luck of the draw with regards to genetics must play a big part though.

There's no way to predict what may be over the horizon of course, medical tests aside, and I wonder sometimes if being in ignorance is no bad thing

So eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die.


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## Ian H (10 Dec 2012)

Aged 40 I joined Audax UK and rode my first 300km, 400km and 600km events. The reason being that I'd taken on a partner in business and therefore had leisure time. Two years later I rode my first 1200km. 20yrs later I'm still going reasonably well - planning another 24hr next year.
I've learnt that a good sports physio is worth paying for, and that it's possible to recover from seemingly game-changing injuries.


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## shouldbeinbed (11 Dec 2012)

44 next week and fine apart from the surgeon only half fixing my knee after last years hit and run. Fed up of hobbling, pain and restricted riding


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## lulubel (11 Dec 2012)

SatNavSaysStraightOn said:


> I am used to the cold, don't generally have the heating on even during the winter and am rarely known for shutting windows. the joke about do you live in a barn and open doors, sort of applies - it is a converted stable block and we never shut windows. I consider closing the bedroom window if it gets down to -10C, but the truth is, out an about in the countryside, I am far less allergic to what is around me than in a house/city etc and sleep better in a cold tent with a down sleeping bag and down filled mat, than I do in a house in a bed. for me the worst thing I can do is stay in a hotel/B&B. I have to have windows open, have to stay away from smellies. I also don't worry about how slow I am and I know when to say we have to stay put for the day. There are several days in my journal where the entry just says "today did not happen" or something similar. That invariably means I was too exhausted and my reduced adreanal gland issues or my asthma had kicked in and we stayed put to play it safe.


 
That just shows how personal asthma is. My asthma is best when it's hot and dry. I think I could stop my meds altogether if I spent long enough in the Canary Islands. Hot and humid is OK. My mother was worried about me when we went to Florida in my late teens because damp air has always bothered me, but I was absolutely fine. Same here in the summer. The heat and humidity exhausts me (same as everyone) but it doesn't make my asthma worse.

Cold air hits my lungs and initially leaves me struggling for breath, although that does settle down after the initial shock. If it's very cold (and for me that's more than a couple of degrees below freezing) I start to dry cough, and it doesn't stop until I get in the warm. Damp and cold is worst for me. Our first winter here was the wettest for 60 years, and my chest rattled constantly for about 3 months, and I could barely walk up the stairs, never mind cycle.

I have ideas of relocating to Bulgaria in the future, and winters there are bitterly cold. I've just bought a very thin buff to experiment with when the air's cold. Usually, putting anything over my nose and mouth makes me feel like I'm suffocating (which is obviously purely psychological), so I'm going to try and get myself used to it because I think it's the only way I could manage to live in a cold climate.

I was told when I was a kid that feathers and down made my asthma worse, and I was only allowed synthetic pillows and duvet. Once I was old enough to make the choice to change over to feather, my asthma actually improved, and I now sleep with feather pillows, and a great big, fluffy feather and down duvet.



SatNavSaysStraightOn said:


> Regretfully, singulair is one of the meds I am going to have to see my GP about. some of the generic versions contain a variant of lactose in it that I am very allergic to and apparently Singular comes off patent at the end of this month and my prescription says 'monetlukast' rather than 'singulair'. the brand singulair seems OK, as does some of the generic ones, but I have very recently reacted badly to the italian generic montelukast - mild anaphalatic shock from the dairy in it! Why anyone would put a dairy product in asthma medication is beyond me, but there we go.


 
That's utterly ridiculous. I thought it was fairly common knowledge that intolerance (if not outright allergy) to dairy is very common in asthmatics. Mine is an intolerance, and it isn't severe enough to stop me eating some cheese and yoghurt, but I do stay away from cow's milk. I think my problem is milk protein rather than lactose because I'm not good with whey protein isolate either.



SatNavSaysStraightOn said:


> since the coritisol issues from too much inhaled steriods, ironically keeping weight on is the issue rather than loosing it.


 
That's interesting. Could you elaborate a little on this? Is it to do with your reduced adrenal gland function?

The reason I ask is because my OH is amazed at the amount I manage to eat without gaining weight. I did no exercise at all until about 6-7 years ago, and was officially obese, so I joined a weight loss site that counts calories for you, and got down to a healthy weight through sensible eating and exercise. The only thing was, once I went onto their "maintenance" setting, I continued to lose around 1-2lb a month. I've stopped following the system now - I just try to be sensible with what I eat, and my weight has stabilised - but I found it very hard to give up something that I relied on for so long, and that has done me so much good in terms of getting healthy and fit. I always assumed the amount of calories I can consume without gaining weight was due to me having a high muscle percentage (I exercised hard while I was losing weight, with the deliberate intention of minimising muscle loss), but I'm starting to wonder now.


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## Drago (11 Dec 2012)

Just coming up on 44 and I'm bigger, fitter, faster, stronger than ever before. Like meeting any challenge, age is in the mind, and ft you approach the subject with such doubts and thoughts you've limits before you begin.

You WILL lose that weight. You WILL ride that 15 miles in sub-60. You WILL beat yesterday's commute time. And you damn well keep going back until you do.


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## SatNavSaysStraightOn (11 Dec 2012)

lulubel said:


> That's interesting. Could you elaborate a little on this? Is it to do with your reduced adrenal gland function?
> 
> The reason I ask is because my OH is amazed at the amount I manage to eat without gaining weight. I did no exercise at all until about 6-7 years ago, and was officially obese, so I joined a weight loss site that counts calories for you, and got down to a healthy weight through sensible eating and exercise. The only thing was, once I went onto their "maintenance" setting, I continued to lose around 1-2lb a month. I've stopped following the system now - I just try to be sensible with what I eat, and my weight has stabilised - but I found it very hard to give up something that I relied on for so long, and that has done me so much good in terms of getting healthy and fit. I always assumed the amount of calories I can consume without gaining weight was due to me having a high muscle percentage (I exercised hard while I was losing weight, with the deliberate intention of minimising muscle loss), but I'm starting to wonder now.


 
I take the equivalent of 20 doses a day of Beclomethasone 100mcg. So the dark brown inhaler that used to be called becotide 100, but when CFC's came out of the inhalers changed - no idea to what because I was already on the 250mcg version of it - so dark red rather than dark brown. It's a lot, both my GPs and I know it is a lot but it is all the really controls it unfortuantely. the result is that they beleive the inhaled steriods have affected my own natural steriod production in my body lowering it which in turn means I don't get what I need from what I eat - therefore eating more to compensate but not putting the weight on. I also struggle to develope muscle as well.


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## lulubel (11 Dec 2012)

SatNavSaysStraightOn said:


> I take the equivalent of 20 doses a day of Beclomethasone 100mcg. So the dark brown inhaler that used to be called becotide 100, but when CFC's came out of the inhalers changed - no idea to what because I was already on the 250mcg version of it - so dark red rather than dark brown. It's a lot, both my GPs and I know it is a lot but it is all the really controls it unfortuantely. the result is that they beleive the inhaled steriods have affected my own natural steriod production in my body lowering it which in turn means I don't get what I need from what I eat - therefore eating more to compensate but not putting the weight on. I also struggle to develope muscle as well.


 
I take around a quarter to half that - 500mcg is my standard dose, but I double it as soon as I see we have a prolonged spell of wet weather forecast, or at the first sign of a sore throat, or if my OH gets a cold (fortunately, we don't get ill very often here). I wonder if it's cumulative, though. I've been on what would be considered a moderately high dose for about 35 years, I think.

There are a wide variety of brand names in the UK. I had my favourites, and generally nagged my doctor to prescribe one of those rather than generic. It's still called Becotide here in Spain.

I'll have to do a bit of research, and either reassure myself or not! If I do have a reduction in natural steroid production, it's minor at the moment, but I assume these things tend to get worse over time.


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## C7KEN (11 Dec 2012)

When I was young and up until age 50 I was considered very fit, after 50 a slight slow down until the heart attack and open heart surgery at 60 then no biking for almost ten years until I started again in January this year. After taking statins for ten years my muscles were sore and shot and only determination kept me going and keeping up with a group whe are 20 to 30 years younger than me. However I came off the statins 3 months ago and last week had a blood test that showed my cholestrol level to be well in the good range. 10 years ago it was 10.6 .good is 5 or under. The only changes I have made is to restart cycling, change from butter to pro active, drink skimmed milk, consume less mayonaise. I have also shed 5 kilo's and feel like a new man. I make sure to ride approx 200km's each week with a longer ride each Wed with the other guys. We don't avoid hills we deliberately incorporate them in the routes . So I don't feel like i've fallen apart at 70 . I am absolutely delighted at the way things have worked out.


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## fossyant (11 Dec 2012)

70 - awesome. Hope I'm still going at 70.


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## dave r (11 Dec 2012)

C7KEN said:


> When I was young and up until age 50 I was considered very fit, after 50 a slight slow down until the heart attack and open heart surgery at 60 then no biking for almost ten years until I started again in January this year. After taking statins for ten years my muscles were sore and shot and only determination kept me going and keeping up with a group whe are 20 to 30 years younger than me. However I came off the statins 3 months ago and last week had a blood test that showed my cholestrol level to be well in the good range. 10 years ago it was 10.6 .good is 5 or under. The only changes I have made is to restart cycling, change from butter to pro active, drink skimmed milk, consume less mayonaise. I have also shed 5 kilo's and feel like a new man. I make sure to ride approx 200km's each week with a longer ride each Wed with the other guys. We don't avoid hills we deliberately incorporate them in the routes . So I don't feel like i've fallen apart at 70 . I am absolutely delighted at the way things have worked out.


 
Superb effort


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## bicyclos (11 Dec 2012)

I changed my lifestyle on my 40th birthday as I was very unfit. The big one was quit smoking and sold the car to finance my return to cycling. With the advent of the internet and websites and forums I have gained a great wealth of knowledge about training diet and supplimentation. Next month I will be 53 and feel fitter than I was at fourty. I only find that my human battery tires quicker than it did when I was younger which I suppose is natural. I only suffer aches and pains after a heavy day at work....


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## Ian H (11 Dec 2012)

Speed goes down, endurance/stamina goes up. Bloody-mindedness increases fourfold.


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## dave r (11 Dec 2012)

bicyclos said:


> I only find that my human battery tires quicker than it did when I was younger which I suppose is natural. I only suffer aches and pains after a heavy day at work....


 
I think thats something we all have to put up with as we age, I tire quicker take longer to recover and ache more after a hard days graft.


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## Drago (12 Dec 2012)

fossyant said:


> 70 - awesome. Hope I'm still going at 70.


Mate if mine is 73 and still gets up to do paper round in the surrounding villages on his trusty old Ammaco MTB.

There might be 2 feet of snow, the trains might not run, motorists will have ground to a halt, but Colin has never yet failed to get through with the papers. If we had more people like that with a proper 'can do' attitude then this country wouldn't be sinking into the U bend the it is.


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## ColinJ (12 Dec 2012)

Drago said:


> Mate if mine is 73 and still gets up to do paper round in the surrounding villages on his trusty old Ammaco MTB.
> 
> There might be 2 feet of snow, the trains might not run, motorists will have ground to a halt, but Colin has never yet failed to get through with the papers. If we had more people like that with a proper 'can do' attitude then this country wouldn't be sinking into the U bend the it is.


My late mum used to tell us about one of our Scottish family members from 100-odd years ago, the local postman. She swore blind that he was still delivering the mail when he was over 100 years old!

"_He was taking a big bag of letters across the loch when out of nowhere a fearsome storm developed. He rowed as fast as he could but to no avail - a big wave came along and swamped the boat. He was drowned._"

The tale always finished the same way ...

"_Och, granny always used to say that if hadn't been for that storm, he'd still be delivering the post today!_" 

I always thought that had been some exaggeration of his age over the years, but some of our Scottish family have indeed got to 100, and many more into their 90s. I have a picture of a great uncle still riding his old bicycle well into his 80s. He only stopped on doctor's orders after wobbling into ditches several times in one year, possibly under the influence of _'a wee dram_', or three!


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## dellzeqq (12 Dec 2012)

Ray Dare. Mr. Ray Dare to you lot. 100 miles in 4:59. Aged 81.


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## vernon (12 Dec 2012)

dellzeqq said:


> Ray Dare. Mr. Ray Dare to you lot. 100 miles in 4:59. Aged 81.


 
Wow!


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## ColinJ (12 Dec 2012)

dellzeqq said:


> Ray Dare. Mr. Ray Dare to you lot. 100 miles in 4:59. Aged 81.


Excellent! 

This summer, I got chatting to a cyclist in his 80s. He told me that he'd done a century in around 4.5 hours in his late 60s but had gradually slowed down since then. I'd be pretty happy to be that fast near 70, and still able to go out on my bike in my 80s.

I've seen both sides of it - on the one hand, that fit and healthy great uncle who cycled into his 80s, and on the other my dad who was crippled by arthritis when he wasn't much older than I am now and could barely walk for a quarter of a century. I know which one I would rather emulate!


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## dan_bo (12 Dec 2012)

dellzeqq said:


> Ray Dare. Mr. Ray Dare to you lot. 100 miles in 4:59. Aged 81.


 
With all due respect to Mr. Dare, I'll see him and raise you 'Odge, A.K.A. Derek Hodgkins:






Derek Hodgins, 26th November 1933
National Clarion C.C. Age Claimed Records
Record of best times for each year since the age of 60

Year Age "10" "25" "30" "50" "100" "12hr"
1994 60 57.32 1.54.05 4.06.19 231.934miles
1995 61 56.29 1.56.04 4.19.15 226.364miles
1996 62 56.53 1.55.51 4.03.54 253.150miles
1997 63 22.01 55.14 1.56.17 3.56.06 232.02miles
1998 64 56.09 1.56.08 4.07.43
1999 65
2000 66 56.58 1.08.10 1.55.58 4.05.52
2001 67 23.09 57.12 1.09.52 1.56.40 4.01.04
2002 68 22.03 56.33 1.56.46 4.10.00
2003 69 58.11 1.59.43 4.16.23
2004 70 23.02 56.55 1.57.32 4.18.51
2005 71 23.54 57.31 2.00.32 4.27.19
2006 72 56.27 2.01.26 4.17.19
2007 73 24.42 58.01 1.11.24 1.58.12 4.10.40
2008 74 24.01 58.47 1.58.28 4.25.07
2009 75 24.20 57.38 1.14.47 2.04.05 4.14.11
2010 76 23.30 59.22 1.18.15 2.06.39 4.28.36

Track results are not included

http://stockport-clarion.org.uk/People/Derek.html

He set me away on a TT earlier this year


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## dellzeqq (12 Dec 2012)

Mr. Hodgins is indeed snapping up the records previously held by Mr. Dare, but he's not yet in to his eighties and therefore a mere stripling...
http://www.vtta.org.uk/information/recordsdetail.php?page=3&type=men&mach=bike&solo=solo&road=road


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## dan_bo (12 Dec 2012)

They're both proper hardcore.

There's a bloke well in his 70s, Reg Stanistreet, who was still kicking my ass on the CX circuit every year until he disappeared a couple of seasons ago. Turns out he had a BIG stroke-it occured whilst he was riding his bike as it goes- and is currently watching the CX from a wheelchair. Instead of getting all frustrated and down about it, he's been getting on with his physio and is on the verge of getting out of his chair again after a good 18 months.

Here's hoping he can put a lap into me next season.


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## bicyclos (12 Dec 2012)

A family member on my wifes side who has been a club cyclist all his life completed the end to end in seven days and three punctures at 75 yrs old....Does life begins at 40 ?


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## 400bhp (13 Dec 2012)

ColinJ said:


> Ha ha - where do I start!


 
:sits down with a cup of tea ready for a long read:


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## 400bhp (13 Dec 2012)

C7KEN said:


> When I was young and up until age 50 I was considered very fit, after 50 a slight slow down until the heart attack and open heart surgery at 60 then no biking for almost ten years until I started again in January this year. After taking statins for ten years my muscles were sore and shot and only determination kept me going and keeping up with a group whe are 20 to 30 years younger than me. However I came off the statins 3 months ago and last week had a blood test that showed my cholestrol level to be well in the good range. 10 years ago it was 10.6 .good is 5 or under. The only changes I have made is to restart cycling, change from butter to pro active, drink skimmed milk, consume less mayonaise. I have also shed 5 kilo's and feel like a new man. I make sure to ride approx 200km's each week with a longer ride each Wed with the other guys. We don't avoid hills we deliberately incorporate them in the routes . So I don't feel like i've fallen apart at 70 . I am absolutely delighted at the way things have worked out.


 
Great story that.


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## ColinJ (13 Dec 2012)

400bhp said:


> :sits down with a cup of tea ready for a long read:


I have to do something to fill those long hours off the bike!


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## C7KEN (13 Dec 2012)

So now all you younger guys (and girls) know that no we don't have to fall apart at 40. Something I omitted to say on my last post was that everyone thinks I am younger than 70 so trying to keep some level of fitness throughout my life seems to have helped me to look younger or maybe its the girlfriend as she is much younger than me and they say "your only as old as the woman you feel"  There is a Norwegian man who joins us on wednesdays, he is three years older than me but keeps up with the group and he has recovered from two strokes so at a mere 70 years old I would be embarrassed if I failed to at least match his effort. Him and me take our turns to lead against headwinds which gets us respect from the other younger riders in our group and we intend to remain like this for as long as we can.


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## Alan57 (13 Dec 2012)

I did fall apart a little at around 52yrs old , diagnosed with type 2 diabetes 18½ stone, developed tinnitus in right ear. Now 57yrs old 14½ stone Diabetes blood sugars good ,tinnitus still there but I live with it. Apart from aches and pains now and again I am generally doing ok and ride every day ,hopefully I will continue to ride until the end. So even if you do start to fall apart you can glue yourself back together , maybe not as good as new but still useable.


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## SatNavSaysStraightOn (13 Dec 2012)

Alan57 said:


> I did fall apart a little at around 52yrs old , diagnosed with type 2 diabetes 18½ stone, developed tinnitus in right ear. Now 57yrs old 14½ stone Diabetes blood sugars good ,tinnitus still there but I live with it. Apart from aches and pains now and again I am generally doing ok and ride every day ,hopefully I will continue to ride until the end. So even if you do start to fall apart you can glue yourself back together , maybe not as good as new but still useable.


wasn't me that tore myself apart (only go there if strong stomach)!


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## Alan57 (13 Dec 2012)

SatNavSaysStraightOn said:


> wasn't me that tore myself apart (only go there if strong stomach)!


 Ouch , very nasty .


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## lulubel (13 Dec 2012)

SatNavSaysStraightOn said:


> wasn't me that tore myself apart (only go there if strong stomach)!


 
I looked because I couldn't resist, and felt very queasy long before I finished reading the story of your day. After that, looking at the photos of your stitched wounds was a breeze, although I think I'd have felt rather different if I'd seen them open!

As Alan said, very nasty.


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## SatNavSaysStraightOn (13 Dec 2012)

lulubel said:


> I looked because I couldn't resist, and felt very queasy long before I finished reading the story of your day. After that, looking at the photos of your stitched wounds was a breeze, although I think I'd have felt rather different if I'd seen them open!
> 
> As Alan said, very nasty.


 did you go to the following days? there are some 'better' shots of it - but rest easy, we chose not to photo it with it open, that was too much for even me, but in hindsight it would have been very useful once we got back into the UK. I still can't walk far, but surprisingly can cycle , just not amazingly fast or far (I can manage 42 miles without too many problems now, but the 55 miler in November as a test I did won't get repeated for a while yet). the 2nd to last page shows the scar once it was healed.


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## lulubel (13 Dec 2012)

SatNavSaysStraightOn said:


> did you go to the following days? there are some 'better' shots of it - but rest easy, we chose not to photo it with it open, that was too much for even me, but in hindsight it would have been very useful once we got back into the UK. I still can't walk far, but surprisingly can cycle , just not amazingly fast or far (I can manage 42 miles without too many problems now, but the 55 miler in November as a test I did won't get repeated for a while yet). the 2nd to last page shows the scar once it was healed.


 
I hadn't, but I have now, and I blame you and your very descriptive writing for the facts that:

1 - I've just spent quite a lot of minutes lying on the floor
2 - I've had to lie to my partner about why I was lying on the floor

(Obviously, I'm joking, and it was actually quite funny.)

I skimmed the rest of the blog, just looking at the progress photos and reading the descriptions, and after I'd rested my head back and shut my eyes for a while, decided I was OK to stand up. Bad idea! I had to lie down on the floor very fast, and only just made it before the black in front of my eyes and the hissing in my ears completely overwhelmed me.

While I was lying there, my OH came in and (understandably) asked why I was lying on the floor. My initial explanation that I'd looked at some photos online that made me feel very ill and I'd explain when I felt better gave me time to think of something. (My OH is quite scared of dogs, and it's taken me a long time to get her to stay calm when she comes across loose dogs when she's cycling. Knowing what happened to you would set her back years!) So, as far as she knows, you swerved to avoid a dog, and ripped your leg to pieces on a barbed wire fence!

Anyway, that sounds (and looks) like it was very nasty. At least you were lucky to be able to get all the help you did at the time. Being the kind of person I am, I'd say that nice man (I can't remember his name, and daren't go back to look!) giving you his phone number was more than just a co-incidence, but whatever your views on that are, it really does show how much goodness there is in human nature.

I'm going to go back and read the rest (the early part) of your blog at some point because you tell the story of your adventures so well, and I think it will make a very enjoyable read.


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## Cletus Van Damme (14 Dec 2012)

Since hitting 40 my left knee is a mess. 1 major reconstruction surgery, and a minor one a year later and it is worse than before I had them. If I knew what I know now I would of just let it destroy itself and had a full knee replacement. I have also had back problems. Apart from that fine, but it all started as soon as I hit 40, 43 now.


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## gbb (16 Dec 2012)

I don't know whether i'm sad or glad i started reading this one..
I'm 54 and i find i'm a mixture of fit and cream crackered. I don't suffer any health problems like asthma etc, barring a lifelong bad back (which has TBF been not too bad this year)..but i'm finding myslef increasingly tired in the evenings, most days i finish work, slump on the sofa...and thats it. I cant get enough sleep, even 6 or 7 hours a night leaves me waking up like a zombie, i just feel so crocked all the time.
But then, i can go out and and push myself physically for an hour and more...how many 54 year olds do that ?
I dont run any more, i mean run just to get somewhere quicker. I used to run up several flights of stairs, just because. Dont do that anymore.
I get pains in the front of my groin when getting up off the floor, i cant put my socks on without sitting down (even then its a struggle, thats my back)....i feel tired and crocked, but i won't give in.

Telling myself i'm off to the docs soon, get checked up. Whats all this over 40 MOT, i never had one...but TBF, i only go to the docs maybe once every three years 


Fast forward...err back, TBF at 40 i was fitter than i ever was at 30 thanks to cycling. And between 45 and 50 i was pushing myself harder and harder on the bike on solo rides, getting up to 18mph average over 40 to 50 miles. Sadly those speeds are a dream right now.
However bad it seems, as a cyclist, i'm thankful for the fitness i have compared to couch potatoes that seem to abound when you look around.


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## jefmcg (16 Dec 2012)

Just a couple of data points: Australian champion cyclist Hubert Opperman stopped cycling when he was 90 (and died on a exercise cycle a couple of year later) and the longest (confirmed) living person, Jeanne Calment only stopped cycling when she was 100.


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## Drago (16 Dec 2012)

Cheesney Hawks said:


> Since hitting 40 my left knee is a mess. 1 major reconstruction surgery, and a minor one a year later and it is worse than before I had them. If I knew what I know now I would of just let it destroy itself and had a full knee replacement. I have also had back problems. Apart from that fine, but it all started as soon as I hit 40, 43 now.


looks like my right elbow. When the Doc discovered I do 600 press ups a day with an arm full if Meccano he had a fit. When I told him if quit body building and moved into powerlifting he almost fainted.

I don't care if my elbow looks like a used hand grenade. Proving Doctors wrong is very satisfying.


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## Nigel-YZ1 (16 Dec 2012)

I was diagnosed asthmatic at 4, now I'm 44. General fitness has been my best weapon, and I'm on that QVar crap - which saves the ozone layer, but is poo compared to Beclomethazone. I prefer a decent cuppa to Salbutamol/Ventolin, the caffeine content helps. Other than that it's control and limits.
I was 12,000ft up Mt Teide a week ago, got headache and couldn't breathe, but thought, oh well, the tricks that work on a bike must work walking round here (brave words - the speed it hit scared the crap out of me!).
I've been doing Tai Chi for 2 years, and there's elements there that are supposed to help with asthma but I've not explored them much.

Other than that my destroyed knees seem to be nearly back to their old selves. Just the odd bit of soreness after rides. But then I'm riding less and I'm fat.

The aches and pains have ganged up on me more lately, but what the hell, I can get out and fly. In the end that's all that counts.


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## Globalti (19 Dec 2012)

Erm... am I allowed to say that I'm 56, still weigh the same as I did at 26, have a resting HR of 48 and a 32" waist and have never been seriously ill?

But then my Mum is 83, fit as a butcher's dog, leads Ramblers' groups every week, sings in three choirs, is a museum guide in her town and goes to the gym once a week? So if I've got some of her genes I'll be good for a few more years yet.


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## lulubel (19 Dec 2012)

Nigel-YZ1 said:


> I'm on that QVar crap - which saves the ozone layer, but is poo compared to Beclomethazone


 
Qvar is beclomethasone. It's a brand name, just like Becotide is.


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## Richard A Thackeray (19 Dec 2012)

Not too bad a state of health, I guess???

5'8" & weighing in at 10 stone (+/- a pound or 2)

Started running @ 42, & kept going (just don't ride as much now, as I did before running )

No real health issues, just the odd niggle - mainly knees/ankles from the running

My left knee's starting to play up again, after the fall that chipped the Femur back in February, it won't straighten fully for the first 1/2 - 3/4 miles over the past couple of days (unless it's still recovering from Sundays XC??)


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## BrianEvesham (19 Dec 2012)

Passed my 50th mot for my vocational licence in may, but was told I was obese. Still have all my own teeth!
I am losing weight thanks to cycling again after a twenty year gap.


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## Albert (28 Dec 2012)

I fell apart at the age of 59 - after a lifetime of smoking and doing little or no exercise. I had a big heart attack and took up cycling as a way of fighting back. I and am now 64 and have reached 17,000+ miles and 850,000 ft of climbing. I have done a few Sportives and a couple of Audax.
Unfortunately, I have continued falling apart in spite of my "new" way of life:
Since my heart attack I have had: Pneumonia, a Prostate Reduction Operation, A Cataract Operation + several operations for BCCs on my face. I have just come to the end of a sequence of 3 operations (weekly procedures totalling 6 hours of surgery through December) to reconstruct my nose using skin and tissue from my cheek after the recurrence of a BCC on the side of my nose.
Funny thing is, I am fitter than I have been for 30 odd years.


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## Sara_H (28 Dec 2012)

i'm expecting to celebrate my 40th birthday in a couple of weeks.

I had a near death experience a few weeks ago, which has left me very weak (took dog for a short walk for first time yesterday - wobbltastic!), and is going to take a while to recover from. Until that point I was probably fitter than I've ever been. I had recently taken delivery of a pair of reading glasses though!


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## wanda2010 (28 Dec 2012)

Reading glasses. An annoyance cos I never remember to carry them around and end up squinting or holding item at arms length so I can (try to) read the wording


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## summerdays (28 Dec 2012)

Reading glasses is something I've so far managed to avoid, though as most of my friends have them, I imagine it won't be too long till I have a pair!!!


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## smokeysmoo (28 Dec 2012)

Well, I hit 40 in 5 days time now, and reading this make me think 

It's not looking rosy for me if I'm being honest.

I've worn glasses for several years already, I got a hearing aid a few months ago to help with degenerative hearing loss, (1980's Walkman generation!!), and I'm overweight too.

Other than that I though feel fine


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## SatNavSaysStraightOn (28 Dec 2012)

smokeysmoo said:


> Well, I hit 40 in 5 days time now, and reading this make me think


 
it's tomorrow for me. Not worked out how to end the world today to avoid it! Still I have around 13 hrs 30 mins left to work on it!


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## Nebulous (28 Dec 2012)

You're looking good on it anyway Satnav - going by your avatar! 

I got from 20s to late 40s on cruise control, doing no exercise and ever so slowly getting bigger.

Almost 3 years ago I decided to do something about it, lost 5 stone, took up cycling and think I'm fitter now than I've been - possibly ever. I turned 50 earlier this year. I am pushing hard on the bike and have begun to compete in TTs and certainly intend to continue this journey I'm on to see where it takes me.

I joke that I have an advantage because my body hasn't done much work until now so its still pretty fresh! More seriously I think I was fortunate that I made up my mind to change before I hit some serious problems rather than after.


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## Nigel-YZ1 (28 Dec 2012)

lulubel said:


> Qvar is beclomethasone. It's a brand name, just like Becotide is.


 
Thanks for the correction 
I was whining about the difference I experienced when I switched from Becotide to the non-CFC Qvar.


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## postman (28 Dec 2012)

It does leave me wondering how bad we would all be if we were not fit and cycling a lot? dread to think about that one![/quote]


That is a very good statement. My world would be the size of a pea.Like a stick of seaside rock i have cycling written right through me.i get so much out of cycling,i meet people talk to people.People talk to me because i am wearing cycle clothing and have a bike with me.


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## lulubel (28 Dec 2012)

Nigel-YZ1 said:


> Thanks for the correction
> I was whining about the difference I experienced when I switched from Becotide to the non-CFC Qvar.


 
I assume you switched from a manual inhaler to the Qvar autohaler, and it was the method of delivery you had problems with. The drug is exactly the same.


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## Nigel-YZ1 (28 Dec 2012)

lulubel said:


> I assume you switched from a manual inhaler to the Qvar autohaler, and it was the method of delivery you had problems with. The drug is exactly the same.


 
Same drug, just the change in propellant.


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## mrandmrspoves (28 Dec 2012)

Nigel-YZ1 said:


> Same drug, just the change in propellant.


Do you use a spacer? If not, it's worth doing. Also (sorry if teaching anyone to suck eggs) when using any inhaler look up at the ceiling when you inhale as this takes the bend out of your neck and reduces the amount of medicine that hits your throat and gets no further. Personally, I found Fluticasone to be more effective than Beclomethasone.


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## ColinJ (28 Dec 2012)

postman said:


> It does leave me wondering how bad we would all be if we were not fit and cycling a lot? dread to think about that one!


I think I might have died in my 40s. I was putting on 1.5 stone a year until I bought a bike in 1989. Since then my weight has been up and down a lot but I have never been bigger than I was back then and even when big, my cardiovascular system has been pretty strong.

The doctor who looked at the CT scan of my chest when I got ill this summer reckoned that it was only my underlying strength and fitness that saved me. The strain of pumping blood through badly clotted arteries might well have seen me off if my heart hadn't been toughened up by years of hauling my big body over tough Yorkshire hills!


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## fossyant (28 Dec 2012)

Being a cyclist is very very good for all. The pressure any cyclist puts on the C V system is very good for long term health.


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## Stephenite (29 Dec 2012)

Happy birthday Satnav! 



SatNavSaysStraightOn said:


> it's tomorrow for me. Not worked out how to end the world today to avoid it! Still I have around 13 hrs 30 mins left to work on it!


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## Accy cyclist (8 Jan 2013)

Looking back i suppose my fittest days were from being 25 to 47. Before that i was a lazy so and so who drove everywhere, developed a beer belly, ate the wrong things etc. Then i got into weight training(no stupid steroids or popping veins, just a toned figure). At 47 i developed neck cancer which meant my right pectoral muscle had to be grafted to fill the hole in my neck, so no more bench pressing, hence depression because of my loss. Then i got a hernia(groin) one day from coughing due to swallowing difficulties. My latest malfunction is my detached retina where they are having trouble in fixing it.
So i'm living and cycling with a pec' muscle for a neck, a bulge in my shorts that makers the ladies swoon(if only they knew)!, and one working eye!
I'd like to think that plenty of exercise, cycling and a decent diet in the last 25 years has helped me stave off probably worse things than i have had. You have to think positive thoughts about how you'll cope with whatever life throws at you.


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## Licramite (8 Jan 2013)

who's waiting for 40 - I fell apart at 28 , why do you think I cycle , cause I can't run !. - and I can't see me doing that in 10years time.

yep do it whilst you can, cause you never know how long you can do it for.


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## ColinJ (9 Jan 2013)

User said:


> my grandfather died late 30's, heartattack, very heavy drinker, my uncle died 40, heartattack, fit but drinker, da had a triple bypass at around 40, fat, heavy drinker, smoker but changed his life never drank or smoked again,started running, still around after 28 years, they only gave him 10...my da at 68 has now become the longest living member of my family, among aunts, uncles grandparents etc, ma side both parents dead before 50, cancer
> we have a running joke between me and my 4 brothers, 2 of whom have spent their whole lives drunk, stoned, imprisoned and the other 2 are fat.... that no matter what I do, I'll be first to go....you never know  .


The opposite of my family who typically live well into their 80s, many into their 90s and a couple of whom have reached 100+. That's why it came as a huge shock to me, having hardly been ill in my life, to suddenly find myself close to death aged 56!

I hope that you don't follow your family history, and that I _do_ follow mine!


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## stu9000 (26 May 2013)

Im 42 and feeling more mortal than i did. I think that is partly watching my parents get older although if they read this id get a clip. Shoulder issue and high cholesterol I'm hoping to sort out with cycling. Good so far and feel a lot fitter. Knees fairly buggered from skiing but ok with a support. Finger joints have been getting worse and i expect will be a mare later in life. Comes and goes, bit weird. 

My memory frustrates the hell out of me. Not sure if its always been bad or whether its getting worse. However I'm celebrating my grandfathers 100th birthday next week. So a bit of exercise and a positive attitude is my ongoing strategy.


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## C7KEN (9 Dec 2014)

Here is a short update to my post in 2012. I now lead a group out every Monday and Wednesdays this can be up to 20 riders. We sometimes have new people wanting to join so I will go out on a separate day and make sure they know what to expect and can keep up a reasonable speed. I find its not the distance that causes problems but the speed but I find that if riders know what to expect they cope very well. Living here in Spain we are in cycling heaven but strong winds at this time of year can make life a bit harder so we always ride out into the wind and hope to have it behind us on the return home. We aim to do at least 100kms over the two days and it's either flatter and longer or shorter and more hilly. Not one single person has pulled out from our group and they all tell me how they enjoy it. I am not the oldest as we have two riders 75 years old and one of these is amazing as the youngster's cant keep up with him when we get to a hill. We are on hybrids as we ride the canal roads its safer and quieter, we have found all the good coffee stops in the area over the last nearly 3 years and we can look at men much younger knowing we are fitter than them and look good for our ages. I now no longer take statins I am very pleased to say and for sure cycling has been a huge help in lowering my cholestrol. I say this as others in our group have found similar results. so to sum it all up cycling for myself and friends is the perfect pastime


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## Dirk (9 Dec 2014)

I must be the exception that proves the rule.
Turned 60 last month and retired two days later.
I'm in better physical shape than I was 20 years ago and feel GREAT!!!


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## addictfreak (9 Dec 2014)

I got through 50 years with out incident, not even a days sickness from work. Made up for it in the past 2 years, suffered a Sub Arrachnoid Haemorrhage in December 2012. Was lucky to survive, had surgery to place coils in an aneurysm which had ruptured. If that wasn't enough, they found a second aneurysmn which they treated by performing a craniotomy and placing a clip on the aneurysmn. Spent a total of 8 months on the sick and a further 6 on reduced duties before finally being able to return to my full role in Feburary this year.
Have returned to my normal self with no illness since. Return to hospital next week for a check up and MRA scan, hopefully all will be well. Must admit when I look back, it almost seems like it never happened.
The little picture on my avatar shows me cycling in the mountains of Majorca in April this year, so I guess it's been a pretty good recovery, considering the potential outcome.


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## Licramite (9 Dec 2014)

Well I'm officially an ex-lepper, new value (and I don't mean on the tyres) and I'm raring to go - this years been a wash out but next year I hope to break the hundred (miles, done the kms)
all I got to do is convince the missis if I can do it with a dodgy value and can do it with a nice new shiny one.
I would like to say I have never felt fitter - but I certainly have- so I will have to be content with what I got.
- all I say is , it don't matter how slow you go - as long as you keep going


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## slowmotion (9 Dec 2014)

I very nearly fell apart quite a few years after my fortieth birthday. The NHS came to my aid, God bless them. I feel better than I have in decades and worry less. Maybe that's the beta-blockers.


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## nickyboy (10 Dec 2014)

I think we have obsolescence built into our design unfortunately. Back to the caveman days, once we've produced the next generation we're not designed to keep going. Eyesight goes so we can't hunt, get slow so we can't run away from Sabre-toothed tigers, muscles get weak so we can't throw rocks at wooly mammoths. That sort of thing.

Science has let us extend our lives to 80 years old or so. But we're designed to be good up to 40 years old and that's about it. Then it all starts to fall apart


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## Dirk (10 Dec 2014)

nickyboy said:


> ................we're designed to be good up to 40 years old and that's about it. Then it all starts to fall apart



Speak for yourself matey!


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## Massimo (10 Dec 2014)

Falling apart is the game of the life. Sooner or later we'll all get there.
Just take care of yourself the best you can but don't worry too much. Worries don't help either.


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## winjim (10 Dec 2014)

I feel well but cuts and bruises are taking a long time to mend. I gashed my calf on the chainring back in April and it still hasn't fully healed. I'm a fortnight shy of 37.


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## screenman (10 Dec 2014)

I fell apart in my forties and rebuilt myself in my fifties.


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## djb1971 (10 Dec 2014)

I've hated every year of my 40s. I have one problem, sort it, only to have another. I know I'm wishing my life away but I can't wait for 50, hope it gets better. I've got aches, pains, things dropping off and other things drooping

If I could go back in time, I'd meet everyone that told me life begins at 40, then I'd give them a punch in the face

I don't know how I manage to cock a leg over my bikes!


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## fossyant (10 Dec 2014)

winjim said:


> View attachment 73980
> 
> I feel well but cuts and bruises are taking a long time to mend. I gashed my calf on the chainring back in April and it still hasn't fully healed. I'm a fortnight shy of 37.



Cool scar bro. Wear it with pride.


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## dan_bo (10 Dec 2014)

40 next year......


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## ColinJ (10 Dec 2014)

dan_bo said:


> 40 next year......


60 in 13 months, but the rules have changed so I will have to wait a further 6 years for my bus pass!


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## dan_bo (10 Dec 2014)

ColinJ said:


> 60 in 13 months, but the rules have changed so I will have to wait a further 6 years for my bus pass!




Being honest Col, I don't think you look 60. 


Thank me later.


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## pawl (10 Dec 2014)

SatNavSaysStraightOn said:


> I've been going through that new patient's/new doctor's routine and it is driving me mad.
> 
> My weight & BMI have been dismissed as not applicable thankfully. My BMI came back as borderline overweight for my height but anyone who as met me will tell you I'm not overweight and thankfully as I was standing there in full lycra at the time, the nurse concerned agreed it was nonsense (I'm a size 10-12) - quite refreshing for a change but my blood test results are driving me mad. 1 test leads to another, which leads to another and another...
> 
> ...


At 73 a slightly arthritic knees.Had an aortic valve replacement last year looked.on it like replacing a worn chain and cassette . Keep those legs spinning and no bits will fall of.Although it may be worthwhile carrying a bit of Gaffer tape just in case.


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## wam68 (10 Dec 2014)

Faster and stronger now at 45 than I was at 30 but there seems to be aches were there were none before. Oh and eye sight is getting worse. Other than that it's all smelling of roses


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## winjim (10 Dec 2014)

fossyant said:


> Cool scar bro. Wear it with pride.


I tell people I fought a tiger.


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## djb1971 (10 Dec 2014)

dan_bo said:


> 40 next year......


Good luck. 

Ready through this lot, you'll need it


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## potsy (10 Dec 2014)

dan_bo said:


> 40 next year......


Had to double check the date of this post, assumed it was a thread revival from the 90's


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## Crackle (10 Dec 2014)

Once I never went the chemists. Then I had children and started picking a few things up for them. Then I started picking a few things up for me. Now I need a bag.


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## djb1971 (10 Dec 2014)

Crackle said:


> Once I never went the chemists. Then I had children and started picking a few things up for them. Then I started picking a few things up for me. Now I need a bag.




Do you put the bag into the basket on the front of your mobility scooter


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## Nigel-YZ1 (10 Dec 2014)

46 here. Some bits are going bit faulty but on the whole I can't complain


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## Crackle (10 Dec 2014)

djb1971 said:


> Do you put the bag into the basket on the front of your mobility scooter


Not yet. I have not reached the mobility scooter of inevitability.

It cheesed me off and then I realised there was a system to be beaten. Careful timing of repeat prescription can be offset against the pre-payment card and pounds saved. It requires practice, occasional suffering for a week or two, the odd moment of overstocking but the system can be worked. Cheers me up no end when I do go in.


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## Ian A (10 Dec 2014)

Not quite at 40 yet but I'm getting fitter than I've ever been at 36. Got ill a lot when I had kids and put on weight etc but good diet and sensible exercise and I'm at a healthy weight again. I rarely take days off ill (managed three years up to last winter when I had two days off despite having three school age children and being married to a teacher) and things are going well. Admittedly it's easy to make fitness improvements at any age when you're out of shape and I've been working on endurance over speed (and got slower!) which is arguably easier at my age but I'll take the ironman I did in September as a good measure of basic fitness. If I can crack getting enough sleep things would be better.

Can I get a shout of "midlife crises" ? 

A lot of it is down to luck. My wife was diagnosed with a degenerative illness a few years ago with no known cure so she is doing less well!


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## ColinJ (10 Dec 2014)

dan_bo said:


> Being honest Col, I don't think you look 60.
> 
> 
> Thank me later.


You haven't seen me for a while! 

I can't really get away with the old avatar photo (when I was 50) much longer. The effects of 2 years of poor health has taken its toll on my hair - it is at least 50% grey now, and the other half seems intent on falling out! (Hair loss was already happening but being on warfarin has accelerated it.)

I was going to wait until I was 60 to change the picture but I might do it soon while I still have some hair left!


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## dan_bo (10 Dec 2014)

ColinJ said:


> You haven't seen me for a while!
> 
> I can't really get away with the old avatar photo (when I was 50) much longer. The effects of 2 years of poor health has taken its toll on my hair - it is at least 50% grey now, and the other half seems intent on falling out! (Hair loss was already happening but being on warfarin has accelerated it.)
> 
> I was going to wait until I was 60 to change the picture but I might do it soon while I still have some hair left!




That's the main thing with me so far- hair's more delicate as I'm getting on.....


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## phil_hg_uk (10 Dec 2014)

ColinJ said:


> You haven't seen me for a while!
> 
> I can't really get away with the old avatar photo (when I was 50) much longer. The effects of 2 years of poor health has taken its toll on my hair - it is at least 50% grey now, and the other half seems intent on falling out! (Hair loss was already happening but being on warfarin has accelerated it.)
> 
> I was going to wait until I was 60 to change the picture but I might do it soon while I still have some hair left!



I wouldn't worry about hair colin you can live without it, there are far more important things that can fall out/off than that


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## ColinJ (10 Dec 2014)

User14044mountain said:


> ...but no need to post any photos of them, just in case you are tempted


One of the hazards of insomniac CycleChatting is that overnight moderation is a bit slower. I once went to read what appeared to be an interesting thread, only to be confronted by, er, a 'selfie' of a large, proud, upstanding forum member!


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## fossyant (10 Dec 2014)

ColinJ said:


> One of the hazards of insomniac CycleChatting is that overnight moderation is a bit slower. I once went to read what appeared to be an interesting thread, only to be confronted by, er, a 'selfie' of a large, proud, upstanding forum member!



Pardon.... ,


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## ColinJ (10 Dec 2014)

fossyant said:


> Pardon.... ,


Put it this way ... I haven't spotted anything like that on the '_day shift_'!


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## screenman (10 Dec 2014)

I like to think I have quick drying aqua dynamic hair designed for all the swimming I do, in reality I am bald.


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## phil_hg_uk (10 Dec 2014)

screenman said:


> I like to think I have quick drying aqua dynamic hair designed for all the swimming I do, in reality I am bald.



Luckily CycleChat is a reality free zone


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## SatNavSaysStraightOn (10 Dec 2014)

pawl said:


> At 73 a slightly arthritic knees.Had an aortic valve replacement last year looked.on it like replacing a worn chain and cassette . Keep those legs spinning and no bits will fall of.Although it may be worthwhile carrying a bit of Gaffer tape just in case.


Sadly today I am in hospital for a back operation to save my chances of walking again. 
There's a thread going on it... All I did was put the phone down, turn around and ruptured a disk in my back. There's a thread about it in this forum...


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## MarkF (10 Dec 2014)

I was in a terrible slob-like condition at 40, 97kg, I'd given up football due to hip problems and that's why I started cycling.

I am 52 now and about 82kg, I am in better shape than I was at 25 and I was in good shape then. This is entirely due to cycling, not manically either, leisure stuff but doing a lot of small shopping trips rather than one big one in a car. It's a miracle!


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## Firestorm (10 Dec 2014)

I was really fit at 40/41 , did the 100m and 200m in the World vets at Gateshead, was still running southern league with blokes 15 years younger.
Then my wife left, really suddenly. 
Depression, drinking , smoking took its toll over the next year or so. 
Remarried a few years later and I am fine and dandy.
now at 56 I have arthritic knees and shoulders, and the usual aches and pains, but a lovely lady who has just taken to gentle cycle rides....


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## cyberknight (10 Dec 2014)

47 next cake day and this last year i have definitely felt a change ( oo ! ) 
Arthritis in right hand has started so the thumb joint aches when its cold/damp .
Old shoulder injury now means the days of serious strength exercises are long gone and for arms its press ups and pull ups only .
More grey hair 
Reading glasses
I have a physical job and i can do it but by the end of the week i have had enough , its a case of keeping going as long as i can now .


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## arch684 (10 Dec 2014)

I will be 64 next month I have not fallen apart. just lucky maybe


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## JtB (10 Dec 2014)

Apart from the varifocals, hearing aid, pacemaker and bad back I think I'm doing pretty well for 54.


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## HLaB (10 Dec 2014)

SatNavSaysStraightOn said:


> I turn 40 just after Christmas and want to know if anyone else is falling apart or is it just me?


I turn 40 just after Christmas this year, I hope I don't fall apart


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## Donger (10 Dec 2014)

The other day I commented on someone's nice tyres and they immediately had a puncture. Then I mentioned the nice weather and it immediately started to rain. I probably shouldn't say anything about my health, other than that I didn't fall apart at 40 ...or 45 ....or 50.

Went through a period of incredible stress between about 2006 and 2012 while working full time and having eldercare responsibilities (along with my wife) both for my mum and for her parents. Being a 21 stone middle-aged man, stressed both at home and at work, I knew I had to do something before I had a heart attack, and I really started cycling seriously at the start of 2009.

I'm still 19.5 stone, but feel as fit as I have ever been, and it is all down to cycling. OK, so at 54 I might now be bald and grey, and I've started to rely on reading glasses, but I really can't complain. I think I am something of a mystery to my GP (who I think I've only seen about 3 times in the last 10 years), as he seems to have no idea what I should weigh. Apparently I was off the graph in both axes when he tried to work out my ideal weight a few years ago and was 20+ stone and 6'6"...! I like to think of myself as being built like Jonah Lomu, rather than as 2 Jocky Wilsons on top of each other. 

I shall just count my blessings and carry on cycling for as long as I can. Best wishes and good luck to those of you who have not been so fortunate. Some of you have been an inspiration to me over the last few months since I joined Cyclechat, and i wish you all well.


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## Roscoe (11 Dec 2014)

46 years old, High blood pressure (diagnosed age 37), mild psoraisis, wear glasses and currently having prostate problems investigated.

Other than that, cycled more miles this year than ever, stopped drinking (49 weeks ago) and have lost a stone in weight. Feel not too bad to be honest! Fingers crossed.


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## TheJDog (11 Dec 2014)

44, arthritic elbow, need glasses for the cinema now, achilles tendons quite prone to injury, and intermittent back problems (though I'm currently putting that down to the guy in the bike fitting telling me to try to ride with as straight a lower back as possible). Most of my problems (elbow and ankles) were caused in my 20s and early 30s, I'm now as fit as I've ever been (with the possible exception of when I was 25, under 13 stone and doing weights, hockey and karate each three times a week - as well as some cycling  ).


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## Hacienda71 (11 Dec 2014)

Can't remember how old I am....must be my age making me absent minded.


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## roadrash (11 Dec 2014)

50 next august , my spine started falling apart a couple of years ago , but having operation in march 2015 to ( hopefully ) rectify that, severe psoriasis at the moment , mentally im still in my early twenties ...allthough mrs roadrash would say i have never grown up at all  cant complain really, plenty people worse off than me.


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## screenman (11 Dec 2014)

Nothing tastes as good as feeling thin. 

Thin people also feel younger, or so it seems to me.


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## SatNavSaysStraightOn (11 Dec 2014)

screenman said:


> Nothing tastes as good as feeling thin.


Exactly how do you know this please? 
Makes note to never go over to @screenman 's home alone...


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## screenman (11 Dec 2014)

SatNavSaysStraightOn said:


> Exactly how do you know this please?
> Makes note to never go over to @screenman 's home alone...



Not sure, it is a Kate Moss quote.


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## potsy (11 Dec 2014)

screenman said:


> Not sure, it is a Kate Moss quote.


Or nearly the Kate Moss quote 



> Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels


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## screenman (11 Dec 2014)

potsy said:


> Or nearly the Kate Moss quote



Oops! I knew it was something like that


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## Saluki (11 Dec 2014)

I need reading specs nowadays, sometimes I need regular specs too but not all the time. Only when I'm tired and I get a bit of eye drift.

I have noticed that getting up after sitting on the floor is a bit more of a palava nowadays. Losing weight is harder. Long gone are the days where I skipped lunch for a week and dropped a clothes size. Although I was a right skinny effort right up until I turned 40, this last 10 years have been a bit of a trial, weight wise. I've seen pictures of my biological family, at least bio-mother's side, and they are all seriously round people. They are all really short too but I doubt that I'm suddenly going to lose 8" of height. I think there might be something genetic that I am fighting, weight wise. They all seem to have been stocky in their youth and massive from middle age. Bio-father is allegedly tall, intelligent and stocky of build.

I do have a bit of osteo arthritis in my knees and my wrist has never healed properly but I can still ride my bike, ride a horse and walk about as much as I want. So many of my friends are in right old states. One has MS, another FM, another Rhumatoid Arthritis and can no longer hold a pen, or a full cup of tea so I feel pretty blessed in comparison. I don't feel as if I am falling apart too badly.


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## phil_hg_uk (11 Dec 2014)

Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels - apart from Jaffa Cakes


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## booze and cake (11 Dec 2014)

I'm 42 and am getting increasingly frustrated at the extra time it takes for things to heal. I never seem to have any injuries bad enough to require hospitalisation but I seem to lurch from one niggle to the next. This year has been mostly dodgy achilles, knees, thigh and calf muscle strains. I also note I am beginning to get haunted by old injuries more, now its getting cold I am increasingly feeling my bad left hip that I had from a bike crash about 8 years ago, that seems destined to stay with me into old age. Seems its just managed decline from here on in.

The worst thing about it is I seem to get injuries for doing nothing in particular. I did some DIY work for a friend and somewhere along the course of the week managed to do my left knee in but I dont even know how, and its only just getting back to feeling back to normal and this was nearly 3 months ago! One of my school friends has been off work for 3 weeks for slipping a disk, he pretended at first it was due to some big rock and roll lifestyle type macho thing but it turns out he did it feeding his cat, Keith Moon he aint.

Luckily my eyes still work but every day after 40 without glasses seems like I'm on borrowed time, and with my track record of breaking sunglasses I'm not sure my bank account is ready for a monthly glasses direct debits. The mind is still young but the host body is in decline, hopefully in another 20-30 years I'll be able to buy a new host body on ebay.


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## Joshua Plumtree (11 Dec 2014)

At 54, I'm fitter, stronger and faster than I've ever been. 

Mind you, I was pretty sh*te when I was younger!


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## fossyant (11 Dec 2014)

Fitness wise, I'm pretty good again after getting back to 5 days a week commuting over 7 years ago. Since then I've had two RTA's, and one took a while to get fixed, but the latest busted ribs aren't too bad (only 2 weeks off ish). For my age (nearly 45) the ability to get up and get on is better than most folk half our age (ride your bikes folks). My tolleration of daily commutes is far better than when I was in my 20's - it's not an issue. The leg pain, lactic acid pain - none - in my 20's was a killer. 

My shoulder was a mare from my RTA 5 years ago, and too much GP messing meant it went on too long. My recent 'gentlemans' issue has proved that my old GP wouldn't spend money on patients.. New GP, you need fixing ! I won't get fixed, but my GP will get me back to 'normal'.


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## SatNavSaysStraightOn (11 Dec 2014)

potsy said:


> Or nearly the Kate Moss quote
> 
> Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels


Now that sounds more interesting


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## Mrs M (11 Dec 2014)

50 Is the new 30!!
If you feel good, just go for it, who gives a poop?!!!


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## screenman (11 Dec 2014)

Mrs M said:


> 50 Is the new 30!!
> If you feel good, just go for it, who gives a poop?!!!



I know what you are saying and I felt the same when I was a bit lardy, but now I realise thin is way better and I was just kidding myself.


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## Licramite (11 Dec 2014)

winjim said:


> View attachment 73980
> 
> I feel well but cuts and bruises are taking a long time to mend. I gashed my calf on the chainring back in April and it still hasn't fully healed. I'm a fortnight shy of 37.


Nice tiger stripes


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## Mrs M (11 Dec 2014)

screenman said:


> I know what you are saying and I felt the same when I was a bit lardy, but now I realise thin is way better and I was just kidding myself.


Yep, I am a fat bird, need to sort my life out 
Had 2 major back ops, just get on with it!!
Over the next12 months intend to
Sort,my life out, lose a few pounds
Enjoy life
And save/,skim the housekeeping to affor dth


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## screenman (12 Dec 2014)

Oops! I hope my post did not offend, it was not intended to. Having felt the benefits of weight loss I tend to get a bit enthusiastic about spreading the word on how good it feels.

As for the back op, I have mad problems but never an op, I just cannot even imagine how bad that must be. All I can say is that I have not had the back ache I had every day since I got my new shape.


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## ColinJ (12 Dec 2014)

screenman said:


> Oops! I hope my post did not offend, it was not intended to. Having felt the benefits of weight loss I tend to get a bit enthusiastic about spreading the word on how good it feels.
> 
> As for the back op, I have mad problems but never an op, I just cannot even imagine how bad that must be. All I can say is that I have not had the back ache I had every day since I got my new shape.


I have been feeling an awful lot better since giving up alcohol and losing 60 pounds in weight - the two are not unconnected!

I had been suffering a lot of knee pain, struggling to walk up or down stairs, and to get up from a sitting position - all of that has gone now!

So, I try to encourage people to slim down too but I never forget that I did not manage to do it until my health problems gave me a big wake-up call.


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## phil_hg_uk (12 Dec 2014)

ColinJ said:


> I have been feeling an awful lot better since giving up alcohol and losing 60 pounds in weight - the two are not unconnected!
> 
> I had been suffering a lot of knee pain, struggling to walk up or down stairs, and to get up from a sitting position - all of that has gone now!
> 
> So, I try to encourage people to slim down too but I never forget that I did not manage to do it until my health problems gave me a big wake-up call.



I am running out of things to give up, so far I have given up smoking, alcohol, soft drinks, junk food, ready meals, crisps, biscuits & bread.

I recently had a bladder problem and I have found that giving up coffee and having tea instead and swapping to lactose free milk has sorted that out and I am eating roughly half as much as I was before and as bonus I have gone from 13st 7 to 12st 9 in under 2 months.

I may have to take up some bad habits just so I can have something to give up


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## SatNavSaysStraightOn (12 Dec 2014)

screenman said:


> Oops! I hope my post did not offend, it was not intended to. Having felt the benefits of weight loss I tend to get a bit enthusiastic about spreading the word on how good it feels.
> 
> As for the back op, I have mad problems but never an op, I just cannot even imagine how bad that must be. All I can say is that I have not had the back ache I had every day since I got my new shape.


Took it in the manner it was meant. Light heartedly. 

As for losing weight  I could lose a few more kg, but I'm only 63kg now, or was. I don't mind going down to 60kg, but much lower is too skinny for my frame, so I guess i will have to put up with taking apart


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## screenman (12 Dec 2014)

phil_hg_uk said:


> Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels - apart from Jaffa Cakes



Revolting things, now scones, any scones I do not mind what they are. 30 over 48 hours was the most I ate of them, some with cream and jam, some just cream and some just plain. I never could figure out why I got fat.


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## cyberknight (12 Dec 2014)

Jaffa cakes?
Why do they make the packets so small, i mean you might as well make them the same price as a bar of choccie cus they only last 1 sitting.


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## jefmcg (12 Dec 2014)

cyberknight said:


> Jaffa cakes?
> Why do they make the packets so small, i mean you might as well make them the same price as a bar of choccie cus they only last 1 sitting.


even this?


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## cyberknight (12 Dec 2014)

jefmcg said:


> even this?


ok 2 cups of tea


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## Mrs M (13 Dec 2014)

screenman said:


> Oops! I hope my post did not offend, it was not intended to. Having felt the benefits of weight loss I tend to get a bit enthusiastic about spreading the word on how good it feels.
> 
> As for the back op, I have mad problems but never an op, I just cannot even imagine how bad that must be. All I can say is that I have not had the back ache I had every day since I got my new shape.


Not at all 
I have let myself go a bit diet and excercise wise and need to sort it out before I morph into Verucca from Charlie and the chocolate factory.


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## craigwend (13 Dec 2014)

sing along time ...


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## Mrs M (16 Dec 2014)

Back on the heavy duty painkillers, been doing too much at work and cold weather not helping. Not had a set back like this for a long time.
Have a few days off so hope this will help, really peed off


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## stevey (17 Dec 2014)

Definatly not i am 48 and this is the fittest i have been ever, gave up the booze cut back on the bad foods biscuits,processed foods etc and never felt better.
Although since my accident at the end of june i have put around 9lbs back on but don't feel too bad (longest ride to date 63 miles felt fine) and once i start cycling properly again that will reduce.
So i look forward to the next few years of getting fitter and riding farther


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## cyberknight (17 Dec 2014)

I can tell its damp, joins are aching .


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## SatNavSaysStraightOn (17 Dec 2014)

I am beginning to think that I should have made this a poll at the beginning when I first started this thread 2 years and 1 week ago. I suspect the answer would be yes!


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## vickster (17 Dec 2014)

My knees started to fall apart when I came off my bike aged 37 (started with the left knee, now the right one is part way to being shot), seems to have been one thing after another since them...I am now truly 'orthopaedically challneged'!


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## The Jogger (17 Dec 2014)

Yes


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## Cycleops (17 Dec 2014)

cyberknight said:


> I can tell its damp, joins are aching .


Come and live over here then. Guaranteed reduced joint pain!


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## MrGrumpy (10 Jan 2015)

LOL just spotted this thread or maybe I was just ignoring it and thinking nah I`m over 40 and all is good ! Fact of the matter since I turned 40, all the knocks and ailments I have been saving up for during my years as an invincible youth have finally caught up with me! My lower back for some reason has now a dull aching pain from time time, only appeared this year? The pounds piled on alot more easily, not broke anything since I turned 40 but the effects of a very active life in my 20s and 30s are now in full effect with every creak of my aging body. I`m alot fitter than alot of my peers. Oh and I gave up shift work when i turned 40 which has in turn upped my energy levels and miles cycled so all has not been too bad!


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## iandg (10 Jan 2015)

I found passing 40 was crap and it took me a few years to sort myself out. 50 was much easier and I'm more sorted now. Just need to get your head right and be positive.


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## david k (10 Jan 2015)

SatNavSaysStraightOn said:


> I've been going through that new patient's/new doctor's routine and it is driving me mad.
> 
> My weight & BMI have been dismissed as not applicable thankfully. My BMI came back as borderline overweight for my height but anyone who as met me will tell you I'm not overweight and thankfully as I was standing there in full lycra at the time, the nurse concerned agreed it was nonsense (I'm a size 10-12) - quite refreshing for a change but my blood test results are driving me mad. 1 test leads to another, which leads to another and another...
> 
> ...



On the morning of my 40th birthday most things stopped working


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