The problems of growing old :(

[ColinJ]

Great to hear @MontyVeda but sadly not always the case.

True... My parents lived to their mid-80s. From 70 to 80 was poor for them and beyond 80 was worse than I would want to put up with!

I'm hoping that I can get to 80 still riding my bike; anything beyond that would be a great bonus.

If I start to forget who my loved ones are or become permanently bedridden then I would probably not want to live much beyond that point.

 

[Slick]

I was born in 1950 and tend not to believe in everything the bible says.

Why is the decade of your birth significant?

 

[ColinJ]

Why is the decade of your birth significant?

1950 plus 'three score years and ten' = now. If he believed the bible then he could be popping his clogs very soon!

 

[StuAff]

Getting old isn't the problem. It's when you stop getting old that's the problem.

 

[Slick]

1950 plus 'three score years and ten' = now. If he believed the bible then he could be popping his clogs very soon!

Ah, never even counted.

Sorry @Sharky I never trusted that book either.

 

[Rusty Nails]

Youth is wasted on the young.

 

[ColinJ]

Youth is wasted on the young.

In my case, it definitely WAS!

I wouldn't fancy being younger than 35 again but if I could be 35 knowing what I know now, I wouldn't make the mistakes that I did then.

 

[Rusty Nails]

In my case, it definitely WAS!

I wouldn't fancy being younger than 35 again but if I could be 35 knowing what I know now, I wouldn't make the mistakes that I did then.

An old man saw a small kid sitting in the park crying.

When he asked him why he was crying the kid said it was because he couldn't do what the bigger kids were doing.

The old man sat next to him and cried as well.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

My father is 96 in a couple of months, he up until 12 months ago was fully mobile & looked after himself, he's now admitted defeat & moved in with my sister, but apart from short term memory he's still doing well. My wife's aunt is 95 & she also lives alone, has a few mobility & hearing issues but her brain is still as sharp as a pin.

But I think we are now getting to the point of where as a nation we need to start a discussion about assisted suicide, I know that I do not want to continue living once dementia gets a good hold of me, which I know it will, so I want to be able to lay down some rules that once I reach my own pre agreed threshold then my life ends.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

My father is 96 in a couple of months, he up until 12 months ago was fully mobile & looked after himself, he's now admitted defeat & moved in with my sister, but apart from short term memory he's still doing well. My wife's aunt is 95 & she also lives alone, has a few mobility & hearing issues but her brain is still as sharp as a pin.

But I think we are now getting to the point of where as a nation we need to start a discussion about assisted suicide, I know that I do not want to continue living once dementia gets a good hold of me, which I know it will, so I want to be able to lay down some rules that once I reach my own pre agreed threshold then my life ends.

I'm similar, once physical and mental decline has set in and I'm no longer able to look after myself I don't want my life to continue. My good lady already has some age related mobility issues and its sad to see her like that.

 

[Electric_Andy]

My gran is 96, she's had a really happy life but now has vascular dementia and has been nearly blind for 8 years. Luckily her daughter and DIL, my mum, both look after her on alternate fortnights. But she is failing. She can only really eat and sit down, and sleep. Must be very frustrating but on the flip side she has got to see her 7 great grandchildren and 4 grandchildren grow up. Had she gone into a nursing home i don't think she'd be as bright as she is now.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

I'm similar, once physical and mental decline has set in and I'm no longer able to look after myself I don't want my life to continue. My good lady already has some age related mobility issues and its sad to see her like that.

I watched my mother for the last 4-5 years decline to the point where she didn't know who I was & in the end not know who my father was, it was soul destroying for him, she dies 5 days short of their 60th wedding anniversary.

My gran is 96, she's had a really happy life but now has vascular dementia and has been nearly blind for 8 years. Luckily her daughter and DIL, my mum, both look after her on alternate fortnights. But she is failing. She can only really eat and sit down, and sleep. Must be very frustrating but on the flip side she has got to see her 7 great grandchildren and 4 grandchildren grow up. Had she gone into a nursing home i don't think she'd be as bright as she is now.

My father was diagnosed with vascular dementia, he is still mobile at the moment, but is slowing down, but being with people is a huge thing, he refused to go to my sisters, but was persuaded after an illness last November, when he first got there he'd virtually lost the ability to play cards & dominoes, within a week it had all returned.

 

[Rusty Nails]

My father is 96 in a couple of months, he up until 12 months ago was fully mobile & looked after himself, he's now admitted defeat & moved in with my sister, but apart from short term memory he's still doing well. My wife's aunt is 95 & she also lives alone, has a few mobility & hearing issues but her brain is still as sharp as a pin.

But I think we are now getting to the point of where as a nation we need to start a discussion about assisted suicide, I know that I do not want to continue living once dementia gets a good hold of me, which I know it will, so I want to be able to lay down some rules that once I reach my own pre agreed threshold then my life ends.

My father died when he was 89 four years ago. He was always active and outgoing until about three years before his death when he became housebound, couldn't walk, and lost the use of his hands. He relied on social services carers most of the time plus me and my sister for all his needs. He was mentally as alert as ever but hated the way he had to live.

In the last six months of his life he kept asking me to help him kill himself and got quite angry at times that I would not. His condition worsened suddenly and he died within a few weeks of having to go into hospital. It really was a blessing for us all, especially as I could see how unhappy he was and was beginning to wonder whether I could find a way of helping him as I think the only thing that stopped me was the fear of being prosecuted.

I know there are arguments for and against, but I have always been in favour of assisted suicide in terminal or extreme illness cases when the person clearly is in a position to understand what they want, but only if the law changes so that it can be done with the involvement of the state and the family.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

I know there are arguments for and against, but I have always been in favour of assisted suicide in terminal or extreme illness cases when the person clearly is in a position to understand what they want, but only if the law changes so that it can be done with the involvement of the state and the family.

That is the exact discussion that needs to be had

 

[Brandane]

My attitude to life has changed somewhat in the last 2 years since I took a job in a care home. Previously it had never occurred to me that getting old might be problematic, as both my parents died relatively young (my mother from cancer aged 52, father from a heart attack aged 68). All of my father's siblings (6 of them) also died in their 60's or 70's through heart disease (hence one of my reasons for cycling!), so I had never been exposed to the effects of dementia.

My care home experience has taught me that aiming to live past 80 (much younger in many cases) might not be such a good idea. No-one wants to end up spending endless years in a care home, but sadly that is what is happening to increasing numbers of people being kept alive by modern medicine. Once I have lost control of my brain and bodily functions, and with it my dignity, then it's time to go. There is no cure for that, and dragging it out serves no purpose IMHO..