Aging...Is it kicking anyone else's ass?

[bamademo]

I just turned 51 in Jan. I don't mean to sound conceited but for most of my adult life I've been a pretty woman and I incorporated that into my personality. Now I feel it's inappropriate and as a consequence I'm not sure who I am anymore. It's like being Sybil or Eve, trying to incorporate multiple personalities into one. In computer terms, I can't find the right cumulative service pack to apply.

Is that too cryptic? Does anyone out there know what I mean? I thought by now I would know who I was but apparently you keep going through ch...ch...ch...anges. Do you ever get to the point where you can just go ahhhhhh?

[guitar man]

1. getting older

Hasn't been all that great for me either. I know I have myself to blame for some of it, I lived a bit fast and loose in the '80s and bone breakage from stupid stunts and industrial accidents are sneaking up and taking their toll too. It had turned cold and damp overnight and waking up this morning and getting out of bed was very difficult.

[mike_c]

2. I'm doing the male equivalent of that right now....

I'll be 50 in about 6 weeks, and have a closet filled with clothes that I could wear just a couple of years ago-- seriously-- but no way now. I'm NOT ready to give up, but I'm just beginning to realize that staying fit in my middle age is going to take a bit of concerted work and paying attention to things I never had to pay attention to before.

As for womens' appearance changing, well, I suppose that's something we all have to get used to to some extent. If it helps any, the women I find most attractive now are about my age, give or take a decade :) . It's true-- many of the same things that were personal turn-offs 25 years ago are still unappealing, but 20 year old hotties that I might once have lusted over look like my daughter now. THAT transition took some getting accustomed to! Beauty really is as much a matter of the soul as it is defiance of gravity-- much more so, in fact-- and that's something I'm learning as I go along.

[bamademo]

5. I've been told I don't look my age

I'll be honest, I've had cosmetic surgery but even before that I looked younger than my years. Maybe it's because I used to dance. That really keeps you young not just because of the physical exercise but, I think, because of the endorphins that are released through working out emotional issues through physical exertion and actually identifying with the music you are dancing to. It doesn't even matter if you dance that well. It's the act. It's a primitive urge that a lot of us ignore. I had a good friend that called it "Internal Boogie". I'm losing mine like Austin Powers lost his "Mojo".

[calico1]

3. I will turn 47 in a couple of weeks.

For a few months now I have been suffering with joint stiffness and pain in my left knee. Also some eczema, bloating and weight gain and some other lovely symptoms. I am working with my doctor but I think I have developed some food allergy and wheat seems to be what triggers most of these symptoms. I hate not feeling my best because I have always been healthy, thin and active. I feel like this isn't even my body anymore. It sucks!

[DebJ]

4. my ass seems to be the only part of me NOT getting kicked,lol!

I just turned 49 in December. Eyesight really going fast last few years. Teeth in bad shape. Joints hurt when temperature drops. Eyelines just starting to show. Since I started dying my hair for the first time 3 years ago, I'm afraid to see it if it wasn't died...likely 80% gray now. Can't hear so well sometimes. Lordy, I'll be in horrible shape at 80 if I make it that long.

[TOhioLiberal]

6. I think so...

I'm the youngest so far (42), but my baby, my sweet little boy, turns 18 in about a month. I feel ANCIENT! x(

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

7. I'm a young-looking 42 who probably has the body of a 52-year-old!

No one ever, EVER believes I'm the age I am. I have to produce my driver's license constantly to prove I'm not 28. I'm very depressed that I've gained so much weight (I weighed 112 lbs. at age 18; won't reveal what my weight is now!) I have high cholesterol which is treated with Lipitor, but I still love my junk food and can't eat just anything anymore without gaining an ounce. I fear my vision is starting to go slightly south and that I'll need reading glasses in the next two years. I had RK and PRK in 1996 and have yet to require glasses or contacts, but have had some trouble reading really small print in the past couple of months. The whole scenario is just very depressing!

[Nikia]

8. I think that it would be inappropriate to complain about my aging

Since I am only 27. I think that some young adults go through a thing about my age though where we realize that we aren't teenagers anymore and have feelings about this.

[gizmo1979]

9. I ache in places I didn't know I had

I'm 43 and simple things I took for granted now cause me great pain.It's sad I guess I've lazy and fat.

[Heidi]

72. That made me smile . . .

reminded me of the Leonard Cohen lyric, "I ache in the places where I used to play."

[havocmom]

10. Count me in. Trying to age gracefully, can't do the stuff I used to.

Not much strength, and I was always very strong. Have to use a big channel lock to open jars and it pisses me off.

Have to use different colors in makeup and go understated (never did the total glam thing but manged to turn heads in the day). Skin/hair OK one week they haywire the next and back again...

Joint pain so bad sometimes I just don't wanna keep going. On top of that, where I live now, everybody is sick all the time and I feel like shit; every time I go out, I come down with something.

But emotionally, I am doing probably better than ever. Have come to make peace with myself and the idiots around me. Found the most remarkable man and just throughly enjoy his company. Have the dog I wanted my whole life and found a spiritual contentment which has been terrific. My grown daughter is a joy to me, we really enjoy each others company too. She is proof to me that I have accomplished something decent in this life. Working with one or two youngsters intensely gives me an outlet for energy doing something I feel is really important, even if society doesn't value it.

Too bad the country is so fucked. Looks like it is gonna try real hard to make my 'golden years' more like Custer's Last Stand! Ah well, I guess I always knew I would go out fighting! LOL.

Seriously, the loss of physical strength is the worst. The pain wouldn't be so bad if I could just make it stop long enough at night so I could sleep. The lack of sleep ages us faster, and my heart already has enough problems.

[cookiebird]

11. Kickin' mine flat

I'm a 50-something. The only thing young is my hair--few grey beasts. The rest...oh well. Back hurts, legs hurt, cleaning the house is a drag (music slowly builds) and it hurts the next day.
10 minutes of sloooow stretches in the morning just to get going.
At least this forces me to appreciate what I had to do to get this far.

[marigold20]

21. Hi Cookiebird

I too have very few gray hairs - my brothers have snow white hair. Several of us "oldtimers" were listing our complaints at work recently - one that we all seemed to have was the inability to chew except in one spot. The crowns hurt, teeth are sensitive to everything, but at least we still have most of our own teeth!

[cookiebird]

25. teeth hurt, too

thanks for the howdy. yeah, and then the doggone teeth chip...gum disease....at least my brain keeps active trying to remember what everything is called ;-P

[NoSheep]

60. The teeth, the eyes, the skin, the energy, uggghhhhhh.

I'm loosin' all of it!

[wildmanj]

12. i just turned

makes me want to go dancing-----tangooooooooooo, samba, rumba, cha cha cha-----the very best medicine for aging :bounce:

[Hardrada]

13. O you youngsters!!

I'm 60 and have an aching shoulder other than that and gray hairs (I still have mostly dark hair) I guess I'm all right but there has been an unusually high mortality rate among my closest friends so I have fewer people to share memories of our hilarious and radical times. I am glad DU is available so I don't feel quite so chronologically isolated. I liked the phrase about Golden Years turning into Custer's Last Stand thanks to Shrub & Co.

[Seabiscuit]

32. You're not chronologically isolated. I'll be 60 on May 2.

We must have a lot of similar memories.

[Hardrada]

38. I can actually remember some events in 1946-47!

When my dad (who's still around) was back in college after WWII.

[Seabiscuit]

39. I only remember a few family things from those years

e.g., a fireplace in my parents' first apartment that had logs burning multicolored flames. Stuff like that.

Your dad's still around? Wow! I just got back in touch via e-mail and phone with an old best friend from seventh grade that I had lost touch with since 1971. He's celebrating his 60th b'day 9 days before me, and his dad's celebrating his 90th later in May. His mom's 91.

Both my parents are gone.

[Hardrada]

61. Both my parents are alive.

My mom is even still working as an information person at a museum. My parents married very young in WWII (My Mom was 18, Dad about 20). My grandparents and many great-aunts and uncles lived into their 90's. My grandmother on my Dad's side lived to 95.

[Seabiscuit]

64. Wow. You should enjoy a very long life.

My mom died in the summer of 2002 at 82.5 years. Her aunt is still alive, though and is still traveling the world as she approaches 100, so there may yet be hope for me.

[Hardrada]

67. Hope for us but we'd better ensure longevity

By changing the administration in DC!!

[mcscajun]

14. 53 here. Getting vertical in the morning is now an 'event'

ain't that a bitch?

I take water aerobic classes three times a week, and a swimming lesson once a week. After that My Legs are pretty well Shot for the rest of the day, but I keep at it!

Had most of my thyroid out 5 years ago; hair's gone thin (I have about 1/3 of what I used to have on that score. On the plus side, you can't really see the few grey hairs I have, 'cause my hair's most every color, all natural, and I'm still a "night owl". I can party hearty when the time comes, but the next day, I'm destroyed.

Was never glamorous, not any kind of "man magnet" -- never even wore makeup except on rare and very special occasions, so I don't feel the 'loss of beauty' thing. On the plus side, I don't look my age, even my doctor tells me so.

BUT -- I feel every year of it. When did I stop being 25?

[Bouncy Ball]

15. Well I'm only 34 (and I do honestly consider that young in the

big scheme of things), but if someone isn't looking at me, I can't understand what they are saying. If they are not looking my direction they need to be talking REALLY loudly.

The biggest things I've noticed are:

1. metabolism slowdown (they weren't kidding when they warned me about that years ago, it really does happen)

2. your body kind of shifts around, I noticed. Not quickly. Just---things seem to be different shapes. Can't explain it, but I bet everyone out there mid-30s and up is just nodding.

3. You don't recover from things as quickly. Five years ago I had a HORRIFIC case of food poisoning. Check you into the hospital bad. But besides a sore rib cage, a few days later, I was GOOD to go. A month ago I had another bad case of food poisoning. Not even as bad as the one five years ago, but it took me way longer to get my energy back AND I injured my jaw from dry heaving so much. That would have NEVER happened five years ago.

I love getting older, actually. I just don't love these sometimes alarming things my body is doing.

As far as looks go, I think I look younger than 34. I never laid out in the sun, I always protected my skin and I have a young looking face (kind of baby faced) anyway. I don't care about that, though. I really don't. When I'm all wrinkled, I'll know I've earned every single one. Who cares? Just keep on keeping on.

I plan on being a HUGE trouble maker in the nursing home.

[fudge stripe cookays]

52. I can vouch for the young looking part!

:D

I did the same, and I hope it keeps up! Yay us!
FSC

[all.of.me]

16. i also turned 51 in jan!

when is your birthday? mine is the 14th.

i think aging is great. there is no more monthly emotional roller coaster. that helps a LOT!

i have never felt more with it, and after 30 years of working on myself, that is quite an achievement!

BUT! i will say the changes never end.

my dad passed away when my mother was 89. she moved from independent living to assisted living in her retirement complex on the same day, by freak coincidence, and had her license revoked that week, too. she went through a lot of changes.

six months later she fell down and was put into the nursing home in the complex. they told her she could go back to assisted living if she could get out of her wheelchair and use a walker again. let me tell you ... she practiced on that walker every day for weeks, and finally, after her 90th birthday, she got back into assisted living. she uses a wheelchair now and then, and her room is near the nurse's station. she's also there with the stipulation that she will go back to the nursing home if she cannot be somewhat independent. she will be 92 in june.

no. the changes never end. i never thought i'd see my mother survive so much. we had a pretty charmed life growing up.

[rustydog]

17. I'll turn the big 51 in May..Im going to a new job in 8 days

Moving 150 miles to civilization and starting all over again.
Man, i'm not sure how a rookie is supposed to act.
The last time I job searched was 1979...
I still plan to be irreverent, joking and friendly to all. I want to die acting how I feel, alive and active.

[Tesibria]

18. turning 40 on Thursday...

... this is scaring me <grinning>.

I've been all excited .. coming into my prime ... all that sort of stuff. But this is not making me feel better !!! But -- maybe what it's telling me is that I better live it up this decade -- no???

I FEEL like I'm almost at the place where I can just go "ahhhh" now ... but ... no?

::sigh::

[katinmn]

19. Yeah. I'm 48 and I think about aging a lot

I wonder if the changes are inevitable or if I just eat better and work out more I can slow the process.

I slacked off for just a few short months (not coincidentally after Nov. 2) and everything fell apart! Now I'm fighting like the dickens to firm up my butt and feel comfortable working out (not red faced and gasping for breath).

Today at a bookstore I went to the nutrition and exercise sections --something I have never done before. Uggh.

[libodem]

20. I'm 49

I'm turning 50 kicking and screaming. I look younger, but I feel about 60, some days.

[Hardrada]

30. I feel about 60 too.

60 + a few months actually. O yah, it could be verse den!

[BiggJawn]

22. If pain is TRULY "weakness leaving the body"...

I'm gonna be one STRONG-ASS mutha-fucka some day...

Thank Random Chance for NSAIDS...

BTW, you're probably STILL a pretty woman. True beauty can't be changed by stuff like wrinkles and grey hars.

Me, on the other hand, just keeps getting fatter and balder...

Do your ankles and knees click and pop when you walk?

[bamademo]

34. I don't pop and click

I work out and I used to dance. Can't do those high kicks like I use to any more.

I think my aging is more psychological. My dad is going through a lot and a lot of my friends of died in the last 2 years.

[BiggJawn]

35. That does bring you up short when you read the Obits...

..and say "Hey! I went to school with them!"

[oneighty]

23. Be cool!

I am seventy one in June, maybe.

I still have many words to write and songs to sing.

And so do you.

180

[CanuckAmok]

24. a wee pup of 37 here...

But, yeah.

Since getting divorced in 2004, I've felt I'm in a really awkward age...not quite a kid, not quite a fully-grown adult...

This year I was mistaken for my assistant's dad in a restaurant, which was particularly embarassing because I was trying to make time with the waitress.

I'm getting more disconnected by popular culture. If it wasn't for DU, I wouldn't know who Lindsay Lohan or Fifty Cent are. Not that I need to, but it might be nice to be prepared for casual conversations not involving Gold Bond powder.

And I've always looked very young for my age...until this year. Now it's a bit of a paunch which won't treadmill away, and just too much grey in my beard and hair. And I can see it in my face.

So, yes, aging is starting to kick my ass a bit. Mostly it's just taunting and occasionally shoving me, but I can feel an assault sneaking up...

[brook]

26. About aging...

I met with a 93 old woman today who was smiling, smartly dressed, and vibrant.She didn't look her age at all though she had the wrinkles and the grey hair - her inner-self was what I was seeing, I think. Her husband passed away about 7 months ago. They'd been married 71 years. So she's hardly care-free. She recently had a pacemaker implanted, does absolutely beautiful needlework (with failing eyesight), plays cards 3 -4 days a week with neighbors and does it no matter what kind of sleepless night she's had

I work for an agency similar to Meals on Wheels & she's a client. Every few weeks, she calls and says she's going away for a bit & stop the meals. Today she asked me if I get mad at her for going away. I told her that this isn't a dress rehearsal - go and enjoy! She did a little dance as we walked to the door. She said she loves dancing and this past weekend when her son was visiting, she made him dance with her.

.

I'll be 72 this summer. I was 35 just the other day.Aging can be a drag - but the alternative really sucks.

:toast: Here's looking at you, kid(s).

[CaliforniaPeggy]

27. It is always appropriate to incorporate how you look into your

personality! IMHO. I'm 61 and have always seen my face as pretty. This makes me happy. But of course, aging is taking a toll on me. All I can say is, Better living through chemistry! Thank God for NSAIDS! If I didn't have those, getting up in the AM wouldn't be the only place I have trouble. I exercise and watch what I eat, and wish I'd started being careful many years ago--but I didn't and you can't go back. I want to live well, and long, and I don't mind getting old in order to do it...

[TahitiNut]

31. Fellow 61-er, here. (61.73, actually)

I'm blessed to have never perceived myself as 'handsome' or 'good-looking' in other than that ineffable thing called "character." Ibuprofen is a blessing for sciatica ... and let's me play frisbee golf, hike, bike, swim, and whatever else my heart desires.

Old age isn't for sissies. :evilgrin:

[Historic NY]

28. I'm beginning to think a make over would help.........

aging parts that cause pain, bad back several times over, reading glasses thing, joint aches & stiffness. Lots of old injuries that keep on giving. I'm turning 49 on the 18th....recovering from a busted up leg from a fall in Jan. I still like going out to party but mostly I like quiet places, softer music. I still get my kicks with fast cars.... oh aging it isn't going to stop. My diet went to hell this yr. its beginning to be that Dr. routine, check this check that, lower your cholesterol, diverticulitis that kicks in lately on a regular basis. On the good side I still have all my hair its getting a bit more gray now and I still have my teeth. LOL

My political thinking hasn't changed so thats a plus.

[laugle]

29. Welcome to Menopause

I can relate, I'm 52

[xmas74]

33. 30. I should be in the prime of my life

but I am run down and worn out, more from overworking than anything else. I have no chance to really get out and enjoy myself and I feel that the aging process will catch up w/ me soon if I don't put a stop to my lifestyle.

[Magrittes Pipe]

36. My knees are shot, I put on weight from eating half as much as I used to,

I go to bed early and get up early, I'm cranky and irritable, I'm a decade past my sexual peak, I work 40 hours a week at a loathsome job, I smoke too much and exercise too little.

On the plus side, I can drink the 20-year-old Hedges under the table! :D

[Freebird12004]

37. I'm not done yet!

I'm only 56, an "on the job oops" sent me into retirement 10 years ago. I hibernate in the winter because the cold seems to make everything hurt. I've found Sam-E in very small doses to be a big help. I've also been using essential oils since January of 2003.

Unfortunately I rarely sleep through the night. I consider myself lucky on the nights that I can return to my slumber long enough to catch a total of 6 hours of sleep. Somehow :shrug: I have fibromilgia ...{the somehow is - lack of sleep due to pain}. At this point I should mention that all of my uncles have had multiply by-pass surgery. Yes, I do know how bad lack of sleep is for my heart. On the plus side I don't smoke tobacco or eat ghastly fast foods like French Fries.

Now here's the kicker ... I was beautiful and because both my step-mothers always told me that I was ugly I didn't realize that I had turned into a Swan ... until 3 years ago ... after one side of my face became paralyzed and I went looking for recent snapshots. My appearance has improved since that devastating day on 12/26 when I looked in the mirror and thought that I'd had a stroke. I've recently come to accept that although my face will never be as lovely as it was, it's the inner me that always has been beautiful.

Once I was farsighted { which was great when I was on top of the tuna tower in my boating days} now I wear glasses and hearing-aides. All things considered ... it's not so bad. I can have a peaceful day in the midst of a crowd if I decide to turn the volume down.

I snap and pop when I move ... but I ride a 3 wheeled motorcycle when the weather's warm.

[luvLLB]

40. 47 this year...

I know how you feel."I don't mean to sound conceited but for most of my adult life I've been a pretty woman and I incorporated that into my personality. Now I feel it's inappropriate ..." Im not the "old" 47, I am a "young" 47. My looks opened a lot of doors, and I just have to find out how to be an attractive "older woman" Worked for my mom, should work for me.

[RebelOne]

41. Way, way over 50 and totally falling apart.

Blood pressure and cholestrol sky high. Eyesight getting worse. Hair thinning. Aches and pains that I never had before.

[MissMillie]

42. it's not so much what it's doing to my ass

but jeez, I wish it would leave my breasts alone!

[warrens]

43. Ass, no, knees and ankles yes

Old sports injuries I forgot I suffered are now rearing their ugly heads.

[jswordy]

44. Depends on yer definition of beauty

My wife is 51, and she is more beautiful to me now than she was at 29. And I tell her so. She is so much deeper as a person too, with a patina to her personality that is wonderful. Aged like fine wine, I think.

I love aging, provided that one keeps oneself in shape. To me, there is wisdom in a line or two across the brow, experience in a new crease on the lips, endurance in a gray hair. It is beauty unfolding.

Of course, that is not how our society sees it. If it did, how could they sell you stuff? If you always view yourself through that distorted mirror, comparing against younger people, you will never ever find that placid place of inner peace. Taut skin is the gift of youth, but comes with an untested personality. Wrinkles come with age, but so does the knowledge you can survive those tests.

This may help, too. PARADE or some such mag a few years back did an exhaustive survey of people ages 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, and 70 and above. In the 50ish group, the vast majority spoke of that age period as the best time in their lives, when commtiments to kids and such lessened, they found more finanacial freedom, and they were more secure with themselves. Women frequently find more assertiveness and bloom personally. Men begin to mellow, broaden their interests and lose that hard-charging bullishness.

I loved that survey. It showed that most people do indeed grow deeper and more satisfied as they age.

[Felix Mala]

45. My former neighbor died this week at 48...

Everyone in my office is getting back and knee treatments.

This is only funny if you know the tune from The Sound of Music...

Xanax and Darvon and Valium and Soma
Extasy tranzene Percocet Codeine
Syringes of Morphine
You take with a sting
These are a few of my favorite things….

When my back aches
When my neck's stiff
When my knees hurt bad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don't remember shit....

[kiraboo]

46. Yep. EXACTLY!

And I struggle with it because it does surprise me how much of my self esteem appears to have hinged upon my physical appearance. I have always believed my confidence came from my accomplishments and my native talents. Now at almost 42 things are beginning to slide south and it takes effort not to obsess about it. I try to use my husband as an inspiration because he's ten years older than I am, and although I see his age and the changes the years have brought about, he still looks gorgeous to me. You know, I actually had to make a decision recently about whether or not to wear glasses full-time or just when I really needed them. I decided to wear them always because it bugged me to think I am so vain. Remember "Boys don't make passes at girls who wear glasses"? It's not entirely true. Boys over sixty don't seem to mind them. Sigh. I feel like as beauty fades, the woman becomes obsolete. I'm not saying it's true; I'm saying I FEEL that way!

[MarianJack]

47. I'll Be 50 in June,...

...and I know I'm getting my butt kicked in the hunt for a decent job because of AGE and age alone!

[bmbmd]

48. I fretted about turning fifty for six months.

I woke up early on my birthday, looked at the beautiful woman who has slept nest to me for twenty-seven years, and realized that I'm not dead yet. All in all, I feel better at fifty than I did at forty.

[terrya]

49. Yes. n/t

[fudge stripe cookays]

50. I'm 38 and I have arthritis!

High heels are a thing of the past. I tried wearing some today for the first time in two years, and it was a MISTAKE.

I fucking hate this.
FSC

[Lorien]

59. Got that at 16!

beat ya (not that I wanted too).

[Amfortas]

51. Turning 27 in may.....

I feel I don't have half the energy I had at 20 .... aging sucks...

[Lorien]

53. Are Goldie Hawn, Susan Sarandon, and Sophia Loren not

sexy? One of my best friends is 57, and she's still sexy (her boyfriend is 41). She use to be a fairly well known model, so she too wasn't willing to just let that part of her personality fade away.

I'm turning 40 in 2 weeks, and I was recently carded by a 19 year old. My secret; Cellex-C high potency serum. It's guaranteed to take off ten years (sometimes more) because it reverses sun damage and rebuilds collagen. I don't mean to sound like an advertisement, but the stuff really works.

[paula777]

54. What is cellex-c serum? Where do you get it and how much does it cost?

[Lorien]

55. It's a topical serum

works best with a home mircrodermabrasion kit, I've found. It was developed by a dermatologist who wanted to reverse sun damage to prevent skin cancer, but once it's amazing anti-aging effects were discovered the company who bought the patent got greedy, and instead of making it available to everyone in large bottles, they sell tiny amounts for huge $$$. One vial costs between $55-90 and lasts about two months (use it every other day, at night). Try Froogle for the best price.

[paula777]

57. Cool, thanks for the info!

[Lorien]

58. A before and after photo (from their site):

Left side treated with Cellex-C for eight months-right side untreated.

Me at 38 (I gotta get some more recent pics!)after about 5 years of (occasional) Cellex-C use:

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

73. The rich and famous like Cher are getting injections

As you age, the bone, muscle, and collagen in your face (and the rest of your body) deteriorates. The very old become gaunt and their skin loses fullness. One of the problems is that your pituitary gland stops producing as much growth hormone as when you were young. Growth hormone builds up your body structures, including your skin, collagen, muscle, and bone. Synthetic growth hormone injections can help, but it's very expensive. Exercise, a low-cal diet, and certain amino acids like arginine pyroglutamate can result in a moderate release of natural growth hormone by the pituitary, but it doesn't give the result of synthetic growth hormone injections.

You can't repair that loss of structure in the body with a facelift, because after awhile the skin will just look like a tight drum drawn over bone. Movie stars are getting collagen injected or synthetic substances like Restylane to give their faces that full look of youth. It isn't just a question of nice skin. The young face of a teenage girl, for example, is very full and the skin is tight over that fullness underneath. The problem with injections is that collagen lasts only about 3 months and Restylane only about twice that long, before the body metabolizes it. The better solution, one that is growing in popularity is the injection of fat. The face doesn't look fat as a result, because the fat is injected into the muscle beneath the skin to give a fuller look. The fat can last several years, almost indefinitely, if it's done right and the fat is able to get a blood supply. Dr. Sydney Coleman of New York is the one who invented this technique, called Lipostructure. The problem is that this causes tremendous brusing that can last for weeks before it dies down. And the procedure is expensive because it requires the use of many blunt canula that are inserted through the skin, a process that takes hours. Another, better method is one invented by a French Doctor named Amar, which I believe has improved the way the canula are used. The result is supposedly much less bruising and much lower costs.

[put out]

56. I am currently enjoying an ass-kicking.

I'm soon to be 45, and was an attractive woman. Still am, to some people. Still, when I meet people close to my age, I think, "Well, I don't look that old". Then that quiet voice inside says "yes, you do".

And then there comes the unlovely sting of having a young man walk around you from the back, and seeing his face fall when he realizes he has been admiring the rear view of a woman older than his mother.

So, my advice to young and pretty women, and men too, is this: you better get something good going in your own personal Department of the Interior while you're young. You need to be comfortable in your skin later on, even when it is showing wear.

I think I will save some money for a little medical "had some things done". I could write a hell of an essay on "How I Spent My Summer Vacation".;-)

[trof]

62. I'm 63.5. It ain't kicking my ass.

I just know that the stamina and energy that I had in my 40s and 50s ain't there any more.
That's life.
Grandpa said "After you get to be 60 you're not SUPPOSED to feel good everyday."

You just deal with it and try not to be too much of a pain in the ass about it.

The good part: "I don't want to" is a perfectly good reason.
There are things that Miz t. likes and wants to do that I don't.
She has a plethora of friends that are up for whatever it is.
If it's something that I find boring, now I can just say "No thanks", and that's OK.

I like it.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

63. I'm there with ya in the same state and age...

Kinda sucks, doesn't it?

[TrustingDog]

65. Just when you think you're getting your shit together...

your ass starts falling apart.

Carol Burnette line from some movie (think Liz Taylor was in it too).

heh.
I kinda like being this age.

[bamademo]

66. Thanks for Your Responses

I've stopped being amazed at how much a community of unknown friends can help but on so many levels DU does. Latest Breaking News helps me with school, which at 51 is sorta hard to go back to and GD and the Lounge helps me with my journey through life.

Don't mean to sound corny but there you have it. :-)

[InvisibleTouch]

68. Years ago I got together with a friend...

...whom I'd known since first grade. We were both about 20 at the time - and we found ourselves talking about how old we felt. Not because of any discernible physical symptoms or health problems - but just that we were both very aware that we were no longer the up-and-coming generation. 10 years later, my friend was dead ... and I'm looking back on that conversation and kinda shaking my head....

[Amfortas]

69. eh.... age is just a number!

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

70. There has been progress in anti-aging medicine

beyond just growth hormone. There are experimental drugs now being tested that attack several of the causes of cosmetic aging. One is a chemical compound that breaks the carbon-glucose linkage. I'm no scientist, but it seems that as you age, there are linkages that form between carbon in the body and sugars that trap proteins. This phenomenon is one of the reasons your skin sags as you age. It also is one of the reasons that individuals develop stiff arteries. The same effect occurs among diabetics (diabetes is often described as a speeded-up aging process). There is a new compound that apparently reverses the process of what is called "glycosylation". There are new chemical compounds that attack another theory of aging, that of oxidative stress. It seems that just by breathing, you age. That's because oxygen breaks down in the body and forms rogue electrons that rampage through the body and damage your cells. Over the years, hundreds of millions of these electrons take their toll. This process affects the entire body, including your cosmetic apperance such as the skin. There's a natural substance in the body called Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) that traps these electrons. Unfortunately, it decreases in productivity as you age. You can't ingest synthetically produced SOD because it's destroyed by the digestive system and, even if you inject it and bypass the stomach, it can't penetrate the cells in a synthetic form for some reason. But there are now mimics of SOD that apparently are yielding surprising results in the laboratory, doubling the lives of laboratory rats. And CR or "calorie restriction" also reduces the effects of aging from oxidative stress. But this requires an individual to radically cut down on calories. There is a growing body of evidence, however, that drastically cutting calorie intake slows the aging process. That's because there are other so-called "free radicals" that hurt the cells besides the by-products of oxygen, that come from the very food we eat and the pollution we breathe. And there's the hormonal theory of aging, for which people take synthetic growth hormone. As you age, your pituitary gland produces less natural growth hormone, which results in the loss of muscle tissue, collagen, and other structures. But growth hormone, although generally very safe, is extremely expensive. Hopefully, through the very ambitious human genome project, the exact genes that can turn off the aging process and turn on the age reversal process will soon be found.

[B Calm]

71. 54 years old and the only thing that bothers me

is being bald. I don't know why, hell I have been bald almost my entire life.