When did I get old? Ageism at its best.

edsnana, I used the very same line to a consultant regarding my eyes, with no successful comeback. Many years later I related this tale to 'another' consultant when I was returning with the selfsame problem. He had a look at my docs and said 'Oh yes, that was me'. Ouch!

Errycarr I agree.A supportive GP is like gold dust.
I experienced a lack of sensitivity bordering on the callous from mine not long after my late DH had passed away. I had visited the surgery for a repeat prescription I suffer asthma. This particular GP was on duty and he greeted me with 'Hello how are you ?, sorry for your loss but he had a good innings
How does one follow that.

Upon asking my age and being told '62' (at the time) my doctor remarked ' You don't look it.' Needless to say I was quite happy with his response!

Anyone who feels that their GP is brushing off reasonable queries with "It's your age" instead of attempting to find out whether that is so, or if the symptoms are caused by something else needs to change doctor, quickly.

The same applies if you feel your doctor is being patronizing. How can you feel like confiding health issues to someone whose manner you find offensive?

Last year I decided to have a private health check - mainly to see if they could come up with any suggestions for my legs aching badly at night (never in the day,) They didn’t,
but they did highlight high blood pressure, which got me to go for monitoring with GP and a test showed I wasn’t at risk of Alzheimer’s and best of all I was told that my metabolic age was 15 years lower than my actual age! Made the money spent worthwhile!

Ethelwulf. Terrific ode. Thank you so much.

Ethelwulf, I'm so sorry for your loss. What a lovely poem.. very thought inspiring. Thank you.

Ageing? As the old saying goes, it's better than the alternative. News of yet another old friend's passing yesterday has left me in reflective mood, so I ended up writing this. Hope that you enjoy it and that it perhaps strikes a familiar chord with some.. Ageing

As I’m growing older, I’ve found that in the end,
As I mature and mellow I’ve become my own good friend.
Less critical of who I am, more free to live each day,
In line with things that matter, as old worries fade away,
And I see dear friends who have passed on, and maybe missed their chance,
To exercise full freedom in life’s demanding dance.
To do those things that feed our souls, those chances that are missed,
To write another tick against our lengthy bucket list.
And though I’m quite forgetful, some things are best mislaid,
No need to rake the ashes of mistakes we may have made.
And yes, my heart’s been broken, as some folk have done me wrong
But as I’ve come through I know it’s true, the pain has made me strong,
As a heart that’s never suffered with no bruise or scar to show,
Has missed an opportunity to learn and then to grow.
As I stroll along the Summer sands, in comfy shorts so baggy,
My Speedo days are just a haze, my bum has gone all saggy..
But wrinkles never bother me, I wear each one with pride,
I see them all as laughter lines, and feel so young inside.
My body may be failing and my hair has turned snow white,
And the mirror in the bathroom makes a less than perfect sight,
But I’m privileged to be here, as I’ve travelled a long way,
And as long as I’m around I’ll always try to seize the day,
Binding close to friends and family, to those who are so giving,
To those precious, special people who all make my life worth living..

Sorry guys - I don't know how my message managed to appear three times. I only posted it once

I was at. Preliminary meeting for a local police Independent Advisory Group. Someone suggested we needed someone qho could speak on behalf of the elderly. I asked for a definition and whether I would count at 70. It became apparent that in the eyes of most present elderly equated to 'uneducated, unable to use IT or social media, without a voice etc'. All these things could apply to any age group. It made me think.

Hiya Daisydoo
If a mere male could be allowed to comment may I say - TAKE NO NOTICE.
I run upstairs two at a time, ride a high powered motorbike and, apart from losing a kidney to cancer a few years ago have all of my bits in full working order.
I feel about 25 and I'm 81.
Keep on living for as long as you can and try and enjoy every minute.

Hiya Daisydoo
If a mere male could be allowed to comment may I say - TAKE NO NOTICE.
I run upstairs two at a time, ride a high powered motorbike and, apart from losing a kidney to cancer a few years ago have all of my bits in full working order.
I feel about 25 and I'm 81.
Keep on living for as long as you can and try and enjoy every minute.

Hiya Daisydoo
If a mere male could be allowed to comment may I say - TAKE NO NOTICE.
I run upstairs two at a time, ride a high powered motorbike and, apart from losing a kidney to cancer a few years ago have all of my bits in full working order.
I feel about 25 and I'm 81.
Keep on living for as long as you can and try and enjoy every minute.

A friend of mine who was told that her knee pain was due to her age was quick to point out that her other knee was exactly the same age and not causing her any problems!

Yes M0nica! Treat my problems not tell me it’s what I might expect! But perhaps he googled what to say for your diagnosis.

It isn't acceptable. It is just an excuse to not look for causes. My mother still gets treatment (in Canada) in her 90s and I do wonder if she would get the same here. She is getting botox injections in her arms at the moment. Her problem is that she asked the doctor to write things down for her and he scribbled them down on a small post it note that she couldn't read. Luckily she had taken somewhere with her who she has told that she has trouble remembering so she could tell her afterwards.

I truly like getting old although I balk at the description "Senior Citizen" - tell it like it is: I'm an old woman and not ashamed of it either!

I like to (smugly, I confess) look at all the iPhone addicted teens weaving along the pavements glued to the tiddly-tiny screen in their hands and think "I'd never go back to THAT age if you offered me the Crown Jewels!"

Ah, youth......you can keep it.......

Apparently, according to my doctor, everything that is wrong with me is due to my age. I know that some things are, but that still doesn't mean that there are other things that are not age related. It's getting to the stage that I put off going to the surgery because I feel it's not worth it.
To add insult to injury, the doc. always ends up telling me I don't look my age. (80).

I was told by the Chemist when asking for eye drops that "at your age, we arent allowed to recommend anything for eye problems , you need to see a Doctor" Left the shop deflated!

Very wrong of yr GP to take that view Daisydoo2. I've had a GP say exactly the same to me at a similar age, she was a very young female new GP. I wrote and complained. My sister had exact opposite approach at same surgery from her male mid 30's GP who, when she started off by saying "I know it's probably my age but ....", said 'No, never put symptoms down to your age!". That's how I think we should all be treated.

I regard 'elderly' as being about 15 years older than I am at any given time. Late middle age, that's me

Nelliemags - I'm with you. It is absolutely wrong to be told it's just your age. How does the doctor know? Many people don't go to the doctors until they really feel awful and since there are lots of things that could be suggested to relieve menopause symptoms, I think the doctor was a bit of a dud.

We can't deny being older, but we can fight back when people make assumptions on the basis that we are old. It's the stereotypes that really piss me off. We all need to fight those.

Daisydoo - can I suggest you fight back by changing your doctor and making it clear that you're less than satisfied?

My friend had a back problem and a blood pressure problem and was perpetually put off by her doctor with the it's your age, it's all in your head type remarks. She changed doctors, got proper treatment and is doing much better now.

The only reference my GP has made to my age was 5 years ago when I hit 65 he suggested that when I accompany my husband to his bi-monthly BP and weight check, I ask the nurse to check mine as well. He only sees me once a year when he renews my migraine and asthma prescriptions, and reviews my annual blood test and ECG. He said he doesn't want anything to be missed because although he sees me regularly as a carer, he rarely sees me as a patient. .

I would seek a second opinion if I was you. I query such comments at 75, not 57.
I have this year been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes for which I was told I was 'too old' when I self diagnosed a year before. Already thin, losing weight and feeling dreadful, it was only when I became seriously unwell that a nurse in a clinic I attended recognised what was wrong and sent me for urgent insulin.

I long to be told its 'down to my age' instead of 'down to my weight'. I am always the wrong sort of pateient for treatment, like the 'wrong sort of leaves on the line' when the trains go slow.

When I was younger, it was because I worked too many hours......