Sudden ageing

My face hasn’t changed much in the last few years and my hair is still blonde with a few highlights. What has changed is my weight. Having been 8.5 stone for most of my life which at 5’9” is underweight I’m now 10.5 stone! My diet hasn’t changed but I have been taking steroids for PMR and can’t wait to get off them as I’m sure that’s what’s made me fat. The extra weight and my hunched posture from the pain make me feel and look so much older. Having read previous comments about posture I shall try hard to stand up straight now.

Smiling makes you look younger...it lifts the looser skin on the lower cheeks and that bit under the chin. So I recommend it to make you look younger

You never see much of Captain Toms other daughter or grandchildren, you only see the pushy one and her family

Well I'm 72 and I look quite good. I'm not overweight really. I have lovely thick hair and straight white teeth. Not many wrinkles.
Now for the sad truth. My hair is false, I have alopecia totalis. The teeth are false, all of them. I have contact lenses. So I don't look too bad but unfortunately it's not me, it's someone else!

Yes, and I can't plead lockdown as I've been lucky and had lots of interesting stuff to do. All of a sudden I realised I was walking as if I had arthritis (I haven't!), lines and wrinkles have deepened, vertigo has surfaced, and other little things.

I eat proper food, and take supplements to ensure high levels of good vitamins, but I guess there is no escaping it.

It’s called an age spurt
I do it every 2 years or so ?

Lesley60

You never see much of Captain Toms other daughter or grandchildren, you only see the pushy one and her family

Wrong thread?

I used to have shoulder length hair, which I wore in a bun if I wanted it out of the way. I saw some photos of myself at an official event, and asked myself the classic question - ‘I wonder who that old lady is?’, seeing a short, fat ‘granny’ with her long grey hair scraped back into a severe style.

I do nothing to my face (anti-wrinkle cream, etc) but I do get my hair coloured and styled regularly nowadays!

I always prided myself on looking and feeling years younger than my 75 years, but this last six months it all seems to have changed !!!!!!! I made the mistake of going to the doctors when I was invited in for an “elderly medical”. It seems to have found all sorts of medical problems I was not aware of and suddenly made me feel “old”. Wish I had never had the medical. Summer is approaching however and I am sure my low mood will disappear once it arrives ??????

@Pinkcosmos, Exactly the same. 65 this year. Last 2 years have been really ageing.
Also have had two more grandchildren in last 2 years whereas the other 4 are all between 9 and 11.
I find it much more tiring with these two, than 10 years ago.
Also my schools have said no more supply teaching for them so I really am retired now as well. ( Always thought I would be the one making that decision but Covid put paid to that)
Except , of course, for all the family childcare.
I used to be on my feet all day at school and now I tend to sit a lot at my hobbies. Just feel old !

I blame Covid and the lockdown for ageing suddenly. I’ve lost my mojo, no longer excited at the prospect of holidays, far too much trouble. Physically I’ve always looked younger but now I’m not so sure, the lines have multiplied!

Take a deep breath like the Marc Jacobs ad - we are PERFECT !

I look older when I feel blue .
I certainly slop about wearing very casual clothes .
My weight gain depresses me .

Today, I've done brand new make up and I've souped up my skin cream .
I was told that I look 20 years younger !
I've put on bid on a frock on ebay .
Fingers crossed .
Watching Sky Arts and I'm planning a painting ...

Try a new look .
Wear a bright colour .
Do something fun !
You'll look younger !

Yes - I’ve noticed that what happens to me is around each decade I think I look ok for my age ie 40, 50, 60 but then around 2 years later I seem to age fast. It’s as though my age catches up with me almost overnight.

Lockdown has a lot to answer for. Within three years I have become arthritic and even more overweight. I have definitely aged a lot. Am now arthritic and use a stick and have developed a jaw like a ventriloquists dummy, with those creases from the ends of my lips that go down to my chin.
However I am fighting back. I am once again on the fasting diet , pushing for a hip replacement and doing facial exercises tor the jaw.
Life events can certainly age you swiftly. In my case illness has not helped, but I am well again and back on the makeup.

I have always noticed that a few months after a birthday, I seem to look a little bit older. I'm coming up to another soon!

BlueSky ditto...have always been told by friends/family/colleagues i don't look my age...but have only seen close family and 2 friends in past couple of years so the others won't recognise me now!

So many women have been without estrogen since starting menopause. It’s an important hormone and as we now live considerably longer many of us will feel the effects of its absence. I was ageing quickly and had many many aches pains etc . It was like a lease of new life . I know lack of information stops many from considering it which is a great shame as we wouldn’t deny ourselves other hormones such as insulin or thyroid meds. I mention this only as it’s been a game changer for me regarding ageing and wellbeing.

Thanks for bringing this up. I thought it was just me. I have put mine down to constant stress as I’ve contended with pandemic, a non Covid bereavement of a relative aged 48 within a week of diagnosis and a very ill Daughter who had parathyroid issues which weren’t treated in a timely manner pre covid and affected her health physically and mentally. I’ve had to resuscitate her three times and fight for her to get surgery but really did not realise how much it had aged me

My skin has suddenly gone into a state of collapse. I never had many wrinkles until recently lots have appeared. It's very depressing.
Should I try one of the miracle creams/lotions available at ridiculous prices? Or just let it be?

It’s very comforting to know that many of us feel like this!

I had a rude awakening the other day. From having a misty, vague notion in my mind that I was hovering around 50 something, my renewed driving licence shockingly reminded me of my approaching 70th birthday. Instead of the licence being renewed for ten years as I’d assumed it would be, it was renewed for just one year. I was totally shell shocked and emailed DVLA to complain. Then I realised they were right. Hitting me all at once like that has aged me overnight!

Me too! At 65, I looked OK, could probably have got away with saying I was 60. Now 66, after the sudden death of my husband and two years of Covid stress, I look about 70. The skin on my face has somehow lost all its elasticity, and when I smile there are deep creases. Hair is thinner too, with hairline receding like Queen Elizabeth I. When I catch sight of myself in a shop mirror, I am shocked by how I look like an old lady. As for Zoom calls, bloody hate looking at myself! I have tried all sorts of creams and that hideously expensive collagen drink from Boots, but nothing made any difference.

Yup, caught a look at photo taken by my son, taken from the side - o dear there's no chance of making that silk purse any more. I have just had my eyebrows tattooed on (semi permanent), I promised this to myself years ago when a friend confessed she’d had hers done and I couldn’t tell. Not much hair on one brow and the other practically bald and with failing vision it’s the only answer. (I currently look ridiculous, the brows are so dark, am trying to hide them by frowning to get them in line with my glasses, when I meet anyone, keep forgetting and am frightening the horses.)

Yes! I think it’s when the oestrogen finally runs out completely and everything is effected. Interestingly, you can buy it online for a few pounds. Not saying if it’s a good or bad thing. Just that it’s out there.

Yes, definitely! Same weight but you can't fight gravity. Mind you, I was ill a few years ago, could hardly get out of bed or eat for 5 days and I was shocked to see how old I looked when I managed to stagger to the mirror, I must have lost a load of weight that I couldn't afford to lose off my face and neck, a horrid foretaste of things to come if I don't take care.