I.m not that old. !!!

This thread reminds me of something a school friend said recently (we’re just 70). She had ‘had a fall’ but preferred to think of it as having fallen over. At what age does falling over become ‘having a fall’?

silverlining48

This hasn’t happened for a while now. Now I am mrs S the patient, my charm is no longer mentioned.

Be thankful you are Mrs S - here we are all referred to by our Christian names, which I find annoying!

My MiL had her tonsils out when she was 55. The consultant's notes said 'Despite her advanced age we think this lady should have this operation'

Anyone over 25 was regarded as an older first time mother in my day ( 70 s) and at 27 I was also in that category. Big capital letters on the front if my file heralding the fact that I was primagravida.
Other new mums in hospital with me were mostly teenagers/ early 20 s so I was older but yes, anyone n their 20 s seems young to me too.

Witzend I was an 'elderly primagravida' at the same age

I was 28 and an elderly primigravida too.

However, 28 seems to be relatively young to be having a first baby now!

mae13

Very often the word "elderly" is automatically coupled with "vulnerable", as if you're so doddery you can't even make a cup of coffee. "Vulnerable" conjures up a monochrome image of someone 70+ stuck in a recliner chair all day alternating between dozing and dribbling!
I loathe the damn word.

What do you mean by:
Vulnerable" conjures up a monochrome image of someone 70+ stuck in a recliner chair all day alternating between dozing and dribbling!

70+? Or is that a typo?
Did you mean 90+?

silverlining48

I used to referred to as this charming lady etc in doctors letters, wondered if it was code for ‘not an axe murderer‘.

That's kind of what I was told. If the consultant uses an adjective like pleasant or charming, it just means they were okay with you. When they write 'I saw this lady in clinic today' with no adjective it means this patient is a pain in the arse.

My late great-grandfather refused to go to the seniors' drop-in centre in his community. He called it the Drop Dead Centre and said it was for old guys. He was 83 at the time

In all seriousness, when I was in graduate school I did some research assistant work for a nursing professor. Her research program focuses on finding ways to create elder-friendly hospitals. One time she and I were talking to another professor, whose research also focuses on older people, and this other professor said she disliked the term "elderly". To her it suggested someone who was frail, and that isn't always the case for older people. She preferred the term "older adult" for someone 65+.

We have one of these signs near us. There is no old people's home nearby so I am not sure why it is there.

We do live in an area that is popular with retirees though.

I prefer seniors to elderly or pensioners. I think they say this in Australia

Why do people assume references to old age always mean "that old", an age above what they are. Presumably they do want to be an age – several ages in fact – above what they are.

Had an appointment earlier this week at a gynaecology department at a hospital I'd only previously visited with broken wrists. Had to ask where gynae was as it's a sprawling place.

Got there but the sign said "Ante-Natal" so I asked the receptionist if I was in the right place. He said yes. In the letter giving me the appointment they'd called the clinic The One-Stop Gynaecology Clinic. Time they changed the sign! 😁

Most of the other people waiting looked to be too old (like me) for ante-natal care so I suspect it was a post-menopausal clinic

Geriatric comes from Greek words for old-age (gēras) and physician (iātros). I don't have a problem with it. I am an old person. Not very old but definitely old and I think it's ageist – as another comment on this thread also suggests – to get up tight/un-chilled about that ☯️ 🙂

Witzend * monica* I had exactly the same experience when having my third child at the elderly age of 28 I nearly fell off the bed when I saw the word elderly I haven’t even thought of myself as elderly yet in my very, very late 70s my friend who is 9 years older than me, asked to see a doctor in case she was developing Alzheimer’s, she wasn’t, just ordinary slowing of an elderly brain, however she was most put out when the doctors write up about her spoke of her being clean and tidy in everyday clothes She was most put out as she’d dressed up for the appointment !!

Spuddy, I was 80 last summer, just before my birthday I developed a fast growing abcess on my bum, that thought antibiotics were growh promoters, so on the second visit my GP sent me straight to my local hospital, who took one look at it and put me on the immediate operation list. Then the search for a bed started and finally I was taken down to a bed in gynacology - where I stayed until discharge after my procedure.

Witzend I was an 'elderly primagravida' at the same age. I lived in a New Town where the average age for a first child barely made it to 20. When my midwife commented on my 'great age' I commented that i thought it was good idea to grow up myself before having a baby. The midwife, response, was she thought that was a very good idea and she wished more people did that.

Some of the comments here could themselves be described as ageist. There are kinder ways of talking about the very old and prob most of us are slowly approaching that state. Why all this resentment?

Letter from cardiologist about Mr C included ‘this pleasant gentleman and his supportive wife’. Suspect it was code for interfering!

This hasn’t happened for a while now. Now I am mrs S the patient, my charm is no longer mentioned.

I used to referred to as this charming lady etc in doctors letters, wondered if it was code for ‘not an axe murderer‘.

i don't like to disillusion anyone, but...
i don't think, this v pleasant lady, is used of anyone under 60.
everyone at work is aware that everything may be read by the subject eventually, and codes are used.

Very often the word "elderly" is automatically coupled with "vulnerable", as if you're so doddery you can't even make a cup of coffee. "Vulnerable" conjures up a monochrome image of someone 70+ stuck in a recliner chair all day alternating between dozing and dribbling!
I loathe the damn word.

Cabbie21

I was really pleased when I read a consultant’s letter to my GP described me as a “ very pleasant lady”, with no mention of the word ‘ elderly’, though of course my date of birth was somewhere in the letter.
This was following a fracture. When I was asked by the clinician ‘“Would you say you are active?”, I replied,” Yes, but it’s all relative”, meaning I lead a normal sort of life without restrictions, as long as it is at my own pace. I don’t go to the gym or do anything other than short walks and housework to keep physically active, but am very active mentally and in the community.
She ticked the box for Active. Surprised but pleased.
Not everyone downgrades us.

I had a consultants letter to my GP a couple of years ago describing me as a “very pleasant lady” - I wondered if it was medical staff code for…..?

I am old but do not feel it and generally ignore the fact. However, I have been known to play the ‘poor old lady ‘ when
it gives me preferential treatment!

When I was working being elderly began at 60.
At the time when I was young, I thought 60 was quite elderly, now I wish I was 60.

When I went to my GP with knee pain, I told him it was preventing me from going on my daily walks. He says “ Well, surely you’re not planning to climb Mount Everest, are you? “ And told me to buy anti-inflammatories - there is a joke there somewhere, but I couldn’t find it at the time.

After my first heart attack at 64, I was classed as a geriatric patient. I wasn't too pleased initially. However, it's only a category and as long as I get the care I require, I don't care!

I find the answer to any suggestion that I may be 'elderly' is either a frosty stare, something akin to Maggie Smith in Downton Abbey, or a flippant 'whatever' as said by those far, far younger than I am.