Anyone else had to slow things down?

I've currently got mobility problems and it's soooo frustrating. Housework has more or less had to go by the board and any outing involving stairs and no lift is a no no. My brain is still very active but my body................ I've got a lot of young friends and I really do feel the old granny when we meet up now. I'm trying not to let it get me down.

When my friend went to the GP and told him she was worried because she could no longer do certain things . He was concerned and asked her for an example . "Well I 'm finding it a lot harder to lift the 2x2 slabs in the garden. I can do it but not easily" was her reply. He smiled and asked her how old she was. She was 71 at the time.

When walking with DS I keep asking him to slow down a bit. He tells me he's just getting his own back from when he was a child and had to run to keep up with me

I don't notice the slowing down unless I am with a younger person. We don't see our son and family very often and when we do they seem to rush about like a film on fast-forward. When they leave you can see the dust settle.

Kazziecookie been there, done that and reaped the consequences of not listening to my body. Looking back we should have sold the business while it was a good viable concern as it would have realised more money for our retirement. We did not do that and carried on to our mutual regrets. If you sell up and downsize you will not need a huge mortgage and hopefully no mortgage at all. Timing is everything and if you don't get on with it you will miss the boat and not be able to enjoy a fulfilling retirement. You need to both sit down and decide what you want from the rest of your lives and whether one of you is prepared to carry on alone.
This may sound harsh but I am just trying to give you the benefit of our experience in I the hope that you will do better than we have!

I am getting creaky, achy and tired, especially over the past few months. I still walk regularly but find its getting harder. I still expect to do what i have always done and am constantly surprised when i struggle, but hope this is maybe a blip and my energy will return. .... flying pigs!

I do things at full pelt too and multi task, however I find now that I am getting clumsy and have accidents. I am consciously trying to slow things down a little, not so many tasks in a given time and resting (reading a chapter of my book) between jobs. I am realising that nobody cares if there is dust on the furniture etc but they do appreciate me having time to chat or just be calm

Ah yes. I have learnt I can no longer run up the stairs as my right knee is liable to give way and on one occasion I fell down the stairs. Now I work in the theory that slow and steady wins the race. And yes, I can do something for an hour then I need to sit down.
I think you have to live in a Goldilocks way, so you keep active but do not strain yourself.

If you find that you're really really rushing at things and can't slow down even if you try...and it's getting beyond a joke...you may just want to get checked by the doc-(there are a few things that can get a bit out of balance-that can cause (treatable) medical conditions).

Been slowing down steadily since Minibaggs was born in my mid-forties. I felt the difference bigly between then and when I had her sisters in my mid-twenties. Progressive arthritis since my late teens has assisted the slowing down process too. S'life, innit.

I do things very quickly and walk fast too. Tennis elbow slowed me down for a year and I cannot see to do fiddly things like sewing now. Being curtailed is immensely frustrating and I dread further incursions from time and old age.

My DH has always dashed about. He had a hip replacement beg April which is only just getting better but he still walks as if slightly leaning forward and as if he's in a rush. He won't accept it and thinks we're all just being critical of him! I was always dashing everywhere and since Arthur (arthritis) turned up have to slow down
My big worry this year has been the number of dates/ages I've got wrong of folks' birthdays. . . . .

Please never ignore the message your body is giving you if you take a sudden tumble. It could be a drop in blood pressure that is causing can you to suddenly fall.....indicating that something is going on in your body that is not quite right! Also studies have shown that seniors taking four or more different medications daily (either prescribed or over the counter) heightens the possibility of falling.

Think. Mo Farah, slow and steady wins the race. I know he is fast but he looks very slow.

I also rush about. I still walk fast but have had some falls and am careful where I know the pavement is rough. My hands are very arthritic and simply won't do what I want such as finding change in my purse or sewing.

I think that it is better to do things slowly.I don't find it easy however it is more enjoyable and is like meditation.You will be more likely to fall if you rush about.The pavement is often dangerous.Why rush when all we do is rush towards death?Why not look round as we amble along?Why ignore all our narrow focus blocks out?
I don't think it's all about age.Hands lose muscle if we rarely use them and dishwashers are bad as having your hands move around in hot water is good for arthritis.Same with the rest of our bodies and minds.I have to use a stick and I can''t see well but while I am here I want to see the flowers and not just rush about.Of course, it may depend on your duties and tasks.My mother in law never dwelled on the perils of age like we all do now.She lived to be 104.

I used to walk fast too but like you I had a couple of falls recently which really damaged my knees. I think mine were due to one weak ankle which I broke years ago; it gives way and the fast walking speed propels me forward. I now have to concentrate on walking more slowly and look down to make sure there are no trip hazards.

Bit stiffer than when I was younger although not too long ago fell flat on my face in the middle of a busy pedestrianised town centre, a lovely young
couple (teenagers) dashed over to help me up, nice thing about being older I wasn't at all embarressed, just said "Oh well drunk again" and thanked a slightly bemused couple for helping me up assuring them I was o.k and not really drunk.

I have always been fast with everything until recently. I had quite a bad stroke 4 months ago and couldn't get out bed unaided for a few weeks. But with fantastic help from NHS, I am home again living alone doing things slowly, but coping. I have ridiculous hobbies, ie towing a large caravan round the country which I hope I will achieve by next Spring, even though I have lost all sensation down left side. I won't ever be fast again, but quite happy to get things done, be it very slowly now. Where there is a will there is a way. Thankfully my mind was not affected.

No, it's not just you Oriel. I was always the Duracell bunny in double quick time! Not anymore ... I've also noticed that when cooking I'm not as well organised as I used to be and have things dotted all over the work tops instead of my former methodical approach! Very annoying.

It's all to do with blood pressure as we age.

I wonder if falls are also caused by wearing bifocal or varifocal glasses?
The nice thing about retirement is that we don’t have to tackle all the garden or house chores at any one time.
Too much of any one activity is bad for the lower back.

I'm one of those who has always rushed at life full on. Now I'm seventy, I find I need to take things more steadily. I am trying to come to terms with the fact that things will just have to take a little longer nowadays. Unless of course I want to go base over apex all the time

One of my friends is always rushing and has had three falls in the past two years. I mentioned that she walked twice as fast as anyone else and she said that it was a habit from running her own business.
I'm worried she's going to hurt herself seriously if she dosn't slow down. Her husband gets cross with her rushing as well, even on a "leisurely walk" she's like Roadrunner.
One fall she sprained ankle badly and was on crutches and the last one she hurt her wrist and bruised her knees. She laughs it off but i can tell shes worried why it keeps happening. Some of you have mentioned that maybe the body is not keeping up with the mind. I prefer that explanation as I've been worried about some other things it could be.

My 65 year old body has made it quite plain that I am no longer 20, but my mind is not really interested in processing this information!

Yes!! That's it exactly.