Have my arms shrunk?

Yes toenail maintenance is a problem these days. Lack of flexibility and poor eyesight has meant we are having to admit defeat and visit a chiropodist for the first time.

Could this explain why I've had trouble fastening my bra behind my back recently?

I thought it was just me, and because I've expanded, but found out a friend was also having the same problem.

Thank you Juliet27.

I've always fastened my bra round the front then moved it round. Easy.

Hi - just read your post - we had the same issue but have a super pair of scissors by (don’t know if ones allowed brand names) - the shoe company who’s wooden sandals were in vogue late 60s . They’re the best we’ve ever had- no more problems. Hope it helps.

Oh gosh, I've always had short arms, so they'll probably disappear altogether soon!

I have mixed feelings. The last time I looked at 'my bits' they looked like an old Brillo Pad, so I'd rather not see thanks.

However, not wishing to be 'stoned' by angry people because I am a smelly old woman; I find the only way to 'reach' those parts is on my bidet and I carry a portable one for when I travel.

I look like an M&M Skinny arms and legs and a rotund middle. I can't bend much anymore.

I can just about paint my toenails by yanking my feet up onto my dressing table, taking a deep breath, then not letting it out until one nail has been painted. This is painful and takes forever. So it doesn't happen unless I feel people will vomit at the sight of my feet.

I can't reach my back anymore. So, having been diagnosed with some sort of 'old age wart' my DH has to slather back with Sudocreme after my shower, as my back, and only my back (the only other part I can't reach) has decided to go dry. All of the rest of me is still greasy. So I still get teenage spots.

I could go on.

If it wasn't for the thread on bad language yesterday I would say 'I f...king hate old age'.

On the bright side...…….. Erm... I'll come up with something soon...…. maybe...……. possibly

Soo funny. lol breeze

I swim three times a week, 30 lengths of a 22.5 metre pool. A slow and stately breast stroke. A couple of months ago I decided to mix it up and threw in a few lengths of front crawl and back stroke. My right shoulder has never been the same since. I convinced myself that I had shrunk as I could no longer reach to the top shelf in the kitchen and had trouble closing the boot of the car, until I realized that I couldn't extend my right arm fully. Also struggling to fasten by bra. I'm presuming the unexpected overarm strokes when swimming have strained the shoulder muscles. I read somewhere about using Magnesium Oil to help the muscles relax, so have been massaging that in for a while and although it feels easier, after reading this post I'm now beginning to wonder if my arms really have shrunk.

Sleeves are always too long on me, short arms I suppose so I hope they dont get any shorter.
As for toe nails, its getting more difficult I am quite supple, but my nails are getting thicker and harder to cut.I have thought about a chiropodist, but in this country it costs £60 a time, I dont know what it costs in the UK, but that is a bit steep I think,I will just have to cope a while longer.

Since my knee replacement I find swimming difficult, but I do go now and again and just lie on my back kicking and see how fast I can go. Also do exercises in the water. I did start back at yoga and though I can still kneel if I use a cushion it only for a short time so I stopped going. Now I go to a class run by Age UK and its a mix of yoga, pilates and Tai Chi with no floor work. Suits me. Also cycle.

Cut toenails when you are in the bath. They are softer then.
I have actually got to the stage where I look at the catalogues for aids for living and think they have some products that would be very handy.

I don't think my arms have got shorter, but my spine has, the discs compress and you are supposed to lose half an inch for every decade after 40. As I struggled to top 5', that is not good news. I hate having to ask people to reach me things off the top shelf of the supermarket, my kitchen cupboards were designed for someone about 8" taller, and I have to stand on a child's chair to get books out of the bookcase.

Why can't platform shoes come back into fashion?

I now absolutely know that my arms are getting shorter. I always buy crew neck sweaters from Edinburgh Woolen Mill and today I tried on my usual size, which was fine except that the sleeves came halfway down my hands!! I commented to the assistant that perhaps it was that one abberant sweater, so she sorted out all the others in that size and I tried them all on. They were all the same! Either they are making sweaters for gorillas or I am shrinking!

Just the opposite problem I am afraid. Always had a problem with coat, cardigan etc sleeves too short. Most jumpers look if they should be three quarters. It's not getting any better ??

I'm crying with laughter picturing all these contortions grans achieve due to shrinking arms and swelling middles. Brilliant!

75 last week and still 5'10" I find many sweaters and cardigans are too short in the body but the sleeves come down to my knuckles. So my arms must be shrinkng but not my body.

Thank goodness for this thread! I thought it was just me. The family think it is a huge joke when I have to ask for things to be reached for me. I am 5 ft, son is 6ft 1inch. DIL is 5ft 6inch, so everything is OK for them. In supermarkets I look out for the good looking young men to help me out if I need it. But sleeves have always been too long for me, even when I was a bit taller. I have two sisters with whom I share a taste in clothes except one has long arms and the other is like me, My short armed sister has a tendency to turn up cuffs and forgets to put them back when the garment is returned to long armed sister. Kerfuffle then ensues. I referee.

It's where the saying "get the wrong end of the stick" comes from

When I was measured at the hospital last summer it came to light that I’m now 2.5 inches shorter than I used to be. I was so surprised that I told my gp about it when I next saw him. He sent me for an X-ray and a bone density scan but everything came back ok so I’ve just has to accept that old age is making me shrink. My arms don’t seem to have got any shorter though. They’ve always been on the long side so I hope I don’t end up looking too out of proportion and gorilla-like.

May I be Nanny for a moment and ask everyone tempted to reach high cupboards by standing on a chair to Just Not Do That.

Please buy something purpose built like the little folding single steps or the sturdy things like mini ladders. DIY places have them, as do Aldi and Lidl from time to time. You know it makes sense!

Some of the comments are really funny. I just wish we had a cartoonist who could sketch some of the situations listed here. A book of them would be a best seller.

I've always been 5ft 4 ins I used the weight machine in Boots it said height 5ft 3ins ? Checked at home at yup! I'm shrinking.. wonderful I think not !!

A sponge on a stick, replaceable after each use, is not good as far as saving the planet is concerned but then, the US is not known for adhering to many, if any, concerns about recycling or emissions and the like.

Thanks Nanalex