Aging badly unfit or ill?

Thank you for all your supportive and encouraging replies. It is nice to know others are feeling similar. I am going to make a list of all the suggestions and work through them. I will let you know if anything improves!

I have every sympathy with you .
I'm going through a similar phase .
I'm wondering if I'm going to get back to way that I was 18 months ago.
It started with endless chest infections .
Now I'm tired very easily.
I'm asthmatic and wheezy without inhalers .
I have severe hay fever .
Occasional bouts of IBS have become far worse and prevent my going out .
My old injuries-neck,back and knee cause me a great deal of pain .
It took me over two weeks to get a prescription-trips down to the pharmacy phone calls and incredible rudeness from the receptionist who actually made fun of the way that I speak .
A final visit to the surgery and having almost burst into tears two lovely ladies finally got me a
new prescription and were appalled at what had happened .
I've made a verbal complaint .
If I make a written one -what would be the point ?
A meaningless apology from the practise manager ?
I'm looking at another surgery near my house -a close friend has recommended it .

Welcome to the club Newage18. I seem to be falling apart at the seams and so do most of my girlfriends (can I still call them that at my age)? Like you I lack energy and I seem to nod off at the drop of a hat. However, almost a year ago a routine blood test showed that my parathyroid levels were high and I was referred to Endocrinology at the hospital. I waited a year and then saw a consultant who said that my parathyroid glands (little glands attached to the thyroid) are not working together properly and I may have to have one or more removed. I am awaiting scans and I have an appointment with a surgeon soon. On looking this up I discovered that this problem can cause tiredness tick. Diabetes tick weight gain tick frequent urination tick. I wonder, therefore if this could be your problem too. Perhaps a good idea to ask for a blood test.

I do wonder if we expect far too much from ourselves. I see older women with a lot of childcare responsibilities and also working.
I have ended up in a different " place " than expected. Think sandwich generation and boomerang kids. What a combination!

Does anyone else find that, since the pandemic, they don’t go to see a doctor if they’re concerned about something because it’s so difficult now to get an appointment?

Yes. Absolutely.

Old age never gets better, it’s progressive and incurable. There’s so much written about the menopause now but little about old age, despite it affecting everyone still alive.
The loss of strength and stamina is awful. I’ve had to give up so much which I enjoyed because I can’t walk far and am so slow. I’m lucky to have no serious health problems but really envy the David Attenboroughs, still active in late 90s.

I’ve just got home after spending 4 weeks at my partners. I actually feel that I just want to stay in my home from now on. I both look and feel awful. Have got to go to my sons to look after the children occasionally but I’ve told him that it will have to be in the house, I won’t be able to eg take them for a walk. Thank goodness for catchup tv, podcasts, DVD’s and Audible. Feel as if I’ve aged 10 years in the past 12 months.

MayBee70

Does anyone else find that, since the pandemic, they don’t go to see a doctor if they’re concerned about something because it’s so difficult now to get an appointment?

Yes, absolutely! I've never been the same since I had Covid, but trying to get a doctor's appointment here is harder than finding a needle in a haystack! You can't simply book a routine appointment, you have to phone up on the day and hope to get through to speak to someone, then the doctor will phone you back to decide if you need to be seen as an 'emergency'. I feel like I've got a list of symptoms as long as my arm, but nothing which could be classed as an emergency - so how do I get to see a doctor?

ViceVersa
It’s the same at our surgery, you have to phone at 8AM and usually a recording tells you that you are No 30 in the queue. If you have the patience to hold on, if you are lucky, you are booked in for a phone call from the duty doctor at sometime during the day, which means you have to wait in all day. The doctor who calls you is always a locum who hasn’t read your notes so has no idea what your health record is. On the surgery website it says that the doctor will only discuss one problem on a call. If you have more than one issue you have to make another phone appointment, by hanging on the phone another day. The fact that if you have two or more issues they could be connected is never considered.

Well, I’m going to ask to see a doctor about my arthritic knee so it’ll be interesting to see how I get on.I’d like to get some blood tests done, too and also I have a problem with acne on my shoulders so I assume that would need two more appointments.