How healthy are most people who are 83 years old?

Boo

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Master's Degree in Science, Searching for the Truth Updated Nov 1

How healthy are most people who are 83 years old?

Umm, my average 83 year old patient is not doing well. The diseases of aging are significant once you get past about age 75.

Arthritis is a BIG problem. Many have already had at least one knee and/or hip replaced.

They have TERRIBLE sleep quality. Most will only sleep a couple of hours before waking up.

Male patients have chronic urinary problems and awaken 2,3 4 times a night to urinate.

Female patients become incontinent.

Many are chronically constipated.

Many are obese from overeating from boredom, combined with lack of activity.

Many are depressed and alone. Many live by themselves with infrequent visitors.

Many are hard of hearing, which only adds to the feeling of disconnection from others.

Many have memory difficulties…which only adds to the feeling of disconnection from others.

Many/most are only living on Social Security for their income.

They have what we call “Poly-Pharmacy”. In that, doctors are always adding another medication to their list in order to try to combat the symptoms of growing old. (for which there is no cure)

So a couple of pills for arthritis pain, a couple of pills for sleep, a couple of pills for depression, a couple of pills for high cholesterol, a couple of pills for high blood pressure, a pill for glaucoma, a pill for constipation, a couple of pills for prostate enlargement, a pill for incontinence.

There are a few patients who are still active and doing well…BUT NOBODY has zero of the problems above at age 83.

I’ve heard people say they have no problems, but if I did a few blood tests and a physical exam, I could easily find 4 or 5 significant problems.

But…GOOD ON THEM for the positive attitude.

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How to arrive at age 83 with as few problems as possible:

STAY AT YOUR IDEAL WEIGHT!

Stay active. Walk 10,000 steps a day.

Eat as little sugar/starch as possible.

Keep learning new things. Learn a new language. Learn to play an instrument.

If you snore…get that fixed.

Learn ways to DE-stress yourself. Walking, breathing exercises, Yoga, etc.

Do what it takes to get 8 hours of sleep a night.

Then…after you do all the above….DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT….

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