What I didn't know about old age!

Old Salt

Old Salt

Senior Member
Location
New Brunswick, Canada!
Call me ignorant but I always blithely assumed that older people were not aware of the slow deterioration of their brains! And find to my shock that I am very much aware, and am upset when I see the stupid mistakes I am making on a daily basis! If I don't act single mindedly and with a rigid daily routine, I tend to be lost. When I have to look up Google to make sure I am spelling words right, words I spelled without a thought all my life! If I watch a show and realize half way through that I only watched it a few months ago, I get frustrated and wonder what elsae I am going to lose over the next few years (months)? And there I thought I would go gently into that good night!
 

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Wow. But it sounds like me in many ways. I use spelling aids to spell words I've spelled a gazillion times before and sure, I watch things sometimes that I have recently seen but I'm not panicking about it. I still eat my memory enhancing blueberries everyday, exercise my body and mind, and focus on positives wherever I can find them. Please don't be afraid. Fear will only hurt you. Try to find success stories daily about people who have overcome your exact problem and read them and tell yourself what one person can do another person can do.

Hugs.
 
chic said:
Wow. But it sounds like me in many ways. I use spelling aids to spell words I've spelled a gazillion times before and sure, I watch things sometimes that I have recently seen but I'm not panicking about it. I still eat my memory enhancing blueberries everyday, exercise my body and mind, and focus on positives wherever I can find them. Please don't be afraid. Fear will only hurt you. Try to find success stories daily about people who have overcome your exact problem and read them and tell yourself what one person can do another person can do.

Hugs.
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Thanks for the encouraging words, @chic ! Actually I am not so much afraid but unpleasantly surprised that I would be aware of all those inevitable changes! I always (stupidly) assumed that seniors sort of drifted into this condition without being aware of it!
 

Old Salt said:
Thanks for the encouraging words, @chic ! Actually I am not so much afraid but unpleasantly surprised that I would be aware of all those inevitable changes! I always (stupidly) assumed that seniors sort of drifted into this condition without being aware of it!
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I think we all kind of think that, unless we've been unfortunate enough to see family members struggling with aged conditions..like Alzheimers, PD etc....we do just think we'll get older and slower probably... and a few aches and pains.. but there's a lot that goes along with ageing, that the vast majority of us don't know.. I still don't know and no-one has told me because I don't have ageing family members.. ( altho' my father had PD, but I had little to do with him)... I read as much as I can about it.. and watch out ( not obsessively ).. for the signs that things might need checking..

memory is a good example as you said... words you've always been able to spell you're perhaps having to double check..( not me yet.. except my dodgy keyboard which keeps missing letters makes me look like I can't spell) ... forgetting every day things.. like putting something away and forgetting where..or putting the dinner on and forgetting it...till you can smell burning...

I use my AI round the home to remind me of most things now.. even if I think I'll remember I still set an alarm with google or Alexa... ..and the same with Appointments ahead of time.. if I write an appointment say for the 30th of the month.in a diary I'm likely to forget to look at the diary... sooooo.. what i do is.. I set the alarm for a time I know I'll be home and not asleep.. say for example.. 8pm on the day before my appointment.. when the alarm goes off I immediately look in my appointments diary o see why.. and can then see I have an appointment for 11am the next day....it all helps
 
Gaer said:
Could it be nutritional? This sounds strange, I know, but I notice my brain kinda "kicks in" when I eat "tuna fish"! Must be something my body needs!
Maybe check out "motivational Doc" on U-tube for nutrition help.
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@Gaer: If tuna only wasn't one of two fish I heartily dislike. The other is Cod! Would haddock do for brain food? I also took @chic's advice and took a long neglected bag of blueberries out of my freezer. I am always open to advice, so thanks, Gaer!
 
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Lionā€™s Mane Mushrooms are helpful for cognitive functioning.
https://www.alzdiscovery.org/cognitive-vitality/ratings/lions-mane#:~:text=Lion's%20mane%20(also%20called%20Hericium,but%20the%20studies%20were%20small.

Salmon. Salmon is full of Omega-3, a fatty acid known to be highly beneficial to the brainā€”Omega-3 provides more oxygen to the brain, and allows us to retain new information, while still remembering old information. The best fish to eat for brain health are salmon, tuna and herring.

https://salmonhealth.com/blog/brain-matters-10-foods-that-support-brain-health/
 
PeppermintPatty said:
Lionā€™s Mane Mushrooms are helpful for cognitive functioning.
https://www.alzdiscovery.org/cognitive-vitality/ratings/lions-mane#:~:text=Lion's%20mane%20(also%20called%20Hericium,but%20the%20studies%20were%20small.

Salmon. Salmon is full of Omega-3, a fatty acid known to be highly beneficial to the brainā€”Omega-3 provides more oxygen to the brain, and allows us to retain new information, while still remembering old information. The best fish to eat for brain health are salmon, tuna and herring.

https://salmonhealth.com/blog/brain-matters-10-foods-that-support-brain-health/
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Thanks for the second link, @PeppermintPatty it gave me some valuable information re. brain healthy foods! I already got in touch with my daughter to pick up some of the choices mentioned! I love the ones I picked (skipped the leafy vegetables ;)) and hope to write intelligently after they take effect! :)
 
Old Salt said:
Call me ignorant but I always blithely assumed that older people were not aware of the slow deterioration of their brains! And find to my shock that I am very much aware, and am upset when I see the stupid mistakes I am making on a daily basis! If I don't act single mindedly and with a rigid daily routine, I tend to be lost. When I have to look up Google to make sure I am spelling words right, words I spelled without a thought all my life! If I watch a show and realize half way through that I only watched it a few months ago, I get frustrated and wonder what elsae I am going to lose over the next few years (months)? And there I thought I would go gently into that good night!
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I noticed my "recal" was failing me. I checked in with my family doctor and he suggested Lion's Mane, I take Lion's Mane 4X with Phosphatydil Serine. Those together help your brain to function a lot better. I got the latter one on Amazon for $20, 150 pills! You take 3 along with one of the Lion's Mane. I hope this helps.
 
gruntlabor said:
:) Executive Function measures our motivation, it explains why we get up in the morning, or brush our teeth, go to work, plan a vacation. It slips away as dementia slips in, and we say, 'Why bother?'
Don't allow the fog to roll in. Stay in the game!
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Thanks, @gruntlabor I am okay when it comes to "Executive Function! I get up every day with great anticipation, looking forward to mingling with members of this forum, reading my books, bingeing TV shows (The Rookie at the moment) and playing Diablo II Resurrected! I am having a wonderful time living, especially since I see my older daughter three times a week!

However, I am greatly concerned about my dwindling abilities like memory loss, as well as loss of balance! I have to move very carefully and avoid turning my head too fast! I am still doing great when it comes to "Jeopardy" though! Take me back to the fifties, sixties and seventies and my memory is amazing! :D
 
Old Salt said:
Call me ignorant but I always blithely assumed that older people were not aware of the slow deterioration of their brains! And find to my shock that I am very much aware, and am upset when I see the stupid mistakes I am making on a daily basis! If I don't act single mindedly and with a rigid daily routine, I tend to be lost. When I have to look up Google to make sure I am spelling words right, words I spelled without a thought all my life! If I watch a show and realize half way through that I only watched it a few months ago, I get frustrated and wonder what elsae I am going to lose over the next few years (months)? And there I thought I would go gently into that good night!
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You must be my twin, Salty, how come we've never had few pints of beer together. šŸ˜Š
 
fancicoffee13 said:
I noticed my "recal" was failing me. I checked in with my family doctor and he suggested Lion's Mane, I take Lion's Mane 4X with Phosphatydil Serine. Those together help your brain to function a lot better. I got the latter one on Amazon for $20, 150 pills! You take 3 along with one of the Lion's Mane. I hope this helps.
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Lion's Mane is a mushroom that students often take to help them absorb and remember information quickly but it can have the unwanted side effect of keeping you wired and awake so do your research on this before jumping in. Seniors can benefit more from a good night's sleep that wakefulness. Just be cautious.
 
oldaunt said:
How's the blood pressure? I ask because you said you have a balance problem
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My blood pressure has been amazing. A hundred and twenty-seven over seventy-two! As of two weeks ago! As I said elsewhere it might have something to do with a TIA I experienced over eight years ago. It affected my sense of balance! But I keep thinking surely that must have corrected itself by now?
 
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Old Salt said:
My blood pressure has been amazing. A hundred and twenty-seven over seventy-two! As of two weeks ago! As I said elsewhere it might have something to do with a TIA I experienced over eight years ago. It affected my sense of balance! But I keep thinking surely rhat must have corrected itself by now?
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My hubby had problems with the artery running up his neck that had some blockage, and it caused him to tip over til it was fixed. Could have that checked. It seems to affect his memory some as well
 
Old Salt said:
Call me ignorant but I always blithely assumed that older people were not aware of the slow deterioration of their brains! And find to my shock that I am very much aware, and am upset when I see the stupid mistakes I am making on a daily basis! If I don't act single mindedly and with a rigid daily routine, I tend to be lost. When I have to look up Google to make sure I am spelling words right, words I spelled without a thought all my life! If I watch a show and realize half way through that I only watched it a few months ago, I get frustrated and wonder what elsae I am going to lose over the next few years (months)? And there I thought I would go gently into that good night!
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The bolded part is one we don't talk about much and it's the part that bothers me the most.

I do my housework and plan our meals on a strict routine and that all goes fine. but anything out of routine, anything, stresses me out way more than it should. I'm already dreading Christmas.
 
Old Salt said:
Call me ignorant but I always blithely assumed that older people were not aware of the slow deterioration of their brains! And find to my shock that I am very much aware, and am upset when I see the stupid mistakes I am making on a daily basis! If I don't act single mindedly and with a rigid daily routine, I tend to be lost. When I have to look up Google to make sure I am spelling words right, words I spelled without a thought all my life! If I watch a show and realize half way through that I only watched it a few months ago, I get frustrated and wonder what elsae I am going to lose over the next few years (months)? And there I thought I would go gently into that good night!
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Gordon Bennet as they say in the UK, if nothing else coming on this forum makes me feel young. Spelling, never have been able to spell, my checker does that as I type, free, download it. I am considered old as in PC and Mobile Phone stuff, detest it, have it, and never use it. Churchill if posting might have written, "Never in the world of forum posting have so many got old before their time".
Apart from walking being near impossible, I find very fast cornering on tight bends gives an unpleasant centrifugal effect, so drop to 70 mph these days on corners.
Old-Salt it does not go gently into the night. Put some totty pictures on and cheer up.

 

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