Longevity with Vitality

rgp said:
Exactly !

I lived the healthy life for 50+ adult years. I ate properly, plenty of veggies , fish as a mainstay, followed by chicken, both baked/grilled. Low fat high protein. Light alcohol consumption, and And I did some sort of regimented exercise most days of the week...about an hour. Mixed it up so as not to get stale/bored.

I had a heart attack at 50, [3 stents] I now also have, severe arthritis, spinal stenosis, pre-diabetic .

Everything my parents had, I have........So please do not preach the "clean" life to me. Without good genetics ......... we have a far less chance of good health late in life..
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Well...OK.
But did you get your flu shot? :p
 

treeguy64 said:
Fixx had been in terrible physical shape before he began jogging. He did not have a regular physician. Autopsy revealed heavily clogged arteries hinting at a poor diet. FWIW, I never read that he carefully watched his diet. In fact, most online articles say that he believed his running enabled him to keep eating junk food.

Yeah, he also had bad genes, granted, as his dad had died of a heart attack at a young age. Still, I believe had he kept up on his internal workings with a checkup every now and then, he might still be around.
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You are right. I forgot about his history with junk food.
 

StarSong said:
More than a few died early, extremely unpleasant deaths because they didn't take their diabetes nearly as seriously as they should have.
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That's what I want to know about. What happened that gave them extremely unpleasant deaths? How did they die? Please tell me exactly what happened. Amputations, kidney failure, cancer, WHAT?
 
Pepper said:
That's what I want to know about. What happened that gave them extremely unpleasant deaths? How did they die? Please tell me exactly what happened. Amputations, kidney failure, cancer, WHAT?
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Amputations, inability to heal, infections, cancers, heart disease. Nasty stuff.

Catlady said:
Longevity depends on, in order of importance (IMO):

1. Genetics
2. Diet
3. Lifestyle
4. Environment
5. Luck

Re #4 note = You can have great genetics, eat the right food, and live a healthy lifestyle, but if you live in a house or town with toxicity or have a job handling toxic materials, you'll die from cancer and other illnesses.
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Where do violence and accidents come into play? Always be aware of your surroundings. Maybe a new #1 :devilish:
 
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Gardenlover said:
Where do violence and accidents come into play? Always be aware of your surroundings. Maybe a new #1 :devilish:
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I would put them under #5 - Luck = being at the wrong place at the wrong time, could also go under #3 lifestyle = taking too many chances, going with the wrong crowd.
 
Gardenlover said:
Aputations inability to heal, infections, cancers, heart disease. Nasty stuff.


Where do violence and accidents come into play? Always be aware of your surroundings. Maybe a new #1 :devilish:
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I've known people who didn't have diabetes who had all of the above. When doctors don't know what caused a problem, they tend to blame whatever illness or condition the patient has on it. They don't like to say "We don't know how you got this" because they want to sound knowledgeable about everything.
If you're the slightest bit overweight, (which almost everybody is by their standards), they'll blame all your complaints on your weight.
Of course, if you are diabetic, it's very easy for the doctor to blame everything on it.

My sister participates in a diabetes research program. One of their topics of research is why many diabetics whose blood sugar is very well controlled have many serious complications while many diabetics with poor blood sugar control have no complications.
 
Pepper said:
That's what I want to know about. What happened that gave them extremely unpleasant deaths? How did they die? Please tell me exactly what happened. Amputations, kidney failure, cancer, WHAT?
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I'm sorry, I misunderstood your question. To begin with, I've seen way more problems from diabetes than most because my father's family has a strong history of this disease. It hit both of my grandparents and several of their siblings, plus numerous aunts, uncles and cousins of first, second and third degree. (My large family mostly remained where they first planted themselves when emigrating from Italy, and were close-knit, so I saw these people on a regular basis.)

My husband's mother and sister both had - and died from - complications of poorly managed diabetes. One from congestive heart failure, one from renal failure.

Diabetes is now popping up with alarming frequency among my cousins and their kids. Some, like their ill-fated parents before them, cheat like the dickens.

Among family and friends with poorly controlled diabetes: None had cancer. Four went blind. Painful neuropathy has been rampant. ALL constantly battled sores that didn't heal and infections (particularly on their feet) that required hospitalizations. Several had amputation after amputation.

Two died of kidney failure, one had been going for dialysis regularly for a couple of years.

Virtually all of these folks bounced in and out of the hospital with extreme regularity. Most eventually needed their toenails clipped by medical personnel to minimize the likelihood of a tiny cut that would morph into a sore and infection.

My BIL, an accomplished attorney and physicist with a double PhD, and a VP at JPL, was still in his early 50s when he had a major heart attack. His cardiologist told him plainly that his heart and arteries were in terrible condition from the ignored diabetes, and if he didn't change his diet and lifestyle immediately another heart attack would take his life. He thought he was smarter than the doctor (and may have been in some areas), didn't follow the advice or make any changes, and died within six months.

Diabetes is ugly, ugly, ugly when it's not controlled well.

p.s. Interestingly enough, my family has had very little cancer, ditto my husband's. It seems that end of our gene pools runs healthy and deep.
 
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StarSong said:
I'm sorry, I misunderstood your question. To begin with, I've seen way more problems from diabetes than most because my father's family has a strong history of this disease. It hit both grandparents and several of their siblings, plus numerous aunts, uncles and cousins of first, second and third degree. (My large family mostly remained where they first planted themselves when emigrating from Italy, and were close-knit, so I saw these people on a regular basis.)

My husband's mother and sister both had - and died from complications of poorly managed diabetes. One from congestive heart failure, one from renal failure.

Diabetes is now popping up with alarming frequency among my cousins and their kids. Some, like their ill-fated parents before them, cheat like the dickens.

Among family and friends with poorly controlled diabetes: None had cancer. Four went blind. Painful neuropathy has been rampant. ALL constantly battled sores that didn't heal and infections (particularly on their feet) that required hospitalizations. Several had amputation after amputation.

Two died of kidney failure, one had been going for dialysis regularly for a couple of years.

Virtually all of these folks bounced in and out of the hospital with extreme regularity. Most eventually needed their toenails clipped by medical personnel to minimize the likelihood of a tiny cut that would morph into a sore and infection.

My BIL, an accomplished attorney and physicist with a double PhD, and a VP at JPL, was still in his early 50s when he had a major heart attack. His cardiologist told him plainly that his heart and arteries were in terrible condition from the ignored diabetes, and if he didn't change his diet and lifestyle immediately another heart attack would take his life. He thought he was smarter than the doctor (and may have been in some areas), didn't follow the advice or make any changes, and died within six months.

Diabetes is ugly, ugly, ugly when it's not controlled well.

p.s. Interestingly enough, my family has had very little cancer, ditto my husband's. It seems that end of our gene pools runs healthy and deep.
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Many of the complications of diabetes (such as strokes, heart attacks & amputations) are side effects & risks of diabetes medications, which are commonly prescribed (look up "Fornier's Gangrene" for one). That's why new warnings are constantly added. And, when those complications occur, the doctor will say, "Well....you're diabetic....diabetes causes those problems."
Personally, I told my doctor I'd rather use insulin than oral medications. She said, "Yeah....you have choose which you want to risk."
 
win231 said:
Many of the complications of diabetes (such as strokes, heart attacks & amputations) are side effects & risks of diabetes medications, which are commonly prescribed (look up "Fornier's Gangrene" for one). That's why new warnings are constantly added. And, when those complications occur, the doctor will say, "Well....you're diabetic....diabetes causes those problems."
Personally, I told my doctor I'd rather use insulin than oral medications. She said, "Yeah....you have choose which you want to risk."
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Maybe so, but frequent "cheating" with pastries, obesity, lack of exercise, and other choices are a huge contributor to these problems.

p.s. Some of the people I cited above were on injected insulin, others on oral meds.
 
win231 said:
Many of the complications of diabetes (such as strokes, heart attacks & amputations) are side effects & risks of diabetes medications, which are commonly prescribed (look up "Fornier's Gangrene" for one). That's why new warnings are constantly added. And, when those complications occur, the doctor will say, "Well....you're diabetic....diabetes causes those problems."
Personally, I told my doctor I'd rather use insulin than oral medications. She said, "Yeah....you have choose which you want to risk."
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My PCP was a firm believer in using older diabetes medications like insulin and metformin that have a long well-studied track record instead of the newer medications often advertised on television and I agree with that approach.

"Better the devil you know than the angel you don't." - Hama Tuma
 
Pepper said:
What happened, if it's not too painful to relate.
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One buddy lost both legs as a result of his diabetes. Another woman friend lost sight in one eye and the other eye is now encountering the same symptoms. My little sister has had diabetes since she was three, well controlled, but is now losing the feeling in her fingers and toes. She is fifty years old.
 
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Aunt Bea said:
My PCP was a firm believer in using older diabetes medications like insulin and metformin that have a long well-studied track record instead of the newer medications often advertised on television and I agree with that approach.

"Better the devil you know than the angel you don't." - Hama Tuma
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Your PCP is better than most. Most doctors will accept big $$$$ perks from drug companies for prescribing new drugs. Drug companies need to recoup their investment before they can profit & the only way they can do that is getting doctors to prescribe.
 

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