# Things they don't tell you about getting old: **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 11, 2014, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-dont-tell-you-about-getting-old/698189 "2014-09-11T15:46:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2014, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-dont-tell-you-about-getting-old/698189/101 "2014-09-15T16:19:11Z")
Got my first gray hair when I was 22, never worried about it since. The ear hair I can keep up with so far, but someday I’ll probably let it go. Joint pains I’ve been able to attribute to a cold climate, so we’re headed to Florida someday soon. Other than that, it’s occasionally realizing “I can’t be that fucking old already - I was a teenager just yesterday”. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2014, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-dont-tell-you-about-getting-old/698189/102 "2014-09-15T18:11:08Z")
I’m 60, but most of the stuff that people have mentioned in this thread haven’t happened to me. No ear hair (thank goodness!), but OTOH there seems to be more ear _wax_ to gunk up my washcloth than there ever used to be. And having an enlarged prostate means it takes longer to take a piss than it used to. Still, those things are pretty small potatoes. My beard is almost completely gray, and the hair on my head is about 50% there. Ask me if I care. I creak a bit more than I used to when I get off the floor. But that seems to have less to do with age than with having a young child. I’ve probably gotten up and down off the floor in the past five and a half years than in the previous 15. That’s what happens when you adopt a 1.5 year old kid at the age of 55. But other than that, parenthood’s been great, and the age factor hasn’t been a thing. Does amuse me when I’m older than some of my son’s friends’ grandparents, though. 🙂 Oh yeah, getting those over-55 and over-60 discounts when I don’t feel anywhere close to that age is really kinda neat. ---
**Author:** ![Lucretia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@Lucretia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucretia)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2014, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-dont-tell-you-about-getting-old/698189/103 "2014-09-16T07:05:52Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > I’m only nearing 50 and I already hate all the God damn falling. > I trip and fall at least twice a month and it’s getting harder and harder to get back up. I don’t remember ever falling in my teens and twenties and now I’m on the fucking ground way more than is acceptable. **Zoid** , if you’re only in your 40’s (even late 40’s), you _really_ should not be falling as much as you describe. It might be something to discuss with your doc, and if there’s not problem that he can find, there’s a lot of exercises that target balance. Much better to start them know while you’re relatively young. Falling can be deadly when you get old. ---
**Author:** ![MoonMoon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonmoon/32/2959_2.png) [@MoonMoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoonMoon)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2014, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-dont-tell-you-about-getting-old/698189/104 "2014-09-16T08:28:28Z")
I’m in my mid-forties, and already starting to experience the random aches and pains. Pain is no longer related to doing something…it just _is_. I’ve been going grey (white, actually) since my twenties. I color it, but my stylist and I reckon I’m at least 50% white now. The thing I _wasnt_ prepared for was everything else going white. White eyelashes that grow in as wiry and twisty as the hair on my head and poke me in the eye are a pain in my ass. And the single random thick black wiry hair that’s always grown under my chin (at an apparent rate of a centimeter an hour, because one day it’s not there, the next it’s egregious) is now snow white. I guess it’s less easily spotted by others now, at least. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2014, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-dont-tell-you-about-getting-old/698189/105 "2014-09-16T14:01:01Z")
Apparently when you get old, [video games stop being fun.](http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-ways-to-tell-youre-getting-too-old-video-games/) ☹ ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2014, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-dont-tell-you-about-getting-old/698189/106 "2014-09-16T16:19:01Z")
And then in addition to plantar fasciitis, you’ll wake up one morning with a big painful knot under the arch of your foot, not having done anything physical out of the ordinary to cause it. You’ll consult Dr. Google while waiting for your doctor’s office to open, and the page which describes an [ailment](http://www.foothealthfacts.org/footankleinfo/plantar_fibroma.htm) which sounds exactly like it essentially says that not a lot can be done about it. Like happened to me this morning. Seeing the doctor this afternoon - like he can do anything. ---
**Author:** ![mage-girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@mage-girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mage-girl)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2014, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-dont-tell-you-about-getting-old/698189/107 "2014-09-17T00:51:07Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Apparently when you get old, [video games stop being fun.](http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-ways-to-tell-youre-getting-too-old-video-games/) ☹ Boo! ☹ They do have a point though. Up into my late 20s I had a good amount of patience with video games (I play mostly RPGs). If something was hard, I took the time to work it out. I seemed to have a lot of time back then. 😛 Then I hit Final Fantasy 8 and started to struggle. Drawing magic? Junctioning? Guardian Forces? Holy crap! I was the only one of my friends to actually finish the game, and I did it mostly out of pure stubbornness. Nowadays I buy the strategy guide as soon as I buy the game, if at all possible. Sometimes that isn’t even enough. I can’t even tell you how many games I quit part-way through. Still, they keep sucking me back in. Damn you, Pokemon! :shakes fist: ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2014, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-dont-tell-you-about-getting-old/698189/108 "2014-09-17T05:41:54Z")
Damn, youse guys are making _me_ feel old! The last video game I played was Space Invaders, at the local arcade. ---
**Author:** ![Gymnopithys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@Gymnopithys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gymnopithys)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-dont-tell-you-about-getting-old/698189/109 "2014-09-18T18:50:46Z")
The VOICE, darn it. In the last year I started to sound like an old man and I’m only 87. ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-dont-tell-you-about-getting-old/698189/110 "2014-09-18T18:51:59Z")
Reading all this makes me feel good that I am still 40 years from experiencing these things. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-dont-tell-you-about-getting-old/698189/111 "2014-09-18T20:04:58Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > Damn, youse guys are making _me_ feel old! The last video game I played was Space Invaders, at the local arcade. Luxury! For me it would be PONG. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-dont-tell-you-about-getting-old/698189/112 "2014-09-18T22:04:38Z")
Oh, how we would have been _mesmerized_ by Pong! You know, when I was a lad, “video games” was flipping through 3 channels of black and white snow looking for a picture that resembled something created by a human. ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2014, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-dont-tell-you-about-getting-old/698189/113 "2014-09-19T11:15:51Z")
> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > That one won’t bother me. When I was 18, I was already a world-class sweat-er. (Despite being skinny as a rail.) I’ve been a world-class sweat-er since childhood (hands and feet) but my sweating is getting ridiculous now, especially at night. I wake up in wet, cold sheets all the time. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2014, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-dont-tell-you-about-getting-old/698189/114 "2014-09-19T14:00:39Z")
I forgot to mention that I get a lot more semisolid gunk in my throat these days that necessitates a lot more coughing than I used to have to do. Still pretty minor stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Kansas\_Beekeeper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@Kansas\_Beekeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kansas_Beekeeper)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2014, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-dont-tell-you-about-getting-old/698189/115 "2014-09-19T15:00:54Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > Plantar fasciitis. > > Women complaining about hurting feet is almost a universal background noise. So that when you get old and get plantar fasciitis and the bottoms of your feet hurt horribly all the time and you gripe about it, folks assume you’re still whining about how your high heels annoy you. > > Nuh-uh. PF is way, way worse. And it prevents you from running or even doing much in the way of walking. I’m slowly recovering from plantar fasciitis. At it’s worst, it was surprisingly painful. I mean the kind of pain where going from the parking lot at work (a block and a half) to my desk was almost more than I could do. It pretty much ruined my vacation this year. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2014, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-dont-tell-you-about-getting-old/698189/116 "2014-09-19T19:30:50Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > Male, age 47. > > They never told you how you will end up responsible for everything - your kids are too young to take care of themselves at the same time as your parents are getting too old to take care of themselves. So guess what, you have to do both. While concentrating on your career, because you are now in your peak career years as well. > > Just as you are starting to get tired … Yeah I am starting to think about that too. I I might leave the country before it starts happening! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2014, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-dont-tell-you-about-getting-old/698189/117 "2014-09-19T20:40:24Z")
Pros: New appreciation for rewatching old movies. Then: Crush on Ferris Bueller’s girlfriend. Now: Crush on Ferris Bueller’s mom. ---
**Author:** ![jharvey963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/54ee81/32.png) [@jharvey963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jharvey963)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2014, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-dont-tell-you-about-getting-old/698189/118 "2014-09-23T22:28:26Z")
> [@Lucretia](#): > > **Zoid** , if you’re only in your 40’s (even late 40’s), you _really_ should not be falling as much as you describe. It might be something to discuss with your doc, and if there’s not problem that he can find, there’s a lot of exercises that target balance. Much better to start them know while you’re relatively young. Falling can be deadly when you get old. I second this. When I first read your post, I thought I should reply if no one else did. Falling down is not a good thing. It could point to many other possible issues and it’s ALWAYS better to know now, when you might be able to do something about it, than later, when all that time (when you might have done something about it) is gone. J. p.s. reminds me of a General Aviation saying: “there’s nothing so worthless as altitude above you, or runway behind you”. ---
**Author:** ![Aquadementia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aquadementia/32/555_2.png) [@Aquadementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquadementia)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2014, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-dont-tell-you-about-getting-old/698189/119 "2014-09-23T22:59:14Z")
About the ear hair thing: Billy Crystal DID warn you. If you didn’t know it’s your own fault for not taking a comedian seriously. ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2014, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-dont-tell-you-about-getting-old/698189/120 "2014-09-24T13:53:23Z")
Another thing I’ve thought about…I now need a schedule as much as my kids do. I need to go to sleep on time and wake up at the same time everyday - even on weekends. I need to be able to exercise at least 3 times a week and need to know when X, Y or Z is going to happen. If I don’t, it makes me really unpleasant to be around. I’m not sure how much of this is childrearing-related conditioning or just getting older, but I have to have a regular cadence to life now or it really throws me off. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-dont-tell-you-about-getting-old/698189.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-they-dont-tell-you-about-getting-old/698189.md?page=7)