# You down with OPP? (Old People's Problems) Then post them here **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 13, 2021, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-down-with-opp-old-peoples-problems-then-post-them-here/956002 "2021-12-13T19:20:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-down-with-opp-old-peoples-problems-then-post-them-here/956002/161 "2022-01-18T14:26:11Z")
> [@JaneDoe42](#): > > I’m smoking high test wacky tobaccy all day which can’t really hurt that much. I have also found that this cures most of whatever happens to be ailing me at the time. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-down-with-opp-old-peoples-problems-then-post-them-here/956002/162 "2022-01-18T15:22:53Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > > [@TRC4941](#): > > > > I hate having to get up to pee. Very rarely do I sleep through the night without having to get up. > > For those of you with this issue (and it seems pretty common) when did it begin. I just turned 60 and don’t get up to pee at night. Does that mean I’m spared, or is it just in my not too distant future? I’m a 60 yo female. I have no health issues and have been getting up at least once a night for years. I don’t drink water or other fluids excessively throughout the day either. I’ve asked my doc and she just shrugged. She said that since I don’t have any health issues, it’s just me - how I’m made. 🤷🏽‍♀️ ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-down-with-opp-old-peoples-problems-then-post-them-here/956002/163 "2022-01-18T17:32:21Z")
I think it started in my mid-60s. A whole lot of things changed around then. None of them good. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-down-with-opp-old-peoples-problems-then-post-them-here/956002/164 "2022-01-19T04:51:37Z")
> [@TRC4941](#): > > I’m a 60 yo female. I have no health issues and have been getting up at least once a night for years. I don’t drink water or other fluids excessively throughout the day either. I’ve asked my doc and she just shrugged. She said that since I don’t have any health issues, it’s just me - how I’m made Similar age here. I saw a doctor when I was in my late 20s who asked about nighttime bathroom trips, and suggested that this might mean I had a bladder infection. Supposedly I did, per urine testing, through antibiotics for it really made no difference. Sleep apnea can definitely contribute to nighttime bathroom trips - my theory is that if you’re not as soundly asleep as you ought to be, the awareness of “sorta need to go” can get through to you and wake you enough that you need to go to the bathroom. Since I’m on CPAP, I’ll often go 8+ hours without a single bathroom trip. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-down-with-opp-old-peoples-problems-then-post-them-here/956002/165 "2022-01-19T05:55:37Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > my theory is that if you’re not as soundly asleep as you ought to be, the awareness of “sorta need to go” can get through to you and wake you enough that you need to go to the bathroom. Exactly what I think. Since even good sleep goes in cycles, I now sometimes feel the need during the light sleep part of the cycle. > [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Since I’m on CPAP, I’ll often go 8+ hours without a single bathroom trip. I am a trifle envious of this. My comfort is that I don’t have any problem going back to sleep after a bathroom trip, so I’m still getting a good night’s sleep. ---
**Author:** ![Newtosite](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/newtosite/32/8623_2.png) [@Newtosite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Newtosite)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-down-with-opp-old-peoples-problems-then-post-them-here/956002/166 "2022-01-19T06:14:18Z")
I had never gotten up at night, no matter how many hours I spent in bed until last year when at 69, I started drinking more water in the daytime. It seems to affect me most at night. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-down-with-opp-old-peoples-problems-then-post-them-here/956002/167 "2022-01-19T13:07:36Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Sleep apnea can definitely contribute to nighttime bathroom trips - my theory is that if you’re not as soundly asleep as you ought to be, the awareness of “sorta need to go” can get through to you and wake you enough that you need to go to the bathroom. > > Since I’m on CPAP, I’ll often go 8+ hours without a single bathroom trip. Your experiences mirror mine. Also, I use the nasal cushion part of the headgear longer than I should (being a good, practicing, Cheap-Scottish-Bastard) and waking in the night when it stops blowing enough air is also when I end up making a pee run. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-down-with-opp-old-peoples-problems-then-post-them-here/956002/168 "2022-01-19T15:19:45Z")
OPP: general aches/pains. On Monday I used my gf’s Arctic Cat to plow our lane. It wasn’t really physically exerting, but driving an ATV fast over snow really throws your body around. I felt it Tuesday. Then on Tuesday I plowed our 80 year old neighbors’ driveway that connects to our lane (he had just started shoveling by hand when I came home from work). I feel it today. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-down-with-opp-old-peoples-problems-then-post-them-here/956002/169 "2022-01-19T16:23:29Z")
> [@Newtosite](#): > > when at 69, I started drinking more water in the daytime. > It seems to affect me most at night. One time when I was pregnant, we were out to dinner with friends, before going to see a show. I was THIRSTY and chugged lots of water during dinner. It was never a problem during the show, even though I went to the restroom at every break, I was never desperate. But that night… EVERY HOUR, it seemed. My theory is my body holds on to water until I rest. Driving trips usually have me winding up with ankles and feet which could be mistaken for memory foam mattresses. Used to be, the day after we’d get home, the body would say “time to get rid of it” and I’d be running to the bathroom every 20 minutes for hours. In recent years, that’s “improved”, in that the body doesn’t dump all the excess fluid at once. On the down side, the tempur-pedic feet last 1-2 weeks now. I finally got a good set of compression socks which helped with my last trip. At least the manufacturers of those compression socks have gotten away from “must be fugly” “flesh-colored” (if you’re a plastic mannequin) socks, and they come in amusing colors now. ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-down-with-opp-old-peoples-problems-then-post-them-here/956002/170 "2022-01-19T17:50:37Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > I first experienced gout about 5 years ago. After it was diagnosed, my doc prescribed allopurinol. I started getting the pains two years ago. Along the way, it was diagnosed as gout, osteo arthritis, and something I can’t remember. They finally settled on pseudo-gout, which is apparently a real thing and not “pseudo” at all. During that time, I’d had 4 surgeries and the timing of each flare-up immediately afterward was the clue. I’d had one flare-up not associated with surgery, but when I mentioned bruising my toe, they explained the pseudo variety can be caused by injuring the joint area. I had no idea this existed, but the treatment is the same: Allopurinol. Works great, as far as I can tell. Just don’t drop things on my toe and everything’s fine. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-down-with-opp-old-peoples-problems-then-post-them-here/956002/171 "2022-01-19T18:18:09Z")
I’ve noticed that I have to get up more often nowadays to pee. But every time I do, it’s a legitimate pee, not just an urge to go followed by a few drops. So it doesn’t really bother me as a condition since it seems like I’m operating properly. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-down-with-opp-old-peoples-problems-then-post-them-here/956002/172 "2022-01-19T18:24:56Z")
Re: nighttime peeing. I’m up 3-4 times a night at times, what with diabetes and enlarged prostate. I’ve found that if I take an Aleve (naproxen sodium) at night when the arthritis is acting up, it has a side effect of deadening the urge to urinate. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-down-with-opp-old-peoples-problems-then-post-them-here/956002/173 "2022-01-19T18:56:57Z")
I also have been putting off my first colonoscopy. At this point, I think I could do it, except what about the COVID? And worse than that… My rectum is wrecked. Dr. Google has me believing it’s a fissure. It’s miserable as all hell, and I really don’t want to show it to anyone. I’m giving myself a chance to heal, but if it’s not better by Valentine’s Day I’m going to have to take that asshole to the doctor. 💥 ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-down-with-opp-old-peoples-problems-then-post-them-here/956002/174 "2022-01-19T23:12:07Z")
Might be a fistula, not a fissure. Different treatment than a fissure, but highly fixable. See a doc. A competent primary care doc (there are fewer and fewer of us out there) can do a simple anoscopic exam in the office (generally not too uncomfortable) and if it is a fistula, send you on to a surgeon for a fix. Lacking a competent primary care doc, a general surgeon or GI doc can dx it properly. I see 5 or 6 perirectal fistulas (fistuli? fisutulae? Fistulahahahaha!) a year that were misdiagnosed as fissures or hemmorrhoids. They’re common. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-down-with-opp-old-peoples-problems-then-post-them-here/956002/175 "2022-01-19T23:51:27Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > …fistuli? fisutulae? Fistulahahahaha!.. I love a good ~~operetta~~ operation! 🎶 ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-down-with-opp-old-peoples-problems-then-post-them-here/956002/176 "2022-01-19T23:59:52Z")
Does it answer to Rand Paul? ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2022, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-down-with-opp-old-peoples-problems-then-post-them-here/956002/177 "2022-01-20T00:42:53Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > I also have been putting off my first colonoscopy. At this point, I think I could do it, except what about the COVID? I felt safer from Covid getting the colonoscopy than I do at the supermarket. Everyone knows the risks and is following the strictest protocols. You will not catch Covid from there. > [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > (fistuli? fisutulae? Fistulahahahaha!) You’re having way too much fun with that. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2022, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-down-with-opp-old-peoples-problems-then-post-them-here/956002/178 "2022-01-20T00:55:20Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > > [@TRC4941](#): > > > > I hate having to get up to pee. Very rarely do I sleep through the night without having to get up. > > For those of you with this issue (and it seems pretty common) when did it begin. I just turned 60 and don’t get up to pee at night. Does that mean I’m spared, or is it just in my not too distant future? For me, it started at about 39 or 40, but the reason was unclear. And 20 years later, the clarification that I have been searching for was finally revealed. I have a slightly leaky heart valve. I’ve complained about this minor chest pain for years but until the last time, doctors either ignored me (like they do most complaining females) or the tests didn’t reveal the problem which led them to categorize me as a hypochondriac. My new internal medicine doc actually had enough experience of this to make the person who does echocardiograms search for it until she found it. So my legs swell, and I retain water until I get horizontal at night. The result is getting up at least once a night to head for the head. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2022, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-down-with-opp-old-peoples-problems-then-post-them-here/956002/179 "2022-01-20T01:28:05Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > At some point, turning over in bed became an event requiring planning. “OK, keep the shoulder and hip in line, swing the arm across, and roll…” I basically have 2 sleep positions because of various issues and I turn over a lot. It’s a real goat-rope with a CPAP machine. And I’m always hot or cold so I turn the ceiling fan on and off. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2022, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-down-with-opp-old-peoples-problems-then-post-them-here/956002/180 "2022-01-20T02:08:23Z")
Thanks, @Qadgop_the_Mercotan, I appreciate your advice and will endeavor to talk myself into heeding it…soon. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-down-with-opp-old-peoples-problems-then-post-them-here/956002.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-down-with-opp-old-peoples-problems-then-post-them-here/956002.md?page=10)