[VSF] Don'e Assume Symptom is a Routine Sign of Aging

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone...

 

I agree with Ernie the moderator of Voluntary Simplicity First

completely on this... From what I have experienced I know alot of

people simply give up when they are in pain or some sort of something

in their body is not working properly saying, " I am getting older. "

True all of us are getting older if we are fortunate enough, but

through improved diet, exercise/yoga, massage, homeopathy, etc there

is hope. Imagine if we never got the oil in our car changed, nor a

tune up, never cleaned the windshield, never added more windshield

fluid and then said in a resigned voice, oh well the car is getting

older!

 

We treat our cars better than that- why not ourselves?

 

Other comments?

Misty L. Trepke

http:/www..com

 

 

 

COMMENTARY: Don't assume symptom is a routine sign of aging

 

Charlotte Observer

 

31 Jan 2005

 

Nathan Rowman was in his late 80s when he was hospitalized for a

suspected heart problem. Seemingly overnight, Rowman, who had been

running his own business and going to work every day, became so

confused that his children considered putting him in a nursing home.

 

But before that, the family consulted a geriatric specialist who

suspected that the medication given to him in the hospital, and not

any organic brain deterioration, might be causing his confusion. When

the drug was discontinued, Rowman became his old self again, and

after being discharged from the hospital, he returned to work.

 

Many things occur as people age. As Dr. Elaine Amella noted in a

recent issue of The American Journal of Nursing, " Heart muscles

thicken, arteries stiffen, lung tissues diminish, brain and spinal

cord degenerate, kidneys shrink, and bladder muscles weaken. "

 

But -- and this is a big " but " -- the changes occur at different

rates in different organs and in different people. One person's lungs

may function fully while the kidneys fail. One 85-year-old's brain

may fire on all cylinders while another person of the same age cannot

remember anyone or anything.

 

One consequence of these varying changes with age is difficulty in

determining whether an older person has an ailment that requires

diagnosis and treatment or is merely experiencing the gradual

physiological shutdowns associated with growing old. Too often, older

people and their relatives dismiss or ignore early symptoms of what

may very well be a correctable problem, because they wrongly assume

that the changes are to be expected as one grows old.

 

One of the most common correctable problems is drug toxicity. As

people age, body fat is gained at the expense of lean muscle,

resulting in less body fluids to dilute water-soluble drugs and more

fat tissue for storing fat-soluble ones. Loss of body fluids allows

certain drugs to reach toxic levels when given in doses appropriate

for younger adults.

 

At the same time, an older person's kidney and liver function

declines, so drugs are not cleared from the body as quickly. Yet

higher levels of body fat may mean that the usual dose of a drug is

inadequate to treat the problem.

 

Many possible explanations

 

In her report, Amella, an associate dean for research at the Medical

University of South Carolina College of Nursing, describes a host of

possible explanations for changes that commonly occur in older

adults. These are some possibilities:

 

** Change In mental status: This is " a common harbinger of disease,

drug toxicity or psychological trauma in older adults, " she stated. A

deterioration in mental function that occurs over days or weeks is

often a result of a change in medication or the aftermath of

anesthesia.

 

** Falls: A long list of ailments can cause an older person to fall,

among them heart problems, osteoporosis, vertigo, a slowly leaking

blood vessel in the brain, a loss of hearing or vision. A toxic

buildup of a drug is a common cause.

 

** Dizziness: This can be a symptom of a wide range of problems,

including anemia, abnormal heart rhythm, drug toxicity, depression,

infection, ear disease, eye problems, stroke, heart attack, a brain

tumor or simply impacted wax in the ears. It can also result from

drug toxicity.

 

** Diminished appetite: This may be a sign of worsening heart failure

or the beginnings of pneumonia, as well as depression or simply

loneliness.

 

** Delirium: In addition to drug toxicity, delirium can result from

dehydration, low levels of oxygen in the blood, untreated anemia,

nutritional deficiencies, infections and untreated thyroid disease.

 

** Incontinence: The onset of incontinence in older people should

always be investigated. It often has reversible causes, including

urinary tract infections, limited mobility and metabolic

abnormalities.

 

** Pain: An increase in aches is common as people age, and it can

result in a loss of mobility and functioning. Although pain is often

treatable, many older people are reluctant to use pain medicine

because they harbor unjustified fears of addiction. (Misty- Is it

really?!)

 

** Loss of functional ability: A decline in activity can be a

consequence of anemia, thyroid disease, infection, cardiac

insufficiency or a diminished lung capacity.

 

** Depression: Many conditions can lead to depression -- alcohol or

substance abuse and disorders like dementia, stroke, cancer,

arthritis, hip fracture, heart attack, chronic lung disease and

Parkinson's disease.Depression can also result from the loss of a

spouse, functional disability or the unrelenting demands of giving

care to someone.

 

The bottom line? Do not assume that a symptom is a normal sign of

aging. Get it checked out without delay.

 

<http://www.lef.org/news/LefDailyNews.htm?NewsID=1726 & Section=AGING>

http://www.lef.org/news/LefDailyNews.htm?NewsID=1726 & Section=AGING