Falling Apart

I'm 48. I've always been healthy with few complaints. My weight, although about 20 lbs more than the charts, has stayed the same my entire adult life. Diet, no diet,the weight stayed the same. It feels like I turned 48 and, BAM, the body just started falling apart. I am more tired despite napping on occasion. I have aches and pains that are new. Not constant, but new. I've gained weight despite not eating more or exercising less. I feel the body is rebelling.

Did you reach an age where things felt like they were sliding? If so, what did you do? I am open to thoughts, advice and suggestions.

Funny, but sadly true. Many people find age 40 to be "that age", particularly finding their eyesight deteriorates significantly in the year or two after hitting 40.

For me, I've been on a fairly steady decline since about 45, kind of discounting my physical limitations due to my bad knee situation. I steadily gained weight, reaching nearly 300 pounds. For me, going primal was the answer. By cutting the carbs/sugar and trying to maintain a steady physical regimen that is regular and not insanely strenuous was the key. I got started on Primal at age 65, and lost about 15 years and 50-60 lbs in the first year. Now at age 72, I'm more physically capable than I was at age 55.

Sorry to say, I think you will inevitably lose some physical capabilities and the aches n pains will increase as you age. But the "clean living" will delay it all, and hopefully you can stay on that very slightly downward sloping physical plateau for many years. I am fond of saying, getting old is tough duty but it beats the heck out of the alternative.

Ontario, I suggest you rule out thyroid (TSH, free T4, free T3) and/or female hormone issues. Your symptoms sound like mine at 44. I found out I had thyroid disease then. Two years later my female hormones were undetectable.

Yes, I hit my downward spiral probably about late 40's after having had a hysterectomy at 45 and then going off of estrogen about 50. I did manage to get a grip on it my year of w30, but I had to be quite diligent in what I ate (I did not track) and I walked - a lot.

Right now I'm struggling to find that place again. Partly for weight and partly for aches/pains. When I'm spot on with diet, everything feels better.

As they say, getting older isn't for sissy's.

I was probably 45ish when I started having issues. I attributed much of it to the stress of going back for my 1st doctorate. I lost some weight between the two degrees and managed to keep it off during the 2nd doctorate, but it was hard.

marcadav wrote:Ontario, I suggest you rule out thyroid (TSH, free T4, free T3) and/or female hormone issues. Your symptoms sound like mine at 44. I found out I had thyroid disease then. Two years later my female hormones were undetectable.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), every time I have had my thyroid checked I am pretty much at a perfect level. Yes, that would only be TSH but in Canada (read: crappy "free" sick care system) you can not get a doctor to give you a T4/T3 test if your TSH comes back within normal range. In Canada the normal TSH range is 0.4 - 4.50 mIU/L. Mine is 0.47. So, as you can see, I am not anywhere near the top of that chart! But, thanks for the mention. It definitely came to mind for me, as well.

I really want to get my female hormones checked again. Hopefully soon I can do that again. Doctors are "catching up" on more important cases since the COVID shut downs. I am going to call and see if I can get an appointment. I never go to the doctor. I went about a year ago to get all of my blood work checked. That is when I found out that my progesterone was bottomed out or pretty much non-existent. Based on my current symptoms, or lack thereof, I am pretty sure my progesterone is now much better.

Gah! I can see, by many of your replies, that I am not alone or an anomaly in this falling apart thing at 48 years old. Thanks guys, always good to know I'm just getting old!  At least I know I'm in good company.

Sorry Ontario, didn't mean to make you feel bad, but I won't sugar coat it either. The transition time can be rough for some.

No, you’re not alone. I totally agree with Rig D and NM about adjusting the less proficient body processes with cleaner specific nutrition.
In my case, hormones tanked at around 50. Boy, did that have a pretty bad impact on my quality of life. That has been addressed and now it’s rarely on my blah meter. At this stage, I’m realizing first hand, bodies just don’t work efficiently and all the damage of youthful free choices, some not so good choices, will start to show.

Currently, I’m, facing some health concerns around metabolic syndrome (and some lousy chronic stress) that’s probably at the root of a lot of my symptoms. But, I, also, remember what it was like when I committed to no processed food, sugar, removed trigger foods and cooked everything at home. It was cool seeing the results of my food experiments in terms of mental clarity, energy and my resilience increased for handling stress. So there is good news for my current issue: Always room for improvement in my habits which gives me hope for a better life experience whatever stage or decade I’m in. :]

Maybe it’s all the podcasts I listen to, but I my final thought, Ontario, in terms of the body throwing up check engine lights is that our bodies are designed to repair themselves. I believe once we understand what’s missing, presently, we can do a lot to give it the supplies to do just that. Just as important is to find and take away the things that are hampering the system. That’s what keeps giving me hope as the years gather.

Ontario - this came up due to the new reply and I have a suggestion for you. I'm deeply immersed in Dr. Amy Myers "Thyroid Connection" due to my numbers being concerning. I had some time to read while away, and I had gone back to read part of this thread to refresh.

You Thyroid number jumped out at me as it speaks of possible Hyperthyroidl. She lists possible symptoms as:

you often feel warm or have increased perspiration
you feel anxious, wired, have mood swings
you struggle with insomnia
you might develop panic attacks
your heart races and you can develop palpitations
you suffer from loose stools or diarrhea
you can develop tremors
you lose weight without trying
you might develop muscle weakness
you eyes might seem to bulge out of their sockets
you may see a goner in you neck or experience neck swelling
you may have irregular periods or infertility
you may have a rash or thickening of skin on the front of your shins
you hair may be falling out
you may suffer from chronic urticaria or hives

you can also have symptoms from the hypo list too:

you often feel cold and might not sweat
you can become constipated
you gin weight or cannot lose weight
you develop brain fog: memory lapses, difficulty concentrating
you can feel listless and unmotivated
you struggle with fatigue
you sleep far more than usual
you might become depressed or have mood swings
your hair falls out
your skin feels lifeless and ry
you suffer from hormone irregularities
you have been diagnosed with infertility or have had miscarriages
you feel under par, off, just not yourself
you have a slow hearbeat
you have been diagnoses with high cholesterol

Pages 20/21 Dr Amy Myers "Thyroid Connection"

So in her book she talks about how your thyroid being off can mess up your other hormones. And what stuck out to me was the tremors, weakness, listlessness. Things that also fall under MS.

If you can get a complete thyroid panel
TSH
Free T4
Free T3
Reverse T3
TPO - thyroid peroxidase antibody
TgAb - thyroglobulin antibody

I would suggest reading her book. She recommends starting with diet, and guess what, her rec's are very similar to Wahl's. No grains, no dairy, no nightshades for the first month, no eggs, sugar, caffeine etc. Not sure where your own diet falls within these two, but something to definitely consider. You might also want to read her book, or at least delve into her website.

Ontario, NM makes a good point. Your TSH is close to the lower end of the normal range. While .47 is in the normal range of your lab, it might be too low for your body, thus the symptoms you are having.

Given your TSH result and your symptoms I would push for the complete thyroid panel NM listed. I would tell the doctor that you want to rule out any and all possibilities as to the cause of your symptoms. Blood tests should be more cost effective than an MRI.

Thank NM. I will have to look into her. I had not heard of her before.

I will have to push very hard to get a thyroid test. I will try and see what comes. Our system is so screwed up sometimes. But your list is very interesting.

I hope it can help. At least you know there could be other causes.

Even here, trying to get a complete Thyroid panel as mentioned is like pulling teeth, esp if your TSH comes back "within normal limits". Which it turns out, when they decided to make that range, it included those who had thyroid disfunction.

My doctor now runs any test I asked for. It took her going to a conference where everyone, except her, seemed to know about the topic. All she knew was, marcadav had been trying to tell her about the topic for a long time. That topic was the full thyroid panel, with Reverse T3 being the main focus.

I was taught free T4 and TSH.

I hope your Dr will listen and you can get the blood work. Might be nothing, or it might be something, but worth exploring.