Not to want to live past my 80s

I don't either. My OH's grandparents are in their 80s and are absolutely miserable :(

Maybe We should all be told to do living wills held with a solicitor. That would overrule everything.

But that’s not going to be any different if assisted dying is legalised in the UK. People still won’t be able to aford it. People with dementia won’t be cleared.

There isn’t a higher rate of assisted dying in countries where it is legal which clearly indicates that assisted dying isn’t the answer which people seem to think it would be if it became legal.

FWIW I can see why people would want to be helped to die in certain circumstances, but the very fact that the clinics in other countries have the time and space to accommodate foreigners is very clear indication that the locals are not as in favour as the people campaigning for it in other countries.

Actually I was led to believe that Switzerland will soon be changing the law to prevent foreigners going there to end their lives as the locals voted against it as they feel that Switzerland has become like a suicide tourist destination.

diamond, to be fair, they probably cant afford it or their own Doctors wont sign them off to do it, has to be a reason.

a lot of people, such as my own dad, do have ' its gods will' attitude, he would never agree to go anywhere or do what that man did in Australia.
a lot of people would though, we are not allowed a choice in it, thats what i find unfair, but thats just me.

I think that we have idealised assisted dying though.

We talk about how assisted dying should be legalised in this country, how if it were legal we would all shuffle off the earth at a time of our own choosing. And yet in countries where assisted dying is legal this is not routinely happening.

So clearly assisted dying isn’t the answer, no matter how much we think it might be.

pigs, i totally agree, everyone should visit a care home in any part of the country and a few may change their minds about how we treat people with terminal or mental health illness or disease. we should be allowed to do a living will while we still can!

evil, i am planning to try and save up 10k ( i am 53 now and have no intention of living to my late 90s like my own dad) so i have to get saving. it will be more by then i suppose, but its in my plans for the future.
i think it will reverse too, they go on about the obesity crisis and unhealthy lifestyles and so on. things will start to go backwards again maybe.

I'm going to be 70 at the end of this year, I'm not ready to fall off the twig yet as I'm pretty fit, eat very well, as in lot's of all the right things and very few of the wrong things, and keep active. But the idea of getting really old and ill terrifies me.

I wish we had assisted dying in this country. It's far kinder and certainly more humane than forcing people to die slowly and painfully because we have this idea that life at any cost is preferable to death.

I wouldn't force my dog to go on living the way some people are made to live.

Growing up not many people survived past late 60s/70. Women especially looked very old from about 40 and lost teeth etc. This longevity to 90s is relatively new and I think now the retirement age has been raised to 67 it will start to reverse.

I'd be happy to go abroad, Switzerland or wherever else might be a feasible/legal choice depending on what happens between now and then.

evil, making other arrangements where though? clinics abroad are expensive and the rest doesnt bear thinking about really.
my fil said the same to me and it made me think - as much as i wouldnt want to live like it either! they have got us where they want us regarding all this.

My dsis has a degenerative life limiting condition. She’s only 58. It sucks. Both my parents died early, 58 and 63. A lot of it is genetics.

My dad is 83 and in a terrible state, has absolutely no life whatsoever and is in constant pain and a shadow of himself even 10 years ago. It's heartbreaking. It's not a life. I never ever want to be like that.

In fact I don't want to get to a point where I can't live independently. If a time comes when I can't wash and dress myself, get myself to the toilet etc, that would be it, I'd be making other arrangements.

dreary, well said, my old dad is working class and knew how to take care of himself, so did my mum and she had Parkinsons aged 80.
nobody knows whats round the corner, whoever you are or income bracket!

duchy
The truth is if you take care of yourself the majority of ‘age related illnesses’ don’t happen, which is why wealthy people who take their health seriously live longer and better quality lives.
this is such a sweeping statement.
someone can take great care of themselves and still succumb to dementia/stroke/cancer. Being wealthy helps but a lot of it is down to luck/genetics. Think of all the rich and famous people who die youngish. And there are ordinary, dare I say working class, people who live into their 90s.
Age related illnesses are no respecter of the size of your bank balance or how many trips you have made to the gym.

I want to live as long as possible, even if my health isn't 100%
I want to see my children and hopefully grandchildren for as long as I can, this would be what would keep me going.
When I'm 80 my youngest would only be 37

How many people say ' dont let me end up like such and such' ' finish me off' etc and probably mean it too. but we can't, for loads of other reasons. there isnt any answers to any of it.

I read about a 105 year old who went to dignitas as he had just had enough and wanted to die

That said my family seems to have a few that lived well and died pretty fast in their 80s

My 84 year FIL old just complains it’s quite funny

‘I am old . It’s shit . I used to be young and handsome and now I am an old tired man’

I am investing a lot of effort into my diet , exercise and cutting the bad stuff for this very reason

Unless I get cancer early

should they be wishing themselves dead too?

No ones talking about what others should do. We are discussing our own personal feelings on the matter.

Haverhill - well said but the law says that we can’t do this! Its needs to be debated but governments always vote against euthanasia

dementia isn’t treated as a disease - my dad has it but always looked after himself. If he goes into care he will have to pay for it all till he is down to his last 20 k ( so about a year) if he had cancer from drinking or smoking he would probably end up in a nursing home which is paid for. It’s one case but so common! Look after yourself ( as we’re told to do every day) but still become ill with something like Alzheimer’s etc then penalised for it ( if you have a house or savings etc) of course not all other diseases are caused by bad lifestyles - I’m not saying that at all - but millions of us might end up with problems with our mental health and that is treated differently.

Fack wrong thread sorry

Having seen what a massive stroke has done to my beloved mother, with constant nerve pain and paralysis, I now have a cold dread of it all. I too will be checking myself out if and when necessary, and I have told people this. They all feel the same way. And if it was possible I would absolutely help my mum to die.

By all accounts, people are happier and more content as they age so this thread certainly flies in the face of that!

My mum is (luckily still active) in her mid-70s and she does say things seem different to her now and she has gained more perspective. She is more content

So just as I'd hit post on that last update, she phoned and said - "thanks for the message. I felt our fridays have been robbed since you moved and I don't like change. You know what I'm like, I went into a mood" so I asked what she was going to do then and she said she didn't know as she doesn't like getting the bus and feeling out of her comfort zone. I mean for crying out loud she is a GROWN woman!!

Anyway I said well it's what I've always had to do as I don't drive, and she needs to do the same. She's not said whether she will or she won't. Just left it hanging in the air really.