To think my body is rotting as I get older? (TMI)

[MrDarcysMa]

Sorry this is a bit gross. I was just thinking.... not that I'm planning to, but if I ever end up single, I'd be in trouble. Aside from the weight slowly creeping up which I'm ok with really .... everything else just feels a bit gross as I'm getting older !
-I fart more, get constipated more, body hair is spreading and more difficult to manage. I get dry crusty skin on my feet, morning breath is worse and takes a lot of flossing and hygienist visits to keep on top of (o swear it wasn't an issue 20 years ago ! My periods feel messier and (sorry) smellier and I have to shower more regularly during this week.

Has anybody else noticed this type of thing? AIBU to think my body is rotting ? (I'm almost 40) it's taking a lot more effort these days to keep on top of!

[differentnameforthis]

@beatrixpotterspencil Try the low fodmap diet for a bit.

[gingganggooleywotsit]

Definitely yes to having to shower more and clean teeth more than twice a day. Seem to be more whiffy and definitely need deodrant. I swear i i never sweated in my 20s! Im 41 and definitely takes more maintenance to look and smell half decent!

[Skysblue]

Ps for the foot crustiness here is a heel relief/repair cream you can get, it helps massively, I forget the name try amazon)

[Skysblue]

It’s my chin’s sudden decision to grow a beard that gets me down 😡😭 flipping hormones have gone all wrong in perimenopause and now I have to shave my face. And yep the farting and sweating.

I wouldn’t call it rotting but female hormones do a massive shift in the early forties and a lot of the results aren’t very attractive. Doesn’t happen to everyone, as some people upthread smugly point out. Well lucky bloody them. I have had painful boobs swollen two cup sizes bigger than normal for over a month (definitely not pregnant).

So fed up of being female.

[MrDarcysMa]

@pinkiandthebrainz me too, although If I have a super heavy period like this week it's sometimes really messy to empty/ change which is an absolute pain in the arse tbh! So sometimes I resort back to a tampon.

[Pinkyandthebrainz]

Also agree about using a mooncup. I love mine and I find that noticeable period smell is barely there compared to when I used tampons and sanitary towels.

[Pinkyandthebrainz]

I can't relate to everything you've mentioned but the skin on my feet has definitely hardened (despite using a pumice stone) so I'm now very loyal to Flexitol cream which I didnt expect before the age of 50. I sometimes feel I need to brush my teeth again midday to freshen up too. And I think I smell worse now if I go a day without showering if feeling lazy.

[HepzibahGreen]

Its not ageist to notice ageing, and of course we don't look the same as at 21, but to describe yourself as "rotting" and some of the things posters have said about women over 40 are pretty disgusting tbh. But yeah, crack on if this is your idea of lighthearted.

[MrDarcysMa]

Haha @sparklinglime thank you, it was light hearted and I'm most certainly not depressed. I'm fit and powerful and strong and in a loving relationship. Just having a light hearted moan about my ageing process and body changes !

I think the people who've called it ageist and insist that their bodies are the same as they were aged 21 are feeling rather defensive

[RuffleCrow]

I don't feel that way. I feel like i've lost muscle and skin tone but i wouldn't say I smell any worse

[SparklingLime]

@ScribblyGum

Rotting? What a strange choice of word OP. It’s so laden with disgust. Changes in our bodies as we age should be met with curiosity and reflection, not horror and revulsion.

How sanctimonious!

Poor OP, trying to start a light-hearted, self-deprecating chat and getting diagnosed with depression, self-hatred and god knows what else

[Want2beme]

I'm 54 in a couple of weeks, and have a very is wobbly body. A huge belly, which runs in the family. I don't have a problem with body odour, and have never been hairy, but the chin has definitely sprouted more hair than I'm happy with. My feet, which I tend to once a week, are really aching at the moment. I'm definitely going to treat myself to a chiropody treatment. I'm a bit achey at the moment as well. I normally take vegetarian glucosamine which helps keep the aches away, but have run out, so will have to get some more.

Somebody recommended primrose oil for menopause issues, so I'm going to try that as well.

[Literallynoidea]

I'm older than you and don't think like this!

I think you need to learn to love yourself more. I don't know how, I'm sorry, but it's not right to feel like this. Especially when you're still in your 30s!

[RaskolnikovsGarret]

Totally agree, OP. 48 here, and I always tell people my body is rotting slowly away.

[Fluffycloudland77]

I’ve changed my diet so much since turning 40 3 years ago. I eat loads more greens, lentils, beans and little meat. I baked my own bread but covid put pay to that because I can’t get stoneground whole meal flour.

I do feel a lot better. I stopped drinking too.

[StCharlotte]

@justanotherneighinparadise

It’s what you’re eating OP. Honestly. I am always much more prone to all those things if my diet is high in sugar and processed foods. Directly I clean my diet up the morning breath disappears, you won’t be prone to so much plague, your constipation will go, the body hair is caused by the sugar increasing your androgens/hormones etc etc.

I think this is right. Since I've been sodding well cooking everything from scratch in lockdown (i.e. no added sugar to anything), my, er, "issues" have been much improved.

[BigSandyBalls2015]

I’m early 50s and seem to have gone downhill during lockdown despite exercising.

Weight gain around the tum, nasty dry feet, aching elbows and knees ... why? Grey hairs have taken over.

Doesn’t help that I’m living with beautiful teenage girls in their prime. I wonder if men feel like that looking at their sons.

[MrDarcysMa]

Yes it was intended to be light hearted And my comments are about my own lived experience .... not ageism. Clearly a lot of people have experienced similar things.

[MrDarcysMa]

@anyoldprion I definitely don't have them but I'm aware of them and Christ they look terrifying !

[EggysMom]

@Gingernaut My eyes require a new prescription, the varifocal lenses alone are going to cost £260 per frame

Asda opticians - all-in-one price for frames and glasses includes varifocals. I bought two pairs earlier this year for about £150-180 (cannot remember exactly how much).

[Nsky]

It’s tough, if any hope I feel better post menopasal at 58, than at menopause 45.
Some things you can, lose weight, take omega 3 for dry skin, seek s good treatment for excess hair.
Dress well, think what may be causing your dental issues.
Accupunture can help periods.
Toenail infections can be treated and extreme cases removed ( as I did).
Some of these things could be perimenopasal, maybe chat with doc

[AnyOldPrion]

I’m not so much rotting as sagging. Newly single too, but having removed the person that was dragging me down, I don’t actually care!

In my 40s I had terrible breath. Turned out it was tonsil stones. So I had my knackered tonsils whipped out and now things are way better.

Might be worth an internet search and shining a torch at the back of your throat to check....

[LeGrandBleu]

Not sure if you just want to vent and rant or actually change something. Assuming you want to change, here is my point of view, I am more than 10 years older than you, fit and very slim, and in perfect health.

If you have digestive issue with bad breath , constipation and gas, body odour and plaque, you have a diet issue.
You have already considered your daily chocolate bar, maybe try a two weeks trial without dairy and wheat.

This should also help with the weight. If you are 1.5 stone above a healthy BMI, you do have a weight issue even if you say you are not bothered by it. Excessive weight will cause inflammation in your body and affect /increase a huge range of hormones. One can be fit and overweight, but being fit won't protect your body from the damages caused by excess adipose tissue.

Don't blame your age, blame your fat % and there is a quick test used by the US navy to determine the body fat% fitness.bizcalcs.com/Calculator.asp?Calc=Body-Fat-Navy

Move to the lower end of your healthy BMI range and I believe you will see a lot of the symptoms described disappear. Lowering your body fat will lower your estrogens and possibly bring back normal period.

[Anordinarymum]

I'm older and that's as much as I will admit :)

I have facial hair which started when I was thirty and just gets worse, plus my eyesight is not what is used to be so I don't always spot the offending inch long black and white hairs mainly along the jaw line...

My face is definitely slipping downwards - very annoying but my neck looks quite good which is a blessing.

Apart from that I enjoy a good diet and drink plenty of fluids. I do have aches and pains but nothing to write home about. I think the constipation is a dietary problem. Of all the things mentioned I think this needs addressing the most.

[stellabelle]

Perhaps this thread is supposed to be lighthearted....maybe ? Or maybe not. I'm in the older age group and I really hate this attitude that you "rot" as you get to this age. You don't, honestly, and its irksome to hear younger women talk like this.

If you smell, wash yourself more often. If your skin isn't the way you like it, do something about it. Just like you did when you were young. And stop with the ageism, OK ?