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!

Oh yes I also have drooping eyelids. My skin is very good generally, but I have hooded lids that are getting more hooded! I'm even thinking of saving up for surgery!

I would recommend a water flosser to anyone who feels like they can't get their teeth to feel fresh. I got one for Xmas and it is fantastic. I don't have morning breath any more and my teeth are even getting whiter. It's taken 6 months, so not a quick fix but it is noticeable how much more sparkly they are.

Argh! I'm 49 though and don't have the problems you describe, apart from the feet thing due to living in Birks (nothing a regular foot peel doesn't solve). I have less body hair, my legs have stopped growing hairs for some reason.

I'm losing teeth my breath is awful because I need them removing and you know pandemic but I've brushed flossed seen dentists got the problem tooth fixed and then got an infection that's spread to two others and boom three more teeth need to be removed (not just the dodgy one) I'm 45 and I need plastic teeth due to gum disease that I've battled for years according to my new dentist its "poor oral hygiene" nothing to do with my medical condition that causes excessive bone erosion dry mouth and dental issues

I'm just looking a bit loose and unloved too

What I have noticed though is that I get sweaty more easily. So if I go for a run etc. And I don't seem to feel the cold these days.

Rotting yes I feel the same, although I’m older than you.

@MrDarcysMa I'd get the works if I could afford to maintain it. But I'm only early 40s & I'm hoping to live another couple decades at least. That's a lot of money & maintenance.

Nope - and I'm a good deal older than you are!

Yes I’ve noticed I’ve got a different aroma since I became menopausal and have to shower more often. Getting older stinks

@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!

I thought you were going to say you were in your 50’s like me! I was fine in my 40’s but feel my body is giving up over the last 5 or 6 years. Weight gain during/after menopause, OA in my knee and hands, waiting on surgery for piles (TMI), chronic back pain, stomach ulcer, eyesight deteriorating, teeth deteriorating, the list goes on.

Hope your body doesn’t deteriorate, the way mine has, when you reach your 50’s or you won’t have much left to be happy about at all.

@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.

Laughing at the plague typo, rather than plaque

I know OP said she felt she was rotting but it didn't seem to be that bad!

I feel I am grubbier than I used to be too.

I think you'll see a big difference if you change your diet. Cut out sugar and dairy.

Anybody else notice that their nose holds more gunk (bogies) than it used to when they were younger? I'm sure I'm having to blow my nose more and more now that I'm over fifty.

Periods definitely smellier, cannot wait for them to stop.

Ageing can be terrible in some ways, though it often beats the alternative.

I wonder if the long slow decline metaphor in some literature was informed by the indignities of authors ageing.

Laughing at the plague typo, rather than plaque smile

Sorry 🤭

Our bodies just aren’t as good as detoxifying as we age. We are less efficient, hence the importance of making sure we feed ourselves correctly.

Yes some people seem to get more streamlined as they get older. They are graceful, have developed well to their environment, seem to smell like vanilla or a summer meadow at all times, no stray hairs, just a few crinkly laughter lines. There teeth are white and shiny. Their clothes well put together. Any flaws add character to them.

My on the other hand? I'm saggy, wonky, scabby, smelly, spotty, hairy. My teeth are crap, my hairs falling out (of my head and sprouting up everywhere else!), my joints hurt and I move around like a grumpy Hippo. I struggle with the heat and the cold. I have not developed well to my environment. I seem to always smell like baby sick, farts, BO and morning breath. Or stinky periods. All my hairs are strays and every time my face moves another line appears. My teeth look interesting. Teeth are not meant to look interesting. My clothes may as well be rubbish bags. I have the kind of flaws that suit an evil Roald Dahl character.

It's like I've got all the teenage issues late, while others seem to remain 21 only with grey hair and laughter lines. I soothe myself with the thought that if I had lots of money I could look like that. I don't think it's true though, I'd end up looking like a plastic surgery disaster if I ever tried

I'm older, and yes, a bit. Skin rougher and takes longer to bounce back from scrapes and bruises, teeth stain more quickly despite my lovely dentist, awful hormones. It's the hormones and being a bit podgy, I reckon.

I'm in my 50s and don't feel like that, but I have muscular skeletal issues.My hip doesn't work.I have achy legs, probably due to my hip. I also have high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol. So no problems outside but inside I'm a rack.

Thankfully no!!
I look better now than I did when I was in my 20s and I'm 49.

I certainly don't look fresh faced but I definitely am fresh and don't feel in anyway like I'm rotting. I might start worrying that I will start to soon though!!! 😳

That sounds terrible and not really normal?

Have you considered seeing a doctor or endocrinologist to rule out any hormonal issues?

I cant use shower gel at all now, just doesn't clean me properly. I swear by Palmolive.
I also wax off my toe hair ( 20 year old me would be horrified)

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.

That's interesting about sugar and androgens - I've always been a hairy lady (and at 67 am furrier than ever) - but until comparatively recently I consumed a lot of sugar - very sweet tooth plus am a comfort eater. I cut my sugar right back when I developed a thyroid problem and found myself gaining a lot of weight.

I almost (ie within days) saw an immediate improvement in my skin (not only acne, which I still had in my 60's, but skin became softer and smoother). I got fewer headaches, fewer cold sores, fewer mouth ulcers, less prone to cystitis, and definite passed a lot less wind (I could have farted for England at one time!) and what I do produce is much less unpleasant. I don't get the stomach aches I used to get either and have more energy and am less prone to depression.

I could kick myself for not realising that I was causing all of my own problems with my umpteen-bars-of-chocolate-a-day habit. And now it seems that it could have been contributing to my being hirsute as well.

Bollox!

I've lost a lot of weight without even trying (not surprising) and am also have less trouble regarding my thyroid - I don't take they thyroxine any longer.

NB - ANYONE READING THIS DO NOT UNILATERALLY STOP TAKING ANY THYROID MEDS! SPEAK TO YOUR GP. (I still have low levels and am carefully monitored to ensure I am safe)

I still have the occasional biscuit or bar of chocolate, but not much - and I experience the effects (especially re: cystitis, mouth ulcers and cold sores) very quickly.

Refined sugar was described as "white death" by one scientist - and I can't believe how detrimental it has been to my own health. And it's in a lot of foods - even savoury ones.

I think possibly my body'd response may have been extreme, but I'd definitely recommend to anyone to cut down. One thing that has surprised me though. looking back - I've never even been pre-diabetic. If I had I'm sure one of the hundreds of blood tests I've had over the years would have picked it up. Bit strange that.

Strange, and very, very lucky!

Oh and plucking chin hairs is now my hobby.

I relate OP

*BTW - The "Bollox!" above is an "angry with myself" Bollox, not an opinion on whether sugar makes you hairy.

After what I have learned, I will believe any evil of it.