Anyone else finding travel harder the older you get?

[menopausalminnie1]

Just back from a long haul trip. Had a wonderful time, but really struggled with some aspects of the trip. For context, I'm 55, menopausal, and I ache A LOT.

We had to go from Heathrow, which is HUGE. I found the sheer amount of walking required to be quite difficult, as my back kills me, and I was lugging a heavy suitcase and a backpack. Don't get me wrong, I did manage it, but it felt exhausting.

We also struggled a bit with the self check in pods and trying to figure out where on earth to drop our bags after that. Nothing seemed to be well signposted or obvious.

On a day to day basis, I feel quite young, but on this trip I felt a bit concerned about whether we were going to manage long haul travel 10 years from now, which is a worry, as we plan to travel a lot in retirement.

Anyone else?

I don't do long haul, Ive never liked flying, but I do short haul often. Im a good bit older and I dont struggle with the walks to the gates at all and indeed when away, easily put in 25k steps in a day. What makes me ache is being sat too long, knees tend to stiffen up

I do struggle with the busyness of airports but Im also ND so thats always been my normal

We travel a few times a year, city breaks nowadays, and we have it to a fine art. Under-seat cases, check in online, boarding passes at the ready. Arrive in time to get through security , grab a coffee and saunter on down to the gate, usually going the queue at the last knockings as we arent looking overhead storage, just slip into our seats , cases under the seat in front, close our eyes and nap till we arrive

I'm 61 and have always travelled lots. I am in India at the moment.

These days, I really struggle with jet lag. It takes me about 4 days to sort myself out

That's not much, is it?

I only do active holidays- not sit by pool- and I find I am fine so far at nearly 53.

I'm 55 and this summer we did a camping/motorbike holiday for 2 weeks, it was the most relaxed holiday for years. I wasn't sure how I'd cope sleeping on the ground and on the pillion but it was fine. I think a lot of it is familiarity. I don't often fly so tend to get disorientated in airports but I look up beforehand as much as possible. Agree you need to know when it's worth paying for a taxi/hotel/decent parking and decent wheeled luggage. Don't give up yet!

I'm 66 and DH is 75 and we go abroad a lot but never long haul.
If the holiday itself is very tiring then I don't enjoy it.
I don't enjoy the travelling so I make every effort to plan it to be as comfortable as possible. Comfort and convenience comes before cost.
If I can't fly at a civilised time I book a hotel. I will only travel from a local airport. There is no chance I will travel light but I do put almost everything in the hold so I'm not lugging back packs on the plane.

I'm younger than you and yes, very much so. I feel stress physically now, so delays and cancellations I find exhausting, long journeys I avoid. I don't fly anyway, last time I did it was draining.

My GP is not keen to put me on HRT, as generally I am doing okay. No low mood or anything, just a bit achy, which I manage fine with when at home. I am still having periods, and had to take Northisterone on this trip, which gave me some swelling, which didn't help, however, it did stop my period arriving when we were away. Now I've stopped the tablets, I have a heavy period arrived - oh the joys!

I think it's the sheer size of some airports that I find exhausting. Heathrow is colossal. Obviously it's fine if you are young and fit, and it's fine if you get assistance, but what about all the other people, that are somewhere in between? The amount of walking was insane!

I'm 60 and have recently been on a 5 week interrail trip carrying all my luggage in a backpack. Never once got a taxi to accomodation, all technology for booking tickets/accomodation/reservations fully embraced. I have the odd ache and pain but I find that the more I walk the less I ache. I came back ready for the next adventure.

A few of my customers, who are in their 60's, have declared that they will only now go on holiday, if they can fly from our local airport, which is quite compact and you know where everything is. I really didn't get this mentality until this trip!

Can I ask you, did your aches and pains get better once you were totally the other side of menopause?

What a depressing thread. My mum is 80 and manages solo travel through big airports, public transport and online bookings. And English isnt even her first language! It's her third.

If you cant go on HRT, your GP needs to offer a solution for the aching

I'm 64, we walk a lot so the walking doesn't bother me but I feel much more tired when I arrive home after a holiday. I also notice more ankle swelling and leg aching after an active week. I don't have any problems with self-service check-in but long queues definitely get on my nerves more than they used to!

@menopausalminnie1 Not that I noticed. I still get aches and pains (usually my knees) .They just get worse if I'm not doing lots of walking/exercise, so definitely didn't bother me on our trip as we did at least 5 miles of walking most days.

When I read the title, I thought you were in your late 80s! If you have problems walking around Heathrow you need to see your doctor. I accept you may have other medical problems but you don’t state them.

So being stiff and achy isn't normal in menopause? That's contrary to what I have read.

I wasn't stiff and achy before taking HRT either. I don't think its normal either way I do try to stay a healthy weight as that makes a lot of difference to my knees.

I'm 55 and have flown out of Heathrow at least twice a year and often quite a few times more every year for the past 2 decades. Yes, it is a big and busy airport, but it is manageable and has moving walkways. For the past 10 years, I had a back issue that makes standing and walking an issue, this did not stop me going away, I just had to adapt, for instance after clearing security I would stop for a coffee/break, then make my way under the runway to the departure gates at my speed, stopping once on the way at the seats, at one point I did consider special assistance but the walking is good for me especially prior to a long haul flight. I use a 4 wheeled cabin case and a handbag which I can mange on my own, plus my hold case, again one I can lift and move on my own. There is usually a similar walk at the arrival airport too, on most occasions, this will be a new place for me but I have never had an issue finding my way or reading the signs nor with the technology for checking in.

This year my back issue was resolved so I am now working on improving my fitness, and I found my last trip was much easier so now I am planning multiple long haul and short haul adventures for the next 5 years. I don't suffer with jet lag but always build a slow start to the trip to allow myself to acclimatise and try to have a couple of days of rest and relaxation at the end if the bulk of the trip has been full on.

I would question if the GPs non-HRT route is correct for you as my energy levels are better now than they were 5-10 years ago.

57 here and fly several times a year (not really long haul..just 4.5 hours) I fly out of the very small punta cana airport into the very large Toronto Pearson. Going up to Canada is a breeze, coming back another story! I am at the point that people piss me off now. I hate hate hate the long walk from security to the gate. Not the walk but the stupid people that rush past, huff at me if I am just strolling along. I have several health issues including 3 years ago losing 5 ft of my intestines thanks to a massive tumor but still manage it fine as long as I get there early enough, that once through security I can take my time (maybe a glass of wine at a stupid overpriced bar) I hate airports, I hate flying, but I love going to see my grandmonsters so I just get on with it,

Dh and I are 57 and walking at the airport/checking in is no harder for us than it was in our 30's. We're about to do a long haul
trip for a month. 57 isn't old!

I'm 65 and I do find airports involve so much walking now. I can pretty much say with certainty that our gate will always be the one that's furthest away. Bad luck. Luckily I've had a hip and knee replacement and the walking is getting a little easier now. The sitting in a tight seat for more than 3 hours is bloody agony though.

Apologies I meant 55.

I've read it too. Every joint of mine hurts & my knees have given up on life.

Gosh, yes. Everything seems to get more tiring and complicated the older I get, and seats more uncomfortable and standing around more painful. I plan trips very carefully nowadays.

I agree with this. I also assumed you were in your 80's.

Why were you lugging a heavy suitcase around? Get a trolley, case on wheels and it's not that far from the entrance to check in for any of the terminals.

I don't think it's normal, no.