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?

Yes, the airport 'experience' is a confusing PITA designed to extract as much money out of you as possible.

But once you're on the plane... RELAX!

I would completely love this! Could totally reinvent myself on my holidays, I wish they did that here. Imagine turning up for a two week holiday with absolutely nothing.
I'd also like a cat in my hotel room or at least some tropical fish (maybe not both).

I'm younger than you op but I'm peri and also have a couple of health conditions that cause fatigue and aches.
I do the following:
Spend more on decent time flights
Get great 4- wheeled luggage and pack lightly!
Comfortable clothing for travel. Most definitely comfortable shoes.
Carry painkillers
Get lots of rest the day before going
Wear noise cancelling AirPods through the airport
Check out the airport website to get familiar the lay out so I'm not bewildered on the day, and make a note of projected timings eg bag drops gate closure etc. in my phone.

I'm 67 DH is 76. I am thankfully -and knock on wood- quite sprightly and supple in movement and walking etc. However I do find large airports a pain in the backside, just too many people milling about and a lot of stressed out travellers wandering around and racing for far off gates!

OH was very mobile too until he needed a knee replacement and now is awaiting the second one. He is in a lot of discomfort and cannot really do long walks although he gets on with it.

Last year he was particularly bad during our trip abroad. I got assistance at the airport for the return journey and OMG it was such a revelation! No queuing for check in, no queuing for passport control, buggy or wheelchair down to the gate. I honestly and obv jokingly said "we are doing this again!". And we will. Bear in mind that there is no evidence required as in medical certification etc. in order to avail of assistance.

Just throwing that out there, and I realise that most of you would not use the service as you might feel you are not "bad enough" to need it. It's up to you.

No it isn’t. I’m 63 and DH is 74. We love travelling, long haul, Europe and road trips to Scotland. We do need to rest a bit more these days while travelling but it’s worth it.

Ignore the menopause How's your fitness in general?? Could you work on that- get a personal trainer perhaps. I would definitely find a really good chiropractor for your back - it's literally life changing. You don't need to live with back pain with no cause just because of menopause/age etc.

@menopausalminnie1 you don’t need to literally be on your knees for a GP to give you HRT - my aches and pains that appeared when my periods stopped disappeared once I started HRT a few years after that, wish I’d gone earlier - try another GP it’s worth a try for sure for ached joints never mind the protective advantages of HRT

I found during peri that high strength vitamin d3 Solgar brand helped aches and pains no end.

I still take it now age 60 and visit the physio monthly to keep me supple.

I'd look at slipped disc/ spondylitis/ arthritis too?
And yes to Vitamin D.

I'm finding it less attractive for sure. I'm physically quite strong so I don't struggle with that side of it.

I used to find getting up early, mooching round the airport, and travelling in general exciting - it was part of the holiday. Now I find it at best a total bore, at worst very stressful.

When I'm abroad I enjoy it for a few days then find myself longing for my own bed/a cup of decent tea.

I've also found I'm not as relaxed/adventurous when abroad - when I was younger I didn't worry about stuff, now I'm more anxious when I'm out of my own surroundings (definitely thanks to the menopause) I was thinking about it the other day - when we went to the Caribbean 15 years ago I went out on a local bus to town, didn't think anything of it. Now I'd be worrying about safety.

My favourite kind of holidays now are UK cottage ones where I can Chuck my bags in the car, do lots of walking, and still watch my favourite tv programmes in the evening 😂

Sticks head above the parapet to point out the usual mandatory retirement age for commercial pilots UK/Europe (and I think US) is 65……

As a result there will be more than a few 64 plus year old pilots (and some cabin crew) walking around big airports like Heathrow…

I guess how well individuals cope with airports and travel might in well in part be down to what you’re used to doing on a frequent basis.

I’d make it more bearable by choosing your airport and cutting down on luggage. It sounds like your back is causing most of the problem.

I travel very infrequently these days sue to kids. But I have lost the desire to stay in total dives and eat nothing but instant noodles, so that has pushed the price up a fair bit! It makes it harder to go anywhere by virtue of it being so much more expensive.

Can I advise that you take a paper copy of your boarding pass with you as well. My boss was once waiting to go through the gate with his phone when it got accidentally knocked out of his hand and then trodden on by a rather large person. Totally smashed. He did eventually make his flight but it would have been so much easier to have a backup. The chances of this happening are if course quite remote but it would save a lot of stress.

I can absolutely vouch for menopause causing horrendous joint pain and poor mobility. I am not overweight and I suddenly found myself unable to get up if I sat down on the floor. Within a week of starting HRT I was back to normal. This was my main menopause symptom - I don't need it for anything else really, but as my mum had osteoporosis and I was under 50 at menopause I think my GP was happy to prescribe to protect my bones.

I mentioned on another thread that I can't do more than 5/6 hours in an economy seat anymore as I end up in agony. (I'm 55). I'm tall with long legs so leg room has always been a bit of an issue. But I find my ass hurts so much! And I can't relieve the pressure on it as there's no room to move positions. It also affects my back and legs. So now I do long haul less often but pay for business (I can usually find a decent deal). Having a really comfortable flight makes the airports either end easier to deal with too.

Re the airport etc. I do now take less luggage than I used to. Backpacks are a nightmare if you have any pain issues. I have a check in case and cabin case with wheels. I also allow plenty of time so I don't need to rush. I also pick my airports carefully. London City is a joy! It's so compact. Doesn't work for all my trips but I try and go from there when I can.

Personally I'm not planning a lot of travel in retirement. I've prioritised all the places I really wanted to visit so that anything now is a bonus.

I have never really travelled. This year I booked my own trip to a remote USA town for a particular event. Booked it all myself. Did all of it alone. Found it all fine. Never been to Heathrow before but sailed through. My friends were all worried that I'd have got it wrong somewhere! Only exhausting but was a lot of travelling in a few days, but nothing onerous. I'm 61.

I had no aches and pains because of the menopause aged 53.
I did however start with arthritis and eventually rheumatoid arthritis. Everything is blamed on the menopause these days and I wonder how many other diagnoses are missed because of that.
I also have back problems and sciatica but I keep moving and walking through an airport wouldn't phase me, nor would walking miles on holiday. If necessary I can take pain relief.

As I posted earlier I try to make travel less irksome by going from a local airport and having minimal hand luggage. Nothing would induce me to go from Heathrow but that might be because I live 4 hours from there.

I’ve just come back from a short haul trip and packed much lighter than I’ve ever done before. I have a good quality wheelie bag and a hold-all for my cabin bag and honestly found this the easiest trip I’ve done this year out of four.
If cost isn’t prohibitive, I’ve booked a lounge to ease the stress of the departure areas past the endless duty free areas, we’ve usually booked fast track security for around £6 each and meet and greet parking. For reference, I’m 60 and fairly fit but the endless walking does get a bit much when dragging a wheelie as cabin baggage but I find my stress levels rise with other passengers who just aren’t spatially aware, ignorant at security and just walk so bloody slowly, there should be a slow lane of sorts for passengers who amble around completely unaware of others. And don’t get me started on passengers who play videos loudly without considering using headphones or ear buds.
We do tend to avoid Heathrow and Gatwick as our nearest large airport is Manchester and when going long haul, we’re fortunately usually able to fly business which helps massively.

Apart from the fact I seem to be developing a fear of flying
and my husbands driving as I get older

@menopausalminnie1 I had horrendously sore joints going through the menopause (49 when periods stopped) especially my knees. Never been on HRT (don't go to docs at all🙈). I am overweight and have to admit thought was getting osteoarthritis and would be stuck with it but all resolved by itself. I'm past retirement age now but can still put in a full bank shift in A &E although admit to getting much more tired and need a day to recover afterwards.

I’m the same age as you, just got back from a long haul trip (via Heathrow) and can’t wait to plan another! Unless you are elderly/disabled/ill I don’t think it should be such a struggle?

I’m sometimes tired/have jet lag more than I used to, but I pack a LOT more into my trips these days, so think that’s probably to be expected. (I pack a lot in now because age has made me realise I might not get chance to return 😆). In terms of aches and pains, I’m a bit stiffer than I used to be so always do a few simple yoga stretches when I get up, which usually sorts me out.

I’m a bit surprised by some of the comments re walking at the airport - it’s really not that far to walk if you have no health issues.

Not interested in long haul travel sounds exhausting.

I'm menopausal and found that being fit makes MASSIVELY more difference now than it used to. For the past year I've been weight training, doing yoga and foot strength exercises. It's made a huge difference to all my aches and pains, my planter fasciitis has completely gone and my balance improved. Physically I feel significantly better at 52 than I did at 49. I regularly walk about 9 miles and it's fine.

Realised that my post makes me sound a bit condescending and as if I’m really fit… I am neither!
One thing I cannot deal with in older age is early flights (I’m classing early as anything before late morning) because I cannot sleep properly the night before - I get weirdly anxious about missing the flight and wake up all night long. Poor sleep in middle age definitely screws me up so I try to book later flights if I can.