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?

"what business is it of your GP to deny you medical care because he/she doesn’t think you are suffering enough?"

Ha ha. That's the NHS way!

Also want to mention, I did not get aches and pains before or during menopause. I didn't do HRT.

It costs a lot more to have checked in luggage.

Ugh. Environment not a consideration I take it

Just limiting a bit would help. No one reasonable expects everyone to give up travel altogether but 8+ a year is just bad

Why are you putting up with this?

I second the Solgar Vitamin D3 recommendation.

Take calcium too (menopause will have an effect on your bones).

I agree with that. Airports may "seem" large, but most shouldn't pose a problem to people unless disabled. I think they seem worse because of all the queueing and standing around you have to do which is probably what wears you out rather than the walking itself.

The only couple of airports we found genuinely tiring due to long walks were Amsterdam and Athens, both of which have walks of over a mile to get to some departure gates.

Depends really on the operator. We've found it can be surprising if you take the "package" including speedy boarding/fast track, hold luggage, pre-booked seat, etc., where it's not much more at all, if you were planning to pre book seats and speedy boarding/fast track anyway. Some airlines now charge for cabin baggage anyway if you want to take more than a handbag sized bag such as a small suitcase or rucksack.

Honestly this isn't normal..the check in stuff can be a bit overwhelming if you don't do it regularly but the moving around the airport etc isn't.. why not try hrt and you will know if it works for you ?

I'm ok at62 provided I do emergency seats, fast track security and sensible flight times- won't check in before 10am if it's Bristol airport ( we live in Bath) or 11.30 at Heathrow and won't arrive back after 9.30 at Bristol or 8 pm at Heathrow ( I insist on airport hotel if it's after then)

Yes, I pay extra for a second hand luggage piece, but it's still even more money for checked-in luggage.

@Gwenhwyfar Depends on airline. Not all charge a lot more.

@menopausalminnie1 I didn’t struggle with menopause but I’m not far off 70 and this is what DH and me have learnt.

Heathrow: T5 is so much easier! We drop the car off in short stay for meet and greet. Short walk to bag drop. Unless it’s a short city break, we do hold luggage. We have light weight spinner cases. No lugging. They push around. No back pack. Hand luggage fits neatly on suitcase. This bag has inner pockets and enough space for what we need in the flight. We have one each. No heavy backpacks is a golden rule!

We are beginning to use companies where we get a driver to the first night hotel. We have used local transport a few times but we have had some problems! So we are making life easier for ourselves. Ditto easy ride back to airport.

We have enough money to fly business but choosing a seat with more legroom would be a good move. With BA we check in on line in advance and you can do 24 hours in advance so you only need bag drop. At T5 it’s right in front of you as you walk into the departures area. Generally we have found this hassle free. We try and avoid school holidays. You can wait a bit for bags to arrive but we don’t mind. We also try and fly at a civilised time. This makes a huge difference we find.

i do realise not everyone can do what we can but getting rid of a backpack is a no brainer. Ditto decent lightweight spinner case. Book parking early for better prices and be careful about your travel itinerary in terms of flight times and how long you spend in each location. We like a bit of downtime. Hope some of this is useful.

I tell you what I do hate now I'm menopausal. A weak bladder. Nearly all my flights in the past few years have involved delays where you're stuck somewhere unable to access a nearby toilet. So you're stuck in a boarding queue and suddenly it stops, no explanation given on how long you'll have to stand there and you're miles from any toilets and you haven't been to the toilet in ages because the screen said your boarding time was 20 minutes ago so you've tried to time your last toilet visit so you went well before the stated boarding time.

Then you get on the plane and it moves off from its gate a few metres then the captain announces you've missed your takeoff slot and will have to wait for another one. One of my flights last year was on the runway for about well over an hour and a half before it finally took off. There was a rush for the toilet when people were eventually allowed to go.

Then when you land you're often stuck waiting for the right equipment to get you off and into the building (sometimes a bus or sometimes just one of those stairway things to get you across to the upstairs bit of the building). It's not nice after a long haul flight especially if you've had to do a short layover and especially if it's roasting hot.

Building work sometimes means that when you do finally actually get into the building there are no toilets to be seen because theey're all behind hoardings. And it's an eextremely long walk to get to one. I actually nearly wet myself last year after getting off a plane because I just hadn't been able to to go the toilet for a long time, I'd had a lot to driink on the plane to try to stay hydrated, couldn't get to use plane toilet (lots of turbulence meant that the seat belt signs were on for the last past of the journey, and then on approach, then we were sitting waiting to disembark for ages for some reason, then the building work thing.

To be fair at some very large airports it does depend on which terminal you're going from and where your gate is. It varies a LOT. If you have to change terminals as part of your journey because you're doing more than one flight that's annoying as sometimes it involves having to get the airport train between terminals. It's not really fun when you have to go from one end of a very large terminal to the other either.

It's not the actual flight that bothers me, it's all the messing around and stress beforehand

Yes, more and more you have to worry about stuff outside your control. eg they change your flight time which then affects other things you'd already planned/booked. If you have to prebook a taxi for a very early morning flight I tend to not sleep much because I get worried in case it doesn't turn up or is delayed, because all it takes if a big hold up on the motorway and then you're late getting there and have to really rush. Once I have my hold bag checked in though I breathe one sigh of relief. And then another one when I get it back safe the other end.

It’s 67 for me too. I took my occupational pension early (with actuarial reduction). Not sure how it’s relevant though - I didn’t need to be retired to do those trips.
Edit: I see your point. My sister is 68. She is walking the Camino (last 111k) with me in May

Do you do much walking / activity day to day? If not then i’d start to build up your fitness as it will help overall

How much exercise do you do on a daily basis?

How much walking do you do on a daily basis?

How big was your suitcase?

I don't want to make assumptions, but it sound more likely thats your unfit. As the previous poster highlighted, the more you walk the less you ache - thats due to your body being used to do more walking and it adjusts.

Can all those people recommending good suitcases/bags, recommend some brands please? I used to buy whatever was on sale in Debenhams but since they closed in Ireland, my cases have got damaged/shabby.

I'm 64, and our plan was always to do the "holiday of a lifetime" when DH retired. (I retired at 60). So in 2 years time.

However, DH and I now both suffer really badly with osteoarthritis to the point that DH is somewhat disabled, walking is challenging for both of us so that dream has died.

But I don't mind too much, as I was starting to find airports really annoying, as others have said, too much walking, too much noise, and grumpy security staff. Also often dirty toilets! So sun sea n cocktails for us from now on! Truthfully I'd never travel far again if only we got some good weather here but our summers are shite so...

Because getting an appointment with my GP is impossible and I have an underlying which they blame everything on.

not sure where else to turn.

its not for the shits & giggles that's for sure.

I do feel differently about travel now. I last backpacked 15 years ago and I was exhausted by it. Haven't wanted the hassle of constantly working out accommodation or travel on the fly since. I feel like I'm getting more nervous about travelling too.

I also used to get cheap indirect or night flights/coaches. I'd never do that now unless I had a bed, eg sleeper train, as it takes me all week to recover from a late night!

In my 30s and back from travelling south east Asia with a baby and toddler and it was shattering because of all the extra stuff and the lack of sleep 🤣

however as I’ve gotten older I’m finding im much better at getting prepared for a big trip!

packed well in advance

airport very very early all that getting around and bag drop isn’t as stressful

book lounges always

And always pack light

think of the flight as just 1 bad day!!

@SafeToUse I bought the mid size hard shell in Penneys and found them v. good. Light, four wheels and holds loads. Been on a few trips with them being flung around into the hold and they've held up very well. I personally don't see the point in paying a humungous amount for a "branded" suitcase because they all end up scratched and battered in the end anyway, and replacements are expensive unless you buy in Penneys lol.

My OH has bad arthritis also, and is heading for his second knee replacement, so travelling was difficult for a while there. However last year I booked assistance at departure (Dublin) and return (Malaga) and I will never travel without using it again. Straight through all the queues and only walking either up the steps (Ryanair) or along the airbridge (AerLingus). Highly recommend.

Can you fit in more exercise, it will give you more energy and stamina