Is it that unusual to be in your 60s and not on medication?

[Mumblechum0]

This is just something that made me think this week; 3 separate groups of friends and family, all late 50s or early 60s.

im finding increasingly that a lot of conversations turn to various ailments etc. I find these very dull.

amyway, in all 3 groups (I know how bizarre this sounds), they talked about what medications they’re on, and were surprised that I don’t take anything, not even vitamins, hrt etc.

i had cancer over 20 yrs ago but have been to the GP twice in 10 years. If I get ill, I tend to just wait for it to pass.

anyway, I wondered idly whether I just hang out with a lot of very unlucky people in terms of health, or is it usual to be on 3 or 4 meds?

(one friend had an alarm going off on her phone all day to remind her to take her tablets which led to today’s conversation)

Absolutely agree, although I am proof unfortunately of how medication can adversely affect someone's health permanently for life (harmed by an antipsychotic 😢).

I think being medication-averse is understandable but not to the detriment of being helped or alive lol 😆

I was suicidal when i was given that devastating medication so I wouldn't be here if I hadn't taken it. Unfortunately I paid the price 😕 It's a hard pill to swallow (pun totally intended lol)

My mum is in her mid 70s and takes none, dad in his mid 80s (sorry about the age MN, not my fault) and takes a few. FIL is early 70s and takes loads, never addresses any issues properly, developed diabetes, liver problems, kidney issues, over weight etc etc.

So all in all…I guess it depends on the person.

My daughter takes a cocktail of drugs for epilepsy so I agree drugs have their place. I'm not anti drugs. But sometimes people take a drugs to address some relatively mild problem and end up worse off. For example an estimated 150-200 people die every year in the UK from paracetamol poisoning.

My mil is on no medications, not that she probably doesn't need them, more that she's never follows consultations up. She had blood tests to check cholesterol etc, and the surgery texted her to make an appointment about them. Which she didn't.

She continues to go on holidays thinking there is nothing to declare on the insurance though. Ignorance of untreated conditions is not a defence.

If I'd only been to my GP twice in ten years I wouldn't be on any medication either, because I wouldn't know I was prediabetic. My husband wouldn't know he had high cholesterol so wouldn't be on any meds if he hadn't been checked. There can be stuff going on that you might want to consider medication for, even without symptoms, so I'm not sure that it's just that you're super healthy!

It's not surprising that so many people are on medication given the increase in unhealthy lifestyles, especially obesity causing high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, etc. Not just over eating and eating too much sugar/carbs/fast foods etc., but lack of activity and exercise.

Most of the people I know (friends, family and work colleagues) who are on meds fall into the above categories due to obesity or lack of physical activity or eating too much of the wrong stuff. Yet they don't seem to care and regard their daily cocktails of tablets as being the green light for continuing their unhealthy lifestyle.

My MIL was on no medications at all until she died early 80s. But she was very fit and active and always ate the "right" kind of foods, i.e. little or nothing processed or from tins/packets - mostly fresh foods, meat & two veg for main meal, salads for lunch, etc, no "fast foods" except maybe fish and chips once every few months as a treat, daily walking to the shops etc (she didn't drive), used to walk and/or get the bus to/from work for most of her life, etc.

Sorry, I meant to add that over 100,000 people go to A&E every year in the UK with a paracetamol overdose and about half are admitted. My super healthy friend has blood clots from HRT. Drugs can cause huge problems. It isn't unreasonable to try to avoid them.

Fair enough, but I do think there is an element of the OP putting her head in the sand when saying she doesn't need to be on any medication, yet she hardly ever visits her GP so she really doesn't know what is going on inside her body. There's nothing wrong with being wary about taking drugs, but I think we should all be aware of any issues we may have that are symptomless (high cholesterol for example) in order to make an informed decision.

Trouble is if you don’t have health checks you won’t often know you’ve got a problem til it’s too late. My sister had a stroke in her late fifties. Never had a sick day, didn’t take a tablet even for a headache, low weight etc but had high cholesterol (familial) and didn’t know about it

Theres a difference between taking paracetamol and “being on medication”. The latter infers a prescribed drug recommended by a doctor.

Yes, it is very unusual. You are a jammy bugger ~ and long may you remain so.

Except she doesn't really know that for sure because she hardly ever sees her GP. She may not have symptoms - that doesn't mean she's in perfect health.

I agree my mother never smoked or drank and had a healthy diet and used to ride her bike everywhere. She died in her 40s of breast cancer. It’s all genetics imho.

Same as if you turn down a smear or a breast screening. You may have cancer but not know it

Quote function fail.

This is such an ignorant post.

I walk dogs for a living, eat a healthy diet, don't drink and have never touched drugs or cigarettes - I also have autism (and with it, mental health issues) and PCOS. Neither of which are caused by my lifestyle.

I take medication so I can be the healthiest I can be despite my conditions.

Except most people aren't offered these health checks that some people are getting.

You don't have to be offered, you can go in and ask if you want.

I don’t think contraception counts for the purpose of this thread.

What do you mean ‘sorry about the age MN, not my fault?’

Is it age gap related?

I missed the word gap, MN gets very upset by age gaps.

Consider D3 in the winter( it’s gov advised) especially in Northern Europe where we don’t get enough sun. It’s helpful for bone pain

I had my bloods done 3 weeks ago. No issues. 61 DH the same. So believe it. I don't think we're that unusual.

Why would you have bloods done if you have no symptoms? We are told the NHS is under pressure to treat the sick so the ‘worried well’ don’t need to clog up the system.