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)

Wish I could be able to go back to rude health 😔

I'm not in my 60s yet, but my health has been awful since having a head injury, and before that, I might have been able to say with certainty that I literally had been in brilliant health. I guess it made me slightly blasé but I had always been a bit of a hypochondriac and prone to anxiety, but never thought I'd get serious health problems.

I was in peak fitness and health in my early 30s a decade ago. I then had a head injury (mild traumatic brain injury) and post concussion syndrome before being injured permanently by an off label antipsychotic prescribed for severe insomnia and anxiety 😳

It gave me a permanent neurological involuntary movement disorder called tardive dyskinesia that is a bit like Tourette's and Parkinson's disease combined 😵‍💫😢

I've often thought about how are combination of bad luck, circumstances, and general genetics meant I was just "bloody unlucky" as a psychiatrist told me to get harmed by a week of an antipsychotic.

Being fit, running half marathons, eating well, all made bugger all difference to my bad luck and my movement disorder. I guess you could say that about anything or anyone but I think it was probably more likely I was going to have a bad reaction to the adverse effects of that particular drug.

Now, I dont take any more meds unless absolutely necessary or if it's life or death. I'm terrified 9f anything exacerbating the symptoms of my movement disorder, and have had too many weird adverse reactions to seemingly innocuous substances that have made me even more (irrationally) nervous.😳😢

I know it doesn't really count as I am not in my 60s,but i thought id give anything example of how life is very unpredictable at any point.

Life is very unpredictable.

My best friend of 40 years, she was in 'rude health'.

Died from sceptecimia this year. Went to bed. Didn't get up.

So I hate 'health smuggery'

My mother does it, drives me bonkers. I think she likes it when people are smote.

I know she bloody likes it.

My sister woke to her husband dying from a cardiac event.

Poof.

Gone at 51.

So don't be smug about life and health.

Anyway, to answer your question @Mumblechum0 my Dad is 80, no meds, still climbs all over the world.

But he could be dead tomorrow.

So could you.

My dad is early 60s takes nothing. He has a yearly health check through his work, he is in the overweight category. He has no issues with cholesterol due to genetics, he's not often ill. No high blood pressure or anything either.

My grandparents rattled quite a bit though, one died long before I was born, one died late 70s, one died mid 80s and one is still alive and is 90 next year and still basically completely independent bar not driving.

I attribute it to Scottish highlander genes mainly lol

I think it depends how engaged you are with healthcare. It might not be accurate that someone who doesn’t take medication is totally healthy, they might be ignoring issues or unaware of ailments if they aren’t engaging with medics.

For me, I try to get a full blood test every year and on the back of that usually need supplements like iron, vitamin b/d etc. I don’t really consider that regular medication as it’s just a short term boost to my levels.

I have a good relationship with my GP and generally they prescribe whatever I ask for, so I have been able to get things like skincare (azelaic acid/acne treatment) or (medicated) shampoo. Generally whatever I present with, they give me options on how to address it. But with that in mind, I’m a healthy 20-something so just because I have prescriptions, it doesn’t really follow that I am not in good health- but rather just health conscious.

I do think though, once one starts taking meds for age and lifestyle afflictions you're pretty fuckered.

Dh and I are 66/67 and not on any medication. I have blood tests done twice a year and am fine.

I am not on any medication either and I haven’t seen a doctor for 6 years. There are people in their 60s like me who are still healthy and well. I do take vitamin D spray as I don’t sunbathe. Some of my friends are not so lucky and one has just had a knee replacement. I think sometimes if you are overweight you can have health problems. I’m not fat shaming btw but a friends husband who very overweight developed diabetes and then heart problems. I try to walk and avoid too much sugar which I have put on hold for Christmas as I do like a few chocolates.

My parents weren't on any medication until their 70s. I'm on a lot of medication since my 20s. I don't think my friends in their 60s are on anything. I have a much younger friend who is on medications for several conditions.

At 60 I take nothing and haven’t been to Dr for about 15 years now. Dad is mid 80s and takes nothing and is super fit. I don’t count vitamins.
But I feel like I’m waiting for my turn to get ill! So many friends get something at about 60.
I was wondering recently if there is some kind of check up at 60? Feels wrong to bother GP when I feel well. I know in the US they have annual wellness checks. Maybe I should make an appointment for a check up?

My in-laws are in their 80’s and neither are
on prescription medication, this came up in conversation just this week! I was quite surprised even though they’re both in good health and physically still very active. Although MIL is currently in plaster as she missed a step and fractured her wrist.
My mum is in her 60’s and takes a cocktail of medication daily.

I have breast screening because my mother died in her 40s from breast cancer it was not genetic and there isn’t a family history. My husband is 71 and I am mid 60s so we have a blood pressure machine which we use once a week. My husband has the blood test for prostate cancer because a lot of men can get this. Otherwise I haven’t seen a doctor for 6 years.

75% of over 60s in the UK have at least 1 component of metabolic syndrome so it is not surprising that so many are on statins and blood pressure medication. All my older relatives are on statins bar one who refuses to take them.

My dad is in his 70s and on loads but my mum is a year younger and I don't think she's on any. But she is very fit and healthy, still runs most days and aims for 1000 miles a year of running/cycling/walking.

I would never take statins because of the horrible side effects. My cousin who is a similar age to me was given them and it affected her liver and had to stop them. Not everyone has side effects but if I needed to take them I would try exercise and diet first.

My father in law is early seventies and only takes cod liver oil and walks each day. He's amazing, my parents are the same age and couldn't be further from this sadly.
My father in law has always eaten meat and veg / doesn't drink and doesn't get stressed easily. My parents have always enjoyed a drink, may not eat the best and do not exercise. My dad was always very stressed and menopause was awful for my mum. I'm doing everything in my power to avoid the same path as my parents.

I don't think it's just about luck, but also choice in many cases. As a caveat to this post - I am not including life saving drugs such as insulin and chemotherapy etc in what i am saying. I am also not including short term drugs for acute problems like an infection. But so many people are on completely unnecessary lifestyle meds for things like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar etc and they are not good for you - it's better to treat naturally with life style modifications such as diet and exercise. It's definitely better to avoid most psychotropic drugs as these are proven to be no better than placebo/positively harmful and are extremely difficult to come off. Many of them cause severe and debilitating symptoms. SSRIs cause homicidal and suicidal behaviour in a few people so it is a population problem too once a large percentage of people are taking them. Before SSRIs depression was a self limiting (lasting less than a year) non relapsing occurrence for over 85% of people with severe depression. However rates of depression have been steadily increasing since the introduction of antidepressants and depression is now no longer self limiting., non relapsing but recurrent. I chose not to take HRT and am now through the menopause with no remaining symptoms. In my view lifestyle drugs are generally either unnecessary or harmful, and we only eventually get to understand this once enough people have been taking them for enough time. Anecdotal, individual data doesn't really help understand the whole picture and drug trials are unreliable - we need population data over time. By the time we realise a drug is causing harm at population level there is usually a new wonder drug to replace it and so the cycle starts again.

Mum is in her mid 70s and takes only multivitamins. Only takes required courses of meds as needed and doesn't seem to have any long term prescriptions. She's trying very hard to stay that way as long as she can.

Dad recently died at 90. He had some prescription skin creams to use as & when and I think had previously been prescribed antihistamines and also something for an ulcer which he came off as it healed but I believe that was it until his late 80s when he acquired some copd meds and one round of meds for something else. Other than that, he took a multivitamin and any required short term prescriptions but again, managed to stay serious med free until maybe his mid 80s.

On the reverse, a friend of mine, early 60s just diagnosed as type 2 diabetic is skinny as a rake, always has been and is also on medication for high blood pressure and statins for cholesterol. No weight correlation there...go figure 🤷‍♀️

2 other friends, both massively overweight, now mid 50s have both been on blood pressure meds since late 30s 😳 but no type 2 diabetes.

How does that work?!

Unless you’ve had your bone density checked, you don’t know if you’ve sailed through menopause.

I get that some women suffer minimal or no symptoms, but you don’t feel your bones’ density declining to concerning levels. So I’d suggest getting that checked. Beyond that, go you! 😀

I hope to reach old age with no more than HRT and Magnesium and D supplements. So far so good.

Genetic, they suppose, as my Mother had high BP (and she was never more than 8.5 stone. Grandmother had angina apparently also.
Anyway it was a good wake up call, I used to think that I was just fine and it wasn't worth bothering to go to check ups and I didn't really consider that my family history might mean that I may have inherited a tendency to high BP but now really glad I finally did go for a routine check.

I'm 60 and don't take any medications or supplements.

I’m 60’s and don’t take any meds other than vit D and collagen which aren’t meds per se. . Just count yourself very fortunate that you don’t have to that’s how I see it.