The Over-the-Hill Gang: Non-specific and sometimes irreverent seniors' stuff

oops, dup

LOL feel slightly less grumpy after a few hours of fitful sleep. In this case, the difficult coworkers are a married couple. The program's longstanding success has at times depended on their connection it, so I don't want to get them off-side. But sheesh, a bit of flexibility can really help the rest of the team out.

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Another migrainey day yesterday (hence the poor sleep). Got a shot from doc on way home, and was mostly zonked on sofa last night, when my friend rang from Melbourne. Jo and I reconnected by chance about a year ago, after 30-odd years of one contact, and we're in touch almost daily.

Yesterday she couldn't type and I couldn't speak, so it was quite funny! Jo has a muscle-wasting disease (not ALS), and tolerates her wheeled walker as a tool of necessity. A strong gust of wind could push her over. So when she complained about the noisy badly behaved children in her local shopping mall, especially the one playing with the main doors, we both suddenly laughed. We still feel 16 together, not crabby old ladies.

The neuro has added an old-fashioned antidepressant to migraine meds, not because migraines and depression are often 'co-morbid' (isn't that enough to make you depressed??!), but because of the ways it works in brain chemistry, regulating various essential 'thingies'. I'm not sure, but it seems I'm one of those people who has faulty sodium and calcium channels, so in my case I'm more likely to feel pain all the time, with little cause. There are other delights that come with this, that I won't bother with now.

I also learnt that many people with migraine or breathing problems are now getting little pacemakers because what they actually have is a heart condition! If your doc hasn't properly checked your heart in a while, it's worth it.

A note for Healthy Communities: plant more trees!!

http://www.bordermail.com.au/story/3201926/more-trees-on-your-street-help-you-feel-years-younger/?cs=12

No wonder I feel the urge to plant more trees on our property!

Meanwhile, I started Pilates last week, buying four one-on-one sessions with the owner of the studio to get evaluated and learn the basics. The medical issues of recent years have made me very cautious about just jumping into something, so this seems a good way to start, although it's pricey.

I am loving it so far, although I'm seriously shocked at what terrible condition I have let myself "achieve." It's bad enough that I'm now about 30 pounds over my ideal weight, but I really hate feeling so weak and uncoordinated. I suppose the uncoordinated part was inevitable after they cut the vestibular nerve in my left ear back in 2010, but the rest was pretty startling. I guess that's what happens when you quit exercising because you hate feeling dizzy or fear falling down.

I had a one-hour session yesterday, starting on the floor with some simple stuff, then graduating to the "Reformer" machine. I can't believe how much I can feel going on in my muscles from such deceptively simple exercises!

Anyway, Pilates gets a serious "thumbs-up" from me, for people who have issues with balance or are feeling weak and uncoordinated. The machines help stabilize you so you stay safe, while still giving you one heck of a workout. I'm really looking forward to continuing this. If I could lose, say, 5 pounds by the end of the summer, I would be a really happy camper. The plan is to do Pilates a couple times a week, then do some kind of cardio or Yoga on the other days, with a day or two of rest.

Meanwhile, I'm starting to look at my eating habits again. Gotta get back on track.

I've never given Pilates a try, PeggyC. I am on a similar journey. Your progress sounds good, and may inspire me to not eat that ice cream I was planning to have for dinner.

I had a session using the "Tower" equipment today. Wow. Some of the moves are totally bizarre and will take a lot of getting used to, but a lot of it is so familiar that I'm sure I will like it a lot as I adjust. And it is still using muscles I haven't heard from in decades. I'm going to be sore in a day or so.

Between the Pilates and a yoga class once a week at the same studio, I think I'm getting on track.

But we have an ice cream pop in the freezer. Ruh-roh.

See if you can get a copy of the current issue of New Scientist magazine. Page 10 has a wonderful article discussing some research into how music works on different body systems. Researchers at McGill University investigated how music influences the levels of dopamine and natural opioids; recently a conference in Nashville discussed music perception and cognition; European researchers think music aids muscles in lifting weights without pain, and there's US studies for how music boosts the immune system. If I list it all, I'm rewriting the article! Read it.

McGill?? Interesting, since that's where my nephew is studying... music! I will look for the article.

I got the traditional email yesterday from one of the choral groups I have sung with in the past, but not the one I was planning to sing with this fall. Now I'm perplexed, because the line-up of songs for the fall concert is lovely. They are doing Saint-Saens' Oratorio de Noel and Poulenc's Quatre Motets pour le Temps de Noel. I listened to both on YouTube last night, and got chills, especially from the Poulenc.

I am divided, though, about rejoining them. First, I have committed to the Renaissance group and am not sure I can do two. Second, because I got pretty tired of the carping and whining of the CCNC group. The people there have a tendency to complain about absolutely everything, and the enormous alto section is kind of terrible. Similarly, the tenors and basses are not great, but mostly because there are so few of them. It's a frustrating group to sing with. *sigh*

joanne said:
See if you can get a copy of the current issue of New Scientist magazine. Page 10 has a wonderful article discussing some research into how music works on different body systems. Researchers at McGill University investigated how music influences the levels of dopamine and natural opioids; recently a conference in Nashville discussed music perception and cognition; European researchers think music aids muscles in lifting weights without pain, and there's US studies for how music boosts the immune system. If I list it all, I'm rewriting the article! Read it. ">

I just found it online and read it. Very interesting, but no surprise to me!

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22730335-000-why-music-makes-us-feel-good-it-releases-brains-painkillers/

There used to be a paywall for the article...

Peggy, now you know how it works, and also a bit more about which music, rhythms and instruments to choose for particular occasions (or how to track down that info). Good, eh?

I think it's easy to do those things by pure instinct. It's easy to figure out which kinds of music make you feel best under which circumstances and use that to the fullest. What I need to do now is get my two stereo systems set up so I can play my CDs again. (Yes, I still have CDs. I don't like the quality of downloaded music and cheap speakers that hook up to my iPhone or laptop.) And I don't like using earbuds... they shut out the rest of the world too completely for my comfort.

I've just received the following from my Falls Prevention Network colleagues. Figured since its online, you can benefit too! Let me know if you have problems accessing it.

Hi all
We have put 2 videos up on the CEC YouTube site
The easiest way to get access to the video is to google: Clinical Excellence Commission YouTube.
1. CEC - Falls Prevention - Suzanne Archer's Fall Journey (Sep 2014)
2. CEC - Falls Prevention - Staying Active and Healthy (Oct 2013) – this is the home exercise video.

Our Channel link is: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCasUkYzW1sK897aDvtXuHbw

Bye for now
Lorraine

HealthDay health news site has just published this nifty summary, for anyone concerned with mental health and cognition as they age.

https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_154208.html

Aha! Let's all move to Switzerland!

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/sep/09/global-agewatch-index-invest-in-ageing-populations

Joanne, I think this senior chat thread is great. Hope that your articles on exercise and Parkinson's from a few weeks ago will find their way to this category.

Oops - just discovered you had read my mind! The medical thread is a perfect addition to this category

I figure that until people get used to there being a category, not just one thread, I'll keep seeding stuff for others to take over...

That reminds me of a thought I had earlier...!

I am wondering whether it is worth starting a new thread for senior women's fashion questions: clothes, makeup, hair, and so on. I'm very frustrated lately at the lack of nice, reasonably priced clothes for women of a certain age ... Stuff that has a bit of an edge, fits well, but doesn't cost the earth.

Similarly, I am finding that makeup is becoming a challenge as my skin ages... The foundation I used to use seems to be sitting very differently now, somehow.

I also seem to have lost the knack of styling my own hair. WTH???

Anyway, do these topics seem worth a thread of their own? We could share tips on shopping, new ways to use products, new stuff to try, etc.

PeggyC said:
I am wondering whether it is worth starting a new thread for senior women's fashion questions: clothes, makeup, hair, and so on. I'm very frustrated lately at the lack of nice, reasonably priced clothes for women of a certain age ... Stuff that has a bit of an edge, fits well, but doesn't cost the earth.
Similarly, I am finding that makeup is becoming a challenge as my skin ages... The foundation I used to use seems to be sitting very differently now, somehow.
I also seem to have lost the knack of styling my own hair. WTH???
Anyway, do these topics seem worth a thread of their own? We could share tips on shopping, new ways to use products, new stuff to try, etc.

Yes, I think it's a good idea. In particular, I truly despise shopping for clothes these days. It certainly was never this hard when I was younger - in fact, I'd buy too much. Now sometimes I struggle to find anything I'm willing to purchase.

Me, too. I hate the frumpy dumpy stuff most stores think I should want to wear at my age, and it's often colorless too boot. And the stuff I like, such as Eileen Fisher, costs the earth. Okay, I'll start a new thread for this.

I couldn't find a hairstyle I liked (I'm an amateur photographer, and hate my hair blowing around while I'm shooting), so I grew it in. It's been almost three years since I had it cut, and it's now down to my waist. So if you see a slightly overweight 60+ woman with a long braid down her back wandering through town with a camera, it's probably me! Come on over and say hello (and, yes, I know it should be "it's probably I" - but that sounds really weird! )

cody - good for you!

Also, I admire women who either stopped coloring their hair or never started.

Well, I do, too, but I'm still coloring mine because I can't figure out what to do with it now. I'm thinking about having it lightened and silver highlights put in and then just letting it grow. Would have been much easier if I'd never started coloring it, I agree.

Cody, my hair is half-way down my back, and I have an outrageously loud bright streak (usually a couple of shades of red, pink or purple, sometimes with a green extension woven in) down by my left ear. I have a lot of hair and its naturally very curly, so now it's quite frizzy (except I had a keratin treatment some months ago that's still holding). It's not what people expect of a 59year old.

My hair was naturally a mix of dark auburn and dark brown, the streak came about from some bronzed belliage 20-odd years ago. Turned into a 'thing' my clients identify me by! I always thought I'd allow myself to grey naturally but I can't because of the streak, and the steel grey roots look wrong, harsh, against it. Also, up here, my neck gets sweaty so I need my hair up most of the time (but cutting isn't an option, it needs weight to control curl and frizz). So: a collection of flowered combs, barrettes and bright scrunchies.

If I twist my hair so you can't see the streak, or if I choose a plain accessory, straight away my clients ask if I'm alright? why did I change? Wearing purple and orange this year has been easy.

I keep my hair super short now, have for years. And when I stopped working I also quit coloring. Now, my stylist likes the natural color so much she won't color it even if I ask! But all the white hairs bring a coarseness I haven't figured out how to handle yet. Frustrating. Hence the shortness.

Mine's gone fine and blow-away but strawlike. It's an ageing thing. I refuse to waste time trying to get 'product' to 'soak' in, it won't and I'd have to do it all tomorrow anyway.

But I have hair, and I'm lucky. Mum was bald by this age.

I keep thinking there must be products that will work better for me now. I found a hair oil from L'Occitane recently that helps a lot with hydration and shine, but you need to use it with a light hand.

Loooooooooove L'Occitane! The rose shower oil, yum!