How has caregiving changed your approach to aging?

I avoid doctors and carefully research medications before taking.

I wash my hands for a longer period of time and try to politely slide away when I hear someone coughing,

i eat better, work out more and try to engage in mentally stimulating activities to keep my mind sharp.

I see greater beauty in flowers, a good slice of cake, sunsets, laughter and spending time with people I love.

I feel now now that my time is shorter (than I used to feel) and I want to spend it happier.

I avoid spending time time with people obsessed with money or things. There is too much greed and selfishness in our world.

I donate my time and money generously and take the time to meet (and help) people when I can.

I revised my will. I vow to get better organized.

I would prefer a quick death (while sharp), but want a natural death and realize m, accordingly, that I don’t get to choose.

Getting old takes a lot of courage.

Yes, at 63 I am disabled myself and on a host of medications. My life has changed
dramatically over the past few years, and I am relatively young. I do not intend to suffer endlessly and without point. I have no children and never married. There is no one who will care about me or take care of me as I care for my mother. She is 91 and want to keep myself well enough to care for her and be there for her in her last years, but after that If I become so ill that I am suffering without quality of life or dignity, then I will take matters into my own hands. I have enough insulin to open up a pharmacy. For now I do not feel this way, but I am prepared to do what I have to do when I get too old and too ill to have quality of life.

Yeah, I don't tolerate mental abuse from my siblings anymore. I was so wrapped up in my mom for so long that I let all that slide. Not anymore. I call them on it. I'm sure they wonder what happened to their little sis but I don't really care. I used to worry so much that if I said anything I'd be perceived as a bitch. I truly don't care anymore. Life is too short to allow people to make you feel bad about yourself. We teach people how to treat us. They better start learning cause I would rather cut them out of my life entirely than tolerate their abuse.

Plus, I don't blindly listen to any Doctor I visit anymore. They throw pills at every problem and I use to take them without considering the alternative. No longer.
For instance, just last week my doc prescribed Lyrica to treat withdrawal from a antidepressant I was taking. I had a very scary experience with it and thought I was having a stroke. I have since read that there are interactions with it and Effexor which I am weaning myself off of. I still have Effexor in my system obviously so the doc and pharmacist should have caught that. I took the Lyrica back to the pharmacist and told them they could keep it. I should have said they should shove it but the lady working there didn't deserve my wrath so I let it go.

I agree Frequent Flyer. I would rather die on my terms.

I’m living each day knowing they are numbered. No tolerance for anything other than genuine good people. Family or not. Not including my 81 year old mother with dementia as one of those people. She couldn’t help getting dementia. I’m referring to x friends that drained me, or family that are alcoholics, I have my hands full with a mother living with me with moderate dementia. No time for any more drama

I vacillate between which of my 3 children I would like to be near to (but definitely not with). They are spread out all over the country. My husband is 6 years older than me. He is sure he is going first. At times he makes me want to go first. We didn't get a LTC policy because we have seen how difficult they can be in the case of my mother. But she has been divorced for many years,does not live a healthy lifestyle and I am her only child. She bought her policy years ago when they were not so extreme in the ways they can be now. That's about as far as we have gotten. We have provided for our children. If our assets are sold we should be able to age in a decent manner.

metoo111, I know for myself, any time my primary doctor writes up an order for this x-ray or that x-ray, another medical test, try this medicine, etc. I need to stop and think, do I REALLY need this? This is becoming overkill [no pun intended].

I had cancer a decade ago, and the treatment didn't give me a good quality of life while on the treatment for 4 years. To this day, one of the side effects is haunt me. Thus, if something new develops, so be it, I don't want to risk more side effects, and pills for those side effects, and more pills to help with the pills helping the first set of side effect... hope you can follow that :P

I rather have quality of life then quantity.

But I do realize, if I had children I may think totally different by wanting to see their various milestones.

Oh yeah. Have I ever. We have discussed this before, but I don't think we can discuss enough. Thanks for bringing it up.