my girlfriends and I would shout as we sipped our scotch, while “looking good” in our fashionable attire, manicured nails, perfect make-up, and hair, proud of our bodies and thinking we’ll never get old. I’m talking about 30ish years ago when I was around 55ish.
But at age 85, I changed that sentence to “Age is more than a number”. Age is … well age. And in my case age is old. Yep, I said the O word, old. Eighty-five years old is old y’all. So, face it. Age is also expensive and depending on how well you are aging it can be very expensive.
Eating fresh, whether it’s organic or at your farmer’s markets is more expensive than the grocery store. High-grade vitamins are expensive and the list goes on and on for living well.
And as one gets older and begins to experience various physical and medical issues, the expenses expand. For example, in my case I have lymphedema in my arm resulting from breast cancer. The garments I have to wear cost me out of pocket and are expensive. Medicare just this year began to pay for one or two.
Because I am trying to stay off as many medicines as I can, I spend a lot of money on alternatives, i.e. acupuncture, special messages, and various methodologies that are paid out of pocket.
Our medical system
The way our medical system is going, to get decent medical care, you may have to pay for it out of pocket. That’s what I am doing currently. Most of the traditional doctor’s visits are only long enough to review lab work and write a prescription for whatever is not looking good. This is not a great match for those of us experiencing multiple issues.
Physicians are not that informed about nutrition so I need a dietician because a lot of my issues have to do with my diet. I don’t want a dietician who is going to treat me as a part of a group, therefore I have to pay for one who works with a physician who treats me as an individual with individual health needs. Both the dietician and the physician are paid out of pocket.
We now recognize that food and your environment are vital to your health. Unless you are satisfied with just popping pills, which admittedly is the easiest way out.
Recently I was diagnosed with Osteoporosis.
The choice I had was medication or lifestyle change. I chose lifestyle changes which means focusing on diet, exercise, vitamins, and other methods that will hopefully help me strengthen muscle and retain bone even if I can’t build bone.
But it’s expensive.
For example, I recently spent $3000 on a machine that is supposed to aid in bone building. Because of my arthritis, I can’t do all that I need to do exercise-wise and the machine is designed to aid in the exercise arena.
If your medical issues are such that you may need some help, there’s the expense of hiring a house cleaner. Hiring someone to assist you in the event you need to have someone with you during medical care.
When I get an injection for my spinal pain, the doctor requires me to have someone with me (although I have never really needed them) in the event I am in a lot of pain from the injection or my blood pressure is up, etc. I pay for this by the hour.
Many seniors rely on neighbors and friends to assist but I don’t like asking others. I have asked on several occasions because other resources were not available to me at the time but I didn’t like it. Now various services offer resources that meet my needs.
As a solo senior
Meaning I live alone without family that is geographically close, I rely on a healthcare team. Included in that team are: a primary care physician, a functional/integrative physician, a dietician, a masseuse, an acupuncturist, an osteoporosis-focused physical therapist, and a healthcare advocate. All except the PCP are paid out of pocket.
If you do not have the finances to do this, the only alternative is to succumb to medicine which can cause a decline in health. You know the drill, take medicine for this. That medicine has side effects. Take another medicine for that and on and on. I’ve seen seniors taking over 12 medications daily.
Although I can currently take care of the needs I have, I would like to be even more financially secure. I am fortunate to be living a life where I can physically and mentally take care of myself, however, I am fully aware that during my old age that could be taken away at any time. If/when it happens will be another expense. A BIG ONE. One that would be an at-home care expense or an institutional expense.
And if you are in a middle-income situation where you don’t have enough money to take care of all of your needs, yet have too much money to get financial help, you are doomed to “get poor”.
Since I am at an age where I know what has happened and what can happen, I feel I’m in an excellent position to pass on to younger women, regardless of whether you are 25 or 65, what I wish I had done at that age.
My next article will be focused on “What I wish I had done at age 25ish”.