for my fellow WPers who feel [or ARE] old and struggling

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wow you went through enough stuff to drop 10 other people! you have strength and courage for sure. for the books have you tried one of those jeweler's magnifier devices [like a lamp on a bendable stalk but has a lighted magnifying glass at the end of the stalk] or other low-vision devices?

that lime ice cream cone doesn't have CBD in it, does it?

I have a reading thingy that is like a bendable cord with lights on either end, and I can wear it around my neck or just place it on my lap for little spotlights with adjustable colours. I did get a magnifier thing that I can set on my books but it's hard to hold them. I usually read when I'm lying on my back rather than sat at a table. Then I need to use both hands on the book / magnifier, which is a problem because I can't stim when I do that. Normally I hold my book open with one hand and I can still stim with my other. I'm a hardcore stimmer so this has really had an impact on my ability to read. I love my current book but can only manage a chapter a day now, at best.

Hugs again blabbs. Hope you feel better today.

thank you i also use a pair of magnifying glasses worn like reading glasses but no diopter used, they just uniformly magnify the print on a page 2-3 times to where i can better see it.

I recall reading somewhere (might have been on here) that there is a higher incidence of people with Autism looking younger than their years. I am not aware of any research on this though so I guess this is anecdotal.

In any event, I think that I have inherited some useful genes in this regard as I am frequently told that I look younger than my 61 years - late 40's to early 50's by most.

Though I started to go grey in my 20's I havent lost any hair and my weight had remained constant.

I do have some arthritis (the not so good genes) and as is common my knees are not brilliant, but my mobility isnt bad at all. I will be taking a long walk along the beech this afternoon.

My only ongoing medical condition is benign prostate enlargement which I take daily meds for and mild peryonie's disease which there is no treatment for but has no bearing on longevity.

Otherwise everything else is OK, BP ,blood sugar etc. I need reading glasses but my long site is 20/20.

I stopped smoking in my late 20's, gave up alcohol about 10 years ago and am a vegetarian who doesn't have many dairy products due to intolerance. Perhaps that all has a bearing on it.

The biggest benefit to me of being fit and healthy isnt about how other people view me (I am quite indifferent to that) but my ability to keep working. I love my job - it my main 'special interest' in life, and I want to keep doing it for as long as I can. I'm hoping to carry on until my mid 70's.

I have an older model, but large ipad, maybe 8x10. I can control the brightness and color of the background, as well as the size of the type. I read in bed and lie on my side and prop the ipad up on a pillow.

For some reason, I can't read with glasses on, even though they are supposedly adjusted. So I read with glasses off and adjust the size of the type.

Congratulations on the good genes. That is quite a blessing.

My mother, who in retrospect I am pretty sure was one of those amazingly smart aspies, looked very young. When I was in my teens and my mother was in her 40s, people thought she was my sister.

She developed a brain tumor which was treated with radiation in the 1960s and she never really recovered from that. Her hair turned from golden yellow tresses to thin mousy brown. She gained a lot of weight and, again in retrospect, probably had an autoimmune and/or thyroid issues. After that she looked much older than she was.

My "aging" has been about the same. When I was teaching at college, others thought I was a student, just for example. I was always getting "carded" when I was long past adult age. And then in my 40s it changed from looking younger to, by the 50s, looking much older.

I am trying to adopt the manner and character of an "old crone."

You can also get e-ink devices, the newer ones have lighting built in. The screen refreshing takes a bit to get used to, but I like how they look like actual ink on paper (which is also healthier for your eyes and your sleep than LCD screens), and the battery lasts forever.

My older Kobo model doesn't have a light, but it does use buttons instead of a touch screen, and it's DRM-free.
I don't use it as much as I should, but I do have quite a few books loaded onto it already.

right now a big fear is losing yet another physical capacity. can't carry my weight around anymore, canes and wheelchair and electric scooters seem to be my future today. sis hadda wheel me around a rock show in a little town near my home. i got pretty much improved in my ability to maneuver the chair around obstacles and hills.

Yeah, I'm about at that turning point. I could have passed for 10 to 20 years younger until recently, but now I seem to be sliding rapidly towards decrepitude. Physically, that is.

Apparently the way I speak and behave is still dissonant with my age and I think it always will be. I've even started taking an interest in anime aimed at teenagers. I expect to remain young at heart forever!

67, recently determined on the spectrum. Love knowing I am not a freak of nature but rather a multi-faceted wonderful person with many talents and it is ok to be me.
Trigeminal and Occipital Neuralgias, Migraines, Small Fiber neuropathy, Fibromyalgia--probably from camoflauging my whole life. Now to be who I am.
MSEd, former teacher.
You should see my collection of Bernie Sanders memes on my phone.

Oh dear, those are totally un-fun!

But, hey, welcome to the forum!

As for me, got in mail yesterday and filled out at creative writers group today (I checked mail on way out to group, today's mail would not have come at the time) a survey from the "Midlife in the United States" survey project done by University of Wisconsin-Madison and supported by National Institute on Aging.

Don't remember how I got involved in the thing but have been answering occasional questions for them for several years to a decade now.

This survey was about how you spent you time over the last 12 months and what impact the covid pandemic had on what you do with your time.

With me being disabled and single the lockdowns and all didn't have as much effect on me as it did on working people and families.

I used to be able to walk around town for hours on end when I was in my mid 30s. I can only walk for a maximum of 30 minutes these days. I was also on the baseball team for my clubhouse 12 years ago. I don't brood over the things that I can't do, any more. I think about the things that I can do.

(Hugs to all who are struggling)

YES have to Focus on what we *can* do.

Between migraines, digestive issues, bad back, fibromyalgia, and high blood sugar, I feel like I’ve had to say good bye to so much. Totally concur on the
FFS, what fresh hell is this? Sentiment

The advice given earlier by several rings true - having the youthful spirit and some trusted activities and experiences under our belts can keep us in the best shape possible despite limitations.

Trying SO HARD to make healthy changes and do the best I can with what I’ve got. Cheers!

I have chronic lower backache. That means I can't walk far without quite a lot of pain. Also standing up for more than rather short periods of time exacerbates the backache.

My balance has never been good, but is now probably a little worse than it used to be. I'm not as physically fit as I used to be, but don't think I qualify as someone who is 'struggling'.