Pt ages

malamud69, BSN, RN · Sep 7, 2014

Read "House of god" pretty much sums up the discussion regardless of socioeconomic condition...

martymoose, BSN, RN · Sep 7, 2014

Read "House of god" pretty much sums up the discussion regardless of socioeconomic condition...

Interesting , thanks

ETA:VERRRYY interesting- I read the wiki summary ( new age cliff notes,lol?)

I hate reading novels, but this one has my attention!

malamud69, BSN, RN · Sep 7, 2014

At times it can be a ponderous read, but if you can get through those parts its worth it! Ahhhh...if only books had fast forward/skip...maybe on an ereader? If your good at skimming textbooks....same idea!

RNperdiem, RN · Sep 7, 2014

I think good mental health is part of it. The people who weathered life out to old age are a resilient group.

Altra, BSN, RN · Sep 7, 2014

Realize that the patients you're seeing in their 40s-50s are an overrepresentation of that age group: most middle-aged adults are NOT critically ill in hospitals, so you're not seeing them.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Sep 7, 2014

I notice this phenomenon at work and in my personal life. Both my parents are in their 50s, yet they have a laundry list of lifestyle illnesses that arose from hard living, addiction, and not seeking medical care until an issue spiraled out of control.

My mother is in her mid-50s. She's morbidly obese due to emotional eating. She has stage 3 chronic kidney disease, HTN, type 2 diabetes, anemia, cardiac issues, asthma, obstructive sleep apnea, HCV+, and who knows what else. She spends most of her days in front of the television.

My father is in his late 50s. He's underweight due to poorly controlled type 1 diabetes. He has HTN, chronic kidney disease, HCV+, and elevated cholesterol. He is a pack-a-day smoker. He abused alcohol and illicit drugs for many years, but now his latest addiction is compulsive gambling. The addictive behaviors mask the emotional pain that arise from a wildly dysfunctional upbringing.

I should mention that they both grew up in a lower socioeconomic rung and tend to have an external locus of control (a.k.a. "Someone else ruined my life"). I live several states away from them and each visit home is increasingly depressing. I know the inevitable outcome, but I intellectualize the situation as a coping mechanism.

Delicate Flower · Sep 8, 2014

Wow, Commuter. Thank you for sharing that. You are always so introspective and self aware. Off topic, but I remember another post when you described yourself as viewing people as objects, and having a blunted affect. That stuck with me because I can see those qualities in myself.

My parents depress me as well. I live 8 hours away and enjoy much better mental health when I avoid any contact with them whatsoever. They do not have myriad health problems like yours, but they are just depressing in other ways.

martymoose, BSN, RN · Sep 8, 2014

Interesting, Commuter. My spouse lost both his parents- father at 38 to a AAA( we think, certificate says tamponade) He was supposedly diabetic, 400 lbs, no real job etc. His mom died at 60 from kidney failure, obesity, dm, copd, etc. She was a wreck from the get go. Didn't believe in drugs ( would even have colonoscopies with NO meds- she was afraid she'd not come back from the sedation) but then made up for her severe anxiety with eating and smoking like a fiend. And shopping.

these all sound like hopelessness.That I do see in the 40- 50 y/o pts. It's a lot to do with our pathetic economy too. The 80+ y/o got to have only 1 person working to support a family, they got jobs that promised a retirement, they used to have their benefits paid for. The wife could stay home and raise kids properly. They got to have vacations maybe once a year.

I must say even I am in that 50's group- no hope of retiring, etc.The medical problems just haven't hit me or my husband yet, surprisingly.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Sep 8, 2014

Wow, Commuter. Thank you for sharing that. You are always so introspective and self aware. Off topic, but I remember another post when you described yourself as viewing people as objects, and having a blunted affect. That stuck with me because I can see those qualities in myself.

I have more of a restricted affect. My face displays some emotion, but not quite the same depth of feeling as most 'normal' individuals. I think I view people as objects and have the restricted affect due to early childhood traumas that no child should witness.

I witnessed occasional scenes of domestic violence as a kid, such as my father hitting my mother, yelling at her, or destroying the household furniture. One memory that resurfaces on a daily basis is of my father destroying the glass dining room furniture with a lead pipe to humiliate my mother in front of the houseguests. He also used a knife to cut up the sofa and loveseat set. As a kindergartner this memory traumatizes me to this very day.

Another memory involves my mother putting a rifle to her head, threatening to commit suicide.

And of course, there are memories of my father splitting his crack cocaine rocks with a razor blade at the kitchen table in preparation for smoking them. Meanwhile, bills went unpaid and the refrigerator remained perpetually empty because a significant amount of household money went to support his drug habit during these years.

I was diagnosed with PTSD about 10 years ago, although I have never spent a day fighting a foreign war. I feel really ashamed to admit that I have constant flashbacks, unresolved anger and deeply rooted resentment toward my parents from incidents in the past, but it is what it is.

I know I veered off-subject, but the hard living and years of unhealthful behaviors are reasons why they have multiple chronic illnesses in their 50s. I know this sounds cold, but I sometimes wonder what life would have been life if I had been born to people with better coping mechanisms.

It is socially unacceptable in today's society to reveal that you harbor lingering resentment toward the people who gave you life, so this online anonymous vent has been cathartic. If you've read up to this point, thanks for 'listening' to my basket case issues.

My parents depress me as well. I live 8 hours away and enjoy much better mental health when I avoid any contact with them whatsoever. They do not have myriad health problems like yours, but they are just depressing in other ways.

I totally understand. (((((hugs to you)))))

martymoose, BSN, RN · Sep 8, 2014

Commuter- you sound strong- ((((hugs))) to you too.

imintrouble, BSN, RN · Sep 8, 2014

I have more of a restricted affect. My face displays some emotion, but not quite the same depth of feeling as most 'normal' individuals. I think I view people as objects and have the restricted affect due to early childhood traumas that no child should witness.
I witnessed occasional scenes of domestic violence as a kid, such as my father hitting my mother, yelling at her, or destroying the household furniture. One memory that resurfaces on a daily basis is of my father destroying the glass dining room furniture with a lead pipe to humiliate my mother in front of the houseguests. He also used a knife to cut up the sofa and loveseat set. As a kindergartner this memory traumatizes me to this very day.
Another memory involves my mother putting a rifle to her head, threatening to commit suicide.
And of course, there are memories of my father splitting his crack cocaine rocks with a razor blade at the kitchen table in preparation for smoking them. Meanwhile, bills went unpaid and the refrigerator remained perpetually empty because a significant amount of household money went to support his drug habit during these years.
I was diagnosed with PTSD about 10 years ago, although I have never spent a day fighting a foreign war. I feel really ashamed to admit that I have constant flashbacks, unresolved anger and deeply rooted resentment toward my parents from incidents in the past, but it is what it is.
I know I veered off-subject, but the hard living and years of unhealthful behaviors are reasons why they have multiple chronic illnesses in their 50s. I know this sounds cold, but I sometimes wonder what life would have been life if I had been born to people with better coping mechanisms.
It is socially unacceptable in today's society to reveal that you harbor lingering resentment toward the people who gave you life, so this online anonymous vent has been cathartic. If you've read up to this point, thanks for 'listening' to my basket case issues.
I totally understand. (((((hugs to you)))))

You would not be you.