# What Condition or Disease Do You Fear Getting The Most In Your Old Age? (Poll)



## SeaBreeze (Nov 6, 2013)

I fear getting Alzheimer's Disease and not knowing who I am, who my husband is, where I am, and not be able to take care of myself and lose my independence completely.  I'd rather have the pain of a physical disease, and still have my wits about me.

What condition or disease do you fear the most in your old age, please vote on the poll and make any comments about your choice.


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## Warrigal (Nov 6, 2013)

I think my greatest fear would be motor neurone disease.


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## SifuPhil (Nov 6, 2013)

Acne.

Hey, c'mon - that would be SOOOOO embarrassing! :cower:


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## Capt Lightning (Nov 7, 2013)

I used to wonder what it would be like to get 'old'.  Now that I'm in my 60's, I find I still have the same desires, ideas etc..that I had when I was younger - I could maybe even afford a few of them.  So what I fear is having an active, imaginative brain but my body letting me down and not being mobile or able to do physical activities.


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## Davey Jones (Nov 7, 2013)

Ill have to go with Alzheimer's Disease and blindness.


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## Butterfly (Oct 26, 2016)

Colon cancer, like my niece died of.  It was absolutely indescribably horrific.  Incredibly painful, dehumanizing and basically "the sum of all fears."


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## fureverywhere (Oct 26, 2016)

It sounds silly but blindness or vision loss. Reading is my great passion. If I can't read I'd be ready to jump. In the family I've seen up close what cancer and Parkinson's can do. But really if I can read I can deal with any other curveball thrown at me.


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## Pappy (Oct 27, 2016)

So far, I'm the only one that picked COPD. I GUESS ITS BECAUSE IM SEEING HOW ITS EFFECTING MY EVERYDAY LIFE. Didn't mean to use capital letters.


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## Bobw235 (Oct 27, 2016)

For me it's Alzheimer's disease, having seen what it did to my late father-in-law and how dementia has destroyed my mother-in-law as well. My wife is terrified that it will happen to her one day.


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## Ken N Tx (Oct 27, 2016)

Pappy said:


> So far, I'm the only one that picked COPD. I GUESS ITS BECAUSE IM SEEING HOW ITS EFFECTING MY EVERYDAY LIFE. Didn't mean to use capital letters.



..In May I was told that I have COPD Emphysema...I have also found out that this Doc tells everyone that smokes the same thing!! 

Quitting has been very difficult for me, but I have cut back to 6 or 7 a day compared to 25 to 30 a day.


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## Bobw235 (Oct 27, 2016)

Ken N Tx said:


> View attachment 33035..In May I was told that I have COPD Emphysema...I have also found out that this Doc tells everyone that smokes the same thing!!
> 
> Quitting has been very difficult for me, but I have cut back to 6 or 7 a day compared to 25 to 30 a day.View attachment 33036


I see how COPD and asbestosis have impacted my father, now tethered to an oxygen tank most of the time. I feel for anyone going through this.


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## Don M. (Oct 27, 2016)

Loss of the "basic" senses....hearing, sight, etc., would seem to me to be a miserable way to spend the later years.  Sight, especially, would be a major impact that would severely limit a persons ability to function.  My old Dad had Macular Degeneration in his last few years, and he had to give up driving, and had to rely on others to take him everywhere.  Towards that end, I talked to my eye doctor a few years ago, and he suggested a daily regimen of taking a Lutein pill and a fish oil capsule daily.  Since I started that, my annual eye exam has come up good, and I haven't had to have a real prescription change in several years.  Hearing is also very important for maintaining any kind of interpersonal activity.  So many older folks have to spend thousands on hearing aids, and even then, can barely carry on a fluid conversation, etc.  Protecting the ears from any kind of noisy environment/activity is a Must.


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## jujube (Oct 27, 2016)

Alzheimer's/Dementia.  I fear that every time I struggle to find a word that I should know or try to find something that I just had in my hand a moment ago.   My doctor keeps assuring me that those things don't mean I'm getting Alzheimer's, but I still worry.


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## fureverywhere (Oct 27, 2016)

I feel that with dementia that the horror can be more reserved for the family and caregivers than the patient. In the last years of his life my uncle was completely lost...the blessing was that he didn't realize it. His son was mortified by the language and behavior his Dad exhibited with the nursing home staff. A terrible thing to watch someone go through.


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## mrstime (Nov 11, 2016)

fureverywhere said:


> It sounds silly but blindness or vision loss. Reading is my great passion. If I can't read I'd be ready to jump. In the family I've seen up close what


That was my choice as well, reading has been alife-long passion for me. The main reason I would fear blindness is because I am already legally blind in one eye, to lose the good eye would be devistating. What would I do without reading? No books , no computer, all I could do is listen to the TV.


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## fureverywhere (Nov 11, 2016)

That was my choice as well, reading has been alife-long passion for me. The main reason I would fear blindness is because I am already legally blind in one eye, to lose the good eye would be devistating. What would I do without reading? No books , no computer, all I could do is listen to the TV. 

Really dementia and you don't know where you are. But being able to lose myself in a good read? No I NEED my books absolutely.


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## Linda W. (Feb 7, 2017)

My mother died of Cancer of the Pancreas and my sister of Glioblastoma multiforme (type of brain cancer). So cancer is always first in my mind, because both of those leave you so very very little time. Also any kind of dementia, because the mind is such a devastating loss.


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## Mrs. Robinson (Feb 7, 2017)

Linda W. said:


> My mother died of Cancer of the Pancreas and my sister of Glioblastoma multiforme (type of brain cancer). So cancer is always first in my mind, because both of those leave you so very very little time. Also any kind of dementia, because the mind is such a devastating loss.



My best friend of 38 years lost her mom to Glioblastoma multiforme. Horrible,horrible disease. When the doctor told her kids what it was she had,he stopped them from going to the hospital library to look it up. He told them "Just don`t." You don`t want to know". My friend and her sister left California and moved to Washington to care for her and the stories my friend has told me are just heartwrenching.


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## Wilberforce (Feb 7, 2017)

For those who answered Alzheimers. My husband  is in the last stage of this, and I have to say, in a very odd way he is sort of lucky , he is no longer worried by approaching illness or death as he as no knowledge of either any more. he is perfectly content in his own world . It  feels weird writing this but we all worry about how we will end up, he no longer has that worry  hanging over him. I guess a young child has ni odea either and there are many similarities. It was harder in the earlier stages of course.


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## Steve LS (Feb 7, 2017)

Dad passed away at 91 and had memory problems.
Not Alzheimer or dementia yet every time I forget something I think, oh oh.

It's not rational but lots of people as young as 30, 40, years old fear Alzheimer. 
Rational or not Alzheimer is what I picked in the poll.


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## dpwspringer (Feb 8, 2017)

fureverywhere said:


> That was my choice as well, reading has been alife-long passion for me. The main reason I would fear blindness is because I am already legally blind in one eye, to lose the good eye would be devistating. What would I do without reading? No books , no computer, all I could do is listen to the TV.
> 
> Really dementia and you don't know where you are. But being able to lose myself in a good read? No I NEED my books absolutely.


FYI, I have an Amazon Prime membership and enjoy reading. I added their Kindle Unlimited membership as well and that ties in to Audible for a good number of books, where the book is read to you along with the text, if you want it that way. I find myself reading/listening to books in at least 3 different ways. First is just reading the book. Second is listening to it being read to me while driving, etc (my car has Bluetooth connectivity and my smartphone, which is an inexpensive Tracfone phone, can load the Kindle reading app and work with my car). Third is mirrorcasting it to my TV and listening/reading along with on a big screen such that I don't have to wear reading glasses. Some versions of Kindle tablets had mirrorcasting but my newest one doesn't. Anyhow, the Audible capability is a game changer in how I can enjoy my books. I set in the park sometimes and listen/read along with in on the speaker phone of my smart phone or use a Bluetooth headset and listen/read along with it while dining out alone at times.


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## Uncontrolable (Aug 14, 2017)

SeaBreeze said:


> I fear getting Alzheimer's Disease and not knowing who I am, who my husband is, where I am, and not be able to take care of myself and lose my independence completely.  I'd rather have the pain of a physical disease, and still have my wits about me.
> 
> What condition or disease do you fear the most in your old age, please vote on the poll and make any comments about your choice.



You may not lose a sense of yourself with Alzheimer.s disease.  It is more likely you will lose the ability to communicate who you are.  I used to work with Alzheimer's patients for a short time.  Communicate to your partner, or in writing that you would like music played if your memory goes.  

Alzheimer's patients lose their ability, because of memory loss, to locate themselves in reality from moment to moment.  Music offers a continuous stream for them to attach to.  They get up and dance.  They have smiles on their faces because music will bring memories of happier times.  

The thing I fear the most about Alzheimer's is that these patients lose their ability to understand their bodily functions.  An Alzheimer's patient might have fear in a bath tub because the water is draining and they do not know where it is going.  This is the big one, actually there are two big ones.  Alzheimer's patients choke to death because they cannot remember to swallow.  The good news is choking is actually a fast death because unconsciousness comes quickly.  

The other problem is Alzheimer's wander.  An Alzheimer's patient can step out their front door and no longer know where they are.  In Arizona they are found dead in dry washes from exposure.  The same is true for colder climates.  There is a better chance for survival in mild climates.  That's all.


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## grannyjo (Aug 15, 2017)

My sister passed away last night from the dreadful slow sliding away disease of Alzheimer's.  She was 87 and had spent the last 6 years in a nursing home,  totally unaware of who she was,  or who any member of her family was.

It is something I do not wish to happen to me.


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## drifter (Aug 28, 2017)

I don 't know, Sea, I just want to be left alone.


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## applecruncher (Jan 6, 2018)

One not on the list is ALS Lou Gherig's disease. Devastating and very cruel disease.


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## Olivia (Jan 6, 2018)

Pulmonary fibrosis. That's when the cells in your lungs slowly turn to stone and you suffocate to death. That what my mom died of. Her's was idiopathic meaning no known cause, except it could be genetic. I'd kill myself first.


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## C'est Moi (Jan 7, 2018)

I guess I truly fear "all of the above."   I truly dread Alzheimer's but I saw my mother die of kidney disease after being on dialysis for the last 5 years of her life and that was terrible.   My father died of colon cancer and it was also horrible.  One of my best friends has Parkinson's; it's devastating.    

Let's face it, the end-of-life options are all a bit scary and often terrible.


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## moviequeen1 (Jan 7, 2018)

I would be terrified if I got Alzheimer's,I have a good memory of names and faces.It would be terrible if I couldn't remember my siblings or my friends
For years,I've been keeping my brain alert by reading,doing daily NYTimes crossword puzzles. I also do the daily puzzles in USA Today
ALS would also be on my list.One of our church members passed away 2 yrs ago,he was young age 46. Sue


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