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Quality of life vs. quantity

Magna

Magna

Well-Known Member
V.I.P Member
"Don't take a second piece of cake. You'll live longer if you don't."
"Be sure to exercise every day or you won't live as long."
"If you avoid [ some sort of food or drink ] you'll extend your life by [ certain number of years ]"
"An austere life will lead to a longer life."


^ We hear things like this all the time including avoiding even occasional indulgences. How is the quality of life for most people when they get to an extreme age? Sure you can read about the rare person who is still running marathons (slowly) at age 90, but again, how is the quality of life for most people in their 90s and 100's?

I have a relative who is approaching 100 and to put it bluntly has a very poor quality of life. The person's needs are all met and cared for as they need 24/7 care, but their life, their existence as it is now wouldn't be envied by anyone. It's hard to see because after witnessing it the last thing I'd want personally is an extended period of helplessness, confusion, frailty, sickness, fear and without purpose.

If there was a way to figure out how to add years to the active period of one's life...sign me up today. Add years on the very tail end? I don't think so.
 
My great grandmother lived to 98, I was 13 when she died. Up until the last 3 years she lived with her daughter and daughter's husband, my grandparents. When they were getting too old and needing a bit of help themselves Granny Carter had to go into a home.

She smoked and drank all her life. She didn't smoke much, it was her husband's pipe from many years ago and I think it was more of a memory trigger for her than really smoking all the time. And all her life she drank half a cup of stout twice a day as a health tonic, a lot of women have trouble with iron deficiency. That really was only a health tonic to her, if she wanted to hook in she drank brandy.

The nursing home wouldn't let her have these things. She laughed and said they were scared it was going to shorten her life. We used to smuggle stubbies of stout in for her and hide them all over the place because we figured the nurses would find some but not all. She drank it in a tea cup and it looked like strong tea. They took her pipe away from her. She called it God's Waiting Room and said she wished he'd hurry up.
 
Longevity is one of those combined "nurture and nature" things. Sometimes people just can't fight their genetics. Sometimes people that have "bad genetics" live decades beyond their relatives.

In health care we see this ALL-THE-TIME. You walk into a room, the chart says "36 years old" and they look like they've lived a really hard life, and could pass for 56. You walk into another room, the chart says "96 years old" and they are as bright, chipper, engaged, full of life, and look maybe 65-70. My parents were OLD when they were 40, whining and complaining about how old they were, how old they felt, limping around, etc. I'm 56 and feel quite youthful. My wife's father is 80, but his father, his uncles, his grandfathers, all died before 60 of sudden heart attacks. He literally retired at 50 because he didn't see himself making it until 65 and wanted to travel with his wife those last 15 years before he died, and 30 years later, he's still kicking. You hear of people smoking and drinking well into their 90's. You hear of high-level athletes dying in their 50's, or before.

I'm not sure anyone's figured any of this out, but I am of the mindset to enjoy your life, take care of yourself, and keep your body and mind active. I am planning on at least 100, you know, just to piss people off.:p
 
I Had two uncles two brothers one died at 65 heart attach drinkers overweight, younger brother lived to ninety-eight
Both bright one was in union job could hardly wait for retirement died months after brother made manager of machine shop production manager, worked into his seventies. based on my statistics inflection points matter. Not predictor just indicator.
 

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There are stories of jovial people who are the "life of the party" who die relatively young (in part perhaps from their lifestyle choices) and then the stories of people who live to be ancient fossils and are sometimes angry, crabby difficult people. Who enjoyed life more between the two? The former.

My point is whether or not it's worth taking austere measures with the purpose of hoping to live longer if a person, for example, would end up living another few years, five years, etc only being able to alternate between a wheelchair and a hospital bed during those last years, requiring others to handle all of your ADLs (Activities of Daily Living such as, dressing, bathing grooming, toileting, etc).
 
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Not necessarily.

Some people enjoy being cranky and difficult.
Gives them a feeling of power.

And some who are the life of the party, party hard
to dilute feelings of sadness.
 
There's a quote from Lady and the Tramp that I really like. Lady has been taken to the pound. One of the other dogs has been at the pound too long, and the dog catcher takes him through the one way door. At first everyone is quiet and somber. But then, the old bulldog exclaims, "It's short life, but a merry one."

I think, regardless of longevity, what matters is the loving joy we shared with others.
 
If a healthy lifestyle gives me an increased chance to add on a few more quality years, I'll take it. Nothing is a guarantee of anything, but I had an aunt who died young, in her sixties, of smoking related illness. And I had the awful experience of seeing a person get cancer of the larynx (directly related to smoking) and have to go through treatment and eventually die at the age of 59. No, smoking isn't an automatic death sentence, it doesn't automatically mean that you are going to die young, but it's like playing Russian roulette: you might not get the bullet, but there's a very good chance that you will. Those people who died would have probably had a good few more years of quality life if it hadn't been for the smoking.

I enjoy a small amount of alcohol but will eventually give this up, but smoking or other dangerous/addictive drugs? No thanks. The risk is too great and outweighs any potential benefits. If I can give myself a few more healthy years by refraining, then I'll take it. And crucially, if I don't know it, then I won't miss it.
 
I don't think that occasional treats do much harm, and enjoyment is good for health. If they become bad habits, that's a problem. Currently, most urban people are fed by companies that pay no attention to health, and medicated by companies that pay no attention to nutrition. It's a profitable system, but not good for us.
I try to exercise daily, and don't worry about occasional rain days, but I had three in a row off for smoke, and am not back up to speed after two weeks. I notice that when farmers retire, they can deteriorate very rapidly.
Many elderly people say they'd never want to live in a nursing home, but, like a frog in a pan of water on the stove, each change is too easy to get used to, and then the ability to resist fades, while the family can't make a tough decision, and the facilities want the work. I wonder if I should set up an annual test for myself.
 
Magna said:
"Don't take a second piece of cake. You'll live longer if you don't."
"Be sure to exercise every day or you won't live as long."
"If you avoid [ some sort of food or drink ] you'll extend your life by [ certain number of years ]"
"An austere life will lead to a longer life."


^ We hear things like this all the time including avoiding even occasional indulgences. How is the quality of life for most people when they get to an extreme age? Sure you can read about the rare person who is still running marathons (slowly) at age 90, but again, how is the quality of life for most people in their 90s and 100's?

I have a relative who is approaching 100 and to put it bluntly has a very poor quality of life. The person's needs are all met and cared for as they need 24/7 care, but their life, their existence as it is now wouldn't be envied by anyone. It's hard to see because after witnessing it the last thing I'd want personally is an extended period of helplessness, confusion, frailty, sickness, fear and without purpose.

If there was a way to figure out how to add years to the active period of one's life...sign me up today. Add years on the very tail end? I don't think so.
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I always think it is the quality of life instead of the quantity
And it is nice when you can close ur eyes and you feel that at least a few people have truly loved you and you have left something good behind no matter how small.
People can have long lives and be miserable and lonely
I think it is good to enjoy everything you can without being too greedy
So eat cake, laugh, put up decorations, spend time with loved ones and make ur life worthwhile.
We are never promised more time
We all have struggles but it is good if you can still gsr enjoyment
 
As with everything it is about extremes. The lines you portrayed suggest it is one piece of extra cake one time. That won`t shorten your life (unless you choke on it). But if it is an extra piece of cake every single day it could hurt you. Because not only do you shorten your life. You will most likely become overweight. Which for a lot of people will decrease their quality of life.

Let's take another example. If you don't smoke you will life extend your life by 15 years.
What this fails to say is that if you smoke a quite a lot you will come across health issues. You won`t have the same amount of long conditioning you would have if you didn`t smoke. So you are tired more quickly. Which for some people could mean they cannot play around with their kids as much as when you wouldn`t smoke. It also decreases the amount you can taste. You are way more likely to get cancer which can ruin your life. So not only does it shorten your life. Your shortened life is more likely to have less quality.

It is not about that single piece of cake, it is not about that one sigarette you smoke on the weekend in the pub. It is about extremes. So it is not an either or in quality vs quantity. Because you are way more likely to decrease the overal quality of your life along with shortening it. So it very often goes hand in hand.
 
I Stopped eating sugar years ago, still have dental issues it appears the real issue is dry mouth. I figured this out why did the dentists not. Exercising now is walking as much as possible. stationary bike in cold weather. weights daily on my weight machine.
 
I would rather have the happiest life possible than the absolute longest one, because everyone I knew who lived into their 90s had lots of complications towards the end.

A relatively long, happy life that ended in my sleep without me being aware and suffering would be the best outcome.
 
I had quite a few very close calls early on. More then once trully thought I was a goner. It forced on me a need to consider mortality. But most of these close calls came from doing things I wanted to do, albeit risky. My conclusion then was that as long as you live your life to the fullest, the duration doesn't matter, because I already could say I had lived a interesting full life (to me).

The dynamic changed with marriage and having kids and now pets. When close calls come now, though I am quite willing to throw in the towel if excessive pain or disability is involved (and I am just tired tbh) checking out would be letting down those around me. So quantity is the goal now at least until I feel I have fullfilled my duty to them. At least as long as I can. If I feel the situation shifts to me being a burden the dynamic would likely change again.
 
Quantity. I already dont have the best quality so id want more to make up for it. Also im scared of the fact that one day i will cease to exist and there will be nothing anymore. No thoughts not being a part of this world. Just gone and then im no longer me.
 
Kisa the tea said:
Quantity. I already dont have the best quality so id want more to make up for it. Also im scared of the fact that one day i will cease to exist and there will be nothing anymore. No thoughts not being a part of this world. Just gone and then im no longer me.
Click to expand...
Based on the two major theories of physics this may not be the case, You may be gone but your information. Stored somewhere.
 
I have always been for quality rather than quantity. To me if you can't enjoy your life then it's not worth living. Here's a story from 35 years ago:

That winter I suffered a really bad bout of bronchitis, so bad that I went to see a doctor. He did all sorts of tests, I had to cough up oysters into a jar for him, urine samples, and a whole series of blood tests. He wanted me to go to hospital and it took quite a bit of talking to make him understand that I had to work, if I didn't go to work I wouldn't be able to pay rent and then I would be a lot worse off. I eventually worked this out for myself, people that are prone to bronchitis shouldn't smoke bongs, it was the water going into my lungs that was causing all the problems. I changed back to smoking dope in a pipe and the bronchitis cleared up.

Then the doctor phoned and asked me to come and see him to discuss some anomalies in my blood test results. When I got there he told me that he could only find one problem with me, but it was a very serious problem, I had an erratic thyroid gland. Sometimes it was working normally, sometimes it was running double time.

There was a standard procedure to fix this, cut half the thyroid gland away so that when it's over active your body gets the right amount of hormone, then take hormone replacement pills when the thyroid is behaving normally. I knew two people who had already gone through this procedure, within two years they both developed thyritic cancer and died, one of them a single mother that left behind a 5 year old and an 8 year old.

I told the doctor that I wouldn't be doing that. The doctor got a bit cross with me, he said that what I had was a life threatening situation and that if he wanted he could phone the police and have me escorted to hospital. I panicked, and threatening a lad from Salisbury with police involvement was not a wise decision. Across his desk I could see the back of a framed photograph, I leant over and picked it up.

I glanced at the photo, I was right, it was a picture of a woman and two little girls, I gently placed the photo back in it's place and said "If you want to muck with my life I reckon I could really muck with yours!" The doctor suddenly looked as scared as I was and he apologised to me, I left quietly.
 
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