Losing strength!

[Shishin]

Hi everyone, I lurk here a lot but don't say too much. You all seem like a nice group of people so I'm wondering if you can put my aging experience in context with yours. I have always been strong as an ox. I'm 57 years old and I wait tables and exercise. In the last few years I have noticed a huge decrease in my strength. I used to lift 40 pound bags of dog food and huge trays of food on my shoulders with no problem. I can't do that anymore and it's really distressing it seems so sudden. My doctor says it is normal aging. I started lifting 5 pound weights and doing squats and not so much treadmill as I used to do. I've only been doing this a couple weeks so I haven't seen results yet. I asked a friend to is 62 when she started to lose strength. She works on a ranch lifting bales of hay and carrying buckets of feed ect. She seemed surprised and said that she hasn't had any noticeable loss. I asked another customer who is about 67 and she said she hasn't really lost strength either. My husband who is 52 had the same answer. What is you all's experiences? When and if did you feel like you were losing muscle tone?

[Annienjoe]

I don't have a diagnosis of lupus, but I do have symptoms: muscle pain and muscle weakness are two of the longest running symptoms, 12 years approx., I am 60 years old.

[Shorthouse]

At 57 you are getting old ,we all lose strength as we age.the 2people you mention are fooling themselves.x

[Gmagolf in reply to Shorthouse]

I disagree. In the mid fifties you should not be losing strength unless you’re a couch potato. My husband is 81 and just started losing strength recently due to a couple of injuries from him thinking he’s still 20. In my 50s my dr said my aching joints were due to aging. 10 years later they find I had autoimmune stuff going on. Doctors who do that are just lazy. Find one who will take you seriously. Obviously we are stronger when we are younger but not to the degree you are losing strength

[Hidden]

I believe it’s called deconditioning and people with connective tissue diseases often suffer from it although of course it is exacerbated by the ageing process.

[Joy_1]

Hi Shishin

I have UCTD. I noticed a big drop in strength. At the time my Rheumatologist said it was down to the steroids. My strength levels have much improved recently. I could not drop below 5.5mg Pred without flaring. With yet another adjustment to my meds I'm now down to 2mg. It's taken over 5 years to get to this point. And it was at 3mg that big changes in strength and energy levels too started to take place.

Joy

[Bebe76]

As others have said, deconditioning and ageing are likely causes, especially if you have decreased your activity levels. There is also myosistis, which causes inflammation of muscles, and leads to muscle weakness. You can read more here

nhs.uk/conditions/myositis/

[Krazykat26]

I used to live off grid in a horsebox that we converted into a tiny house..we lived on the road making n selling chainsaw wood carvings for 4yrs..it was the most challenging thing I've done n I absolutely loved it..I used the chainsaw regularly..I chopped wood manually with a mull or an axe..cooked on open fires..survived four years of typical UK weather..even friends who work outdoors said we picked the worse four years weather wise!!

N now I have the strength of wet spaghetti!!!

I'm in my 50's n was diagnosed with lupus two years ago. Am now a wheelchair user..life has changed dramatically for me..so now I'm getting to know a new me xx

[Shishin]

Well thank you all for your input, you gave me a lot to research and consider. It sounds like maybe I didn't get a completely honest answer from the 2 ladies I asked, or maybe they are just having unusual experiences. It is so frustrating and confusing to know what is normal, when you have never been old before

[Mean-time]

Hi Shshin, I’m 81 now and have had UCTD since 2002, then IPF IN October 2008. I have experienced a loss of strength gradually, but continue to use my muscles as much as possible. I lift using my legs as much as possible, use canned goods for weights for my arms (still use my cast iron skillets). Don’t give in to the weakness, just slowly build up as we are all different and respond to this illness in different ways. Do your best and keep your spirits up. I’ll be keeping all of us in prayer🤗🙏

[SaneJane]

Muscle weakness is a symptom that is listed for some conditions. Here's a study about it. Basically it's very common in people with RA but it's also a symptom of other conditions. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

[Shishin]

I really sort of agree with you, it just doesn't seem right. I'm always afraid of sounding like a hypochondriac with all these gazillion complaints I have. It's really hard for me to speak up.

[Shishin]

I had a negative test for RA but borderline positive ANA.. Doc Said it was probably a false positive because of the hep C. He doesn't seem interested in retesting. I'm sleeping 10 hours a night and 11 if I can get away with it. I keep trying to cut back on the amount of time in bed because it doesn't seem like it could be healthy. I think my game plan is going to be to keep lifting weights and exercising to try to combat this. If it doesn't get better in the next 6 months I think I'll have to be more aggressive with my doctor or find a new one. You know what? You guys are all awesome