[Lexi2009]

I was just in my ******* and looked at a banana (yes this sounds ridiculous) and it is just past its ripe date and I thought to myself--IS THAT ME? I mean fruits start off super firm and not edible, then they become very sweet, supple and edible then they slowly start to wilt---is that not what we do???

While no one theory has been proven to be the cause of aging in itself, many have been proposed. I wonder though whether aging is not merely a biological way to advertise to potential mates that we are no longer "breeders"? I mean as fertility goes so too do the other things, especially in absence of hormone replacement, especially for women. What also strikes me is that men, who are arguably fertile for life, tend to age a bit slower in terms of intrinsic aging.

Due to my thoughts on this I think an early start (possibly even around my age--30's) with bio-identicals may well prove to be essential for anti-aging. I am not keen myself on starting just yet but I do find the entire concept interesting.

Now personally (so everyone knows I mean no offense) I would not want to be compared to a wilting produce!!!! It was just something that struck me as I looked at the banana and wondered how far gone it was?!!!

 

[lordm]

I don't think that men age so much different than women though I have wondered if shaving the face daily makes their skin tougher so facial aging is not as prominent as on a women. "I wonder though whether aging is not merely a biological way to advertise to potential mates that we are no longer "breeders"?" A scent of a woman who is fertile, able to conceive is different than a woman who can no longer conceive. So your statement would be right.
Also back to men age different than women, a man is not put on a pedestal and expected to look beautiful like a woman is, his value is not judged by his looks. So if a man does age the same as a woman the effects of aging is not noticed as much.

 

[mariepop]

I was just in my ******* and looked at a banana (yes this sounds ridiculous) and it is just past its ripe date and I thought to myself--IS THAT ME? I mean fruits start off super firm and not edible, then they become very sweet, supple and edible then they slowly start to wilt---is that not what we do???

While no one theory has been proven to be the cause of aging in itself, many have been proposed. I wonder though whether aging is not merely a biological way to advertise to potential mates that we are no longer "breeders"? I mean as fertility goes so too do the other things, especially in absence of hormone replacement, especially for women. What also strikes me is that men, who are arguably fertile for life, tend to age a bit slower in terms of intrinsic aging.

Due to my thoughts on this I think an early start (possibly even around my age--30's) with bio-identicals may well prove to be essential for anti-aging. I am not keen myself on starting just yet but I do find the entire concept interesting.

Now personally (so everyone knows I mean no offense) I would not want to be compared to a wilting produce!!!! It was just something that struck me as I looked at the banana and wondered how far gone it was?!!!

This is a good analogy Lexi! It's hard to stay ripe & eatable!

I always thought women were better looking than men in general. If we had hair in growing in our ears, we would certainly not leave it there!

We have to keep moving! excercises etc. and do much more than men!

Do you still doing your trampoline routine? I have stopped my back was aching, and my friend who is 225 lbs has stopped too after a week, for her it's her knees.

Another friend has started to take bio hormones and I can't wait to see if she will be better, she said she never had a good night sleep and I have the same problem, and for what I read, this should solve it.

 

[Lexi2009]

I am still rebounding though I overdid it yesterday and had the worst headache for hours after!

We women have thinner skin which in turn ages quicker. If you ever look at the pinch test men have more elastic skin for the equivalent ages. I think on face value the male/female difference is down mainly to upkeep. Women are valued more for the outer and if you see what happens (and I hate this) in Hollywood as soon as a woman loses looks she is relegated to perihperal roles. Men's worth seems to be increasingly similar BUT is still more on achievement. At about 25-30 you start seeing guys expand at the waist and lose their hair YET they remain "relevant" for many years and to see a 40 year old man with a 22 year old or moreso with a 25-30 year old nobody thinks twice but reverse it, and I did that on this board and heard the wrath of double-standards--and the world seems to turn upside down-suddenly you are a predatory animal called a cougar.

Lordm--yes I agree with you on men's worth. I think though that for us women while you are right about "being judged like art" there is often (almost always) a "she looks GOOD FOR HER AGE" qualifier. It is as if it is shocking. You read a paper and they talk about Jen Anniston or other women turning 40 and it makes me dread turning 40! They are always saying things like "STILL" has it at 40, STILL looks good--the assumption being that this magic number is the end for a woman.

 

[fawnie]

Haha Lexi!!
LOL - I had to laugh at the image of a wilted banana in the same post as men's virility!!!! Yes, we may be more concerned about our youthful appearance, but picture how a man must feel about losing his youthful performance!! Now that is not something that can be faked!

.....oh yeah......Viagra......(forgot!)

Why are some cultures so youth-obsessed? I like to look well-groomed, lovely and fit, but I sure don't aspire to looking 25 again. To do so would just look ridiculous - mutton dressed as lamb. Besides, I like being a cougar. But not in a predatory way - just being sophisticated and "experienced". I don't think Europeans are so obsessed with being forever 21, are they?



Skin | care | talk

 

[LLucy]

Like Maripop, I also think women are better looking than men in general. But that might be because women are so expressive with color and style. Look at how many choices we have compared to men in terms of clothing, make-up, hair color. Most of us are raised from a young age "to look good": tinkerbell make-up, "pretty clothes" (that match), extensive wardrobes for our barbies. I don't think that it's so much men age better than women, that it is less is expected of them to begin with as far as looks go.

At 48 I'm thinking of trying some HRT. Going to see what happens with trentionin first. I don't know how much benefit a woman pre-menopause would derive from it Lexi, presumably a pre-menopausal woman is still operating on plenty of estrogen. Something to ask your doctor I suppose.

 

[Lexi2009]

Fawnie--I do not even want to talk about that stupid viagra--IF I HEAR ONE MORE ADVERT ABOUT THIS STUPID PILL!!! I think it is so sad that they had to rename IMPOTENCE for baby-boomers! They are OLD and IMPOTENT---it is the wife's insurance---live with it!

Ok now that I vented--yes even women in Europe are now more and more obsessed with age. Every time I read the newspapers all over Europe you see they always mention women's ages but not men's.

Llucy--I have heard of girls taking HRT well under the time they need it but I am more interested in complete hormone replacement ONLY when I am low enough to need it unless it was a question of a bit of something or another now, otherwise no thanks.

Sadly after 25 we slowly lose everything. I do not so much mind being over 25 as much as I mind feeling like I am now redundant!

 

[fawnie]

Lexi,
Why would you feel redundant? You seem to be a vital young woman who, unfortunately, is going thru a spell with her skin. That doesn't define you.

Sure, I went thru a time when I thought, "I am invisible!" But just because the young hotties don't chase me down anymore doesn't mean there is anything wrong with me. Just a shift in priorities.

It seems like the world is all pumped up on one hormone or the other. Why?



Skin | care | talk

 

[LLucy]

I second Fawnie, Lexi why do you feel redundant? Is there something going on in your life (Not Your Skin!) that is making you feel this way?

 

[kitskid]

Fawnie--I do not even want to talk about that stupid viagra--IF I HEAR ONE MORE ADVERT ABOUT THIS STUPID PILL!!! I think it is so sad that they had to rename IMPOTENCE for baby-boomers! They are OLD and IMPOTENT---it is the wife's insurance---live with it!

Ok now that I vented--yes even women in Europe are now more and more obsessed with age. Every time I read the newspapers all over Europe you see they always mention women's ages but not men's.

Llucy--I have heard of girls taking HRT well under the time they need it but I am more interested in complete hormone replacement ONLY when I am low enough to need it unless it was a question of a bit of something or another now, otherwise no thanks.

Sadly after 25 we slowly lose everything. I do not so much mind being over 25 as much as I mind feeling like I am now redundant!

Lexi,Lexi,Lexi...not every women needs additional hormones be it BIH or HRT! I had never planned to tell anyone my age on this sight but I am going too...I am 62 years old, I quit having my period when I was 50. I have never had a sleepless night, night sweats, hot flashes, nasty mood wings or any other symptoms of menopause. My sister has never had any symptoms either, but are Mum could have written a book with everything she went through!

You've got Suzanne Somers preaching one thing doctors and drug companies something else, I say forget about it until you see a physician and are tested for hormone levels. Suzanne Somers, Dr. Phil's wife and drug companies are out to make money. I worked in healthcare for many years and I have seen many women truly suffering because of menopause, so, wait get tested

Baby boomers are all over the place right now so consequently everything to do with them is in your face all of the time...hormones, Viagra, whatever!

What I'm saying is don't rush into this "old business" and that is what many companies are cashing in on, and just because I told you my age does not mean I old, so there!

PS: I was shopping at Costco this morning and there was the cutest little girl, about 3 years old I think singing Viva Viagraas loud as she could, her Mum was beet red and looking around for something to feed her in a hurry!!!

 

[Lexi2009]

AWW thanks everyone! I am actually talking more out of the societal view than really my own feelings per se but yes I have felt badly the last months. It is not really that I feel redundant I feel like I have just entered the next phase of the whole "process" and it is something that takes getting used to. I am pretty sure my skin problems are down to CP's because A. I did not have this 5 months ago which is when I started CP's and only noticed this all a few months after I started them and B. I have never seen anyone have skin degrade so quickly and the type of degradation seems in line with what others have got from CP's.

I think for me I have felt worse because I am such a SUMMER person and the not being tan or sitting at the beach has got me feeling like I am in this new rather awful phase of my life where I need to treat my skin like a china doll! The whole thing was really the banana this AM! Sounds so stupid but I looked at that banana and thought of how we are like wilting fruits!!!

Kitskid--I cannot stand the Viagra ads and think they should be banned. Firstly, I see no reason the pharma companies can advertise on tv or to consumers full stop--why should they be able to spend all that money when people cannot even afford their products? Secondly, in a country that had a president who had to speak out about a millisecond view of the black nipple that wasn't (Janet Jackson's which only a very horny teenage boy with a VERY quick pause finger could have spotted that nipple)-HOW can they repeatedly, on every channel, at every hour talk about 4 hour erections?! It is disgusting, it gets me so annoyed and I wish they would ban it already. This is not to mention every other drug too. Then they wonder why Americans order so many drugs online!

In regard to BIH or HRT I also would never take anything unless I had a full endocrinological work-up!

 

[gymrat]

First let me start by saying, not everyone believes in HRT. That is totally ones preference. I am not one to judge if you don't believe in them. To each their own-

But being I am on bio-identicals I can only vouch that they "actually do work" for me. I have felt crappy for about 2 years. Hot flashes, not able to sleep, loss of hair, foggy brain, lack of energy etc. Since starting with the bio's I feel better than I have in years. I have energy when I wake up, I am not loosing as much hair, still some, but nothing like before. I have ZERO night sweats, my skin has made a complete turn around, and the list goes on.

For the ones having restless nights, my endocrinenoligist recommends taking 1-3mg or melatonin. That is a simple problem to solve.

As far as waiting until you think you need them..........if I knew 5 years ago what I know today about hormones, I would have been tested sooner. The problem with waiting is you have no idea what "normal levels" are if you haven't had your hormone levels tested. A person's hormones are at their best at the age of 25. So really have them tested then, to see what normal is for you. Then, when you are 30-35, have them checked again. How do you know what your levels "should be", if you didn't have them checked when you were 25-35? The longer you wait, the more you are just going based on a scale of the average woman. Who knows what "normal" is? Everyone is different. My levels are different at 25 than your levels at 25 and so on. So, to me, the sooner the better-get your levels checked, what are you waiting for?

I had complete testing of my hormones. Blood, saliva, urine, etc. Not just the hormones your reg doctor wants to test you for either. I am talking ALL of them. There are so many more hormones than just estrogen and progesterone. But yet those are the only 2 doctors want to help treat. To a regular MD if your estrogen and your progesterone levels are what they call "normal", then you are fine to them. Well, my estrogen and progesterone are fine, but the rest were a mess. Without the help of my endocrine, who knows what kind of shape I would be in right now. Probably bald and curled up in a ball somewhere-

As far as Suzanne Somers, Dr Phil, etc talking about Bio's, I can't thank them enough. I do pay somewhat for the services that my endocrine provides, but my insurance pays a lot too. Plus, I don't care what the price is, I just want to feel like I did 5 years ago. So to me, it is worth it!

For those of you who aren't aware of just how many hormones we have, here is a list. Human Hormones

 

[mariepop]

With a post like this Gymrat, I am looking forward to have my level tested
A big thank you Gymrat!

 

[gymrat]

Glad I could help-really, have them checked. It doesn't hurt to see where they are. My thought is why feel like crap when there is something we can do about it-ya know? Who wants to feel tired, can't sleep, irritable, and have hot flashes, when there are things you can take to help with those things. From what I have read the synthetic hormones do nothing but make you fat and lazy. I have friends who have switched to bio's and have lost a lot of weight.

Like I said, they aren't for everyone, but they sure work for me-

 

[mariepop]

Are you taking oral bio-identical or creme? I've just read an article that it say even bio identical taking orally can really be hard on the liver, I have two of the symptoms you mentioned "feel tired and can't sleep" this is something I have never suspected because of hormones! When I saw Dr. Phil's wife talking about it, I video taped it and passed it to all my friends and they all went for testing their hormones levels, except me! Next thing on to do list! Thanks for sharing this Gymrat, it's a reminder for me, and also a kick in the butt!

 

[kitskid]

This wonderful forum that we are all part of is an excellent resource to exchange ideas and put forth information that we have learned.

I was stating that hormone treatment be it HRT or BIH is not a panacea I had so many patients come in to see the physicians to tell them they wanted to be on hormones because they saw someone on television stating that all women need hormones, they felt it would recapture their youth, give them a fabulous complexion and generally make them feel happy and healthy again. That is not realistic, most did not want testing they just wanted hormones.

Many would pursue the online pharmacy approach and order BIH and HRT and many would also buy HGH (Human Growth Hormone.)

I just want you to keep in mind that there are people out there trying to sell you a miracle in a pill or in a jar of cream. This sight has nothing to sell and is quick to give the boot to anyone trying to sell to us. We are simply here to learn and share are experiences.

 

[gymrat]

Are you taking oral bio-identical or creme? I've just read an article that it say even bio identical taking orally can really be hard on the liver, I have two of the symptoms you mentioned "feel tired and can't sleep" this is something I have never suspected because of hormones! When I saw Dr. Phil's wife talking about it, I video taped it and passed it to all my friends and they all went for testing their hormones levels, except me! Next thing on to do list! Thanks for sharing this Gymrat, it's a reminder for me, and also a kick in the butt!

Cream (1), and I am only using a tiny bit. There rest are natural vitamins. Like the melatonin. Go get some, and try it. I cut mine in half and take it around 10pm. Works wonders! My regular Dr, said I was stressed, or depressed and wanted to give me anti depressants! I am no more stressed or depressed than the man on the moon!! Of course I get stressed, who doesn't. But not to the point of not being able to sleep a full night for 2 or more years!!

Suzanne Somers and Dr Phils wife both have great books out, if you like to read.

 

[mariepop]

In 2000 I've took HGH and before taking the HGH (BTW: it is still not approved in Canada) I had my hormone checked and after 6 months, had it checked again and my level was sooooo low that I threw the bottle in the garbage! (Can't remember the numbers it's been too long ago)

Kitskid, I understand what you saying, but if I could only have ONE good night sleep, I will be in heaven!

Gymrat for melatonin, do I need a prescription?

 

[gymrat]

In 2000 I've took HGH and before taking the HGH (BTW: it is still not approved in Canada) I had my hormone checked and after 6 months, had it checked again and my level was sooooo low that I threw the bottle in the garbage! (Can't remember the numbers it's been too long ago)

Kitskid, I understand what you saying, but if I could only have ONE good night sleep, I will be in heaven!

Gymrat for melatonin, do I need a prescription?

Nope no Rx required! Melatonin is sold in most pharmacies or health food stores.

 

[redrose]

Hi out there,

Mo matter how many candles on your birthday cake, mostly your skin's 'age' depends on how well you care for it.

The worst skin sins are smoking and sun-bathing because both encourage collagen and elastin breakdown which make skin plump and resilient.

The result is early sagginess, wrinkles and age-spots.

Your best friends are high factor sun-cream and eight glasses of water daily. Also, did you know that seven prunes can give you all the anti-oxidants you need in a day.

Exercise and good posture will make you look and feel better. Exercise makes you look younger because the increased circulation it provides brings a better supply of nutrients to your skin and body cells.

Also exercise promotes optimal functioning of the endocrine glands. These provide hormones vital for keeping skin looking young and smooth.

Age retarders or anti-oxidants help you minimise free-radical damage in your body and your skin.

As well as eating lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, you could consider a multi-vitamin and mineral tablet.

Hope this helps,

redrose