"Feeling Old" 2018 Edition

[bbmike]

I had my LASIK done in 2003. Got a nice discount for 'knowing a guy'.

It is indeed not for the faint of heart. If offered the chance to watch a video of the procedure before making up your mind, I strongly suggest saying 'NO!" to the viewing unless you really wanted to dissuade yourself anyway.

I had a gum graft procedure where they cut into the roof of my mouth for tissue and grafted it over a missing gum area (after 'cleaning' that area). It can't be as bad as that bad.

[Staggerwing]

That sounds painfull as all hel.

LASIK actually didn't hurt at all. The cornea is numbed up so you don't feel either the scalpel or laser.

It's the ancillary sensory experiences-
The sense of great pressure on you eyeball from the suction ring holding it in place.
The sudden blurred vision when a trapdoor-like portion of your cornea is cut away and flipped aside exposing the stroma beneath.
The WHAMWHAMWHAMWHAM of the excimer laser vaporizing tiny bits of the aforementioned stroma, accompanied by the smell of burning hair (what was bits of your eyeball).
The unnatural visual effect of the corneal flap getting re positioned back over the rest of the eye.
Getting bandaged up into complete blindness, to stay that way for hours of healing followed by only moments of light when you apply all the prophylactic antibiotic and steroidal eyedrops every few hours.

Nope, it didn't hurt at all. It's just a really trippy experience. And very much worth it all.  O0

[Labbug]

About 12 years ago I had lens replacement surgery done because of cataracts in both eyes.  It was well worth it.

[bayonetbrant]

don't forget the color loss when the cornea peels back, and you feel like you're in an alien-abduction film

[Sir Slash]

I think I'll stick with losing my glasses. 

[Dammit Carl!]

 :wow:

Yeah, uh...no.  Glasses, please!

Anyhoo, got my official "You're eligible for retirement pay!" letter from Uncle Sam, so that's twenty plus-ish years down.  Time to get fat and grow a beard!

[BanzaiCat]

^ Don't forget the suspenders!

[Sir Slash]

Good and bad to getting old. The good: Now you've got an excuse to be rude to people you don't like and to stare at young girls, just not too young, and to be slow at your work and forget stuff. Bitching about everything comes more easily and when you do something very rarely sweet, people say, "Ahhhh, isn't that sweet".  O:-)  The older you get, the younger you're allowed to act and get away with it. But that's usually because they feel sorry for you or they just want you to go away. Either way works for me.

The Bad: See all the above. Plus, DOCTORS! At some point you go see one for something and as Admiral Ackbar told me, "It's a TRAP"! You never get to stop seeing them ever again. Ever. But their receptionists are young so.... see the above 'good'. And everything gets stiff. Except what you WANT to be stiff, that gets more..... flexible. The stiffness gets worse, never gets better, and then the pains begin until.... your back to the Doctor Trap.  :hide:

I think of getting old as God's way of making us want to get to Heaven more quickly. And it is not for the Weak. So be strong Brother. You're going where only the Tough can survive. 

[Gusington]

Now I'm really depressed.

[Greybriar]

Now I'm really depressed.

Don't let getting old get you down despite the golden years not being what they are cracked up to be. Look on the bright side of things: you can draw your Social Security at the age of 62 (if it's still solvent and you live to be 62); you can get Medicare at age 65; you also get a break on your taxes when you get old; you get Senior discounts; once you retire you will have the time to play the games you've been buying. All these reasons and more should help you appreciate getting older a little bit more.

Here's a little joke to wind up this post:

Do you know why life is like a roll of toilet paper? Because the closer you get to the end of it the faster it goes. ;D

Now have fun and live until you die.

[Barthheart]

...
Now have fun and live until you die.

Great motto for any age...  :)

[DoctorQuest]

About 12 years ago I had lens replacement surgery done because of cataracts in both eyes.  It was well worth it.

Me, too. I was young (at the time) for cataract surgery but the cataracts were smack in the middle of my lenses and that added some urgency to the process.

I still need to wear reading glasses and I have some leftover astigmatism in one eye but I can legally drive without glasses for the first time since I was 16. I started wearing glasses for myopia in 6th grade.

I hit the big 6-0 this year. I can't complain. My last physical was good.

[bob48]

I had both my eyes done this year as well. Like you, I use reading glasses, but driving is now a joy (other road users notwithstanding) and my distance vision is excellent.

[JudgeDredd]

I've been with my wife for 30 years in May this year and been married for 25 in June!  :'( ;D

[trailrunner]

I've been with my wife for 30 years in May this year and been married for 25 in June!  :'( ;D

We're coming up on our 35th anniversary this July.