Retirement Health Reality: What’s Wrong With Us Lately?

Retirement health… it’s not exactly what we thought it would be. 😄

In this episode of Sherapy with Sheri & Randy, we’re getting real about the health changes that come with life after 50—and having a few laughs along the way.

From everyday aches and pains to the growing list of medications, doctor visits, and those moments where you think, “What’s wrong with us lately?”… we’re talking about all of it.

But this isn’t just about physical health.
We also dive into the emotional side—how these changes can affect your mindset, your energy, and even how you see yourself.

In this episode, we cover:

• The health issues we’re currently dealing with
• The reality of managing medications
• Doctor visits, wait times, and frustrations
• The emotional toll of pain and aging
• And how we’re learning to navigate it all

If you’ve ever felt like your body didn’t get the retirement memo… you are definitely not alone.

So grab a cup of coffee (and maybe your vitamins 😄), and join us for a real, honest conversation about retirement health, aging, and finding humor in the journey.

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I want to hear it. Share your story (anonymously or not) at:
 sherapypodcast@gmail.com

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It’s honest, hilarious, and healing — just like the podcast

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sherapywithsheritodd.com

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Theme music by: Sheri Todd and MakeBestMusic

Written & hosted by: Sheri Todd

 Recorded somewhere between healing and humor.

Transcript

Speaker 3 0:00

This episode, I guess is what we're gonna say, it's brought to you by ibuprofen and denial.

Speaker 2 0:16

Welcome to Sherapy where you belong.

Speaker 3 0:22

Hey everyone, welcome back to Sherapy with Sheri and Randy, or as we like to call it lately, what's hurting today. Listen, nobody really prepares you for this part of life. You think retirement is going to be relaxing, peaceful, maybe a little boring. So today we're talking about something that a lot of people deal with, but don't always talk honestly about it. Our health, the changes, the challenges, and how it really feels living through it.

Speaker 1 0:53

Yes. And uh I must say it's it's hard. It's difficult.

Speaker 3 0:59

This is not going to be the highlight reel version. We're gonna talk real version. And we're gonna talk about what we're going through because obviously we can't speak for anybody else.

Speaker 1 1:08

Well, for me, it's the the uh uh Yeah, to tell about your health issues that you've had. Okay, um I have uh uh um pulmonary hypertension. Pulmonary hypertension, which affects the lungs and the heart. I have uh severe arthritis, a lot of it in my spine, uh my neck, shoulder, pretty much everywhere, but some places it's worse than others. Everything that seems to be okay on me is okay because I take pills to help me. It's the only way that we can, especially with arthritis, the only thing you can really do, people with arthritis know this is slow it down.

Speaker 3 1:41

Well, for me, my issues are different than Randy. I mean, we both have the same kind of arthritis. We have um, I think it's osteoarthritis, I think it's how you call it. Um I pretty much have it everywhere also. Um bone spurs, you know, it's worse than my knees, in my lower back. Um, yeah, my shoulders hurt some days, some days my hip hurts, some days my ankles hurt, you know. It's just every day is different for me. Um and I don't take anything. I'm not like Randy. I don't take pills, I take an i not even ibuprofen, I'll take in a leave if it gets really bad. And I'm like, you know what? I'm gonna take something today, and I'll take in a leave, and it'll usually last me a couple days, and I'll be fine. Um but lately I've been in a lot of pain and I've been thinking, you know what, maybe I need to take in a leave because getting up in the morning's getting a little bit harder, it's a lot more back pain.

Speaker 1 2:32

Yeah.

Speaker 3 2:33

But that's normal, that's arthritis, that's what you have. And some days I can walk really good, some days I can't. It's just it's it's a toss-up. Whatever it's gonna be today is today. And I have high blood pressure and cholesterol, and I take pills and it's all controlled. And that's it. I take two pills a day blood pressure, cholesterol. Randy takes a lot more.

Speaker 1 2:56

Yeah, I take a lot more because of my heart and lungs and stuff, but it's just there's so much It's also on oxygen, as you can see. Uh I lost a lot of weight. I've lost like what 45, 50 pounds. Um down 180 now. Basically, that was stomach issues. Stomach issues, yeah. Because I had a I had in nine 2020 during the pandemic, I had a um um my uh aorta uh burst in my stomach and um had to re-rush to the hospital and almost died from that one. Um but um you know what He lived. I lived and I hope to live a little longer than I am right now, and I'm 69, so if I can make another 10 years, God willing. But we all hope to live longer. You know, my sister, I hope she stays, you know, I hate to see her go something happen to her, and I have to live with that. You know, I'd rather her live with me dead, and you know, maybe a lot nicer. But but anyway, it's He does that.

Speaker 3 3:56

He's on the phone, he goes, you know, I might not be around much longer. He says that to everybody, like everybody's gonna go, ooh. I keep telling him. It just makes people not want to be seeing you, Randy.

Speaker 1 4:04

I could have seen him, I could have gone, you know, it's like, you know, I don't want them to be. Then go see them. I do see them, you know. It's like my daughter from losing Idaho. She comes down sometimes. Like, this might be the last time I see her when she comes down. Because it's not like going around the corner seeing you. We're literally around the corner because you're in the next bedroom.

Speaker 3 4:20

Down the hall. Right down the hall, Randy. But she leaves. If you go around the corner, you're gonna be locked up.

Speaker 1 4:26

Last time I was she left, and that was a year and a half ago, whatever. I thought, you know, I don't know. Now she's gonna be here next week. So, you know. I guess at our age you always work up the next day more.

Speaker 3 4:35

Randy, that's what happens. Children grow up, I know, get married, go away, and some move away. Yeah.

Speaker 1 4:41

That's just still hard though.

Speaker 3 4:43

That's the circle of life.

Speaker 1 4:44

It is, but it's still hard to not have her here.

Speaker 3 4:46

It's true. You know, so and then, you know, and then the the other the worst part ago uh of everything though is the doctor visits. Because, you know, when you get into the retirement age, it's like you spent a lot of time. It's a lot of time making appointments and then sitting and waiting at these appointments. Yeah. I mean, do we have has anybody ever gone to their doctors and gone in and saw them at the exact time? It's at three o'clock and the doctor's there at three o'clock.

Speaker 1 5:16

I have, but it's not rare. It's rare. It is rare. It's rare.

Speaker 3 5:19

It's probably because somebody canceled and they had extra time.

Speaker 1 5:21

Correct.

Speaker 3 5:22

Yeah, it it can be overload and it could be a it could be a lot, you know. But you do, you know, when you get to that certain age, you have to make sure that you do the yearly exams that you need to do, like, you know, with women, some mammograms and and pap smears and you know, men. I I don't know.

Speaker 1 5:38

Well, I work. So keeping active is one of the biggest things you can do when you have arthritis, or even with the pollen I got you gotta stay active. Because if you don't, your body's gonna adjust to that and just slow down big time. So I work three days a week. I get up at 2 30 in the morning, I'm out here at four, get to work at five, I work until 10 or 6, 10 or 11 o'clock. And it's good for me. And I love my job, I love what I do. So the drives, the drive does suck. It's an hour and a half there, and with traffic, two or two and a half hours home sometimes. So it's a gross.

Speaker 3 6:11

That's just yeah, that's just life in California. That's basically how it works. But you know, it's the mental side of of all of that. You know, Randy is trying to feel normal. Yeah. And by working and staying active, he's feeling as normal as possible. And that's that helps with the mental side of all the health issues that we developed when we get older.

Speaker 1 6:32

Oh, you gotta stay busy. You gotta stay, you gotta you gotta move your body around and make it uh respond.

Speaker 3 6:38

Yeah, you need to you know find ways to deal with the frustration and the fear and denial and then acceptance. You know, you have to find ways around it. And and it's emotional toll on people, it really is.

Speaker 1 6:51

Some days I sleep in bed till eleven o'clock like today. You know, I just couldn't get up. Just my body said no way. I wish I could do that. I really wish I could do that. Yeah, but it sucks. You gotta go to work. Sometimes I get up that way when I go to work. Sucks driving all the way over there. You feel like shit.

Speaker 3 7:07

And that's and that's what I'm saying, you know, what we're trying to do, where what we're trying to do is, you know, do diet changes, you know, movement, you know.

Speaker 2 7:15

Yeah.

Speaker 3 7:16

Those are small wins that help you feel normal. And, you know.

Speaker 1 7:22

All the small wins add up to big wins, and it's it works, it does work that way.

Speaker 3 7:25

And some things work and some don't. You know, diet will work. So when you stick to it, when you stick to it, it could work. It could be a big help.

Speaker 1 7:34

And some supplements are good, like like uh probiotics, um Terminac, um what's uh um there's uh garlic pills you can take that are really good for you. Um there's other ones my daughter sends me all the time. But some of these pills are I remember I was taking, but they're expensive. They're like 50 bucks a bottle, so not cheap. So for us, we're on somewhat of a budget. It's kind of hard to keep all those pills in stock. But when you're really on them all the time, I noticed that I was on for like four or five months. They make a difference. Really, really do.

Speaker 3 8:08

Yeah, I think so. I mean, the probiotics, I've been taking probiotics and it's helped my stomach a lot. Really does. It it does. And it helps keep me regular. Yeah. So, yeah, so probotics do do work. Yeah. But you know, activity helps. So is Terminate.

Speaker 1 8:20

Terminix is a really good one. Terminix really cook with it, you can cook with it, and just take it either way. But quick disclaimer.

Speaker 8:28

Randy did not mean Terminix, the pest control company. Please do not cook with it. Season your food with it, or frankly, go near it with a frying pan. He meant the supplement, turmeric. Carry on.

Speaker 3 8:42

One thing that I do want to stress that's very important is being your own advocate. That is so important. Because, you know, doctors are human. They're not God, even though maybe some think they are. They are human and they do make mistakes. You need to be your own advocate. And if you can't do it, find someone who will be for you because you need to pay attention to your health. You need to, you know, thank God you can go check your, you know, your blood work and your blood tests and everything online now. And, you know, thank God you can research stuff and find things out. And you can, yeah, you need to be your own advocate because a lot of times, like I said, doctors don't get it right all the time. And you need to tell them how you feel. You gotta be honest too. Doctors can't help you if you're not honest.

Speaker 1 9:24

Yeah.

Speaker 3 9:25

You know, I mean, I know a lot of people go into a doctor's office like it's a test, and you, you know, yeah, I'm doing great. This is fine. No, woo-hoo, you know, good, you get a day, get out of here. No, that you're not helping yourself at all because you're just leaving with the same issues. You have to be open, honest, be your own advocate, fight for your health, because you have to nowadays, you really do, because there's some doctors out there, they don't care. Whatever you want, they're gonna sign that prescription and add it to you. They don't care. Do they even do that? They don't even do prescription anymore. But anyway, you know what I mean. But yeah. So let me ask you, Randy, what advice would you give yourself when you're in your twenties about health?

Speaker 1 10:09

The biggest thing was my my uh my um food. I would change the way I ate.

Speaker 3 10:18

But would you really?

Speaker 1 10:19

Yeah.

Speaker 3 10:20

You would give up those late night runs at Noggles? Yeah, get that comedy. And all that beer. I don't know. I mean, you are good times. I had good times. Well, I mean, giving up he's he's been sober for ten years, so congratulations for that.

Speaker 1 10:39

Thank you. Um I had a lot of good times drinking and staying out late and stuff. But for me to be healthier now and feel better about myself, I would have changed my diet. And um maybe not drank as much, really worked on drinking not as much.

Speaker 3 10:54

I mean, I think, yeah, there was a lot of things that I I I would have I mean, I pretty much eat healthy my whole life. I mean, I'll like splurge on ice cream or donuts or pizza, but nothing like I used to. I mean, I obviously need to lose weight, but it's hard when you can't.

Speaker 1 11:10

But you know what, Shay, you come to a time in your life where, like I told Connie the other night, you come to a part of your life where you just keep on trying to lose weight. And you lose a pound here, a couple pounds here, and then you're getting it back. And if you do that for 40 years, when you get RNH, what the hell does it really matter? Other than health-wise? I mean you're if you're better than the biggest thing.

Speaker 3 11:29

And you're right. I don't losing weight is not a big issue for me anymore. Because I am healthy. Yeah. I mean, I have no health issues whatsoever, thank God. Yeah. You know, even though people are probably going, uh, for now. Yeah, well, you know, we get it. I I am, but I and I also don't eat. I mean, I've eaten worse since I moved in with Randy than I have in a while. I mean, these guys don't cook a lot.

Speaker 1 11:52

No, they eat out a lot.

Speaker 3 11:53

They eat out a lot, you know, and they're like, You want a hamburger? I'm like, Yeah, okay, I'll have a hamburger. I've eaten more fast food in the last three months than I've had in the last two years living at my sister's house. So, yeah. So, and I recognize I'm recognizing that, yeah. And I it's like, and I know if I eat certain foods, you know, get more eating food from the ground, you know, that kind of thing, you know, healthy vegetables and stuff, it's gonna help with my inflammation, and I know that. And uh, it'll help me lose weight, I know. Um, and it's just doing it because I don't like to cook. I've never been a cook, I can't stand it. But my sister lives to cook, both my sisters do, so Randy used to like. I don't cook as much as I used to, though. He cooked spaghetti tonight. I think it makes spaghetti work. But if my stomach can tolerate it, yeah, spaghetti hurts my stomach too.

Speaker 1 12:41

But um those are things I would say.

Speaker 3 12:44

So what do you think are the unexpected positives about um I think you learn a lot more about yourself?

Speaker 1 12:52

I think slowing down is a positive because at least it's oh our eyes are open to more things, you know. Um I look at things now that I would never spend time looking at the same thing.

Speaker 3 13:02

Yeah, and you don't stress over a lot of things. I mean, I mean I used to politics, I used to all, but now it's like whatever. I don't it's nothing I can do about it anymore. But it's not worth the anxiety anymore.

Speaker 1 13:12

We're at the whatever stage of our life. Whatever. Whatever. Yeah.

Speaker 3 13:16

Bombs coming, we got it. Oh that's it, nice knowing you. Yeah.

unknown 13:24

Yeah.

Speaker 3 13:24

Yeah, and you don't care what people say. Yeah. It's like before you go cry if somebody said something to you and hurt your feelings. Now it's like, oh I don't really care. You can't hurt me anymore. So true. Yeah, it's just I think that's a positive. Yeah, I think so too.

Speaker 1 13:40

Of getting older and um You get treated with a lot more respect when you get older, at least I have been. Especially when I come in with my tank on or something like that.

Speaker 3 13:49

Well I don't know if that's respect or people just feeling sorry for you. Either way. It's like, oh look at that guy. Really so help him.

Speaker 1 13:58

At least they see it. They're doing their good. They're nicer to you. Oh, sir. They open the door for you more. I think people are I think people are are today that I've been around are respectful, you know, and nice and stuff like that. Well, yeah. I've never run into anybody really un disrespectful.

Speaker 3 14:13

Yeah, I mean, it just depends, I guess, where you live.

Speaker 1 14:16

Maybe uh in a hurry a little bit, but nothing disrespectable.

Speaker 3 14:19

Yeah.

Speaker 1 14:20

Because we live in a senior Nobody's respectful when they drive, though. No.

Speaker 3 14:24

Or walking across the parking lot and looking at their cell phone and not paying one bit attention to a car that's coming towards you.

Speaker 1 14:30

We get that a lot.

Speaker 3 14:31

Yeah. I'm sure that's everywhere. I I it's like, you know, like they they they think you're gonna stop. They just keep walking. Yeah. And yeah, we should stop, but what if we're not paying attention to?

Speaker 1 14:42

Yeah.

Speaker 3 14:43

Yeah. You're gonna be hurting when I hit you with my car. Sorry. But I I think gratitude too. You have a lot more gratitude.

Speaker 1 14:52

A lot more gratitude.

Speaker 3 14:53

And what it's like you it's like life. You realize how short you have it now. You know, we're lucky if we have lived 20 more years, right? At this point.

unknown 15:06

Yeah.

Speaker 3 15:06

And that's and if you look back at the last 20 years, you realize how fast that went. So you realize there's not a whole lot of time left.

Speaker 2 15:13

No.

Speaker 3 15:14

So you you're a little you take it, you respect it more. You respect the time that you have more, you expect it with your family and friends. And I know a lot of people have told you that when you're younger, you know. I wish I had done this and that and this and that, but you know, when it's rally when it's really there hitting you in the face, then you tend to respect it.

Speaker 1 15:37

Yeah, I think a lot of things hit us in the face at this age.

Speaker 3 15:40

There's a song out and I can't remember the name of it, and it and uh there's a line in it that when I first heard it, it was like, that is such a great line. And it was like time is more precious when there's less of it. I mean, I'm paraphrasing it.

Speaker 1 15:57

Yeah. But um Oh yeah, I mean, I I I more than I've ever done in my life, I s I I live hour by hour more, it seems like. You know, think, oh man, it's already been an hour.

Speaker 3 16:09

Maybe you should wake up earlier. Maybe But you know, when you really think about um everything that we've talked about the doctor visits, the aches, the pains, the time left. It all comes down to one thing, right?

Speaker 1 16:26

What's that?

Speaker 3 16:29

One word.

Speaker 1 16:30

One word. It's time for time for the one word. We need more one word.

Speaker 3 16:37

So I am now gonna take one word out of the one word jar. And today today's word is adventure. It's an adventure. Randy, tell me what was the biggest adventure you remember?

Speaker 1 16:57

The biggest adventure I've been on?

Speaker 3 16:58

Yeah, growing up. Or or even last week if you had one.

Speaker 1 17:02

No, I didn't have one of that. Well, one of my adventures is always want to go to Hawaii and I'll never go.

Speaker 3 17:07

But um Well, just because you don't like to fly.

Speaker 1 17:09

My biggest adventure in my life was uh obviously the kids being born.

Speaker 3 17:13

That could be an adventure.

Speaker 1 17:15

That's probably the biggest, you know. Other than um when I took a plane a plane and got well, the day I got drafted. It was a big day in my life.

Speaker 3 17:24

Who got drafted?

Speaker 1 17:25

I did. When I played ball.

Speaker 3 17:27

Oh, I thought you meant you got drafted to the army? Where where was I?

Speaker 1 17:30

That was a big thing in my life.

Speaker 3 17:32

Yeah, that would you know that would had been a great adventure. You probably have a lot of memories. Yeah, a whole bunch.

Speaker 1 17:38

But then the thing is that uh but now I would give anything to go to Hawaii.

Speaker 3 17:45

If you weren't afraid of if you weren't afraid of the water and afraid of flying.

Speaker 1 17:51

Yeah, I think I could do the boat more than I could do the flying.

Speaker 3 17:54

I really love driving cross country. I've done that a few times. And it for me, it was just a lot of fun. I I just found I found that a great adventure. But I used to tell everything every time you go to do something for the unknown, that's an adventure. Every time we go do cruising, that's an adventure. Yeah. So we have adventures all the time. Yeah. We do. Yeah.

Speaker 1 18:17

This this job or this thing we're doing now is all fun. We go to a lot of different places, we have fun, which we were never done before.

Speaker 3 18:24

And moving to Cincinnati, that was a big adventure. Yeah. That was that was a huge adventure. I did a lot in Cincinnati. So tell us, comment below, yeah, what your biggest adventure was.

Speaker 1 18:35

Please, we'd enjoy to listen.

Speaker 3 18:36

Yeah, we want to hear we want to hear other people's adventures. And if they're funny, that's even better because ours weren't really funny.

Speaker 1 18:42

We're all about funny.

Speaker 3 18:43

We're all about the funny.

Speaker 1 18:44

All about the funny.

Speaker 3 18:45

All right, Randy. I guess it's time for us to go and ice something up.

Speaker 1 18:48

Yep. It's time to say goodbye. And hope you guys subscribe. We'd really appreciate it.

Speaker 3 18:53

Oh, wait, before you go, before you go, hold on, don't leave yet. We're gonna update you on the um the Randy and the moment yeah, challenge. And we want to thank everybody because we've been getting a lot of subscribers. Thank you so much. We're getting closer and closer and closer to that $1,000. $1,000. I wish.

Speaker 1 19:16

$1,000 subscriptions.

Speaker 3 19:18

Yeah, we're getting closer to that. And the closer we get by November, the s and the sooner we do it by November, the sooner we can shave Randy's hair into a mohawk because we're gonna do that live and it's gonna be a lot of fun. We may have a hat may even have some guests.

Speaker 1 19:34

I don't know. We have a guest right now. Stevie. Hello, Stevie.

Speaker 3 19:39

Stevie should have his own podcast. Actually, he should have his own YouTube channel. Yeah. He should put like one of those little cameras on him. Yeah. It would just be him laying in front of the window all day long. That would be basically it. That'd be cool. So, anyway, if you follow the show, share it with a friend, subscribe, come laugh with us on YouTube. Um, thank you for listening.

Speaker 1 20:00

Yes, thank you.

Speaker 3 20:01

On your favorite podcast app. Thanks for watching on YouTube. And um, we hope this episode gave you some clarity, helped you try to understand a little bit about all the health issues we deal with when we get older, some of us more than others. Yep. So we'll see you next time. Always remember to embrace your voice. And subscribe. You need to get us, you need to get used to it.

Speaker 1 20:24

Take care, everybody.

Speaker 3 20:25

There's a little bird that's gonna come next.

Speaker 1 20:27

See you next time.

Speaker 2 20:28

Thanks for listening to Sheropee with Sherry and Randy. Be sure to subscribe on YouTube and follow us wherever you get your podcasts. Have a great week.