Life expectancy

[The_Possum]

I've read that life expectancy for some mental health issues can be 9 to 17 years less than the average person.

Is this correct?

[solabear]

I'm not sure if it's correct, but I've heard that too. Possibly due to the stress involved in mental illnesses. Stress and diet is the main cause of developing a disease.

[Mia001]

Maybe suicide would be a factor?

[The_Possum]

Hi solarbear

Thanks for the reply.

The article I read pointed to decreased immune system leading to a number of issues and diseases as one ages.

Also increased cardiovascular risk, I'm assuming related to stress also?

I also read greater cancer risk.

I'm sure all the medication doesn't help. I know what I'm taking takes a toll of liver and kidneys and every 3 weeks I need to have a blood test done. So perhaps some damage there with long term usage?

I also read higher risk of accident and misadventure plays a part.

Anyway there's some interesting material out there.

[White_Rose]

Hello Possum

There is information on all sorts of side effects or by products of, I suspect, just about any medication you care to name. Blood thinners could cause you to bleed to death if you are seriously wounded because your blood will not clot easily. A bit of a reach? Probably but when you talk of risks you need to know the likelihood. Stepping out of front door could be deadly if you walk into the path of a truck.

Yes there are potential consequences to taking many prescriptions. Talk to your prescribing doctor about these and then weigh up the benefit of taking the meds as opposed to the consequences of not taking them. We built our homes with asbestos and lead pipes and sprinkled DDT everywhere. Women used arsenic based make-up and no one had any idea of hygiene. Of course these things are bad but no one knew back in the day.

I have bad reactions to many medications including meds to help prevent the return of breast cancer. Either way I am going to die one day but I would prefer it to be as painless as possible.

Mary

[solabear]

Hi Possum,

I used to have a very weak immune system as well, due to the stress associated with anxiety and depression, but to my surprise it has improved to normal since I changed my diet to 100% plant based. I used to have all sorts of medical issues due to weak immune system, but they all disappeared since I changed my diet. I've been a vegan for two years now and my GP confirmed that my physical health has improved lately according to a blood test recently. I highly recommend plant based whole food diet as it helped me.

[solabear]

Hi Mary,

There is a book I highly recommend to read is "How not to die" by Michael Greger.

Sola

[The_Possum]

Thanks Mary

You're absolutely correct with what you have said. Thank you and I appreciate your input.

I do the risks of medication I take both for mental health and my heart, but I also know I need them to stay OK now, so what happens in the future will happen.

I hope you're on treatment to keep your breast cancer away. My mum had it 8 years ago, treated successfully and it's just returned metastatic-breast-cancer..

As you know there is no cure, just lots of treatments until the end trying to control it. She was on medication to keep it from coming back, but it still did.

Anyway that was going off track sorry.

Thanks for your post x

[The_Possum]

Hey Solarbear

I love your input. Thank you so much!

It's funny you mention vegan as my cardiologist told me to go vegan!

My diet is a mess, frankly with everything going on I don't eat much but when I do it's all junk food. Yuk. I feel sick thinking about it. I also stopped running daily. So I'm in really bad shape.

I'm now taking 5 different medications prescribed by both cardiologist and psychiatrist for two different conditions.

All effect liver and kidneys hence the 3 week blood tests.

But I have no choice. I have a family and two little boys to raise, I can't afford to just drop off the face of the earth. They need a caring mum here today.

So whatever the future holds, I really can't think about it.

I'm going to clean up my diet and exercise keep up with the monitoring and thats the best I can do.

We all going to go sometime!

Peace x

[White_Rose]

Thanks for your reply Possum. I have had breast cancer twice with a 15 year break in between. However it was discovered reasonably early. I am so thankful for the Breast Screen Service as I doubt it would have been discovered until too late.

I am sorry to hear about your mom. That must have been a huge shock. It's sad there is no cure at this stage. Cancer is such as scary word for people and often there is the assumption it is an automatic death sentence. So I am happy I have had early intervention.

I am sorry you have meds that can have such horrible side effects. Is the cure worse than the complaint? I find no matter how dark our world seems at times we generally fight hard to stay here.

Mary.