Your parents would be rare as most 80yr Olds would have poor health if they managed to stay alive.
I'm not confusing aging with cfs but comparing ones function. At some stage in the aging process fatigue and function could line up with those of cfs, although from a different cause.
Most elderly have sleep problems, need to have regular naps and rest periods, in chronic pain and many have issues with controlling postural blood pressure as many become dizzy on standing suddenly etc and is a cause of many falls in the elderly. If elderly don't have any of those issues then they are rare and lucky?
it's a natural process of aging that the body breaks down, cfs probably speeds this process up in some areas.
Hi heapsreal
I agree with the other, CFS isnt comparable with old age issues. I usually date elderly people (two so far in their 80s, I think? my current one is in his 80s too) in the hopes I can keep up with them.
Thing is I cant, their old age issues are quite minor "disabling" compared to the ME/CFS ones I have and what is even worst one of them was not only elderly, he had severe diabetes, heart failure (he was given less then a year to live when we got back together) and he was a XXXXX large in size (so very very very obese, he had to wear like an indian smocks as clothes in stores didnt fit him).
His capabilities was far more then my own!! (its scary when someone that old and that obese and dying of heart failure can be 10 times more active and compared to me is well! (he did have sores on his legs from his diabetes and he did have IBS.. and he did puff when he walked but other then that he was fine, I think that was when I finally realised just how really ill I am when I started to compare myself with him and what he could and couldnt do. This guy was looking after me.
When I stayed with him for 6 weeks, he used to actually leave me at his house while he went out as he deemed me too unwell to go out with him.
I can also usually tell when I have a different issue caused by something not CFS related. Im fairly sure I'd know my old age symptoms from my ME ones.
My current in his 80s I think (darn memory issues) elderly friend/boyfriend, his memory is still better then my own (thou is slowly declining), he has no trouble getting around at all as far as driving goes (other then he is tired after a long drive or driving to my place).. his only slightly disabilling thing right now other then fatigue and dizziness at times (with the dizziness I think his doctor has him on too strong BP lowering drugs for him as that is when that started). He's now getting rheumatoid arthritis in his hands so starting to find he gets some hand pain when doing some things eg pushing my wheelchair
Actually his symptoms are starting to go CFS like in the past year but Im suspecting he's caught something from me!. (He's getting symptoms which isnt old age eg issues with his throat, his doctor thought he had staph but he's tested negative so his doctor is still trying to figure out what is wrong, he's also getting headaches and that isnt really an old age thing).
My ownly surviving grandparent, thou she also have rheumatoid arthritis, IBS, FM, insomnia and gets migraines at times, she is more able then me (thou her memory is maybe worst or around the same level as mine..so we have great understanding for each others memory issues and joke about our memories and the stupid things we have done due to them on the phone). She wont even go out shopping with me as I once collapsed on her.
She was wanting me to go all over a store with her but I was physcially incapable of doing as she does. I cant remember how old my granny is but Im in my 40s. I would not compare ME/CFS symptoms to typical old age ones. That's like comparing just fatigue with complete exhaustion.