Dr Kathryn Fox is an Australian medical doctor and bestselling crime writer, best known for her forensic thrillers featuring pathologist Dr Anya Crichton. Drawing on her medical expertise, she crafts gripping, authentic crime fiction and is also a passionate advocate for forensic medicine education and public engagement. Her columns appear every Monday and Thursday.
We hear it all the time.
“I’m feeling my age,”.
“Everything hurts after a certain age.”
“My memory isn’t what it used to be.” Or the cliched, “I’m having a senior moment.”
Ageing does bring changes and new challenges. Recovery from exertion, injuries and illness take longer. Reading glasses become necessary. Sleep patterns shift. But here’s the part we don’t say often enough: Not everything we blame on ageing is actually normal. Writing symptoms off as “just age” can delay diagnosis of something that is treatable.
Memory: Occasional Forgetfulness vs Something More
Forgetting where you left your glasses is normal. Walking into a room and forgetting why? That’s also normal. We all get pre-occupied and misplace objects or get distracted from a task at hand. It’s part of busy lives. There are, however, warning signs to look out for that aren’t normal, such as:
Repeatedly forgetting familiar names
Getting lost in places you know well
Asking the same questions over and over
Struggling to manage bills or medications
Difficulty following conversations
Mild slowing of recall can happen with age. Progressive loss of function is not “just ageing”. If family members are noticing changes, that’s especially important. Sometimes the people who notice changes first are the ones who haven’t seen you for a while. It can be more difficult for a partner of close relative to notice subtle changes. By then it may be too late to gain benefit from treatment and intervention.
Memory concerns should always be discussed with your GP. Some causes are reversible. Others benefit from early diagnosis and support.
Feeling tired after a busy week is normal. Feeling exhausted most days is not. Persistent fatigue can be linked to:
Sleep apnoea
Thyroid problems
Anaemia
Vitamin B12 deficiency
Depression
Heart disease
Poorly controlled diabetes
Fatigue is a symptom, not a condition. If you’re sleeping adequately but still feel drained, that’s worth investigating. And if you’re awake all night but sleeping all day, it’s important to be exposed to regular daylight to help reset your body clock. Keeping curtains closed all day and avoiding going out is detrimental to sleep patterns along with a host of other daily activities.
“Foggy thinking” is one of the most common complaints in general practice. It can be caused by a number of issues including:
Poor sleep
Medication side effects
Hormonal changes
Anxiety or depression
Infections
Metabolic issues
Clear thinking doesn’t have an expiry date. If something like your concentration or clarity has noticeably changed, ask why.
Muscle mass gradually declines with age. But sudden or noticeable weakness is not something to dismiss.
You should bring it to your doctor’s attention if you struggle to:
Stand up from a chair
Climb stairs
Carry groceries
Grip objects
Weakness can signal vitamin deficiencies, heart problems, neurological conditions, medication effects or significant muscle loss. Strength underpins independence. Losing it isn’t something to ignore or just accept.
Getting puffed climbing a steep hill or stair case? Understandable.
Becoming breathless walking across the living room is not normal ageing. Struggling to breathe when you lie down isn’t either. Chest pain on exertion is definitely cause for concern. Sudden shortness of breath is a medical emergency.
Shortness of breath may point to heart disease, lung conditions, anaemia or blood clots. It is never a symptom to ignore or assume to be just part of getting older.
Depression is not a normal part of ageing, either.
Persistent low mood, anxiety, irritability or loss of interest in activities should not be accepted as inevitable. It’s wrongly assumed by many that older people don’t feel the same way as the young. That couldn’t be more wrong. Many elderly patients say they feel just as deeply as ever – particularly pain, heartache and compounding grief of loss.
Mental health conditions are also common – and treatable – at every age. Caring for an ill spouse or family member, family estrangements, isolation, deterioration in vision and hearing can also take their toll on mental health.
If your mood has changed, talk about it.
Normal ageing may include:
Slower processing speed
Taking longer to recover from exertion
Waking earlier
Needing more light to read
But ageing should not automatically mean:
Losing independence
Ongoing exhaustion
Progressive confusion
Unexplained weakness
Breathlessness at rest
Loss of interest in life
Those are symptoms, which deserve questions and answers.
If something doesn’t feel right, consider asking:
“Is this typical ageing, or should we look further?”
“Could this be related to my medications?”
“Should we check my thyroid, iron or B12?”
“Is my sleep contributing to this?”
“Would a memory assessment help?”
You are not wasting your doctor’s time by asking.
Often, the line between ageing and illness is subtle – but important. Don’t just assume that nothing can be done about your concerns.
Ageing brings change. It doesn’t automatically bring decline.
Many symptoms people quietly accept as “just getting older” are treatable. Sometimes the difference between ageing and illness is small — but identifying it can change everything.
The encouraging truth is this: bodies are resilient. Brains can improve when sleep improves. Brains can continue to learn and develop new pathways. Energy returns when underlying problems are treated. Strength can be rebuilt. Mood can lift.
Growing older doesn’t mean lowering expectations for your health. If something feels different, persistent or progressive, trust that instinct. Ask the question. Start the conversation.
Sometimes it is ageing but sometimes it’s something fixable. And sometimes, what feels like “the beginning of the end” turns out to be the beginning of feeling better.
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