What have you become more cautious about as you have got older?

[mumto3girls]

Pretty much everything

This was exactly the first thought that came to mind for me. Unfortunate, but so true.

 

[darnheather]

From now on surgery. I had a major surgery on the 10th and I am still not over it. 10 years ago I bounced back from surgery in two days. Now I realize this was far more invasive than that one but the pain, exhaustion, and everything else just doesn't compare to back then. I had planned to have a second surgery at Thanksgiving but I am seriously rethinking it now.

 

[disneyseniors]

Physical safety with an eye towards preventing falls. I am 66 and DH is 62. We were healthy for our ages; no additional medications for stuff like blood pressure or diabetes, no limitations as to what we could do and where we could go (within reason, of course). Then, I fell in December '22 and have been struggling with knee issues ever since, culminating in a knee replacement a month ago. During all this, DH fell in February and again in March, landing palms-down both times. He's torn his biceps tendon and has a large, full tear in his rotator cuff and needs a shoulder replacement. I've been on crutches/cane since December and as soon as I am back on my feet, he'll have surgery which results in 6-8 weeks in a sling and then a ton of therapy. I keep jokingly saying this is the year we got old... but it's true. If only I'd been paying attention to the mud, if only he'd used a step ladder instead of a single step stool, if only he'd stayed off the ice in the parking lot. Caution and fall prevention would have made this a much easier year.

Sometimes we take all the precautions and "stuff" happens anyway. My husband had rotator cuff surgery and is now just fine! It is a difficult recovery/recup time as he will have to keep the arm in a sling for a while, not moving it. It's a slow process, but it is all worth it when it's done and he can use that arm again
My husband walks with a cane, and I have to watch that he doesn't stumble, so we both go slower. Just the usual things that happen when you get older. Mainly, it's Slow Down and be more cognizant of your surroundings.