When did you first start to feel old?

I got diagnosed with arthritis in my 50s and my story reads like yours. I went to the GP but it all seemed so diffuse and incidental. I was quite fit but used to damage easily, get very sore and uncomfortable and often had difficulty with things like opening doors. It all came to a head with increased hip pain some 15 to 20 years after I first started complaining and I finally got diagnosed. It's in my back, shoulders, neck, hips, knees. The docs mostly blame my nursing career. It used to be very hard on the joints. I do weight training, I have to really care for my hips and knees but it's been a massive help . I'm far more mobile now than I was two years ago . With the right tools life becomes so much easier. Unfortunately women are the target of medical misogyny. Our pain is rarely taken seriously or treated well..I was told not to exercise, they took me off my feet and onto crutches and a surgeon met me once, lost my scan pictures and offered to replace both hips without being able to justify his reasoning. The physios just passed me around like a happy sac. It's so important we listen to people/women experiencing this. It cost me a lot to be mucked around and not taken seriously, it cost the NHS a lot too. Working with people when these things first start is often a saving in the long run. Women particularly will have sensitivity to pain dependent on their hormones and a bit of education goes a long way. There's also so much research around the body, quite literally, holding the score on trauma. This needs to be addressed too and should be taken very seriously