When your 40 you'll look 20.... Arrrgh! What the #$%^?

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anonymous

New member
Here is my problem in a nutshell.... Right now, I am 27 years old and moderatly healthy. Problem -- I look 16. Despite a full time job, nice car (could care less) and (what people tell me) good personality, I find it very difficult to be taken seriously as an adult male.

This scenario exists with women, my doctors, co-workers, family, friends and just people in general... Don't get me wrong, people love to talk to me and say things like, "Wow, your 27?! You totally look 16! Man, when you turn 40 your really going to have it made... you'll look 20. I wish I could have your genes."

But I guess things aren't so bad, High School Cheerleaders now hit on me (in high school I looked 8 years old, but now, I look a studdly 16) <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif" border="0"> uggh

Oh yeah, what sucks however, is that during high school I never had acne... but now... Oh you guessed it... at 27 I am the proud owner of acne that just won't quit!

Can anyone else remotely relate to me? God this disease sucks... As well, when I'm 40 and look 20 (if I make it that far) am I really going to have the health or energy to have sex with a 20 - 30 year old woman?

Having CF and its complications is bad enough... but is it too much to ask to look the part so that I can enjoy life and all its benefits and or pleasures while I'm here?
 
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thefrogprincess

New member
Oh yeah, I understand. I once got accused of having a fake ID when I was buying some booze for a party. A couple years ago I went to my boyfriends company picknick at a lake. All the guys he works with said they thought I was 15 until I took off my shirt to go swimming and they saw my tattoos. I was 22. I also don't get taken seriously at work. I'm an assistant manager in a retail store. When people ask to see a manager and they get me, they think its a joke.
 
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Emily65Roses

New member
I very much share that problem. I'm 21 and look roughly 16. I just started buying liquor recently, and the first time I went, man what a hassle. First of all, our state just got these new UV lights. You can shine it on the back of CT licenses, and though there's nothing visible in regular light, in real licenses, the UV light shows little maps of CT. The girl behind the counter looked at the birthday and the picture several times, back to me, back to the ID, back to me, etc. Then she shone the UV light on it and the maps showed up!! She still gave me a hard time. She had me write my name, address, phone number, on a piece of paper verifying my age, and saying it was okay for them to check with the cops. It was insane. I mean, it's not her fault. And it's no big deal, I still left with the liquor, but holy hassle, Batman!

I definitely get that trouble a lot, don't worry. And I hate when people give me that comment too. Well at'least when you're 40, you'll look 20. I DON'T CARE!! I have a disease that is likely to kill me "before my time." I will wear age spots and wrinkles with PRIDE! I want to look my age, damnit! <img src="i/expressions/devil.gif" border="0">
 
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Emily65Roses

New member
PS-- FrogPrincess, I LOVE your quote. And my mom, being a HUGE Johnny Depp fan, will also likely appreciate it. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0">
 
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kybert

New member
i love looking young. even though im a giant, my face looks young. girls i know who are around my age are starting to show small signs of ageing so im as happy as larry. i take extra measures to make myself look younger too. i always wear sunscreen, i have glycolic peels and salicylic scrubs <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif" border="0"> i dont see premature ageing as a triumph over cf anyway. besides for every young looking cf person there are 100 young looking non cf people around so youre not alone.

original poster, go see a dermo about your acne. you dont have to put up with it.
 
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serendipity730

New member
I feel your pain. I am 22 years old and look around 16 also. Sometimes people ask me what grade I am in!! When I order a drink, people usually give me a "you've got to be kidding" look.
 
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Dea

New member
Hey guys,
I'll be 32...and I still get carded! Some people look at me funny too when they see my daughter who is 7. I get dirty looks because they think I'm too young to have a daughter that age. It used to bother me alot...but I'm just thankful to be alive!
Dea
 
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EmilysMom

New member
Emily is correct, frogprincess....I do like your quote. I remember reading that in one of Johnny Depp's interviews. When asked what his least favorite noise was...his reply was "the vacuum cleaner". I thought that was interesting also.
 
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Diane

New member
ToThe first poster about acne....You may want to ask your doctor for a prescription for minocycline. I got acne around the age of 29, and i noticed every time my doctor rotated me onto minocycline, my acne started to clear up. After being on it a while it cleared up completely and never came back <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0"> . I read that tetracyclines are used for acne, so it may help you...............
Oh and by the way, i always looked younger also, and i am now 40 and im starting to show my age in some ways. A few wrinkles here , some lines there, and the bags under my eyes i sometimes get from my sinus problems doesnt make me look any younger either...........lol. I probably dont exactly look 40, but i am starting to show some age and happy to do so. I earned every single line you'll ever see on my face......................

~Diane 40 / cf / diabetes / b.cepacia
 
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ClashPunk82

New member
Same for me. I am 22 but look probably about 13. It doesn't bother me though, I like that I look younger. Most of the girls I know are my age and they llook about 30 so when they get to be 30 they will probbaly look 40. Oh and for the acne I had it too except I didn't have little normal ones I had the cysts under my skin that had to be injected or drained. I finally went on birth control to see if that would help and it did I havent had once since. Although at some point I want some stuff done to my skin since those cysts left marks that look like big bruises. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif" border="0">
 
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miesl

New member
Looking young isn't a problem associated with just CFers. I'll tell a few amusing stories of my mom's. When I was about 10 (which made my mom 30) - I was with her buying wine in a grocery store in Montana. The clerk looked at the two of us, and asked if we were buying the wine for our parents. She was carded on her 21st wedding anniversary (when she was 39). A few years ago (when I was 20, and NOT legal), we were buying some Barcardi Raz in Wisconsin (we travel a lot) - the clerk looked at Chris, looked at me, then turned to Chris saying "If you're the one buying this, I'll need to see your ID." She still gets carded - and she's going to be 45 in November. Like you - it really bothered her when she was younger (because, damnit - she was NOT under 21!). However, she loves it now, because it means she doesn't look like she's in her mid 40's. Hopefully those stories amused you - and helped you see where the "when you're 40 you'll look 20 - won't that be great!" people are coming from.

An old coworker of mine also had the "looks 15" problem. It really bugged him when the new person thought I was older than him - when he was really six years older. He solved the problem by growing facial hair - it makes him look more his age.

Jeremy (my CF having boyfriend) also looks younger than he is. He consistently gets carded - and he's 27. The only reason I think it bugs him that I don't get carded - and I'm 23. He's grown his hair long (it used to be a really short haircut) - and it makes him look older.
 
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