What version do you have? If it's the 1.2 patch, just wait: help is under way.

I do have the patch.I'll wait until then.

If you have a PC or a 360, I actually recommend returning the game for a full refund and getting it for those systems.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-vs-ps3-skyrim-lag

Apparently the PS3 version becomes entirely borked after a certain amount of time, no patch has fixed it, and some of the developers have gone on record saying it may never get fully fixed.

Edit: Scratch that. The Bethesda support forums are now reporting that Xbox copies after 120 hours are experiencing the same game-killing lag as PS3 users. *sigh*

This is *not* a universal issue.
I have it on PS3, and while the game does occasionally get laggy,
that's the exception, not the rule.
And I'm level 63 with over 100 hours put into the game.

Well, good for you. I hope YOUR copy of the game stays playable.

MY copy of the game? Completely, utterly, unavoidably unplayable.

All I can do is sit on my ass and wait for Bethesda to "fix" the game I paid them full-price for while they accept their GOTY and "Best Studio" awards and never thank their fans.

DF and IGN are reporting that over 1/3 of PS3 users have (or will) get this bug (at least). The bug in PS3 copies is confirmed by sources ranging from IGN to Gamespot to BBC to Eurogamer to Wired to 1up... The problem most certainly exists for roughly 1/3rd of users.

They've sold over 1.66 MILLION copies for PS3... which means that over 500,000 people have or will get this bug, if not more.

That may not be "universal", but that's a failure rate that is totally, completely, and absolutely inexcusable.

I hope your copy continues to work... but if it passes that 14 MB file size and suddenly you've got zero frames per second (like I do), then head to the local tavern and take up a seat beside me; I'll buy you a pint of mead and we can drink to the dragons we can't slay, the quests we can't complete, and the adventures we can't have.

Wow, thankfully I didn't buy the game.

Yikes!!!
That SUCKS. I'm sorry you're in that situation
I wasn't trying to imply this isn't a real issue,
only to give some hope that it may not be universal...
Hope which I now need myself :-\

Hopefully they'll get a working fix rolled out soon,
as no one should suffer that after putting in hours upon hours of time.

You make me worry I should just rush through and beat it already,
rather than taking my time and enjoying it at a leisurely pace...

Sort of defeats the purpose of a game, doesn't it?