Wider saddles are not necessarily the path to comfort! A wider saddle can cause increased chafing. Lowering a saddle puts more weight on your "sit bones" as you take weight off your feet and hands. It seems to me that you eased into cycling originally, and now you should ease back into it, but making a change in the saddle may not be the best idea. You changed two variables, and now have a problem. It would have been easier if only one variable had changed.
I don't know what you mean by bike shorts being inconvenient. If appearance is the issue, wear baggier shorts over them, or street clothing.
This is just my $0.02; I am younger than you by a few years, have never used the same saddles as you, don't know your dimensions, and how you fit on your bike. A professional fit at a good local bike shop is never a bad idea!
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