Full time work

[srdodla123]

I have continued working till now full time and for last 4-5 years finding it difficult to cope up with this chronic pain from fibromyalgia. On top of it I have anxiety disorder. I am 55 now and my son is settled . Sometimes I find it difficult to go on this way and my cognitive functioning has declined from before and my job is where o have to sit continuously for 8 hours . I have used all workplace adjustments - alternating desk , frequent breaks etc . But I find it hard to sit/ stand continuously for 30 mins without pain. Now in addition to low back pain for last one year my chronic neck/ shoulder pain on top of it.
Sometimes I think my health has deteriorated by pushing my self in the rat race and my job has lot of peer pressure , tight timelines and always new tasks

when is enough is enough . I know it is a personal decision but just thinking out loud

 

[Affinity]

I am lucky to be self employed and to be able to manage my schedule based on how I feel. When I feel good I work more and when I feel poorly I rest more and work to get myself back into better balance. I hope that you can figure out the right balance for you.

 

[srdodla123]

Thank you

 

[WinnieBlue]

I am lucky to be self employed and to be able to manage my schedule based on how I feel. When I feel good I work more and when I feel poorly I rest more and work to get myself back into better balance. I hope that you can figure out the right balance for you.

Can I ask what you do and how you got there? Ive been struggling with income. I work a contract job online and only make a couple hundred a month. Im financially drowning. I left part time work almost two years ago because I was nearly fainting on the job and the fatigue was too bad. I feel like ill never be able to support myself.

 

[dolphindora]

So sorry to hear how much you are struggling. I too worked a job for 9 hours per day and sometimes it got too much because I was either off sick with my anxiety or my fibromyalgia although I was still waiting an MRI back then so no one even knew what was wrong with me which made me feel like I was making it up. It got to the point that my employer very subtly didn’t believe me. I ended up leaving my job as it was either lose the money or stay in dire pain. I’m with the Pain Clinic now and from other’s who suffer with it they only manage 3-4hours per day. I know it’s an absolute nightmare& I hope it works out for you.

 

[Jemima]

Can I ask what you do and how you got there? Ive been struggling with income.

Not directed at me, I know, but I can stand up with a story for figuring this stuff out - more or less at least! I reinvented myself as a freelance copywriter, mostly selling on Fiverr and with some real-world clients, and now have full time work available when I can manage it. Had to self promote with enthusiasm, which is a little weird! But managed to create a way to sustain myself after my previous types of work became impossible. I think this aspect of Fibro is really, really tough. The world doesn't stop for us, but sometimes we simply have to stop! I wish you every success in finding your way.

 

[Affinity]

Can I ask what you do and how you got there? Ive been struggling with income. I work a contract job online and only make a couple hundred a month. Im financially drowning. I left part time work almost two years ago because I was nearly fainting on the job and the fatigue was too bad. I feel like ill never be able to support myself.

I am actually an astrologer and a tarot card reader. I have done this since I was a teenager as a hobby. I have done tarot readings for a long, long time (like since the early 90's) and started taking astrology clients maybe in 2009 or so? I worked many office jobs over the years as an accountant and then in social services. After my daughter was born in 2014 (when I was 41) I was working in social services and the pay was terrible and it was very high stress. I already had my NCGR level 2 astrology certification (a professional astrology association) and I graduated from a 2 and a half year specialized program in vibrational astrology in 2015. A friend with whom I graduated had been self employed doing that same work for many years and encouraged me to give it a try and so I quit my job and started self-employment with the support of my husband. Now I work on an app for readers (Purple Ocean) and also have private clients (probably 50-50 on the income, half private half through the app). Before the pandemic I was also working once a month in person at the Dallas Psychic Fair and that was the hardest for me because it was like a full day out of the house even though it was with awesome people I loved working with.

So long story short I turned my hobby into a career and make more money than I did at my last social services job working like half the amount of time with much, much less stress. I really love the work I do and can work more or less, especially through the app, depending on how I feel. Since I am feeling pretty good lately I had maybe my best month ever last month and I am confident that as I heal from CFS/FM I will be able to work more and earn more, too. I generally work about 25-30 hours I week I would say, as I also am mostly in charge of raising the kiddo and am also helping out my husband with some of his work doing his accounting since he recently started a business as well.

 

[JayCS]

Yes. When is enough enough? So personal. Needs talking with friends, family and perhaps professionals.
Professionals (like my rehab-psychiatrist) are telling me I need work for a better quality of life and sense of purpose, even if I can't do as much sports then. Especially since they know I'd made it into my dream job. But I'm out and tired of struggling trying to work again and losing the rest of life in the process. If my "spoons" (energy levels) give me 3 active hours a day and I commute & work more than that, then that's no life, all of these 3 hours are a negative balance, plus it means no socializing, no hobbies, no movement/sports or going a downward spiral.
A mate of mine said those who are telling me this have a certain look on life, but they don't know what it's like to have this exhaustion and also maybe aren't getting a life aside from work, simply *because they are professionals...
When I said I'm not sure if I can manage going back to work next week after an Easter break, but it's sort of embarrassing or I don't know whether they will retire me, my wife said: So what, you've always said that's an option for you...
I do sometimes enjoy the work I'm doing, but it's sort of thru a fog and I don't feel I need it anymore. I've done more than enough in my life. Luckily I don't need much money at all to be happy (don't need a car or holidays for instance) and I'd get enough disability. And there's always a lot of other things I know I can do for a sense of purpose which I then cd control & regulate myself to an optimum...
I was working an average of 48h/wk before fibro, then 10 months sick leave, then rehab 10h, then 20h, but 30h was far too much, so I'm breaking off the rehab going on part disability pay and I have loads of overtime I can take when I want, too, if necessary.

 

[Flexecif]

Sometimes, we're the only ones who can tell what our body needs. If you feel like you need to take a break or stop, please do so. Most often than not, our instinct is always right.

 

[dolphindora]

That’s a very interesting story and sorry to hear it’s that bad..I completely understand.
I applied for PIP not sure if you are in the UK or not PIP is a personal independence payment...apparently it’s hard to get approved but I will fight it if I get refused. I think I’ll probably manage 15-20hrs per week.
I did have lots of savings but without going into details it was taken and it’s left me in such financial hardship but I can’t stay angry cause that just flares my pain so I just have to take one step at a time and face the fact that I’ll never ever recoup that money.
Anyway hopefully I might be entitled to some help until I’m well enough to get back to work. I’m with the Pain Clinic and we have group treatment video calls at the moment. Once all sessions have finished in about 7wks I’ll be much better equipped to deal with the Fibro.
Hope things improve for you in this situation we find ourselves in.

 

[Cindy Wood]

Hello Srdodla,
I am finding myself in that same situation I am Having to go back to work at 51, It scares the daylights out of me but I am finding alot of helpful people here and helpful information these guys are great. Hang in there and I hope things work out for you .God Bless.

 

[JayCS]

Update: My work/treatment-balance now is to keep work down (8-15h/wk) and prioritize testing/balancing all treatments left, fairly fast and boldly, which are about 8 supps additionally to the 7 that are helping already. My doses are very different to the normal ones. Even starting with small doses may in my case mean sfx. Increasing until I overdose so I find my dose means sfx too. These mean being sicker fairly often, preventing me from working more. In the long run since April this has been very successful in all areas, considering. Once I've got this all sorted out fairly well (1-3 months?), I will either be able to work more (which I can't yet) or at least I will have a better quality of life (which I definitely have already). But if I hadn't/don't put my priority on health/body, I wdnt be able to work at all...

 

[Cindy Wood]

Well my first night of work is tomorrow night yikes I hope it goes well .

 

[JayCS]

Night?!?!? Now that'd be a way to annihilate every single step of progress I've made... Really hope you can get to terms with it...

 

[Jemima]

Well my first night of work is tomorrow night yikes I hope it goes well .

Best of luck Cindy - we're all different, so maybe you can cruise this! Keep us posted on how you get on.