Working Or Not, What Type of Work?

[1sweed]

Back in the days when I was working I did housecleaning for many people. As my illness got worse I dropped one job after another until I had no work at all. I tried doing craft shows and yard sales, and made a bit but not much to live on. But it made me realize how much fibro robs you of the things you enjoy doing and the things you get paid for doing.
I do crafts and baking, sewing and babysitting sometimes.

So my question is if you work, what kind of work do you do?
And if you are not working do you do hobbies or babysitting, or anything to earn pocket change?

How badly do you think that fibro has ruined your life and your families lives?

 

[twiztc]

I used to be a mechanic and do some construction and landscaping. I loved having very physical jobs. I spent a long time being my x husbands carer who was at least twice my size. Lugging about a fifteen stone bloke ain't easy. My past lives haven't made it easy on my poor body.
I miss not being able to move big stones and replace half my garden or knock walls down.
Now I have an office job now and even though less physical has it's own complications. Sitting for long periods of time makes me ache and you can't have a nope when you get wiped out but it's at least something. I guess there will come a day when I can't even do that. When that day comes I still have my crafting to fall back on to keep me busy and I might even be lucky enough to sell some.

 

[Libragirl67]

I am actually still a housekeeper. I do not work as many hours as I used to though. I have taken a major hit as far as my income goes. But I have no choice but to cut back on hours at work. My two sons are both older now and they both work and do help with some of the utility bills. But the burden of our rent is on me. So I go one day at a time. it is all I can do. It is all any of us can do.

 

[_Nyx]

Working is the biggest struggle I have right now. I graduated this past summer and have been looking forward to getting that 'better job'. Aside from the crappy work market right now I have experienced other concerns. In November I started a great job. The unfortunate thing was that I was travelling a lot, I was driving 7 hours a week to and from work for 13 hours of work. Slowly the pain I was experiencing was getting worse and worse and I had to turn down other contracts which would give me more hours of work for it meant more driving as well. By January my pain was so excruciating that I had to make the very hard decision to quit this job, my dream job. It was during this experience that I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. Now I am on the hunt for another job closer to home, but with each application I submit I worry if I would be able to physically perform the duties. Can I walk/stand for a period of time? Can I sit for prolonged periods? What if it is a busy day and I go-go-go (which is typically my personality). I am essentially scared to get a new job in the event that I may have to quit again. I know I cannot allow that to interfere with my trying, but it is always at the back of mind. I also feel that since I just spent 3 years in University I need to be working to pay off my loans. It's a hindsight 20/20, perhaps if I knew this was going to be my experiences I would not have gone back to school.

 

[suadela]

I work 40 hours a week. I have a desk job, in accounting. Sometimes it helps, other times I still have all kinds of pain. I wish that I could stay in bed most mornings. I also have a 6 year old daughter, that is actually the only reason I work. I have to support her and keep a roof over our heads and she has needs and wants. If it wasn't for her I would be at home crafting and trying to stay relaxed as best as I could...

 

[savvyme]

I dont have fibro...so i cant really add to this thread...
But I am touched by all your efforts to work...often it is so easy to just give up...
Having a child to look after is probably the hardest thing when you are physically in pain...so my heart goes out to all you parents out there...

 

[exploreandrespawn]

For myself, Ebay was a life saver. I had to go on ebay and make a living selling pet portraits of dogs and cats. Let me tell you, most people are so very sweet and kind. But there are some that will give you a photo from 1903 and expect a Michelangelo from it. I actually got to really dislike portrait painting, because I had to do it. It's not even really art, it's boring because you are just copying what is in front of you, requires no real thought. But that is what I did for a living. Ebay and pet portrailts.

 

[Sbuss]

I feel this is something that is a benefit for me. I work for an insurance company (desk job) but I work from home. I can access everything I need from my laptop if necessary. On the bad days I could truly work from my bed if needed. The biggest problem I have is that my joints in my hands and the muscle in my forearms always feel as if I had just done about 3 hours straight of weight lifting and I get the pins and needles sleeping feeling in them. It is very hard to continue through my day with these feelings...anybody have suggestions that may help with this?

 

[ACHY]

Working is causing me problems right now as well. Because I am not working and am having a difficult time finding a job that I CAN do, LIKE to do, WANT to do, etc. I know what I CANNOT do and that is to take care of other people. I did that for quite some time and it about killed me. The economy is so depressed in my area of the country that unfortunately there aren't a lot of options. Chin up, straight ahead, maintain a positive attitude, one day (application) at a time. Best of luck to all of you.

 

[SueMc]

I work part time retail, 8hr shifts 3 days a week, more during christmas. My boss is very understanding and I've been lucky that I've only had to call in sick because of a flare about 3-5 times in the last 5 yrs. Seems my body stiffens more when I sit at home therefore flares seem to hit me on my days off. I find standing and walking around is more tolerable than sitting or lying down, so work helps as I am on a sales floor. The beauty of a pt retail job is that anyone can fill in for you if you are sick, the down fall is minimum wage. I am lucky that my husband has a government job. I am not a morning person, all stiff and in pain, so I work a noon till 9 shift.

 

[ACHY]

I agree with SueMc, if I could find work, I believe I would feel so much better. It would be fabulous for my self-esteem, certainly would help with the budget, and would provide a social outlet and a reason to get out of my bed, take care of myself, etc. I never really considered retail, but based on what you've said, it could be do-able.

 

[SulaBlue]

If you can't find work, but need a social outlet and reason to get out of bed, etc. etc., perhaps volunteering is an option? It won't help with the budget, but it could help with the rest. I'm not yet at a point where I can volunteer just yet, but I'm hoping it comes. Right now I'm dependent on the door-to-door disabled bus system for transportation and it'd cost me $4 round trip to go volunteer anywhere, but it might be worth it once a week or so just to get out of the house.

 

[dcloutier]

I recently started an online, independent contractor position, so now I can thankfully say that I do have a job. But, before that I hadn't held a job down in a couple years because of my fibro. My degree is in culinary arts, so it was almost impossible to stand in a kitchen for 8+ hours a day, especially on a bad fibro day.

I agree that the job does give a sense of well-being that helps, but the physical demands of a job are rough. The physical demands of getting ready for that job can be rough some days. Which is why I'm so thrilled to have this job I can do from home now, but I find myself needing to find reasons to get out of the house, especially when I don't feel well because I need the sun and fresh air and other human interaction lol.

 

[glacier]

I am a full time mother to three kids. Though I do not have a job outside, my hands are always full with chores, the kids, and some home-based small business. I am into selling different stuff, and the current brand that I am selling deals with products for the family especially for kids and some home care products. I love the selling part because I get to meet my friends on a regular basis. They are my valued buyers and it was not a hard sell since they sincerely love the products that I sell. It becomes sort of a reunion for us. We will meet in one place, and with me are their orders, and from there we would watch a movie or dine out. I am always the first to go since I have kids to attend to, but it was always fun being with them.

 

[Melissast]

I babysit from time to time. Someone has to stay home with the children as its to expensive to get childcare. That someone is me. That isn't to say I'm not always busy. There are always things that need cleaning, meals that need prepared, and someone that needs entertained, plus I homeschool my four year old.

I had an actual job for a couple of weeks at a daycare. I loved it. It was my dream job. Plus it built up my confidence getting out of the house seeing other adults, and having my own money to spend. All I've ever wanted to do was take care of children. Then one day I started to get ready for work, and the pain was just to bad. I was having a very bad day. I called in sick, and got fired for doing so. I hope one day to get a job like that again, maybe with someone more understanding.