For the last 2 years I've been working on building my own business that I can do from home. (And no, I don't sell ways to make money on the Internet. ;-) The two hardest parts of working for me were getting up and commuting, and trying to keep my illness from affecting anyone else. My computers, bless their hearts, do not seem to notices the tight lines on my face and my tenseness when I am in pain. They don't hear an edge in my voice and read some other emotion into it. They don't react if I suddenly have to sit or lie down, or if I'm constantly squirming and can't sit still. They don't even care if it's noon or midnight. They also don't follow me around and constantly ask me what's wrong or if I'm OK. If I can tune the pain out, they won't keep reminding me. If I'm doing repetitive work, I can turn on the TV and give my brain something else to do besides think about pain. I work really long hours, but I can do it in almost any condition, and that relieves so much stress in my life. I've had this for 30 years. I'm used to it. Other people aren't and it upsets them. Everyone wants to "fix" me. I appreciate the sentiment, but it's very draining, and I struggle to appear polite and positive when I really want to say, "Enough already! Let's talk about something else." I really hope I can make this work long term.