I know I'm not alone on this.

FM seems to be getting worse again this time of the year and it's making my day to day life seemingly unbelievable. This is last year... all over again. My sleeping habits have changed rapidly and I'm getting migraines every single day, which never go away. I know a lot of you on here feel the same way as me. I'm just wondering.. for those of you that feel like you have something to live up to i guess... what do you do? I suddenly had to stop going to school (college) and I'm not feeling very optimistic about getting back. For those of you who aren't able to live "the normal life", what do you do? Are there fulfilling part-time jobs that you can do? Ugh..

I was blessed enough to start a home-based wedding cake business 20 years ago [when I had kids at home to help me] and this has been my salvation. I can stop and rest when necessary, take only as much business as I want to do, and I can pretty much set my own hours and work schedule. I also started up an annual bridal show 15 years ago and that supplements my income in the lean winter months of fewer weddings. I started in my home with the idea that I would eventually open a storefront bakery but with the way fibro has held me back this is where I stayed. Actually, it's been ideal for me because my bedroom is right next to the bakery so I can nap when I need to and still be present to answer the phone.

Anyone who can do something from home is at a definite advantage with fibro. I wish there were lots of "cottage industries" out there for us.

You could get your college degree on line.  You could do this at your own pace. and choose a career that you could work from home.  Data processing comes to mind. Also, web design could probably be done at home.

 

You need to try to look at the positive things in your life.  If you look only at what you can't do, it's like a self-fulfilling prophecy.  God has given you a good brain and you can figure ways around this lousy illness.  Get what you need to help prevent the headaches if you can.  It's good to take whatever helps you BEFORE you end up in a lot of pain...not after the pain has arrived big time.  This helps you control the pain so you can function.

 

Read back posts and you will find a lot of other ideas.  If you look forward to the future with some anticipation I think you will find something that works perfectly for you!

 

Sherrine

I certainly understand what it's like to have to put your life on hold because of fibro.  I picked up and moved back home from CA to SC.  And, living with your parents at 36 (37 next month) is not only humiliating, it can be disheartening at times.  

Anyway, I was so spoiled by the SoCal weather.  My fibro is screaming at the cold, and the cold is screaming back louder.  LOL-I thought I was painful before!  I know how hard it is to stay positive.  One of the things that helps me is to talk to other people that really know what you are going through.  You can always come here to vent (you'll see me doing that a lot ).  I've found some true friends here and on another board.  I hope you feel comfortable enough to talk about anything (well, you can always talk to me about anything, this is a "let's keep it PG" board).   I have a problem censoring myself at times, cause I'm such a "say anything" and open kind of person.

I hope you know that you do have a lot of people on your side.

Um Sera, just wanted to point out that you addressed me in your post but I hadn't even posted on this topic.

Anyway pro, I can certainly relate to how you are feeling. I had a very hard time with college. I was never able to keep up a full course load even though I did as many classes as possible online. I also took time off here and there. It took me 5 years to get what should've been a 2 year degree. Not to mention the degree I got is pretty useless it was just General Studies Associates Degree because it was the only thing I could really do that would let me be flexible and take classes that I could handle.

I don't know what to tell you about the job thing. I've been looking for a job for over a year now and I haven't had any luck. There just aren't many part time jobs available in my area and the few times I've actually gotten interviews I was always beaten out by someone that actually had job experience. Many people have suggested working at home to me and I have been looking into that a lot but honestly haven't been able to find anything available that is legitimate which baffles me because people keep telling me there are lots of opportunities for things like that. I wish I knew what I'm doing wrong with my job searches.

Well here's hoping things get better for both of us in the future.

Been there, done that. LOL

Over the past year I signed up with 7 different agencies. I tested high on all the typing and microsoft office tests they gave me. Unfortunately none of them were able to do anything for me. Something about how none of their clients wanted to hire anyone for part time work or they only wanted people with more job experience.

Currently I'm trying to work with this one agency that specializes in helping disabled people get rehabilitated and find work. They are extremely slow. I initially contacted them in July and because they took so long to even send me an application and even longer to process it once I mailed it back, I didn't get an appointment until the middle of September. They told me they where going to pay for diagnostic testing(psychological, career aptitude, ect) and that I just had to wait for an authorization form to come in the mail and then I could make an appointment to get it all done. After a few weeks of waiting I called up my case worker to find out what was going on. She told me that she was still working on my paperwork and getting me into the system. I can't remember exactly how long ago that was that I called(fibro fog), but if that form isn't in today's mail, I'm calling them again on Monday.

Yeah the waiting is difficult, it's really bad for the morale. I'm not giving up, but somehow I think that I might have to wait until the job market improves before anything comes along. Thanks for the well wishes.

I am currently in college and just went to our disabilities office - they are in the process of filling out forms for me to excuse my absences due to fibro so it won't hurt my grades. At least its something. Ya never know how they can help.