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Will fibromyalgia stop me from doing my dream career?

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Posted 7/23/2013 6:39 AM (GMT 0)
Hi everyone,

These are the careers I'm interested in, in order of how much I want to do them:
1) doctor (specialising in FMS and CFS and neurology)
2) occupational therapist (as above, also in neuromuscular techniques)
3) dietitian (specialising in leaky gut and FMS and CFS)
4) nurse (specialising in paediatrics and mental health)

Now, I chose Occupational Therapy over Medicine because:
•I didn't get high enough grades in high school (due to my poor health) so if I do decide to do it, it will be after the Health Sciences degree is done first, if I do well enough in it.
•my health is too poor to do an intense medical degree right now
•I have this little problem with feeling faint and nauseous when I see blood or internal organs; I am fascinated by surgery but when I see it (e.g. on the bio TV channel), I keep looking away because I feel sick but then looking back because I'm sincerely interested.

Do you think I might get better enough to study medicine?
Might I get over the sick feeling from seeing blood and insides?

Do you think I'd make a good doctor?

In the last year of school, my predicted ATAR from semester one, while i had fibro but wasn't flaring up, was 90 (I.e. top 10%) BUT because I had a terrible flare-up during semester 2, my ATAR ended up being 89.25 (top 20.75%). If I ever got completely better, maybe I'd be good enough to be a doctor, do you think?

I'm just looking for your guys' opinions: is being a doctor a crazy dream I should give up? (PS. Most ppl who know me tend to assume that I am planning to be a doctor, even though I've never told anyone about this secret dream. Maybe it's just because I talk about doctor stuff so much and I'm always trying to help people with their health problems.)

I'm thinking that if I continue to be really unwell, nutrition is probably a food back up plan because it is less intense than Occupational Therapy.

Don't get me wrong - I love Occupational Therapy. I just keep dreaming about being a doctor for some reason.

Oh well, at least I've narrowed it down to the health sciences.
Posted 7/23/2013 8:58 AM (GMT 0)
One of my dearest friends is an NP specializing in women's reproductive health...she has fibro.

My pharmacist has fibro.

Another friend is a massage therapist...she too has fibro.

The first rheumy I saw was a female...she had myofascial pain syndrome.

Can't let it crush your dream...

Donna

 

Posted 7/23/2013 9:03 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks Donna! :)
Posted 7/23/2013 11:22 AM (GMT 0)
Anything is possible, but you need to find a way to manage your condition.

Transfering to Med school right now might mean you might need to do an exams to fight for a place and start from first year, but either way you had to anyway. I talked to someone today who is doing paramedic course at Flinders, they can however transfer to med school without doing GAMSAT (graduate admission medical science apptitude test) because they have done pretty much has a Bachelor of Medicine just without the Bachelor of Surgery. That seems rather handy.

For what you are aiming which is occupation theraphy, I think you'll be able to do it. You just need to somehow find your chill zone. Somewhere you can concerntrate doing your study and have your stress under control.

Stress is definately my #1 enemy... sometimes I go and find it myself, but it's definately the root of my problems. If I can get my stress in check, I think I'd be in a better place.
Posted 7/23/2013 11:48 AM (GMT 0)
Jasmine - you can do any of the above...You are a postive and helpful person and are very knowledgable already about these conditions...look how many people you have helped already on this site.

I agree anything is possible and you will definitely find a way to cope with this as you have that drive

Don't forget though, you have CFS also, if at all I think this will be the one you need to challenge. You are young though and your chances of getting over CFS are very high

I think if we put our minds to it we can do anything with this condition...I should listen to my own advice a few times as I am usually quite negative and dont have this under control yet
Posted 7/23/2013 12:21 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Jasmine:  I agree with the others who posted.

You are so smart and motivated!  With that alone, it can take you far.  I hope you choose your favorite career and go for it.

But let's say your health isn't going as well as you had hoped.  I think maybe it's one of those day-by-day things; some days are good and the other days not so great.  On the 'good' days, keep moving ahead.  On the not-so-good days, go a little easier on yourself.  Don't overdo, but don't 'underdo,' either.  Pace yourself.  And if it seems as if things are too much to handle, it may be time to changes courses a bit.

You are also a gifted writer!  Perhaps you could use that in the medical field, researching fibro or such.

You seem to be interested in the medical field, and that can take you many directions.  Even if you were unable to 'go the distance' as far as a particular career, just having the medical background should take you far. 

This is close to my heart, as I wish I had gone a similar route.  When I was hospitalized a few years ago, a nurse told me I should be in the medical field.  However, being close to retirement age, it's not a good time for me to begin, and frankly, my health isn't holding up enough to start something like that.  I do see now, though, that as I mentioned, the medical field can take you in many directions, and I think it's a great way to go.

I wish you much success!  Prayers and God bless.  Keep us posted! :-)

Posted 7/23/2013 1:17 PM (GMT 0)
Jasmine, I don't have Fibro but do have chronic musculoskeletal pain. I'm also a nurse with more than 30 years experience. I have been fortunate to have a community human services position for the last ten years of my career, as I would not have been able to do physical care of patients.

If you look toward a nursing career, be aware that there is a lot of hard physical work involved even in the training phase. If you can make it through that, though, there are infinite opportunities. I started in pediatrics and ended up managing a program that teaches parenting skills to new parents who are at risk for child abuse or neglect. Very rewarding and not at all physically difficult.

Good luck with whatever you decide, dear.
Posted 7/23/2013 1:29 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you all for the encouraging words.

Interesting... Maybe I could start off with a paramedicine course. I feel a bit nervous about doing the Bachelor of Surgery until I'm completely in control of my brain fog. Also, I think they'll be a lot more lenient about letting me do a paramedicine course part-time than doing a medicine course part-time - and I'm only up to part time at this stage. Maybe I could study paramedicine part-time while learning to control my condition, then switch to medicine. I'm already in the Bachelor of Health Sciences, all I'd have to do is switch my major to Paramedicine. Actually, what I think I'll do is talk to the course advisors at university about it, and let them advise me on the best pathway to take considering my need to only study part-time for a few years at first.

One of the main goals I would have as a doctor is to do research on fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome until we found out their cause(s) and cure(s). I would definitely love to end up writing at least four books and one booklet:
•my true story (with names changed)
•novel about someone living with fibromyalgia
•medical book as a reference book for doctors and other health professionals treating patients with fibromyalgia and/or chronic fatigue syndrome
•treatment guide for fibromyalgia and CFS patients
•booklet for helping the average healthy person to understand the impacts of these conditions on their loved ones

Doctors are in such short supply and there needs to be more sympathetic doctors out there. I can help to change that situation by becoming a doctor!

If not, then I can still make a difference in people's lives by being an Occupational Therapist! :)

Judy, that sounds like very interesting work! My auntie was a nurse and she has informed me quite bluntly that I would never be up to it.

Post Edited (Jasmine Grace) : 7/23/2013 8:15:46 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 7/23/2013 4:17 PM (GMT 0)
Jasmine, not only can you do it, but you will be WAAAY better at it than somebody who only looks at health conditions like these, from the outside !

YOU would be the health care person I would want to see !

Best wishes :)

Fish

Posted 7/23/2013 7:43 PM (GMT 0)
Jasmine, you could be nearly everything you mentioned but I sure would hope you wouldn't go into surgery.  Surgeons have to be totally clear-headed.  There is a lot of stress involved in surgery plus we have weird things happening...suddenly...that could cause the wrong movement with the scalpel.  I know my hands go numb and I couldn't stand there for hours operating on someone.

 

My physical therapist had medical training.  She had charts of muscles, tendons, ligaments and even nerves and explained much to me when I was going through physical therapy.  She also had fibromyalgia and was an absolute blessing to me.  

 

There are so many things in the medical field that you could do to help others but not have to deal with blood, etc.  

 

Sherrine 

Posted 7/23/2013 9:49 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks Fishchris! It certainly would make a huge difference to be treated for FMS by a doctor who actually has FMS themselves.

Sherrine, if they would let me do the Bachelor of Medicine without doing the Bachelor of Surgery as well, then I would be very happily become a doctor. It was my understanding that you can't do one without the other; and during the Bachelor of Surgery - during the training - you actually have to operate on real, live patients. This was one of the things that originally discouraged me from being a doctor. While I can practise as a doctor without being a surgeon, I think I'd have to practise surgery as a student and risk harming someone first. But now I am going to enquire if there is some way I can get around this aspect of the training.
Posted 7/23/2013 11:37 PM (GMT 0)

Jasmine Grace said...
Thank you all for the encouraging words.

Interesting... Maybe I could start off with a paramedicine course. I feel a bit nervous about doing the Bachelor of Surgery until I'm completely in control of my brain fog. Also, I think they'll be a lot more lenient about letting me do a paramedicine course part-time than doing a medicine course part-time - and I'm only up to part time at this stage. Maybe I could study paramedicine part-time while learning to control my condition, then switch to medicine. I'm already in the Bachelor of Health Sciences, all I'd have to do is switch my major to Paramedicine. Actually, what I think I'll do is talk to the course advisors at university about it, and let them advise me on the best pathway to take considering my need to only study part-time for a few years at first.

One of the main goals I would have as a doctor is to do research on fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome until we found out their cause(s) and cure(s). I would definitely love to end up writing at least four books and one booklet:
•my true story (with names changed)
•novel about someone living with fibromyalgia
•medical book as a reference book for doctors and other health professionals treating patients with fibromyalgia and/or chronic fatigue syndrome
•treatment guide for fibromyalgia and CFS patients
•booklet for helping the average healthy person to understand the impacts of these conditions on their loved ones

Doctors are in such short supply and there needs to be more sympathetic doctors out there. I can help to change that situation by becoming a doctor!

If not, then I can still make a difference in people's lives by being an Occupational Therapist! :)

Judy, that sounds like very interesting work! My auntie was a nurse and she has informed me quite bluntly that I would never be up to it.

That's right there are short supply of emphathetic doctors, there are plenty of doctors who are there for the lifestyle or money, but good ones are hard to find.

Just a note about changing your course. This is information about my uni, and may not apply to your uni. So please check carefully before making a rushed decision.
Posted 7/24/2013 1:29 AM (GMT 0)
Money didn't even cross my mind, honestly. I just want to help people. I'm happy as long as I earn at least $40,000 per year - that's enough to cover the healthcare, house, traveling and retirement savings I want.

I'm definitely going to discuss this with the course advisors at my uni to find out all my options. Then I will carefully analyse the options before making any decisions.
Posted 7/24/2013 3:25 AM (GMT 0)
You can definitely do it. It will be a long hard road. As someone pointed out, a career where you have to always be at your mental best, such as surgeon or emergency medicine, may not be a good fit, but there are so many options.

I'm a pharmacist, and as my symptoms are still emerging, I'm struggling. I'll never make it long term if I don't get my symptoms under control. But, once I have a handle on the fatigue and brain fog, I don't see why I can't continue in my line of work.
Posted 7/24/2013 4:23 AM (GMT 0)
Have you looked into being a Nurse Practitioner? They don't do surgery. I prefer to see NPs because they seem much more supportive and helpful and able to take more time with me.

Another thing is to look into research.

Talk to anyone and everyone you can to get all the advise you can. Medicine is an intense study, but if that is what you really want to do, then go for it. Better to try and fail than to always wonder "What if..."

Joy
Posted 7/25/2013 3:25 AM (GMT 0)
I think you should become an OT, and then move to the US and travel around treating all of us. ;)

Seriously, though, occupational therapy is something that I have always been very interested in. My oldest son had occupational therapy for a year (sensory processing disorder and proprioceptive disorder), and his OT was wonnnnderful, and helped him so very much. She was also a knitter and singer, so we really gelled, LOL! Just the thought, though, of being able to help others in such a specialized, but highly necessary, way is amazing. I wanted to do music therapy for awhile for this very reason, but in a way, I kind of am. <3

Good luck with whatever you ultimately decide to pursue! You have the drive and the will, and you are SO well-written; you can be anything!
Posted 7/25/2013 3:37 AM (GMT 0)
Since I would have to do an undergraduate degree then postgrad medicine (I didn't get a high enough ATAR to go straight into undergrad medicine), it is entirely possible that I could do my Occupational Therapy degree then do the Bachelor of Medicine. That would be a unique combination as a basis for both research and holistic treatment! I would love to do that!

Nurse practitioner does look interesting...
Posted 7/26/2013 1:13 AM (GMT 0)
Jasmine- I couldn't find your post relating to this but I have to ask you: Is it me or do these folks have a fundamental misunderstanding of what leaky gut is?

Its not a symptom, its a cause. It is ALWAYS a cause. That is why I feel its important to continue to discuss it. Leaky gut is an immune issue that has been linked in studies to triggering fibro flares. This is NOT a diet and we do not plan on sharing recipes to cure it. I find it very odd that this underlying condition has been lumped in with food talk. Its considered a possible cause just like hypothyroid and cervical trauma. And frankly the banning of food talk in a forum where people talk about all sorts of random things that may or may not be relevant or interesting to the rest of us, is beyond me.
Posted 7/26/2013 4:05 AM (GMT 0)
Yes, I think some people don't quite understand what leaky gut is. I'll just provide a quick definition here:
Leaky gut is when the lining of the intestines or colon becomes hyperpermeable due to eating foods you are intolerant to or due to extreme stress or surgery or car accident or giving birth. It is recognised by doctors as a rare medical condition that they don't often test for, but naturopaths think it is more common than doctors tend to believe. My doctor is up to date with the newest research and she acknowledges that leaky gut could very well be more common than originally thought and could be causing most of the symptoms that I suffer from, so she is going to thoroughly investigate me for leaky gut. Treating leaky gut involves much more than just eating a healthy diet; it also involves taking certain supplements and medications to heal the gut lining so that undigested food particles stop leaking into the bloodstream and wreaking havoc on the body. Healthy diet alone cannot heal leaky gut; it requires medical treatment in conjunction with a healthy diet. Leaky gut has been shown to be present in up to 80% of patients with fibromyalgia! That is significant to me. Leaky gut is a condition which can cause symptoms of fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome and irritable bowel syndrome - any good doctor will acknowledge this. It does not necessarily cause gastrointestinal symptoms in every person who has it. A person can feel like their digestion is perfectly normal when in fact leaky gut may be affecting them in less obvious ways, such as fatigue and pain.
Posted 7/26/2013 5:39 AM (GMT 0)
That's the same information I came away with from my own research....wow, I can't believe doctors think this is a rare condition!

You know they said the same thing to me regarding my Thoracic Outlet Syndrome diagnosis...they said it was rare...when in fact the physical therapists and vascular surgeons see it all the time! I think conventional doctors need to start thinking outside the box a little more.

I know I have it too because I was tested for it but I haven't been able to afford comprehensive treatment for it, so I just modified my diet a bit...but I know its going to take a whole lot more than that. Please let us know what your doctor recommends in terms of supplements..I can always go out and get some. I only know of L-glutamine being the standard treatment for any gut lining issue...particularly useful for villi atrophy in Celiac disease.
Posted 7/26/2013 5:59 AM (GMT 0)
If doctors were willing to test for leaky gut more often, I think a lot more people would be healthier instead of thinking they're incurable!

These are what the holistic nutritionist has recommended to me. The doctor hasn't told me what her treatment would be yet, as she has not yet tested me for leaky gut.

L-Glutamine is very important. A good supplement for leaky gut is GI Repair Nutrients (by Vital Nutrients). It contains L-Glutamine, N-Acetyl Glucosamine, Eastern Larch Heartwood, Quercetin dihydrate, deglycyrrhized licorice root, lactobacillus sporogenes, ginkgo leaf extract. I list the ingredients in case you don't have access to that particular supplement and you want to buy them individually.

Taking a good quality probiotic is also very important. Take one that contains many types of probiotics, not just one species.

Multi enzyme tablet is good too, to aid digestion. I take All-Zyme.

Para Biotic Plus, which contains wormwood leaf, olive leaf, oregano leaf, thyme leaf, barberry root, black walnut bark, uva ursi leaf.

Remember to take a good quality multivitamin and fish oil.

I haven't started the regimen yet because you're not supposed to until you get your healthy diet and bowel movements under control, and I'm still suffering from diarrhoea.
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