When do you give up on working?

As my condition progresses (rather rapidly, I'm afriad) and I go back to work (it's been 3 weeks now), I am really started to grasp the reality of how difficult it is to work.....and realize just how long I had been working with fibro prior to diagnosis. I wake up around 6am and am not really awake until my second cup of coffee and by the time I leave the house (7:30) I am already tired again.  After pushing through all morning, and fairly optimistic that today will be different, I am simply SPENT by the time 2pm rolls around (and this is after vitamins, food/water, and pain medication) and I have zero left when I get home from work.  My evening consists of more resting, usually on the couch.  If I am lucky and have a good day, I water my plants and do a load of laundry.  I no longer cook for my husband and myself, something I totally love, and I have ignored the beginning crochet kit my husband purchased for me weeks ago (I wanted something to do in the evenings so I wasn't just watching TV, so I didn't feel so guilty about always having to couch it after work). I also usually spend Saturday simply resting, and maybe get enough energy Sunday to leave the house to do something.

WHEN DOES IT GET BETTER?  I am 34 years old, and maybe this is the PMS talking, but I feel like I am really too tired and pained to do this for the next year.  The sad thing is that there is a job opportunity that I am really excited about - I haven't been this excited about a career opportunity in years - but I honestly don't know if I am just setting myself up for failure. I don't want to scare the hiring manager away but she should know that RIGHT NOW I am barely hanging on by a thread and each week it gets a little worse.  The position says that there is a lot of autonomy, and I would love to be able to ask the question 'how do you feel about me working from home' but I'm sure because of the company that it's a no-go, at least for the first 6 months.  I need to be rested enough to be strategic and creative and let me tell you - it's 5pm and I am anything but.

What is your advice?  When did you finally decide to put your health first full time?  What was that process like for you?

Thank you Angel. :)

I am coming off of three months FMLA and started a new job in a new state. I had to get a physical first and disclosed the fibro at that time. A week after I started my boss (I'm doing temp work at a company that is easy to transition to FT work - I'm very lucky in this economy!) came up to me and apologized and said that 'we can't afford to get you a movable desk' and I laughed and said it was fine. I just needed the freedom to move around when I needed to and everything was fine. Unfortunately because its a new job I need to work a total of 1350 hours before I can qualify for FMLA again. So I am really hoping I get this other job as perhaps the autonomy means I can somehow arrange my own hours? I don't know. Financially we both have to work right now as my husband is also doing a career change and starting on the bottom. We will be broker than we ever have been but we struggled for a long time in stressful jobs and it didn't get us anywhere. That's why I am a little worried about my sudden grasp for this new position. I'm certain that my over commitment to my last job is what got me into this mess in the first place. Being type A is bad for our health - who knew ambition could practically kill us? lol

And sometimes I just wonder if its worth it? Yes insurance is necessary right now but maybe I can do medical, and I start thinking of all these what-ifs and get myself so tangled in anxiety that I flare again. It's enough to drive someone to the hospital, for sure.

Thank you for your story. I will keep it in my mind if/when I start getting sicker as time goes on. :)

I think it so much depends on each person and what they do, and the ways that their condition(s) affect them.

My last job of 4 years I quit for health and dissatisfaction reasons. I could sorta manage it because of the long breaks so I could reboot. I am looking for another job. I would not function well without a job.

Anna

Im 34 also and have two kids and work part time (4 days a week) im currently signed off sick again, after working for 2 months (before that was signed off for 4 months)...I am finding it so hard and trust me, with kids its even worse..(trying not to put you off)

Its amazing how thiis particular subject is so different for everyone...I can manage it for a while, then I burn out - i do not cope well with getting up too early (7am for work and more like 8 when its school holidays)

Since being off work again, I am improving dramatically - i am a mum again to my kids (when i was working i was going up to bed at 5pm, then coming down for a while to cook mine and husbands dinner, then going up again...I havent had to have one lie down like that for around 3 weeks now - I attribute it to not working

I think dropping your hours is an option, but also distraction is a welcome blessing for pain and fatigue...its so hard to know what to do, I am in the EXACT same boat as you...I love my job, but when it comes to my family I have to give them my all

If you do carry on, there are some good tips...I used to move around every 20 mins (if its a desk job) do some stretches under your chair, get your boss to buy you a special cushion for back support, write lists everywhere for fibro fog, stay hydrated, avoid sugary things in afternoon as there is a crash feeling otherwise, tell everyone everything, openness is really important, we call mine Fred and we laugh about it...i have also found a special little room - we have cushions in there, i sit and meditate for 10 mins - this helps break up the day

I hope this helps - I can't offer an answer for you, but just wanted you to know there is someone going through the same :o)

I am struggling with this decision too. I need to start seeing a specialist to help manage my fibro on a regular basis. Right now I rely on my PCP and while she is great, her treatment consists of Lyrica or the other med I can't think of right now that is similar. While that was all fine and good in the beginning, Lyrica is no longer working so good and I need something for the pains, and the aches.. And the mental weariness I am feeling since diagnosed. The other day my sister told me she cannot wait for my sleep apnea to be treated so I will get back to my old self and no longer have all the fibro things going on. I told her um it doesn't go away. I am stuck with fibro for life. I had not really thought about it until I said that to her... Made me sad...