How many here are unable to work

mcspike said...
Nope cannot work. I cannot plan anything. I might feel great 1st few hours of any given day, then BOOM fatigue, pain, etc...IMO noone who has CHRONIC Lyme can work outside their home. Perhaps a part-time, on your own schedule>wouldnt that be nice?!

I can barely keep the household chores up. Thats work!

I don't have the fatigue...but I also couldn't plan to work. I do make other plans ie: going for a walk with a friend...or to a movie. I know that they are short-lived outings...and I don't have to 'perform' like I would at my job. Also, I could cancel short notice if necessary.


But many who have chronic lyme are able to work outside their home.

I feel like I'm getting closer now.

Girlie said...

Aerose91 said...

Girlie said...

Roxie60 said...
I just read Girlie`s post and that is the problem...symptoms are unpredictable. Very hard to plan life much less be dependable when don't know what the battle each day will be. It is a hard adjustment cause I expected to recover and get back yo work....now I have yo adjust to my new `normal` which is unpredictable at best

My brain was quite bad for awhile - even on the good days - good days meant I had minimal nerve pain and other symptoms.
I doubt if I could have even worked at a clothing store as managing the cash would have even been a challenge at times.

Girlie- can i ask what you did before falling ill? Do you have any financial safety net you had accrued?

It's a longish story.
When my husband and I got married, we were both working for about a year and a half before I gave up my job to plan for a baby. We had decided that I would be a stay-at-home mom. It's what I wanted to do...and my husband fully supported that. My husband's job (at a pulp and paper mill) was enough to provide for the necessities, decent pay ...so I could do that. Not a lot leftover after the mortgage and other bills, but we managed pretty good.
The plan was for me to return to work when our son was in high school ...so we could have two incomes and start saving.
In 2008, I ended up getting a pretty good job with our Provincial Health Authority in the staff scheduling department. (It was difficult applying for jobs when I had been off work for 16 years. } Times were good...we were saving, making up for lost time ....and planning vacations...etc.

We had one year of two incomes when the mill closed. My husband started and stopped several jobs over the next 4 years....I had been promoted to a Supervisor position and then about 6 months later in April, 2013 I got sick. That summer he secured a decent job - also with our provincial health authority...but a different department. Money is 'fair' but not quite good enough on its own since we need to make up for all those years I was at home raising our son.

As far as pension goes - in Canada when you work, you pay into the Canada pension plan...so my husband will have that when he retires. He has worked since he was 14. (while going to school) He also will get Old Age Pension when he turns 65 - everyone gets that.
I will not get much from Canada Pension...as I didn't work for 22 years (and counting) to pay into it.

The good news is my husband has a pension from his mill job that he is able to collect at 55 years old.
We've done the math - and to wait until he's 65 doesn't make sense. The $$ per month you get for waiting isn't as much as what you receive if you take it 10 years early...and add it all up.

The timeline is confusing...but basically...I've not worked much since my husband and I got married.

I do not regret being a stay-at-home mom...and forfeiting all the $$$ I could have made.
Those days are filled with precious memories.

We'll manage somehow. we may both be working until we're 70 years old...

Definitely a series of unfortunate events, i hate hearing stories like that. I don't think you should kick yourself over taking time off to raise your son, there's no way you could have predicted this and there's only pride in being a devoted mother.
Is Canada's federal pension fund like America's social security? It sounds like it if you get different benefits the later you claim it. When you and your husband had solid jobs did they provide you any retirement plans? I'm not sure if they have 401K's IRA's or the like in Canada.

"Definitely a series of unfortunate events, i hate hearing stories like that. I don't think you should kick yourself over taking time off to raise your son, there's no way you could have predicted this and there's only pride in being a devoted mother.
Is Canada's federal pension fund like America's social security? It sounds like it if you get different benefits the later you claim it. When you and your husband had solid jobs did they provide you any retirement plans? I'm not sure if they have 401K's IRA's or the like in Canada."

I'm not sure about America's social security? Does everyone get it - or is it dependent on how much you've worked...and paid into it?

The Canada Pension that you pay into when you work - the amount they deduct from your pay isn't a lot...and it's mandatory. If you don't work...you don't get the Canada Pension benefits when you reach retirement age.

The Old Age Pension - you don't pay into...and everyone gets it.

Not sure what 401 K's IRA's are.

We do have some RRSP's .



If/when I go back to work...I will not be one of the Supervisors....I will be going back to a casual position....

Noah2112 said...
Saying that no one who has Chronic Lyme can work outside their home is disparaging to those of us who put forth a huge effort to do so. I travel every week for work, all over the US and sometimes outside of it. Sometimes it's very difficult, but I've pushed through it and over time I've been getting better. Lyme hasn't stopped me from working, and it isn't going to.

I began treating a lot sooner than many people on here, around 6 months after my symptoms began, so maybe I didn't get as bad as some other people do. But saying that just because I work outside the home I don't have the illness is just wrong.

I worked my ares off, and have been in some degree of pain with fatigue for 25-30 years. It really sucked some times, was really bad some days, glad thats behind me (I hope for good). We are all different and people can do amazing things when they have to.

Maybe natural problem solvers / do-it-your-selfers have a better time at this too? Some are just more competitive in nature to, this helps if its en-grained in you. My familly ancestors had a more difficult time in war, I think I can deal with lyme - no ones shooting at me and I'm not in a POW camp.

There are different levels of lyme symptoms too. Better times and worse times, it waxes ans wains over decades. Didnt work when I woke up blind. Had to take some half days from pain issues. Many Dr days. I tailored my job search for what I could or could not do in that time frame, I've had many jobs because of this and have four years of adult education that I dont always use in my jobs.

I napped a lot in the college break lounge between classes. Had 6 years of optional full time or part time work with semi-flex hours as a specialty mechanical service. I could never be late- didnt matter. Tried two jobs that were desk only- those really sucked, and the boss was 15 ft away both times and saw me struggle to keep my eyes open. So I went back to a science lab where I worked on long projects, but it hurt my neck. Even went back to specialty mechanics for awhile.

As a past pro endurance athlete (Red Bull helped), I also had a no pain no gain attitude when it gets tough. No I will not apologize for "saying it like it is". We are all different and people can do amazing things when they have to or have a real strong desire to get it done. Other pro athletes have had lyme while competing, they didnt perform as good, but still did it for a quite a while.

Bottom line: it also helps to be creative in your skills application. Its not impossible. Those with wider skills and creativity will have a better time accomplishing this. Some bosses are more flexible for those with in demand skills. Ive done contract part self employment with people I knew too.

Screw corporate America, smaller companies are usually more flexible all around.