I was diagnosed about two years ago and have gone down hill ever since. Curious to know who is still working and who is disabled. I am a single mom with an 9 yr old still at home and one in college. I have missed alot of work this past year and would have probably been fired from any other job but I am a stockbroker for a major brokerage firm and we are basically self employed. Some days I wonder how much longer I can work.
edited: i seem to miss a few days every other week and when I have a flare I'm out a week or more
I'm also a single mom - 14 yr old twin girls, one of which is bipolar. I'm still working. I was on disability when first diagnosed, but when I was able to beat the depression, SS decided I wasn't disabled any longer, so I had to go back to work. After I went back to work, my RA went into remission (thank goodness). However, I've been getting progressively worse, especially this past year. I work in retail, and my job entails being on my feet for 9 - 10 hrs a day, lifting, carrying, climbing shelves, and much other physical activities. I work with luggage, which can be up to 50 - 75 lbs when pieces are nested together. I worry about losing my job, but right now I just keep pushing myself because I have to support my family. I just load up on the pain killers, and drag myself to work. I love my job, and don't want to lose it, plus I can't survive on SS. I recently started back on Enbrel, which put it into remission before. So I'm hopeful that I won't lose my job.
Good luck.
Cris
Hi Karen,
I too am still working, at a Veterinary Hospital. As many of us that are still working, I also wonder how much longer I will continue to do so. I started out a little over 3 years ago with flares in my knees and ankles. Sometimes I would go 3 months or even around 5 months with nothing...then wham. This last year has really taken a toll on me and although I still have major flares, I seem to have pains everyday. Mostly in my hands and shoulders (shoulders are a killer). I am on a study program so my Rheumy hasn't given me anything for pain and quite frankly I'm not sure if he will. Somedays are bearable and some just aren't so I have missed quite a bit of work and worry about how long they will keep me or how long I will even be able to stay voluntarily. On the 23rd of this month I go in for the 6 week check up and I will ask him for pain meds. If he refuses, I may just have to make some of Santa's brownies for him and throw him down the elevator shaft.
Peace & Love...Neasy Karen I still work. I think alot of it all depends on the type of work you do. When I was first diagnosised I was a stay at home mom. Thank goodness becuase I was so much worse in the beginning before I was on proper treatment. I don't know how I could have managed a job like that. Now; even when I'm in pain I get up...and get moving. Usually by the 2nd hour I'm moving a little better and usually by the time I get to work I'm much better. I'm a secretary so it's a lot of sitting through out the day. Trick is to get up early and give yourself time to function rather than jump out of bed and rush around. I've recently remarried; but before that I worked one full time job, and two part time jobs. One of my part time jobs was working event set up for a florist. I loved working in the florial business but it was far too physical. I'd work an entire weekend and be hurting so bad by Sunday it nearly killed me to get up on Monday and go to my fulltime job...but when you have two children to support on your own; you do what you have to do. I don't do that anymore because my husband pointed out that I was killing myself and if I didn't stop I wouldn't be able to work one job. I helps me finacially now so it's not really nessesary anymore either. I know there are many, many people like us that absolutly can not work; but for me I like to work. I like to make my own money and feel independent. I think it helps with depression too to be busy and keep your mind on something besides your disease. If at all possiable I will continue to work. It helps me to stay moving. Maybe it's not exercise; but it's alot more exercise than I'd get if I stayed home in bed everyday. That's the quickest way I know to go down hill fast. Just because you aren't up to working right now; doesn't mean you won't be in the near future. Keep that in mind too. This disease has it's ups and downs...it's ever changing. Lovie Karen, I am on short term disability - for 3 months, just to nurture myself, focus on getting better. You could probably qualify for that. My rheumy wanted me to take the 3 months off but he said "Don't ever ask me to put you on long term disability. I think that is the worst thing for my patients. Patients that quit working usually go downhill fast"! He encourages me to stay active even with the pain. That is something to think about. It is good to have to get out of bed each day or it might be too tempting to just lay there!!! Everything I hear is RA has lots of ups and downs. Your up might be just around the corner. I hope you feel better soon.Still working here. In fact, I'm teaching summer session right
now. I'm glad I can because we just couldn't make it without my
income. I don't have any intention of stopping until retirement
age.
I still work full time for a U.S. orthopaedic manufacturer ( how ironic is that, surrounded day in day out by hip and knee implants!!!!). But some days in can be such a struggle just to get into work. I do wonder sometimes how long i can keep going. One inspiration i had happened a few years back, i was over in the U.S. ( in Massachusetts ) at one of our sister companies. I got talking with one of the employees who'd had 4 implants ( 2 hips 2 knees) over the years as a direct result of RA. I asked her how she managed to still come into work. She told me that she wouldnt let her condition beat her and that she felt she had accomplished something everyday she walked into her office. Whenever i wake up and feel like just turning the alarm clock off, i remind myself that no matter how bad it seems theres always someone else who is worse off, but still willing to give it a go. Everytime I start to complain....I'm going to think about you sister and the hard work you do everyweek. Bless you Meme. Hi Karen, I have taught school for 24 years and I am retiring this year. Official date is July 1st! I was able to purchase four years of retirement credit, so I will be able to go out with full retirement benefits. It has been a very hard 10 years as that is when my RA started, but I made it! I don't want to quit working, just hope to find a job where I can sit. My ankles have had enough standing and are really in bad shape from so many years of standing on a cement floor. It is HARD some days to get up and go into school,.. i work with juniors and they are a handful,. I too take naptime seriously, as i am whipped by the time iget home some days! I am 34 and have not thought about not being able to work, but did see a tv shoe where the woman was not too much older than me, wheel chair bound and having hip replacements.. made me cry in self pity and depression. but i have friends to lean on... i keep going. I work full time. I am a social worker with a full caseload of children in foster care being placed for adoption. Some days I am at my desk most of the day, some days I am in the field. Some days I have to walk a mile round trip to court, and sometimes do the walk twice in the same day. I am not able to say that I can't go because my ankles hurt, which has been true a few times. My field days can consist of six hours of driving round trip depending on where I have to go. It's not always easy. I am single and if I didn't work, I wouldn't have a way to take care of myself financially. Not being able to work has never entered my mind because there would be no way whatsoever I could afford to be on disability. To me, "disabled" means that you can't function. If I couldn't get out of bed at all or if I couldn't walk or dress myself or feed myself without difficulty maybe I would think of myself as disabled. I hope I never get to that point. I never factor how much pain or discomfort I am in, because even though my RA is more controlled now than it has been, I still have pain. On days when it has been really bad I still have gone to work. I would be in pain whether or not I went, so why shouldn't I do what I can. I once told my doctor that I thought my disease couldn't be that bad since I can function pretty well without limitations. He said that disability often has a lot more to do with who you are than how you are, and said there are lots of people with far more mild disease than I have who are totally disabled. Sure I get tired and sometimes I have a lot of pain, but I know that I will always have some degree of discomfort and I can choose to either deal with it and move on or let it win. I will do everything in my power to keep it that way. I will have to start off saying Meme I cheer you also.I am 42yrs. old and have only been diagnosed since 11/04-but have been in severe pain every day since then.I still work driving truck over the road with hubby.We own our own truck.we purchased a new one in 2003(LITTLE DID WE NO I WOULD GET RA 2004)if we had known we would of kept our perfectly good truck, and not got a new one with large payments.The funny thing is my husband is 9 yrs older then I, and I always told him when he retired I would still work.I don't see that happening now.It's getting harder every day to do this job.every joint hurts and it is so hard sitting.we pull over every 3 hrs,so I can walk to move.Rheum. has me on 3000 mg.sulfasalzine, and down to 12.5 prednisone,but getting worse by the day.were going to be home tomarrow,I'm going to see rheum. and tell him I can't stand the pain and stiffness any longer, needs to give me something else.
Take care and God Bless. Barb Yeah, I hate housework....but since I have not really been able to do it for almost 2 years...I kinda miss it...lol. I had hubby clean up the house while I was pregnant, becuase we kinda had a mis-carriage scare when I was 9 weeks. And every since then I have not really cleaned house or done laundry...lol. I have picked up, and one time before my RA kicked back in after having Andrew I tried to rearrange the living room, I did but then did not like it so I put everything back...lol. I always hated having to wash dishes because my knees would always get stiff and stuck in a standing position and I would hurt so bad after washing dishes. I am currently working in marketing full time. Some days I just pray I make it through the day. I'll be so stiff and tired that I wonder if I can! Other days I'm fine. Too bad we can't predict which days will be good and which days will be bad. SHERRY; I know how you feel. I work because I need to. Both hubby and I work and I send our daughter to a private school because the public schools are not very good in our area. so I am paying for her to go to the school and i am paying for my meds, her clothes, and whatever else she needs. My husband's check takes care of the bills electric water etc, and the taxes, we are lucky the house is paid off and we don't owe anything on our cars because they are older cars. With inflation, the bills get bigger and bigger but pay raises don't keep up with it. when traveling, I have to do the same thing as you I have to get out of the vehicle every 2 to 3hrs and walk around. Did you make it to the rd yet and what did he say, I hope they are changing your meds for you. let me know how you are doing. I hope everyone is doing fine and things are going well. xoxoxox meme
ME too !! yes, bless you Meme
I'm still working, I teach grade 7&8 students. I want
to continue teaching until the fall of 2006 when my house is finally
paid off. Some days it seems like an imposible dream healthwise
but that is my goal. I could myself lucky that my job is not too
phyical. God bless you meme, you are awesome!
47 AND SINGLE AND WORK A BASIC 40 HRS. AS
AN ADMIN. MY GOAL EACH DAY IS TO WAKE UP,
GET DRESSED AND GET TO WORK. DON'T KNOW
HOW YOU GUYS ALL DO IT WITH KIDS AND
THINGS.
STARLING, I UNDERSTAND ABOUT RETIREMENT
BEING A LONG WAY OFF!
AND KAREN, I HAVE THE SAME ISSUE WITH THE
HOUSEWORK...I WAS JUST THINKING WHAT A
LOUSY HOUSEKEEPER I WAS. I GET SO
STRESSED & DEPRESSED THINKING ABOUT IT...
I AM VERY GRATEFUL FOR THIS SUPPORT
GROUP. HANG IN THERE EVERYONE.
TARARA effects everyone to different degrees. Some people CAN'T work with RA. I UNDERSTAND....I HAD 2 AUNTS VERY
DISABLED FROM RA...SCARES ME..
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