Worried About Going Back to Work

• By busyteacher
• Posted July 1, 2009 at 1:46 pm
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I pack my smoothies for the day, and keep them in a cooler or small fridge on my desk. If I blend sugar with protein, I can fight the fatigue, I also sip flat coke on really bad days.
I have a note stating that I must have a bathroom in my room and that I cannot participate in activities with excessive heat. It also states that I suffer from chronic fatigue, so if I can't make it to a meeting after school, it is excused.
I have found it easier to get up early and work before others get there--I am more productive, and I can wake up more slowly without the kids being right there.
I also have found that children will happily file for you in folders to correct, their own writing portfolios, and will do a lot of tasks around the classroom during indoor recess, if they are bored.
On very bad days, I sit in front of a fan or use a cane. I have an emergency plan with the office for the dizziness.
And--my teenagers do their own laundry. I caved and hired a housekeeper. And my husband is in charge of groceries and cooking. This pretty much leaves me with laundry and appointments.
I also allow myself to go to bed in time to get 10 hours of sleep a night, although it frustrates me to not use the day well. I don't like feeling like "I could do more", but this year pretty much convinced me that I can't.
You have rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act. You should be upfront with your principal, and ask that a doctor's letter be put in your file. Start the discussion while it is not a crisis (now), not when I did, after I made myself ill.
You still have a lot to give.
Try soy milk or almond milk (homemade) instead of dairy. Make sure to stay hydrated. Put on your PJ's when you get home.
I even spread the work, so I sometimes go in on Sunday mornings--because I can't work that many hours in a day.
The "flow" had to change for me. The workweek and weekend are not so separate, but there is more time to rest each night.
And go back to work! Those kids need you!

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• By jajera
• Posted July 2, 2009 at 10:51 pm
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I feel my chronic fatige has died down ever since I got busier. I picked up two jobs and the fatige doesn't get me down as much. There are still some periods in the day I don't have the eneregy to even talk, but the amount of times it happens has died down as well. Hopefully getting back to work will help you out! And I hope you don't have much pain while teaching, I am going to be a teacher as well after I get my masters and I am very scared about having that extreme pain while teaching.

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• By turtlegastro
• Posted July 3, 2009 at 7:33 am
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I have been fortunate to be able to work from home for the past 5 years. It is not in my field, but as an office manager for a small business. The economic downturn has hit the business hard. I know that I need to go back to work, but I am frozen in place, a bit frightened. Thanks for starting this thread, truelyblue100 and thank you to others for your advice.

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• By NancyL
• Posted July 4, 2009 at 10:04 am
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Busyteacher gave great advice. Having the kids help can only be good for them. If you need to teach sitting down more try to involve the kids in the teaching- have them take turns reading the passages and have them write the stuff on the board. Have them pass out and collect the papers. The more they do, the less likely they will get bored and stop listening. Talking was and still is exhausting for me. I have never recovered my energy after my diagnosis. It has taken me years to not beat myself up over it. I used to be running all the time. I can't do it anymore. My job requires more energy then I have quite often. I find a large protien powder smoothie (pineapple juice, 3 scopes soy protien powder, frozen strawberries and miralax) in the morning keeps me going most of the day. With a V8 or applesauce as a snack.

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• By JoAllison
• Posted July 5, 2009 at 3:26 pm
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Have you started taking liquid vitamins yet? That helps too. As does the greens supplement I take (Doctors for Nutrition's Green First - 1 scoop in 8 oz of water or mixed into my morning smoothie.) Getting plenty of sleep is essential. I would say that doing some form of exercise (walking?) for 20-30 minutes a day helps too.

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• By trulyblue100
• Posted July 7, 2009 at 7:13 pm
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Thanks to everyone who responded to my post. I began throwing up last Friday .. lasting about 8 hours. Sat., the 4th, felt a bit better - maybe because I had to ... company for 4th. Sun., I had severe diahhrea all day. Mon., I got up to go to first day of summer school. While in shower, I suddenly threw up, so I went back to bed. I worked today, and first part of day went well. By 3:30, I hurt all over, particularly under my ribs when I breathed and in the pit of my stomach right below my sternum. Sometimes I think my stomach hurts because I'm hungry. Sometmes it hurts because I "ate" -- my 1/2 bottle of ensure. I'm not trying to be whiney at all, but is this the way I'm going to have to live? Will this get any better? I made some potatoe soup out of instant potatoes for dinner. I hope this will stay down and not hurt me. Like many others, I am completely overwhelmed by all of this.

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• By trulyblue100
• Posted July 7, 2009 at 7:13 pm
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Thanks to everyone who responded to my post. I began throwing up last Friday .. lasting about 8 hours. Sat., the 4th, felt a bit better - maybe because I had to ... company for 4th. Sun., I had severe diahhrea all day. Mon., I got up to go to first day of summer school. While in shower, I suddenly threw up, so I went back to bed. I worked today, and first part of day went well. By 3:30, I hurt all over, particularly under my ribs when I breathed and in the pit of my stomach right below my sternum. Sometimes I think my stomach hurts because I'm hungry. Sometmes it hurts because I "ate" -- my 1/2 bottle of ensure. I'm not trying to be whiney at all, but is this the way I'm going to have to live? Will this get any better? I made some potatoe soup out of instant potatoes for dinner. I hope this will stay down and not hurt me. Like many others, I am completely overwhelmed by all of this.

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• By trulyblue100
• Posted July 7, 2009 at 7:15 pm
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Thank you for your input. What kind of pain do you have? I'm in pain all the time it seems.

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• By styska1
• Posted July 31, 2009 at 10:39 pm
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Im a teacher also- high school for students with severe disabilities. I have found my principal and staff very receptive when I explained GP to them- I can take days off whenever I need it, eat/drink during class, hit up the teacher next door to watch my class for a few minutes, etc. They also try to bring in shakes for me when they buy breakfast or lunch for the staff. It was also a teachable moment when I taught the students about my disability. I even brought in pictures from my endoscopy so they could see the "inside of Ms. T's" stomach which they thought was hilarious and helped teach them about organs. The only problem is energy- I was self medicating with a lot of caffeine for the last 3 years and have gotten off of it in the last few weeks which is hard for me because Im only 28, used to be very active, and I want to feel that way now but I don't think it will have as big as an impact on my performance and I worry it may be.

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• By styska1
• Posted July 31, 2009 at 10:40 pm
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Forgot to say, good luck!!!

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• By Lynee
• Posted July 31, 2009 at 11:23 pm
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I hope everyone is doing well! I almost lost my job last year because I was so very sick and I kept trying to keep going even though I dropped to 82 pounds. My brain wasn't functioning and I made some serious mistakes - it's going to take me a long time to recover my reputation at work.

If I hadn't been so silly and told them what was going on I could have avoided so much. I still stuggle with fatigue, but I'm learning to manage it better. Some days I just have to come home and go to bed. the pain management is tough, but I finally had to just decide that the drugs are necessary.

It sounds like I'm not all that different - this condition can be very isolating sometimes and it's easy to think it's only you.

Lynee

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• By NancyL
• Posted August 1, 2009 at 9:06 am
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Truely blue,
I believe the quality of your life will improve as you learn what you can and cannot eat and do. I still have bad days and sometimes very bad weeks, but I feel a whole lot better then I did the first couple of years. When I force (don't want to) myself to exercise even a little, it seems my energy and my mood perks up a bit. I know there are some people here that are truely ill and don't seem to be getting any better over time. And it breaks my heart for those of us in that catagory. But you will read lots of posts from people who have figured out how to have a really good life inspite of this issue (as I like to call it).
Nancy

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• By shamrockmom
• Posted August 1, 2009 at 11:19 am
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I am a Teacher Assistant and I work with autistic kids Kindergarten -2nd grade. My students are basically non-verbal and have a lot of behaviors. Yes, it is very exhausting. I keep saltines with me in the classroom to help with the nausea. I also keep my shake in the classroom fridge and I take sips all day. I have been unable to tolerate solid foods for the last 7 months due to my last bowel obstruction that required emergency surgery. I experience severe nausea/cramping/diarrhea, constipation, and abdominal distention if I eat solid foods. Doc says severe atrophy set in affecting the intestinal nerves being I have been unable to eat "real food". I have been living on protein shakes/smoothies, applesauce and saltines. I recently found out I can no longer tolerate milk/dairy products either. My protein shakes/smoothies consist of 1 cup Organic Vanilla Flavored Soy Milk, 1 Tbsp. FlaxSeed Oil, 2 Tbsp Hemp Protein Powder, 2 Tbsp Rice Protein Powder 1/2 cup of water and a handful of frozen fruit (Papaya is my favorite). I get most of my things from my local Trader Joe's. If you like Pina Colada's add a 1/4 tsp. of coconut extract and use frozen pineapple as your fruit. YUMMY!!! If you have a milk/dairy problem stay away from Whey Protein because they are milk based. You are not being whiney at all! I feel the same as you with "Is this the way I'm going to have to live? Will this get any better?" because for the last 7 months my intake is nothing more than liquid. People who have never experienced a motility disorder have no idea what it is like to live the way all of are. I try not to complain to much; basically I suck it up and say there are so many other people out there who are suffering more than me. I posted a link for people to look into. I listed it as "Gastroparesis/CIP Help" It has helped me so much.Check out the website G-PACT (Gastroparesis Patient Association for Cures and Treatments). There is a lot of info. www.g-pact.org. They also have Free Personalized Restaurant Cards. G-PACT has created personalized medically necessary discount restaurant cards. These cards are the size of business cards and give a brief overview of gastroparesis and CIP. The card requests that GP/CIP sufferers be allowed to order off the child's or senior's menu, share a plate with another customer, or receive a substantial discount on another meal due to diet restrictions and need for smaller portions. These are FREE to anyone with GP or CIP. All you do is send a self-addressed stamped envelope, and they will mail the card to you within two weeks.

Send an envelope and request to:
G-PACT Restaurant Cards
39-31 A 201 Street
Bayside, NY 11361

Good Luck!!

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