[Madame_X]

#1019804

I had a particularly bad day on Friday

I’m extremely tired and my legs gave out pretty much by the end of the afternoon. On Saturday, I was exhausted — I did maybe 5 minutes’ worth of yard work (picking up about 5 stray pieces of paper that had blown into my back yard) and my legs didn’t hold up too good.

The sleeplessness and bouts of insomnia I get in the middle of the night isn’t great, either — and once I have to start getting up at very early hours again, I’m sure the insomnia in the middle of the night is going to play a role in how refreshed I wake up early in the morning. I can go to bed an hour earlier, but what if I’m up at 3 am and can’t fall back to sleep? That’s happened more than a couple of times this month; I stay awake until after 5, in some cases.

There’s also the issue of memory loss which is what you get with this condition, too. Parts of my memory are just gone. I don’t think there is anything I can do about this.

Which is why I want to see a vocational job counselor about this situation I’m in, healthwise. An employer is going to want 100%; that’s expected. When I start putting in full days at work, I don’t know what’s going to happen and I’m also worried about memory retention on the job, also.

I got laid off at the start of August and it has not been a picnic trying to find another job. The job market is shot and it’s the tightest I’ve ever seen it. Placement agencies have nothing — this includes temp as well as headhunters that get you a full time job. Our town job placement service has zero. And I know of nobody I can network with.

I’ve tried going door to door and making cold calls with companies because you never know if somebody’s got a job open: no luck there, either. A couple of our town’s larger employers are having sizable job cuts and this is now mostly an area where there are service oriented jobs.

To compound the situation, I am my sole support. I had severance pay to last me thru end of October and after that was gone, I had to file for unemployment in early November. This was right about the time I was diagnosed with GD.

I got my bloodwork back Thursday; everything is still running high and/or abnormally low and I’m pretty sure that my doc will probably up the dosage of my methimazole when I see him on Tuesday. (I am also going to ask about physical therapy for my legs, as well)

I’m going to stop down to see the counselor on Monday afternoon — our local unemployment office offers a DVR counselor at no cost. I’m real concerned and pretty worried, to be frank.

If anybody here has gone to a DVR counselor, what type of success di you have? What was suggested? What ws the outcome of your visit and did it help you?

[npatterson]

#1074178

Dear MadamX

By this time you will have had your appointment. I am interested in how much help you got. I have worked with Vocational Rehab in the past. I know that if one becomes a VR client, they will do a lot in the way of re-training and other assistance. They want to make a "good close", meaning that everyone was satisfied.

The problems with memory will continue as long as your lab values are unstable. You are not doomed to live with all the memory dysfunction forever. A few sinmple suggestions: Get either a daily planner or a Blackberry=type hand held. I can’t see the small print on those, so still prefer a daily planner. WRITE EVERYTHING DOWN IN THERE. No more sticky notes! No more abbreviations–you may forget what they stand for. Make notes to remind yourself that something is coming up (like your mother’s birthday in two weeks) That will give you time to take care of it, and not be surprised when it arrives either on the daily calendar or when you turn the page! Some of the trickier things for memory are just as hard as remembering it in the first place–like grocery lists. Maybe put them in alphabetical order, or group your list by type (produce, meat, canned goods). Using something familiar is easier to plug in to. Saying things out loud helps as well–although there is the risk of being found out "talking to yourself"

Any new job is a challenge. You WILL learn procedures, you WILL learn names (especially if everyonhe wears nametags), and you WILL survive. Han in there!

[Kimberly]

#1074179

I found this book by Joffe and Friedlander to be an interesting read: "Women, Work, and Autoimmune Disease — Keep Working, Girlfriend!"

http://www.cicoach.com/book.html

The book has some interesting tips, but the most valuable part to me was just knowing how many others are dealing with the same work/life/health issues.

Best of luck!
Kimberly

[Author]

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