Gosh, I wish you all the very best with your new job and hope you can ease into the full time work schedule without too much trouble. You are absolutely correct - we all have different levels of tolerance. We are all just so different period. I had open heart surgery four years ago and just surprised everyone how quickly I recovered: had surgery on a Wednesday morning, ate solid food that evening, moved to recovery floor and started walking Thursday afternoon, was on my feet and walking all day Friday and taking other sedentary open heart patients out to walk with me, went home Saturday morning and was hiking 20 days after that. I hurt just a badly as everyone else in that ward (we’d all had the same surgery) but I was determined to get on my feet and on the road to recovery. It didn’t hurt any less to lay there than it did to get to my feet and move. And I figured if my brain had to deal with keeping me upright and moving it would t have time to wallow about in how much I was hurting. That’s exactly the same way I deal with the aches and pains etc that is Lupus. If I’m not bleeding from where I’m hurting then every ache and/or pain I chaulk up to Lupus or Osteo, get to my feet and get on with my day. I’m Dutch, I’m stubborn and I’m intelligent enough to realize there’s only so much modern medicine can do to help me and they are doing all that they can. Medical science can’t cure me - yet - so, the rest of the game is played in my court. For me, being on my feet, in my hiking boots, expanding those cranky lungs and gaining elevation aching/hurting every step along the trail is best. Its not this way for others I know that. And I confess there are on occasion days that I take a ittle more NSAID than the law allows or I cannot get through the day but again, I have to weigh the benefit against the cost on my playing field. Since I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t, doing is my choice for as long as I am able to “do”.
patresha said:
I guess I’m stubborn like you Susan! lol I figuare staying home laying in bed doesn’t releive the pain so may as well get up, and get out. Been working full time since I graduated school many yrs ago, took 1 yr off when I had each of my 2 kids then back to work f/t when they turned 1 yr old. And I also hate asking people to do things for me so I tend to struggle and do it myself instead of asking and this drives my kids nuts, but my Mom was the same way. Not sure if it’s the German, Irish or Italian heritage in me. We all do have different tolerance levels as well though. Thanks for your response. I do work full time but not very physical job and I am switching to a much more physical job basically because I can not get benefits at my current job and with lupus I need to get benefits so I can get to a specialist. Currently I go to the free clinic and they can’t help me with the lupus said I have to go to a rheumy on my own.
Susan Roberts said:I work full time part time. I have just under two acres to care for and I hike at least three days a week for anywhere between 3-12 miles. OTC meds keep me on my feet most of the time. When It catches up to me tho and I spend a day or two on my rear-end or in a hot tub of water nursing myself back to my feet. Since I hurt just as bad whether I am on my feet and moving or sitting/laying around feeling every ache / pain I force myself to my feet and move. It’s not easy but my stubborn dutch heritage won’t allow me to stay down unless I drop.