Re: Physical Job and PA

[Guest guest]

Your wife is being very inconsiderate. Unless of course you have acted callously

towards her incapitations in the past and this is just retribution.

Physical exercise is good for my PA. I feel better when I keep active and keep

everything moving. However, I do need to be wary about overdoing. When I

overdo, It generally triggers a painful flare up.

So, moderation is key for me. Given your job, I'd suggest you try to find a way

to be physical, yet be vigilant to not overdo. I'm not sure if that is possible

with your current job. Obviously, paying attention to lifting properly and not

lifting too much at one time would be common sense, but again I'm not sure if

that is possible for you.

As far as your marriage, Is this the ONLY problem? or is this just the straw

that breaks the camels back? (pun not intended)

I think it is odd to jump from a spouse that doesn't understand a disease to

breaking up a marriage. That's quite a leap.

Stay Well,

[Guest guest]

Physical exertion makes me ache also.  I can handle gentle exercise such as

elliptical but heavy lifting and all the gardening I used to do may be a thing

of the past for me. If you get your PA under control you may be able to handle

the job.  Are you or have you been on prednisone.  I am not a fan but sometimes

it is needed to quiet the inflammation until another med can kick in.  Hope you

find relief, Patty

[Guest guest]

I don't know where you are but here's a map of support groups sponsored by the

Spondylitis Association:

http://www.spondylitis.org/patient_resources/support_groups.aspx

If possible, take your wife to a meeting in hopes she'll hear from others with

our disease  and get a better understanding of your problems.  At a recent

meeting here in Indy we had a man working at unloading trucks and stocking

shelves expressing the same concerns about his job as you have.  We also had a

guy with what sounded like a spondy's dream job .  He's a long-distance

computer expert for Microsoft.  He sets his own hours, works at home and has

fantastic insurance to boot.  You might also run into some of us older folks who

eventually had to take disability because we couldn't hide the movement problems

from the boss anymore.  I hope you (and your wife) can find a good job for you

that emphasizes your abilities, not disabilities.

Janette

[Guest guest]

Get a less physical job before you do damage that can't be fix. There are local

disability groups that can help you with this. You could possible get

accommodations for your job, ya never know.

There is a handout titled something like How to deal with people with chronic

pain. See if you can find it and give it to your wife. Her response was

unacceptable under any condition. On the hand perhaps it was a fear reaction.

-Eileen

[Guest guest]

I don't know if your gonna like what my suggestion is but here goes. Like you, I

have had the pain for a while and just kinda put in the back of my head until it

really hit me. Like you said, like a ton of bricks. I take the Humira and

vitamin d3 but it still is pretty rough. P and PA is affected a lot by stress as

it is without a negative spouse up your butt about it. It is your life too. She

is either for you or against you. I can't imagine living like that. I eventually

had to quit work and am currently on VA disability. I also had a delivery job

with the same responsibilities, only it was furnace filters. Although I am

totally against sympathy, a little empathy on her part would not be bad. I have

had this affliction for almost 30 years now and it is bad enough with out your

life's partner bringing you down. Stand up to her and decide what is good for

you. Remember in sickness and in health was part of the contract of marriage. If

she is not holding up

her end of the contract..............well.....go figure...............

herb peet <lanxster@...>

[Guest guest]

Rich,

How about marriage counseling? It's not fair that you have all of the burden.

And, if both of you are disabled, you should be able to get some county help

with household chores, etc.

Take care,

Dena

www.arthritisBAM.blogspot.com

[Guest guest]

Well I went to the Rheumy today and talked about my concerns with the constant

pain and all the stress at home with my wife. Just as I knew all along the job

that I have is causing my condition to get worse. Most of you in here agreed

with that too. He wants me to stop the Humira for 6 weeks since it did nothing

for me. He is having me take tramadol with 800mg of ibuprofen.

The rheumy feels that the PA is making my OA worse and vice versa, but that I

probably have more OA. He said with me it is real gray in a lot of areas but he

said there is no doubt you have both types. He basically said in two years I

will be disabled if I continue heavy physical work. He said at 41 I am too young

to be having multiple joint pain constantly everyday. He wants me to try and

learn a skill or get schooling since time is important right now. I need to find

another job that is less physical now and learn something new in the meantime.

So here is the bad part, I cannot talk to my wife. She derailed me when I called

her on the phone leaving the doc's office. She will not listen to me and all she

keeps talking about is my weight. " Lose weight and you will be cured " . She is

having her thyroid surgery Feb 24 to remove it due to a cancer node. I want to

get her through that before I really upset her. After that all bets are off and

if she does not like what I have to tell her then I may need to make some tough

decisions.

Thanks everyone in advance.

Rich S. <nflrich@...>

[Guest guest]

Rich have you had her to to the doctors with you and have the doctor explain it

to her. Maybe hearing it from a professional it will finally get through to

her.

I can't blame you for being disgusted with the whole thing I've had issues with

my fiancée not being supportive and being selfish. He went through some serious

stuff himself in Nov and about a month later we had a big blow up. I finally

told him if you keep this up you are going to be living by yourself. I told him

I'm not living this way and I'll be moving out, the choice is yours either

straighten out or I'm gone. He knew I was serious I'd had just enough of his

crap and it finally drove it home that I was leaving if he didn't change.

Celeste

[Guest guest]

Rich: job hunting right now is tough for anyone but you can likely find

something to get you through this while you check out re-training programs that

might be available. Local community colleges might be your best bet and careers

in areas like data processing I keep reading in our local Chicago Tribune are

going to be in great demand as the recession lifts. Medical transcription is

another. Our community college has a career counseling office available to

local residents where they will actually start by giving you an aptitude test if

you're not sure what you want to do or what new career might be the best fit,

given your talents and interests.

I'm glad you're working with your doctor to find a solution. Your wife must do

the same thing. You two are both too ill to " rely " on one another in getting

your physical needs met but maybe with some counseling (if she'd agree), you can

be there for one another emotionally. That will only happen, though, when your

wife realizes that you're hurting as much as she is. If it just doesn't work out

for the two of you, you will need to accept that and move on - both for her sake

and yours. Good luck with whatever you do and I hope the new regimen works.

Joanna Hoelscher

[Guest guest]

I started with my states rehab, Michigan Rehabilitation Services, I went back to

school for my bachelors degree. Each state must have one of these agencies,

start to look for yours. (They paid for my education) Shortly after starting

with them I applied for and quickly received approval for Social Security

Disability. I believe I received it quickly because of school. There are a

multitude of options out there, check around for disability resources they are

sometimes mixed in with elder agencies. I am the same age as you so I know that

feels awkward. My best pcp was a internal/geriatric doctor.

I'm trying to give your wife the benefit of the doubt by saying she must be

scared but but if the relationship is not mutually supportive in some way, it

will be miserable for both of you. Yes try to get her to go to counseling, you

are going to have tough decisions ahead of you, being a martyr is good for

anyone.

-Eileen

[Guest guest]

Rich, I can relate to you about 90%. I say 90% percent because my wife is pretty

understanding of my PA, but she gets impatient with me from time to time. She

goes to my appointments when possible, which seems to help her understand, so

that might be a good idea to try. Sometimes it takes me 2-3 times longer to do

something than it did years ago. I was diagnosed with PA back in September, but

have had various joint pains for about 3 years.

I also have a very physical job. I am a technician at a Land Rover dealership,

meaning I work on SUV's all day. I have tried Ibuprofen, Piroxicam, Naproxen,

Tylenol, Celebrex, Limbrel, and prednisone, all of which have done no good. I

was prescribed Humira, but my insurance does not cover it, I can't afford it,

and working on vehicles exposes me to countless germs, viruses, and bacteria

every day. Taking an

immunosuppressant would practically be a death-sentence. I am 27 with two kids

under the age of 3, so I need to stay around awhile for them.

I go in tomorrow to try to get something for the pain and talk about other

alternatives for treatment.

I wish you luck with your job, as I am thinking about going back to school as

well. I also wish you luck with your wife's stance on your condition.

- L.

[Guest guest]

I do not see sulfasalazine mentioned very often. My doctor says it is very

popular in Europe. I have been on it for almost a year and am so pleased with

how I am feeling. Have experienced zero side effects. Some people can be

allergic to sulfa though. I highly recommend it and talk about inexpensive !

perfectlypink57@...