Hi, everyone! I am curious if anyone else has a highly physical, industrial or construction job or have one prior to diagnosis. I am an Industrial Maintenance Millwright with a Limited Maintenance Electrical license. I walk 4-5 miles everyday, lift 80-100 lbs regularly, climb ladders, pull wrenches daily and need to have a clear head to stay safe. Does anyone relate to this? I have been struggling hard lately and was hoping to connect with someone who might have experience in the trades.
You go Rachael!
Sorry, I wish I could relate but I'm afraid I work as a petty bureaucrat and paper pusher (although it's really mostly electronic paper and not the real stuff anymore). Given how incredibly fatigued I was when first diagnosed I am in awe of your ability to do so much every day. Even now that my disease is pretty well controlled I'm not feeling well regularly walk a couple of miles. My hat is off to you ma'am! Please consider this photo an homage to your ability to "do it" and my ability to cheer from the sidelines (and not just at halloween)!
I have a desk job and I wonder how people with such pain can do physical work. It's hard enough to do desk work when you're not feeling well! At home I've become very lazy--yes, lazy. I don't do near the work around the house I did prior to having PsA--even when I feel fairly well, I'm admitting to being lazy. This is because there's a limit to how much I can do and if I exceed that limit, I feel lousy for days afterwards. I've even neglected my hobbies!
Rachael, it's amazing that you can continue to work so hard! Would it be possible to get a doctor's note to work with temporary restrictions to ease the aches and pains for awhile? I thought you had commented somewhere that you're on a biologic--Enbrel or Humira--but now I'm not sure. I was thinking maybe it would start working better if you could take it easy for a few weeks.
Hi Rachael, I can certainly relate to what you’re saying. Although not in industry or construction my job was very physical. It was seven days a week/51 weeks a year job:
After 25 years working in commerce, largely sat on my backside at a desk, I was fortunate enough to be able to leave to pursue my passion for animals and work for myself at the same time. I designed and set up a small boarding cattery business from my home. Not so physically demanding you may be thinking but, in fact, it’s a very active, largely outdoor (in all weathers) lifestyle involving being on your feet from early in the morning until late evening bending, stretching and lifting ….. and lots of hard scrubbing and cleaning. Even at the end of a tough day I’d still have enough energy left in me to come into the house and start all my household chores. This was all pre-PsA.
PsA hit me with vengeance in the summer of 2011, diagnosis was spring 2012 but I struggled on, in the belief that the next treatment would be the one to return me to better health. It didn’t! By mid 2013 every single day had become a miserable, pain-filled and seemingly endless struggle so I took the decision to honour existing bookings and close at the end of 2013 to take ‘sick leave’ whilst I waited to start a second biologic, which I’ve now been on just over a year. I’m still on ‘sick leave’, it’s been 15 months in all and although reluctant to admit defeat I have to be honest with myself (not deluded) and accept there is no going back. Emotionally I’m still not quite ready to announce that final decision. My body has been ready a while!
Looking back I really don’t think I could have done anything any differently to alter the outcome. I suspect I kept going longer than I would have done working for someone else simply because I had to and my passion for the cats.
It’s tough. I admire you for the job you do anyway. To do it with PsA is simply awe inspiring. Keep going for as long as you feel you can and you are safe, it’s not worth getting injured (or worse) for.
Rachael- Up until a couple of months ago, I was working in a job that involved a ton of racing around, lifting, and various other physically and mentally strenuous tasks (I worked in a residential mental health facility). I kept it up for a while, but the amount of racing about ended up being too difficult- especially when I started getting bad inflammation on my heels and Achille's tendon. I also was getting exposed to every disease under the sun, and it wasn't like a hospital or doctor's office where everything is cleaned well.
Is there a way that you could minimize the physical demands of your job and still keep it? It might be worth looking into your options under FMLA, in case you need to miss work because of your PsA, and the ADA, which would be useful for getting accommodations so that you can still do your job or be moved to something else if that's available.
Thank you all for your admiration! I wasn’t looking for accolades but it helps when every morning I don’t know I can do it! Loved the costume Janeatiu! Seenie mentioned it chatting once it’s even better than I imagined!
GrandmaJ, I am still taking Enbrel no MTX. It helped with fatigue a lot but doesn’t seem to be the miracle I hoped for yet. Going to finish trial time fingers crossed. Very hard to tell when my job is so physical if the bio is not working well or I am working too hard.
Jules, cats? My kinda gal! I love mine as a best friend, I swear when she doesn’t sleep with me my pain is higher! I should have included more physical jobs to.I have a friend with a small farm she does all by herself and its more work than you would think.
Rosen, yes I took your advice on a different post about FMLA and applied for chronic condition. I was really worried about retribution for doing so but the attendance policy that went into effect this month is crazy. Even healthy people need more than 6 days a year! That was one if the reasons I was looking to connect with someone in production industry because they seem to think we are robots. Funny too because as a mechanic/tech I work and repair them so they even need downtime!
I feel like I am treading on water all the time these days. I know getting meds right takes time but I am getting frustrated and sorer everyday. I have great insurance, killer pay, and even a pension (unheard of these days) and a family that depends as much as I do on it. I am tired of crying and angry now for a body that isn’t dying but seems like my life is. Its like I am going through the grieving process but keep trying to remind myself it will get better. You guys prove it! Thanks again time to buck up and face the day.TGIF!!!
Yes, cats get my vote every time! Even though I'm not looking after other peoples I still have five of my own and one special little black and white boy is my every night bedtime companion. I wouldn't get through the 3:00am's without him .... if I wake he'll move to snuggle up to me. Love him more than my husband (only joking .... or am I ..... different kinda love!?!). Have a good weekend.
My job isn't that demanding but I work for a caterer so I was on my feet a lot. I was/am lucky that they were very understanding. I had to switch to part time and they switched my role so I can now sit or stand as I need.