Stop Working

[CowTown]

For those of you who have stopped working, what were the defining reasons for you?

Is it recommended to stop before you're really bad? I wonder if it's best to stop work before you get too bad so you can spend that time exercising and focusing your energy on improving your health, in a full time way.

And if you wait too long, you might not have the neccesary energy to fight the same way?

Any thoughts?

 

[littledebbie]

Well as I have about 3 days left of work (hopefully!) I will say
for me it was a matter of is this what I want to spend my last
year/years doing?  with the work I do I earn so many hours of
sick and vacation leave a month.  So of course ALL of my time
is used up for health things and I NEVER have time for a vacation.
 Add to that the fact that I think I'm not doing my best work
anymore because I don't feel good.  It's hard to concentrate
well when you are wondering what your O2 level currently is.......
And you want to nap at your desk....soooo tired.  For me all
the facts added together led to the big decision.  If I'm
going to work it's going to be Part time doing something I sort of
like and where if I can't make it in the world can keep on
spinning.<br>
<br>
So I'm quitting my job and mapping out the US road trip of Fall
2006!!!

 

[Allisa35]

Well, I'm working part-time now. I used to work full-time (since high school). In 2002 my health got a little worse. Although my employers were very good to me and kept reassuring me, I was always stressing about whether or not I was going to get fired for missing so much work. Then I also wasn't sleeping well, which just added to everything else. I just got to a point where I decided I just couldn't keep doing this anymore. So I quit in March of 2003.

It was a very hard decision because my husband wasn't making much more money than I was. It was a decision I struggled with for months before I actually quit. Had we been more financially set, I wouldn't have given it a second thought.

After 2-3 months of not working, I started delivering papers 1 day a week (which isn't a lot of money but better than nothing). Then in October of 2003 I began working part-time in a lawyers office. I currently work 15 hours a week. I still have bad days, but I'm doing better now than I was when I quit my full-time job.

 

[smoothdave]

this is a good post because i was going to be asking the same question, just now i am workin full time but obviously have the "odd" day off every now and then, but how do/will i know when enough is enough? just now i just cant be bothered workin because i am hating it just now but i kinda have to cause i have things to pay so i am kinda stuck in this job for the time being, but i would love to just work part time.... but i know i am fully able to work full time just now and will be able to for years to come ( touch wood) but i just dont know what to do...

 

[JazzysMom]

I suggest thinking about it before you get too sick. I didnt even conteplate it until I was in the hospital in 2000. My doctors mentioned it, but I was so sick that I didnt have my wits about me to really make any decisions for a few months. By then our finances were in ruins & it took me years to bounce back with my health.........

 

[Scarlett81]

When I was dating my future hubby, I had all these plans to expand my business-(which was doing commissioned murals and paintings for businesses). And the work on the ladder, climbing, reaching, the paint fumes were all starting to get to me.

And he says to me, you don't have to work if you don't want to. Well I was responsible for my own bills from the time I was 16. So I was not used to that. But after we got married I got really sick, and HAD to stop working with paint! And, then I thought-why should I kill myself, painting 50 hours a week if its making me sick? So I took a job as a art teacher for kids for a little while. And then I missed the painting again.
So now I do occasional commissions for aquaintences and I paint for myself. I don't teach art anymore, but I keep myself busy with my volunteer work.

And now that I want to be a mom, that has to be my focus. I miss that work, but realistically I don't need it-and I enjoy painting with out deadlines more!

 

[CowTown]

Has anyone based stopping work on your numbers, or just how you feel? I'm 36% now (and keep dropping) and am wondering if I should stop work while I'm ahead and put all my energy toward getting better/working out/eating/treatments, or....is there a magic number for anyone? I know LittleDebbie you are stopping now and you're lower than that, I just am trying to get my head around this. I don't want to get to the point down the road where I think: I should have stopped then while I was doing so well.

I brought this up to my husband last night and he asked Is work getting in your way? And it's not really, but I'm pretty much consumed about thinking about it and wonder when the right time will be to stay ahead of the game. Plus if I stopped, I work for myself and would loose some clients. I know some of them would be there for me when I'm ready to work again, but I would definitely loose others. It's my business, so it's scary to give up especially when it's my favorite kind of work. I love what I do. But my health is more important. I could always get into art stuff on my own time without the pressure of client's deadlines. But I don't know. It sounds kind of crazy to even think about.

Thanks for everyone's suggestions! Karen, that's kind of how I'm imagining what it would be like....

 

[thelizardqueen]

I took time off from work one year ago. I did it because I was always getting tired, I couldn't keep weight on, my stress levels were super high and I was always getting run down. I've been focusing on my health 100%, and found that I have improved since being off work. That being said, I miss work a lot and it was a hard decision for me to make whether to work or quit for awhile. I think maybe though that in the fall I will look for a parttime job just to keep me a bit productive. NOthing serious - more casual work then anything else to give me something to do.

 

[JohnnaMarie]

I stopped working when I could afford it. I worked off and on until I was about 26. I had a few brakes in my work because of illness. Working was really running me down. I have a really bad back from working in healthcare. I got sick alot more often, was crabby to my husband, and was tired alot. Working was really hard on me because I had lots of gut problems like most of you guys do, and needed to eat often. Most of the jobs that I could get would not allow for such understanding. So, instead of suffering through it all, I decided to not work. I am not sick enough to get SSDI or SSI so, I had to stop working when we could afford it. We had both, my husband and I, decided that if we were to have children that we would have to be able to afford for me to not work. We did not want my health to get so drained that I would have not quality of life. Since I have not been working I have felt tons better, my guts are doing well, and I rarely get sick. I have alot more energy and am much less crabby. This was the best choice for me.

I really think that if you can afford to not work or can get assistance like SSI or the other to do it before you health gets seriously run down. What have we gained if we don't have our health?

 

[TCNJcystic]

Has anyone been able to work into their 30's/40's??

 

[Debi]

I have a somewhat different perspective. I work full time, and for the past 9 years have worked while using oxygen (my numbers are in the low 30's, high 20's) There have been times when I don't need the O2, but have been on it 24/7 for the past year to year and a half. I love my work - it gives me incredible satisfaction. I have averaged 1-2 hospitalizations during the past 9 years, and five or six bouts of IV antibiotics as an outpatient during that same time period. When I've been sick, I have reluctantly asked my pulmonologist if he thinks I should quit. His answer is that, of course, it's up to me, but that he wouldn't recommend making any drastic changes unless I just feel I can't work anymore. His advice has consistently been "You should just keep doing whatever it is you're doing, because whatever it is has allowed you to live an amazingly active life. You have far outlived your life expectancy." My work is like health food for my soul. I love it. I am a better woman, wife and mother because of the work I do. It keeps me active, keeps my mind focused on making a difference to thousands of people in the world, which, in turn, keeps my mind off my circumstances. I do fun and fabulous things with my family after work and on weekends and on vacations. My husband and kids are my biggest supporters. I have been blessed that everywhere I've worked, my bosses and co-workers have been supportive. I make no judgments about whether other people work or don't. It's a very individual decision. I realize that others may not get the same pleasure out of their work or may not have the same support system, or may have more serious health issues than I. But, I did want to let you know that there are some of us out there who have continued working into our 30.s, 40's, and, in my case, 50's.

For me personally, the few times I have taken extended leave to "build myself up" have never resulted in improved health. I have consistently made more improvement by going back to work. Maybe it's more psychological than physical, but whatever. It works for me. My advice would be to make your decision based on what you really think will help you. You're in my thoughts, and I wish you the best of health and happiness.

 

[catboogie]

hey kelly (i just went and read your blog before i responded to your post.)

this is a darn good question you have raised. for me, if i COULD, then there is no way that i would be considering getting a full time job. i know some people live for their work and find it very fulfilling and that's great but i don't think that's how the majority of people are. on the other hand, i think that it's not so much HOW MUCH you work as WHAT KIND of work that you do. your job sounds high stress--at least with the clients you are afraid of losing if you miss too much work. my advice to you would be to cut out your clients who are not understanding about your situation. work part time or 3/4 time or whatever but have that flexibility where you know that if (and realistically WHEN for all of us) you get sick it's not going to be the end of the world. that is extra stress that you do not need.

as a side note, when i was at the doctors the other day, my doctor told me that he has a CF patient who has had an FEV of 17% for the last 5 years and works a full time job and is only in the hospital about once a year. hard to believe! this guy had been on the tx list but has now gone to inactive. i think this proves that it isn't the numbers, it's how you're feeling and how much energy toward keeping your health up you are able to have while still working.



laura

 

[CowTown]

Yah Laura, that's a good point about just cutting back and working part time. The only thing is that it's kind of hard to do that in my situation, but I guess I would just have to set all deadlines out a little later to compensate for my fewer hours. Hmmm. There are a few regulars I could keep to minimalize it all and let everyone know that I'm reducing my hours. This is something to think about. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[CowTown]

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote><i>Originally posted by: <b>thelizardqueen</b></i>

I took time off from work one year ago. I did it because I was always getting tired, I couldn't keep weight on, my stress levels were super high and I was always getting run down. I've been focusing on my health 100%, and found that I have improved since being off work. That being said, I miss work a lot and it was a hard decision for me to make whether to work or quit for awhile. I think maybe though that in the fall I will look for a parttime job just to keep me a bit productive. NOthing serious - more casual work then anything else to give me something to do.</end quote></div>



Liz, what kind of work were you doing before you stopped?