With the proper treatment, the long term one, you should be able to remain at work. With fibromyalgia work is not going to be easy and will require a lot of adaptation – but it’s doable.
First things first:
- You’ve got the diagnosis, so now you know you have fibromyalgia and you understand what it is about.
- You know that what you need is the long term treatment and not some kind of medication that will most likely give you side-effects or at best give you only a temporary improvement before going back to square one.
- You need to see your physician and make sure you have your thyroid levels and testosterone levels corrected. The same applies to your vitamin D levels. They have to be corrected and put at the ideal level ASAP – that will help with the fatigue.
At work, you are allowed and you need to be helped. It is your right!
- You should explain your disease to your boss, co-workers, human resource department, health work nurse etc… Why ? Well, if they know your disease they will understand it and they will help you whenever you need a hand.
- Your work can be adapted in order to have minimal physical activities. I didn’t say “no physical activity”, I said “minimal physical activity”!
- For example, whenever you have to lift a weight (heavy for you but not for your “macho” colleague :-) ) you need a hand. Don’t get people to do it for you. Get them to help you so you have a bit of physical activity without exhausting yourself.
- Participate in the activity but pace yourself.
- The best way is to act as if you were pregnant. For a man, act as if you have back pain (you most likely have some!).
Pace yourself
- For a start, if you know that an activity will lead to pain, get a timer and time yourself doing the activity. When the pain hits, that’s your limit.
- When you know your time limit for a given activity do not entertain that activity until you reach your limit and your pain!
- Take 20 % off your time limit, stop and take a rest before restarting.
- For example, lets say you can walk 5 minutes before pain hits. You take 20 % off. That means you take off 1 minute so you can walk 4 minutes and then rest. You will be able to walk again 4 minutes and so on without pain.
- But if you reach pain, then you are in trouble and demoralised.
- By pacing yourself you may be a slower than your colleagues but you will manage to carry on the activity.
- You have the right to be a bit slower! And by adapting, your colleagues will be happy to work with you and you with them. And if you follow your treatment you will improve and they will be happy for you!
Relax at work!
- This is part of pacing. You know your limit so give yourself short rest periods frequently like changing position, closing your eyes and relaxing. Even better if you know how to induce hypnotic relaxation and why not use your PMF at work?
- Not do-able? Well you just need a chair to plug on your PMF and sit on it! Give yourself a program 6 or 8 whilst you work or while you relax. Why not? Many businesses know now that stress is a big problem at work and needs to be tackled. PMF is slowly entering this area and workers can have a relaxing session, usually in a quiet environment with background relaxing music. So if your work environment does not provide it, you may well discuss it with your boss and provide it for yourself.
They may even fund you or, even better start this method for the workers.
- You may even become the local lead to help your co-workers. You may even turn your diseases into an asset at work.
- And by helping others, you will help yourself!
Dawn
Community Action Network
Prescription Assistance Program
www.drugcard4u.com