I have been diagnosed with RA for about 4 years now. I take Enbrel and Methotrexate. I have a physically demanding job in nuclear research and development. I walk a lot, have to stand for long peroids of time, at times, climb ladders and have to do computer time as well. I am beginning to have difficulty with the physical aspects of my job. I have been working in this business for 23 years. Although my RA medications are now working well for me, I am going to have to face the fact that I am going to have to change jobs at some point in time. My coworkers and my superiors do not know I have RA. My need for additional days off (personal leave/vacation time) have increased over the last 4 years. I have ramped down on thinks some as well. Instead of being that "going above and beyond the call of duty employee", I feel like I am now the "slow and steady employee" who gets done all that is required/needed, but not much else.
So often, we are what we do. Our sense of who we are as a person is directly related to what we do for our work. Being a tax paying, productive member of society is important. Being able to support ourselves and our faimlies is important. Being able to afford to do the things we want to do in life and go and see and do is extremely important to me. Losing the ability to do this is very disturbing to me. I want to keep working as long as I possibly can.
Thank you for an excellent article.
I was not formally diagnosed with ra until 3 years ago, but have struggled with unexplained fevers, joint and muscle pain since I was in my mid-twenties. Many times these were episodic, but sometimes lasted months or even years. By the time I reached the late forties, I found that working a 40 hour week plus 2 1/2 hours lunch/driving time meant there was no energy left over for my husband or home. With my husband's support and his retirement income, I left the full-time work force and started another career in a part-time field - income tax preparation. This work keeps me in touch with the wider world, challenges my brain, and allows me to get plenty of rest most of the year. The intense period of high stress and long hours only lasts a couple of weeks. The rest of the tax season I usually work 16-20 hours and the season only lasts 3 and 1/2 months. This has worked out well for me and I have been doing it for 9 years and expect (hope) to continue for another 5 years at least. Maybe part-time work can work for others with limited energy; although I realize that fulfilling part-time jobs are hard to find.
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I have a sedentary job, at a computer, and have been treated successfully and from early on. Now that I am on medication, I dont have that severe fatigue and very little pain. It is possible to work but I know I am one of the lucky ones and sometimes worry about the future.
Your comment is very old. Are you still working? I had to give up my job as a legal secretary about 5 years after being diagnosed due to the fact that I was having constantly take steroids because my hands became inflamed. Also leaving aside the "pain" element don't you have problems with "exhaustion" and side effects from the codeine based meds. A couple of codeines and I'm not much use to anyone and like to have little nap - I also take anti-depressants - the two combined really make quite useless.