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How long were you able to work after diagnosis?

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    #16
    I would think you would want to do your best - just so you know what your issues are, and determine if you can do some type of work based on the cognitive issues. Just make sure you take it on "normal" day(s). I took it both times mid-week - so I wasn't fresh from resting extra on the week-end and had put some days in at work. Both my neuro and I though this gave the best real life type of performance.

    They will use this as input into disability reviews.
    Kathy
    DX 01/06, currently on Tysabri

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      #17
      I worked up until 2009 and going on disability was hard and took years for me to accept.

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        #18
        About 6 months.
        techie
        Another pirated saying:
        Half of life is if.
        When today is bad, tomorrow is generally a better day.
        Dogs Rule!

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          #19
          I was no longer able to work at the time of my MS diagnosis. Actually my DX took about 4yrs, with exacerbations and full time sx's during that 4yrs. I started experiencing MS sx's about 15+ years before I was dx'ed, but had great recovery until the last 4 yrs that I worked.

          My presenting sx's were ON, unremitting bladder infections and cognitive related speech problems, with active sx's lasting for a 5yr period initially.

          I'm one of those who has not done well since I stopped working. I miss my busy productive life and I'm not sure I will recover from the loss of the 'therputic' value of work. Fatigue, dx'd in other neuro diseases as well as MS, is a full time sx since my dx. I also suspect my psychological health has been affected as a result of being very sick and un-dx'ed for such a long time.

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            #20
            I was diagnosed December 2007, and just turned in my resignation from work yesterday. So, four and a half years.
            Donna K: dx RRMS 12/07. Rebif 2/08 - 3/09, Tysabri 3/09 - 7/12, ended due to JCV+. Betasaron 8/12 - present
            Filed for SSDI 8/12. Approved 11/12
            dx PPMS 7/13. Added Metotrexate 2.5 mgx3 to Beteseron. Stopped all meds 3/14 to quality for ibudilast clinical trial for PPMS

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              #21
              I've worked full time

              since PPMS diagnosis three or four years ago. For the first time, I'm thinking I may not may make it to retirement age. My walking has taken a sudden turn for the worse, and I'm already thinking what it will be like getting to work this winter. I have a walk to navigate that is not kept ice-free, and I have numbness in my feet which makes navigating that ice-covered walk hazardous.

              I go to the neuro Monday. I'm going to ask if treating my spasticity, which came on like gangbusters this month, will help me walk better, and keep me working a bit longer.

              We'll see!

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                #22
                Originally posted by mchugh725 View Post
                I was diagnosed almost 2 yrs ago at the age of 37 and immediately started taking Copaxone.

                I was wondering how long you can work after diagnosis? I work in an office so I do alot computer work and work 6 days a week around 48-50 hours a week. I know if I worked anywhere I had to stand for long periods of time I would have quit by now.

                I am still going strong, I have some brain fog and forgetfulness. By biggest problem is fatigue and cognative issues. I am just wondering how long I can keep working. Financially I am in ruins with alot of debt. I do not have the money to put aside for when I can not work. I am the major breadwinner in the house.

                I am comtemplating filing for bankruptcy so I can start saving for my future. My credit is already shot so it will not be a big deal. I just don't want to have to quit and then if I am approved for disability it won't be enough to pay my mortgage.

                I already feel my MS slowing me down in the 2 short years. I am extremely tired when I get home from work so no house work is getting done. My kids are helpful at some point but I feel guilty asking them to clean the whole house while I sit on the couch and watch tv. they already do alot for me but I don't have the energy to fold and put laundry away and they do the laundry.

                I am just sick of my house being a mess and I would like to at least cut down on my hours to only 5 days a week 40 hours but that would hurt financially.

                I guess I just want to be able to prepare a little for the future, even though I am still in denial that I have MS at all. I just can't accept it, so I just deny it.
                I CAN DEFINITELY RELATE.. I am in denial also, can't accept it either.. don't think I ever will. I still think what I am going through is menopausal issues.. low hormones. I was 51 when I was diagnosed.. they say people are mostly between are dx around the age of 20-early 40.. something like that.. but 51 - I don't think so.

                I read some of the post up here and they freak me out, gets me a bit depressed.. not all but some. I don't visit this forum a lot..but some of the post are helpful and informative.

                M. Jay

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                  #23
                  I was told I had MS in January 1988. Haven't missed any work (due to MS) except for a week in the hospital during the optic neuritis treatment trials in 1988.

                  Tom
                  "Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is an absurd one."
                  - Voltaire

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                    #24
                    Should continue to work?

                    I was diagnosed with MS in 2008. I continued to work, even though my symptoms were getting worse. Like some of you, I've tried to deny MS and pretend that nothing is wrong. I was being optimistic and thinking that everything will be ok and "oh it's not that bad" and "I can handle it". Well, I can't, I recently quit my job which required me to stand on my feet all day long. Constantly moving around, bending, stretching and lifting. I've finally threw in the towel. Now, I have no job and I've applied for Disability benefits. I'm in constant pain all the time with all the other symptoms that MS entails. The fatigue is extreme. I'm currently in school online for health info. technology but I'm not sure if I should continue. This is for working in the medical field and I don't think with my cognitive issues and forgetfulness, attentiveness will work in this field. I don't want to make a mistake with someone's life. I'm a Leo whose always been a independent person, with MS you can't be that way because you'll always need help. I'm thinking of withdrawing because I don't to pay for a degree if I can't use it. Can someone give me some insight? Have you been at this crossroad?

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                      #25
                      I worked 31 years but last year it really hit hard. I have all ways listened to doctors and taken the treatments and the meds think thats what got me this far that and the will to keep going. Good luck to you

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                        #26
                        Its been 6+ years since diagnosis; still working r/o

                        I was in denial as well - for a long, long time and honestly, I believe it really helped me stay positive. I am still not accepting it. No matter now sick I get, I try not to accept a life of a sick person, that is just not me. That's how I deal with it.

                        I had a really nasty attack in Dec'2011 and was on disability for 1 month, in hospital, then in rehab, learning how to walk and function. I returned to work in January, but I wasn't fully recovered at that time. Still I wanted to come back as soon as I got a bit of energy back and was able to walk.

                        It's been a hard year and a half for me, and there are days when I can't function and want to quit, b/c it is just so hard. Other days, I wonder why I even considered quitting, b/c I feel ok. I go to work, put on a smile and deal with bad days, so people have no idea what I go through b/c I look perfectly normal.

                        As Freddy Mercury sang:
                        "The show must go on
                        Inside my heart is breaking
                        My make-up may be flaking
                        But my smile still stays on."

                        That pretty much describes what I feel and what most of us feel.
                        Anyway, you will know when you want to stop working and even then, you might improve a lot and will want to go back into the workforce. It is so unpredictable this MS.

                        Best of luck.

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                          #27
                          I work in retail and on my feet all day. I have not been diagnosed but have been experiencing fatigue, numbness and tingling in both hands and feet. The numbness is all the way up to my knees. also a feeling of constant coldness. I just feel it is getting harder to work everyday but with out a daignosis there is nothing I can do.

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                            #28
                            very informative. good

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                              #29
                              thanks

                              Thank you so much for this post I was starting to wonder if my DX was right I have several good days or several good week's and have few to no symptoms and think I should feel worse if I have ms, then I have a few bad ones and think how much more can I take?......reading this I can see that this is pretty normal .
                              Anita

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                                #30
                                Originally posted by freeinhou View Post
                                I was told I had MS in January 1988. Haven't missed any work (due to MS) except for a week in the hospital during the optic neuritis treatment trials in 1988.

                                Tom
                                I want to be you when I grow up.

                                Seriously though in addition to liking the income I love my jobs and can't imagine having to quit although I try to be realistic that the day may come before I'm ready.
                                He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.
                                Anonymous

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