Deciding you can no longer work
 

I would be interested in hearing from people who stopped working because of their neuropathy. How did you know that you just couldn't continue to work? Thanks to all.

In the case of CMT, a person knows when they can no longer do the job or many other jobs. And a neurologist who knows CMT can confirm that you no longer can do the job.

Are you asking about SSDI and if that might apply, or just stopping working in general.

We have a Disability forum that can help get you started in that process and with info on what is needed to qualify if that is a concern.
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum28.html

Work-No-More
 

I have Neuropathy since October and it is extremely painful. I am in my
60s and stopped working in the Public Sector 5 years ago. I work at home as a customer service representative and that is hard enough without thoughts of working outside the home.

I can wear comfy clothes and don't need to put shoes on my feet. I would not be able to do it.

My feet when they are burning and acting up I can put on bengay and put them up to relax.

Kudos to anyone who has Neuropathy and works outside of the home.

Like the person above said you will know when you can't work anymore

I think you would know it is too much of a struggle and would feel hopeless.

Shopping to me some days is too much not alone going to work everyday.

Good Luck.
uglogirl

I have been struggling with trying to work even though my pain is so bad I often end up crying in the bathroom while at work. I feel like my job is killing me but I can't afford to not work. It's a hard choice to have to make.

it was made for me. a doctor at my job walked into the room looked at the chart, looked at me and said your career is over and walked out. i have more than pn but for me the pn has been the most limiting and life changing 24/7.

It was so hard to finally make that decision. I've had SFN for 6 years now. I managed to work for 4 of them. I put so much education etc. into getting my job it killed me to give it up.

I knew it was time when I would be up in pain until 3am and had to be in work at seven. I use to sit on the edge of my bed and cry about my pain before I left the house. I got to the point where my focus was more on my pain then my work. Not fair to others.

That being said, I still miss it. If you are considering it you are probably getting to that point.
Good luck!

You are strong
 

It must have been so hard for you to give your career up, you stuck in there for 4 yrs Kudos.

I am lucky I work at home and can go barefoot all day since it hurts a lot more with shoes on my feet.

I am 68 yrs old and not ready to quit working, but I know if I was in the public sector I would definitely retire.

Decision Made For You
 

How long have you had PN does it ever get less painful. Have any of your nerves deteriorated and if so is it still so painful.

I am hoping with time this monster will eventually give up and leave me alone.

:grouphug:

Thank you for the information :grouphug:

i have had pn now for almost 13 years. the pain has defiitely lessened as the numbness has increased. i still get shocking, squeezing, stabbing and burnng pain sporadically but it is much less and the throbbing pain in gone. my main pain problem now is the broken bones type pain i get on standing or walkng which has greatly limited me. i get tired easily, and my limbs start to feel like lead after short periods of activity. balance is a big problem. the pn is still progressing in severity slowly for me.

Can't work anymore and retired
 

Hi , Well I'd been struggling into work with back pain for 15 yrs . I helped people with health problems to get into work . My staff were taken from me and had to do everything myself. Started with TMJD , Myofascial pain disorder as well . Than collapsed at work in great pain . Neuropathic facial pain started . Tried to continue as "I had my clients to help" told I needed to think of myself . That was true as things were getting worse and I really could not go on anymore. Don't know your circumstances but your health is the most precious thing we have or haven't . I should have left earlier before things got too bad. I now have to struggle to get up in the morning because I did not look after myself.

Hope things go well with you



Nick

I worked for over 30 yrs with my PN pain. But as I aged and passed 60 yrs old, I found that other factors, were the most decisive in my retiring.

When I found myself crying on the way to work, or on the way home, that is when I called it quits. Frustrations in my job were enormous, and I reached a point where my own sacrifices and dealing with my own pain, was enormous and more than the job itself.

So I decided to retire early. I didn't claim SS until I was 66. I was fortunate to have a husband still working, and that was a factor too. Our son was out of college finally and we examined our tax situation, and the pain/ etc did help me decide to retire.

Everyone has their own pain tolerance etc. I did not have medications to rely upon... so when my pain became too much for me and I was close to retirement anyway...I did it.

Thanks for this!
 

Hi,
Do you take Lyrica or Gabapentin or on a Viatmin regime. Did you ever go to Physical Therapy and take long walks to build up strength and endurance.

Thirteen years is a long time to have this monster condition. I noticed in the 8 months I have had it at times it's fine and plenty of times it's not especially at night. During the day when I am active it's is ok most of the time at the day wears on I start feeling the burning and numbness more and the hurt and my legs ache not everyday but throughout the week.

That is great it's is on a slow boat I hope I am that way too with the progression. I noticed lately my ankles feel numb maybe it's crawling up. However I was diagnosed with sensory polyneuropathy from feet to knee.

Thanks for sharing.:grouphug:
uglogirl aka Gloria

i dont take lyrica or gabapentin. tried them both but the side effects were too much. I am taking a few vitamins, among them, fish oil, r lipoic acid, benfotiamine, b complex, b12, acetyl l carnitine, and d3.
i used to take long walks of an hour or more with the dog mostly, but i just cant do it anymore. its not a matter of conditioning for me, my legs and arms just get very tired and heavy very fast. as an example today the chain broke on a ceiling fan. i had to put a new one on but could only keep my arms up for about 30 seconds at a time before i had to put them down again to rest. i did try physical therapy but it didnt help. the more i do in a day the worse the pain is.
no one knows how their pn will progress or if it will progress. it could stay the same or even improve. hopefully yours is one that stays the same or progresses very slowly.

Hey there Wolbachc :)