I'm an assistant store manager for a big box retail store. It is a very physical job and I am literally on my feet for 9+ hours a day and am lucky if I sit 30 minutes during that entire shift...usually just a minute or two at a time to check sales, email, etc. And that doesn't take into account the fixture moves, putting out product, etc which are all very taxing on me physically.

The good news is that in my 2 weeks now back at work I've been able to work in all of my departments and do projects and it seems to be going okay. I obviously have to do things differently since I need to use the walker but the important thing is that I can still DO them. I actually did a couple of "carry outs" for customers and "carried" their vacuums and steam cleaners to the car...by which I mean I put then on my walker and pushed them out there. I'm making it work. It's still frustrating because I was so much faster and could do things so much easier before...the walker is a real pain. But it is what it is. The more I do things, the more efficient I will get at doing them this new way.

I honestly don't really know how I am doing it...i just keep pushing through. I really love my job and what I do so that helps...and when I am working there are so many other things to focus on besides the pain that I really don't feel it until the drive home (it's an hour commute now for me).

I'm still playing with the best way to use the various treatments for work. I've been wearing the TENS all day at work but I've still been getting bad flares and swelling at the end of the day. Today I wore a lidoderm patch on my ankle instead and am wearing the TENS now that I amx home. This may be the better way to go. My pain levels are higher at work but with the lidoderm patches on I don't seem to go into those flares. I've been wearing them on my arms every day and they seem to help with the pain there. I don't know...I keep playing with it.

Yesterday and today were my first closing shifts since I've been back and both were unfortunately late nights where we didn't get out until 1am and 12:30am. So I'm pretty tired and I think my strategies for closing shifts, weekends, project days, and meeting days will all need to be a little different. Thankfully my body is adjusting to the physical activity well and after two weeks I'm not really feeling any soreness anymore and it's just the RSD that I'm dealing with.

Sorry...I tend to babble a bit this late at night...