I'm a hairstylist -- eager to go back to work ..but not ready

When I first started back at work, I thought I could handle a full day. I tried doing that for a week or so and I ended up feeling awful.

So, with my doctor's advice I started off working 3 hrs; an amount I thought I could handle without completing wiping myself out. I was able to gradually increase my hours over the course of my work term and ended up around 6.5 hours per day. If possible, I would suggest the best thing to do is work the minimum amount of hours so you aren't coming home at the end of the day with headaches. And slowly increase.

I am a student, so I am back to school now. I am taking a reduced course-load as a still don't feel able to handle a full course load. I find it odd, because I almost am feeling worse lately now that I am back to school. My last shift at work was 6.5 hrs long but in a school day now I am finding I will get a headache after only 2 hours of class! It worries me because I feel like I am getting worse but perhaps its the change in environment (busy, noisy classroom) thats bringing on my symptoms.

where and what did you do at work?

I'm not sure I could take the loud music and chatting with customers all day...or even for a few hours. I had an hour lunch with a friend (after going to the chiropractor for an hour) and was wiped out and felt awful the other day.

My friend still works at one of the salons -- and I can go sit with her for an hour on mondays (not so busy for her) and maybe just being in the environment might give me an idea of what I can handle.

I work 12 hour night shifts as an ICU nurse. 36 hours a week. I started back to work 14 weeks after my accident. Ive been back for 2 months now and my symptoms are just getting worse and worse. My headaches are pretty much constant and i have no energy to do anything on my days off. Unfortunately, i gotta keep going and feel like crap every day or there will be no job and no health insurance. I deal with the most extreme form of stress on a daily basis at my job...trying to save someones life.

Self employed. Have my own website design business. For the past 14 months doctors have limited me to 10 hours a week (split up between at least 5 days). I can't even do 10 hours a week; 3-4 hours a week allows me to still function throughout the week.

99% of my job is working alone at home when I am at my best. Occasionally I have to actually meet a client in person.

Before the "m"TBI I was doing two jobs from home from 6:30 AM to 9 PM or even later. Nannying (between 4 1/2 to 6 hours a day), and game art/animation (as many hours til bed at 10PM or so).

After, not much has changed, though I take many weekends off.

My boss is my housemate. He knows I have a TBI, but has cursed me out, threatened and insulted me for occassional mistakes.

We are both Christian & end an intense discussion on a good note.

My only symptom from my TBI is pain, increased by stress or additional injury.

I was in debt from the ER/MRI bill, am not any more thanks to a finished project, but am living off savings & have no insurance.

Really sorry to hear about this nightnurse, sounds horrible.

So what happens in the USA if someone gets too sick to work and isn't rich enough to live without working? You just get left to starve?

I never stopped working. I have my own web development business. I hit my head on a Friday and worked as usual on Monday. I really shouldn't have. I really don't know when to quit. I was SUPER slow and who knows really what kind of mistakes I made those days. I'm surprised I even knew who I was. Work was very difficult for the first month. Very difficult. I could barely speak.

Almost. Hopefully you could elect short and long term disability from a private insurance carrier when you hired onto your job. In the mean time a payroll deduction is taken (mandatory) for SSI. If all goes well you never use it, good for you, very good for them.This is reassuring until you need it. You file on the private carrier and hopefully they pay. Then you usually spend a couple of years (usually 2) trying to get Federal SSI (disability) while the private insurance pays you (all provided your doctor will agree to your incapacity), SSI/SSD will usually deny benefits which involves turn downs, appeals, etc. In the mean time the insurance company you paid all those years harrasses you, denies getting information, wants more information, calls and tries to get you to say something they can use to deny benefits, etc. If that isn't good enough they send someone to "tail" you and take photos of you going to the grocery, walking, spending time with family, etc and claim you aren't disabled and cut you off. (I have to say this doesn't happen to everyone, but what if you are the one.) If denied due to this the insurance company is the one you have to appeal to and they make the decision (sounds fair to them, can probably thank our politicians and contributions). I'm terrified all the time, afraid to even take out trash.....google this subject, its amazing.
Mike

Probably not. There are food stamps. My answer as a responsible citizen however, is a gut reaction of yes, but I hope it's not the real answer. I've been wondering about this lately as I've lost some of the zest I used to have to work. It's not like me at all. I was an extremely driven person. Now I just really would like to take at LEAST a year off and just stay in a funk by myself in a cave.