Your RTW may be daunting but you will not know what your limits are until you discover them for yourself. I have had 3 RTW's. the first 2 did not go well and were to early the third was spotty to begin with but is still on going. I am still on a restricted schedule and due to work accommodations I was but in a very low stress position.

Basically work put me somewhere to keep me at work because they did not know what else to do with me. It was not easy but you may surprise yourself with how tough and resilient you are. It sounds as though WCB is testing the waters and seeing if you can go back to work.

I had a very similar experience as rmschaver. I had 3 RTW's, the first 2 failed miserably at month 4 and month 7 with the proposed schedules. My last one was at month 11 post injury and was for 18 weeks of easing into my schedule. It went very well with some accomodations.

The simplicity of this truth just kind of hit me square in the face today. I love how the experience of others can be shared to teach us newbies. Thank you!

It's so simple. I cannot borrow trouble from tomorrow. I can only do what is in front of me in the present moment.

And if my RTW doesn't go as planned, so be it. If it takes longer, so be it. If its premature, we'll find out soon enough.

Contentedness in the present moment is the best gift PCS has ever given me. Because prior to being injured I had no physiological need for disciplined thought like I do now, to keep anxiety (and subsequent worsening symptoms) at bay.

So I should say, my first RTW plan is before me, wish me luck veterans!

I still haven't started the vigorous therapy plan which goes for six weeks prior to the gradual return to work. Waiting on doctor's approval or red tape with WCB, not sure, and don't really care. Time is my friend.

I begin my RTW physio therapy plan on Monday. The orientation session is this Friday.

What I do know so far:

I begin at 8am each day and leave at noon, Monday to Friday
There is cardio and weight lifting involved daily
I will have vestibular therapy daily
I will have PT on my neck and shoulders
This will go on for 10 weeks

At the 6 week mark I am supposed to return to work part time (obviously in the afternoons since mornings will be 4 hours of physio)

My doctor will supposedly be consulted on the pace of this return to work plan and if I regress, he is "allowed" to object, in writing to workers comp.

I've been feeling progressively better at the six month mark and am hopeful that this therapy will be helpful even if it's intensity is daunting to think about. I keep getting warned that I will feel worse before I will feel better. I don't like to think about that because I've become so thankful for the progress I've made (less frequent headache pain, less dizziness, even if the clogged painful ears won't go away!) that I don't want to imagine losing these good moments.

So for now I just won't. I'll just enjoy the day.

I'll update as this unfolds, to report anything I've learned or if anything generates improvement.

Thanks for the update MsRrio! Your plan does sound daunting but it also sounds like it could be hugely beneficial! It is very liberating to realize that nothing is set in stone and your plan can change as needed and as new developments occur!

I was instructed to start yoga and possibly an interest course but with medication problems and anxiety issues, this had to be reevaluated and backtracked a little. Nobody had a problem with this as they all know that we all share the same goal of my getting back to work as quickly and safely as possible.

The "getting worse" shouldn't be as bad as you've experienced in the past few months, just some slight increases in symptoms and then they will go away again!

Good luck to you on Monday!

CC