[LibbyC]

Re: Did you go back to work after your myeloma diagnosis?

by LibbyC on Tue Apr 01, 2014 7:56 pm

Hi Bob,
I stopped work immediately after diagnosis & haven't returned to work since. Most of the work I did (it varied) involves standing for long periods of time, at the moment my back wouldn't cope. I am on immunosuppressors so do not want to be in constant contact with sources of infection. One of the jobs I did was lecturing/demonstrating at the local university. Uni students - what a wonderful petri dish of infection they can be.

It is only now, 5 years after diagnosis that I am able to do some work (don't get paid at the mo) at home. However if I work too hard, or stand too long I pay for it the next day. It would be fantastic if my body recovered sufficiently to be able to do the things I used to. Until that day arrives I will do the best I can at home.
All the best,
Libby

[Revlimid Ronnie]

Re: Did you go back to work after your myeloma diagnosis?

by Revlimid Ronnie on Tue Apr 01, 2014 8:31 pm

I virtually retired at the time of diagnosis. The remnants of multiple myeloma had caused so much damage in my back and ribs that I couldn't consider a return to work.

Treatment is still difficult after 4 years, fatigue, bone pain and the myriad of side effects that morphine/ endone / Revlimid and other drugs bring.

I spent the first year in a daze, the second finding out about what I have, and the third planning what's to come.

I am not going to lie in hospital wishing I had worked more.

I respect the others in this forum who fight on, write, travel and the odd one who thinks multiple myeloma is the best thing to come their way. All different philosophies that bring different results

[lys2012]

Re: Did you go back to work after your myeloma diagnosis?

by lys2012 on Tue Apr 01, 2014 9:10 pm

I went back to work about a year after diagnosis. 6 months after my stem cell transplant). My disability insurance/ employer had a "back to work plan" that started part time and eventually went back to full time after a few months.

I reached a point where 4 days a week was enough for me, and my work agreed with it for a year, then my disability insurance company decided I was not long eligible for a modified work week and cut off my coverage.

To get back on my work health plan I had to work a month straight (5 days a week) and, from then on, I have been back at work like a regular employee. I'm now 4 months since my diagnosis.

[Bobvancleef38]

Re: Did you go back to work after your myeloma diagnosis?

by Bobvancleef38 on Wed Apr 02, 2014 9:19 am

It sounds like my dad was the only one who was relatively young (40), male, and a very badly deformed back. Am I wrong, are there other younger males here who had a deformed back? Did the multiple myeloma attack your back aggressively?

[Regina]

Re: Did you go back to work after your myeloma diagnosis?

by Regina on Wed Apr 02, 2014 11:13 am

I could not go back to work. I used to own a cleaning service. Had to shut it down this past December. With fractures in my pelvis and ribs, I just could not do it.

[Bobvancleef38]

Re: Did you go back to work after your myeloma diagnosis?

by Bobvancleef38 on Wed Apr 02, 2014 2:23 pm

Also, for those who didn't go back to work did you receive any financial aid from your original family (i.e. sister, brother, mother or father)? My dad didn't (we're not well off).

Thanks.

[Bill Babcock]

Re: Did you go back to work after your myeloma diagnosis?

by Bill Babcock on Wed Apr 02, 2014 7:31 pm

I work in IT and continued working my 12 hour day shift after diagnosis and through the induction therapy. I was off work three months for my ASCT in August 2013. After returning to work, I worked 8 hour days for a week to readjust and then returned to my 12 hour day shift. I'm currently on daily Revlimid (15mg) maintenance therapy, which I take at night to reduce fatigue during the day.