How bad before retirement or disability?
When and how do you decide that it hurts to badly to continue working?
What kind of problems made the decision inevitable?
How many drugs can you take and keep going?
I know the answers have to be generic, all of us is different.
Currently 60 mg Cymbalta 2x day
300 mg Lyrica 2 x day
5/500 Vicodin as needed every 6 hours.
Restless legs, fingers feel like arthritis is attacking. I also get shocks going through my arms constantly.
My job - IT - Business Analyst - Lead. I am the brains of the software. When it goes wrong, I need to figure out what/why/how and lead the programmer in making changes. Then lead a BA to test and prepare for delivery to a client.
The thinking - sometimes thunderbolts to the temples.
The typing - stiff fingers and hurting most of the time.
The getting to work - rough, even the handicapped parking is half a football field from the door.
I'm constantly kneading my hands to bring circulation back or to ease sore muscles and joints.
Am I still functional?
Thanks guys.
Tink
I don't really havce any answers but I know a few folks have gotten disability but they usually have to really fight to get it. Hopefully some of the others here will have some answers for you. I'm very fortunate in that I haven't had to work for over 20 years altho that also means I can't get any kind of disability either. If you feel it is too difficult for you then I would say that it is time to think about retiring. I wish you the best!
im on lyrica, vicoden, oxcycotin, cymbalta and a few others...my retirement was just approved. last month it took about 6 month, but social security is still fighting. i happy i was approved and sad at the same time...what do i do with all this time...sitting around doing nothing just makes the pain worst. if you really enjoy what you do, hang in there. your on baby medication now...you can asked your doctor to up the doses if you feel you can handle it. good luck
I have fibro and the restless legs.
I have used gabapentin helps. Tramadol really helped me also.
Good luck with control of pain.
I have used gabapentin helps. Tramadol really helped me also.
Good luck with control of pain.
Jim G.,
OLD INFO:Now I finally broke the 300 lb mark 89 Pounds lost in 120 days !
New info: Now 130 pounds lost and 2 years out. Weight around 245 lbs.
My loving wife, Robin had DS Sept. 30, 2008 and has lost about 130 lbs. also. Hey, thats 260 lbs. lost together. We lost a person in there somewhere.
OLD INFO:Now I finally broke the 300 lb mark 89 Pounds lost in 120 days !
New info: Now 130 pounds lost and 2 years out. Weight around 245 lbs.
My loving wife, Robin had DS Sept. 30, 2008 and has lost about 130 lbs. also. Hey, thats 260 lbs. lost together. We lost a person in there somewhere.
I stopped working when my memory got so bad from the pain meds that I couldn't think.
Now, I take tramadol, amytriptyline, and ultram...the ultram is suppose to be as needed, I've needed it every day. That mix leaves me functioning for the most part.
I take Mirapex for the Restless Legs as that is not, supposedly, related to the fibro. The shocks sound like the beginning of Periperal Neuropathy.
The hands, have your doctor check you for the RA factor. That will tell you if it's plain old athritis or the RA kind.
Now, Cymbalta made me nuts...it would drop me into an absolute stupor at the oddest times. I ended up in one in the doctor's waiting room and he immediately took me off it.
Neurontin is another one my body couldn't handle. My husband does well on it but me...I was totally different.
I posted this a couple of months back now:
Gabapentin also known as Neurontin usually prescribed for Epilpsy. It's most common OFF label use is Peripheral Neropathy pain. How it got to be used for Fibro????
Neurontin needs to be tritated up to rather large doses for MOST (not all) patients to even notice an effect. And then your body has a bad habit of getting use to that dose, which develops into an upward spiral of ever increasing doses.
It's typically given to patients with Peripheral Neuropathy
MedlinePlus Drug Information: Gabapentin
In the three years that I was on Neurontin, I had all of these:
drowsiness
tiredness or weakness
dizziness
headache
shaking of a part of your body that you cannot control
double or blurred vision
unsteadiness
memory problems
diarrhea
dry mouth
constipation
weight gain
swelling of the hands, feet, ankles, or lower legs
What they don't mention is that the memory issues NEVER go away once you've had them.
Drowsiness/tiredness/weakness did not come even close to describing what I felt and most of my PN friends experienced.
When I first started and every time I tritated up in dosage, I would be absolutely and completely useless to my family. I started at 1800 mgs (felt no relief) and got to 2100 mgs before feeling a difference. By the time I finished I was taking 4800 mgs a day. Some people I know were taking 7000 mgs with no relief.
I got off the neurontin finally in 2006 after coming down to 300 mgs between 2003 and 2006.
I was at 195 when I started neurontine, and hit my highest weight of 250 while on it.
Like I said, my husband does well on it but it was the worst thing I ever did.
Tink, I have a pdf I created years ago based on the postings of another forum that deals with neurological/brain/spine issues. It has helped many deal with getting on SSDI. If you would like it please PM me with your email address and I will send it to you.
Liz
Now, I take tramadol, amytriptyline, and ultram...the ultram is suppose to be as needed, I've needed it every day. That mix leaves me functioning for the most part.
I take Mirapex for the Restless Legs as that is not, supposedly, related to the fibro. The shocks sound like the beginning of Periperal Neuropathy.
The hands, have your doctor check you for the RA factor. That will tell you if it's plain old athritis or the RA kind.
Now, Cymbalta made me nuts...it would drop me into an absolute stupor at the oddest times. I ended up in one in the doctor's waiting room and he immediately took me off it.
Neurontin is another one my body couldn't handle. My husband does well on it but me...I was totally different.
I posted this a couple of months back now:
Gabapentin also known as Neurontin usually prescribed for Epilpsy. It's most common OFF label use is Peripheral Neropathy pain. How it got to be used for Fibro????
Neurontin needs to be tritated up to rather large doses for MOST (not all) patients to even notice an effect. And then your body has a bad habit of getting use to that dose, which develops into an upward spiral of ever increasing doses.
It's typically given to patients with Peripheral Neuropathy
MedlinePlus Drug Information: Gabapentin
In the three years that I was on Neurontin, I had all of these:
drowsiness
tiredness or weakness
dizziness
headache
shaking of a part of your body that you cannot control
double or blurred vision
unsteadiness
memory problems
diarrhea
dry mouth
constipation
weight gain
swelling of the hands, feet, ankles, or lower legs
What they don't mention is that the memory issues NEVER go away once you've had them.
Drowsiness/tiredness/weakness did not come even close to describing what I felt and most of my PN friends experienced.
When I first started and every time I tritated up in dosage, I would be absolutely and completely useless to my family. I started at 1800 mgs (felt no relief) and got to 2100 mgs before feeling a difference. By the time I finished I was taking 4800 mgs a day. Some people I know were taking 7000 mgs with no relief.
I got off the neurontin finally in 2006 after coming down to 300 mgs between 2003 and 2006.
I was at 195 when I started neurontine, and hit my highest weight of 250 while on it.
Like I said, my husband does well on it but it was the worst thing I ever did.
Tink, I have a pdf I created years ago based on the postings of another forum that deals with neurological/brain/spine issues. It has helped many deal with getting on SSDI. If you would like it please PM me with your email address and I will send it to you.
Liz
Duodenal Switch (Lap) 01-24-11 | Surgeon: Stephen Boyce | High weight: 250 in 2002 | Surgery weight: 203 | Lowest weight: 121 | Current weight: 135 | Goal weight: 135
I was enrolled through a pain program through my insurance. it's a great program but I had 2 of the doctors tell me I needed to quit. I think I knew this, but didn't want to admit it. Our plan was for my husband and me to work for another 5 years, pay the bills off in 4, stash money in the 5th, retire and then have our house paid for in 7-8 years. I retired this year and am now going thru bankruptcy.
You have my sympathies with your job. I worked at a college in the distance education department. I was on the computer more than not. I was would fall asleep at my desk. (Two good friends would keep an eye on me, cover for me, and wake me up. I had trouble staying awake for the commute which was excrutiating, would barely get through the week and sleep the weekend in pain, hoping to gain strength for Monday. I know what your fingers feel like--it's awful. I did hide my fibro fog well, but it was getting harder and harder to hide it. I couldn't read and used to read 4-5 books a week. Simple instructions were hard to follow. Meetings were awful--another time to fall asleep. Somedays a cane helped most didn't.
I've been off this entire year and am just now beginning to read. I take daily naps and have a great stretching routine I'm doing from my physical therapist.
Meds: 25 fentanyl patches (hate them, don't work well and make me sweat like crazy--they're being changed next week), Nortriptyline at night, 2 cymbalta in the morning, norco for breakthrough. I was doing well with with 4-6 morphine in place of fentanyl, but I couldn't go to the bathroom with mega stool softeners and prescription medicine. My doctor has talked about methadone. I guess will discuss that next week. Opana and Gabapentin were useless.
I have fibro, migraines, and moderate to severe arthritis in my tailbone, thoraic & cervical spine and severe in both knees. Part of what bothered me is that with the knees, they can replace them when it gets too bad, but there isn't anything to be done with the back. They doctor told me if I do my exercise routine and remain active, there is no reason to think that it will progress.
I still have bad days, but being off work allows me to take naps and pace myself (when I pay attention), do my exercises, and eliminates that painful drive. I can do more aroudn the house now and free my husband's time up some. It has also eliminates a lot of stress. I am definitely in better shape and much more limber.
I wish I could help you with your decision; it's definitely a hard one. Financially for us it was awful, but for my health, I can now see it was the best thing for me.
You have my sympathies with your job. I worked at a college in the distance education department. I was on the computer more than not. I was would fall asleep at my desk. (Two good friends would keep an eye on me, cover for me, and wake me up. I had trouble staying awake for the commute which was excrutiating, would barely get through the week and sleep the weekend in pain, hoping to gain strength for Monday. I know what your fingers feel like--it's awful. I did hide my fibro fog well, but it was getting harder and harder to hide it. I couldn't read and used to read 4-5 books a week. Simple instructions were hard to follow. Meetings were awful--another time to fall asleep. Somedays a cane helped most didn't.
I've been off this entire year and am just now beginning to read. I take daily naps and have a great stretching routine I'm doing from my physical therapist.
Meds: 25 fentanyl patches (hate them, don't work well and make me sweat like crazy--they're being changed next week), Nortriptyline at night, 2 cymbalta in the morning, norco for breakthrough. I was doing well with with 4-6 morphine in place of fentanyl, but I couldn't go to the bathroom with mega stool softeners and prescription medicine. My doctor has talked about methadone. I guess will discuss that next week. Opana and Gabapentin were useless.
I have fibro, migraines, and moderate to severe arthritis in my tailbone, thoraic & cervical spine and severe in both knees. Part of what bothered me is that with the knees, they can replace them when it gets too bad, but there isn't anything to be done with the back. They doctor told me if I do my exercise routine and remain active, there is no reason to think that it will progress.
I still have bad days, but being off work allows me to take naps and pace myself (when I pay attention), do my exercises, and eliminates that painful drive. I can do more aroudn the house now and free my husband's time up some. It has also eliminates a lot of stress. I am definitely in better shape and much more limber.
I wish I could help you with your decision; it's definitely a hard one. Financially for us it was awful, but for my health, I can now see it was the best thing for me.
I was diagnosed over 15 years ago with Fibromyalgia. I used to take Ultram or Ultracet and Naprosyn. Now, I'm taking 1200mg of gabapentin (Neurontin) 3 times a day, Cymbalta and Vicodin 5/500 as needed. I was approved for SS Disability 6 years ago and they took the approval back to 2001. I had been slowly backing off on my work hours, had to change jobs to something less strenuous and finally had to stop working because of pain... And because of drowsiness due to meds. I was approved for SSD without a battle at all. I REALLY documented everything and had very supportive docs. My approval took about 6 months. Good luck to you!
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