Juggling Work & Family...

[JessesMom]

Hey everyone I am just looking to get some input about how you all handle life, work and family whilst having MC.

I ask because as you may know I got my tubal ligation almost a month ago and have been fighting a UTI since then. Depending on the culture results I may have to be referred to a Urologist *sigh*
That combined with my new job that I started a few weeks ago. I feel very fortunate to have gotten this job considering I was unemployed for a few weeks after my surgery. The hours work so well considering my son is starting kindergarten this Thursday. I work as a receptionist at a doggy daycare/boarding facility 6:45am-12pm Tuesday thru Friday and then a full shift on Saturdays. But by the end of my shift I am exhausted. After I pick my son up I am ready to go home and take a nap. In addition to that at my job there is only one functioning restroom, the building used to be an actual daycare but the other two restrooms are used as storage and therefore inaccessible So I constantly fear if I start to feel sick that the bathroom will be occupied, talk about stressful O_O

I was just wondering how you guys handle working, family etc while juggling the ups and downs of MC? Nausea and fatigue are my two most complaints - it affects how active I can be with my son and family and I feel like a lousy mom/girlfriend/daughter/niece/cousin etc because there are a lot of days where I just want to stick around home. Don't get me wrong I have my good days where we go to the zoo or the park with our dogs.

Any input/advice would be much appreciated :)

[Gabes-Apg]

Jesse,
for me, one of the motivators to stick to the strict diet for almost 5 years, is so i do have the energy and wellness to not only work, but to enjoy the weekends, time with family and friends.

When i was working full time, I had my body into a routine, i would get up early enough so I pooped before going to work.
on longer/stressful days (longer than 9 hours or long stressful meetings) I would make sure part of my lunch break included some relaxation time and would allow time to go to the toilet at lunchtime so there were no issues in the afternoon. My eating plan each day complimented the needs of that day, lighter and smaller meals later in the day when the energy was reducing.

Doing cook ups on the weekend meant that most of the meals for the week were done, this took some of the pressure away from the day to day stuff.
Cooking extra at one meal through the week, meant that I had enough stuff for lunches for the next two days etc
making sure the meals are low inflammation (= easy to digest) means there is more energy for the fun stuff!!

way before MC Dx, i spent over 10 years needing naps after work. At that time, doing gluten and dairy free gave me lots of energy back.
post MC Dx, sticking to my eating plan that works for me optimises the energy levels, and minimises symptoms

the nausea and fatigue are messages from your body,
Are you taking Vit D3? have you had your levels checked?
These are also common symptoms of histamine/mast cell issues -
Magnesium/Vit C/Zinc can help with both Histamine and fatigue issues - balance the histamine and the nausea should abate.

hope this helps!

[brandy]

Hi J.M.,

Congrats on the job! It sounds like fun! Sorry for late reply but I was working in CO last week.

RE: fatigue--keep an eye on your ferritin (iron) bloodwork scores. Several folks on here including me have had low ferritin bloodwork scores. I felt better once I got my ferritin scores up. (PS. Don't supplement for iron unless you have low scores.) Year two of this disease I still suffered from mind-numbing fatigue. Going into year 3 I was feeling back to normal.

How I handle life/work/food prep: My biggest issue was food prep. It was exhausting and overwhelming. Some things that helped: Cook in big lots and freeze leftovers for future use. i.e. I always roast two chickens at a time and have the boyfriend chop up the chicken and freeze the leftovers after we eat. I'll make 2 or 3 pork roasts at a time and freeze slices. Put foil on bottom of your meat cooking pans so you don't have to scrub pans. i.e. throw out foil when done. The boyfriend switched me over to paper plates so I used paper plates for about 18 months. Washing up was overwhelming. I've been back to regular dishes for awhile. I have the boyfriend grill out once or twice a week.

Re: Work bathroom situation---at sometime I had to let my boss know about my disease. It was less stress than I thought as his wife has what I think is undiagnosed MC and has had it for 18 years so he understood.

Say no to things. Nap. Simplify your routines. Let things go. Example--pre MC I was kind of a neat freak. I had to let papers pile up for awhile etc.

Brandy

[DebE13]

I agree that some priorities have to be shifted or let go. I used to vacuum the floors everyday but in recent years my exhaustion simply didn't allow it. I still like everything in it's place and find it soothing but sometimes it's not worth the effort, especially when I'm the only one who cares. I will find good days when I can indulge in my tidiness but most days I settle for good enough and I don't think anyone notices the difference.

My son is starting his sophomore year in college in a few weeks and I simply can't find where the time has gone. I have many regrets since I feel like I missed out on a lot due to being tired and sick all the time. I am trying to let that go because there is nothing I can do to change it. Now I focus on happy moments even if some days they are brief.

I do the same as Gabes and get up early enough to allow my morning routine to take its course. I still get overwhelmed sometimes with the planning and coordinating of meals but I'm getting better at it. Realizing this is a permanent change has helped me because I no longer view special shopping and food preps as a temporary thing.

Nap when you need to and work on feeling better. Eventually you will regain your energy. Maybe not as much as preMC but our measure of success is different than the rest.