Changing Careers due to MC?

[hoosier1]

Am curious as to how many have changed careers due to their MC?

Rich

[starfire]

Retired and still retired. HaHa

[Zizzle]

Nope, I sit at a desk most of the time and only travel 2-3 times/year. Perhaps I would switch if I could get my own bathroom!!

MC did change the way I commute. I used to ride the bus and subway system. Now I drive.

[Linda in BC]

Rich, yes, I have changed careers since getting MC. I used to work in an office at a non-profit organization, and now I work from home for a non-Profit, in similar but different helping field. It happened by accident, I guess , because I moved to a different province and town,and so had to look for a new job, but honestly , I don't think I could have continued in my old job, having to leave home and go in everyday.. I did it for two years, and it was very stressful. Part of the reason I chose the new job was because it allowed me to do the bulk of my work from home, in the mornings (which are the worst time for me), with a bathroom, (my own), right close.

Linda

[Ginny]

Rich, I would have changed my job in a heartbeat. It was the reason, I believe, that I am sick today. I went on medical leave for two months and couldn't stand to drive by the place. However, when the time came to go back to work, I decided that I would change the job scope myself and if it worked; great or adios. I wish I had that attitude when I was promoted twice in 3 months prior to MC; I might be okay today. Anyhow, I am still here two years later but if the position ever returns to its old demands, I will retire.

(I have had a little incentive to stay with stock options due in a month)!

Change is good! Ginny

[ant]

Dear Rich

I absolutely changed. I was on the executive board of a TV company in India when MC struck. It was impossible to keep up the pace and I was not happy to be living in India with all my health issues. I returned to Hong Kong (where I had a home and a consultancy business that had been put on ice while I was in India). I restarted the consultancy business and could control my life/work balance. To start with the D and fatigue meant I took a very gentle pace and, frankly, could not earn many fees. As I have got my life back I have gradually upped the pace and am earning more. But I am still far away from the workaholic pace I used to run at.

MC changes ones life in many ways, including career.

Best, Ant

[tex]

There aren't that many career options out here on the farm. Prior to MC, I had vertically developed the business of crop production to include corn processing, and distribution to chip and tortilla manufacturing plants. That was an extremely competitive and stressful project, so after the symptoms of MC began to become overwhelming, (and I was assisted in my decision, by Frito-Lay putting a lot of my larger customers out of business, by shutting them out of shelf space at the supermarkets), I switched to bagging feed corn, and distribution to feed stores. That helped, but I still had to downsize a lot more, because I couldn't devote the time and effort that the job called for. MC has a way of taking the wind out of your sails.

Tex

[Gabes-Apg]

didnt change careers, but have had to make quite a few adjustments to suit

i am now working 9 days a fortnight instead of the 10 (and taken the 10% pay cut associated) to manage fatigue issues. In the last 12 months i had used all my personal/sick leave and holiday/annual leave on absences due to MC and anytime i was taking off work was leave without pay. I did not get a 'full pay' for about 9 months.
With the extra day off a fortnight i am getting time to do medical appointments/ acupuncture appointments and hunt and gather my ingredients, I am building up a bank of sick leave and annual leave again.

I spend extra time with my calendar, blocking time for toilet stops before long meetings, blocking time so i can each lunch without rushing etc scheduling potentially stressful meetings in the afternoon (so any impact on my BM happens at home)

I am very lucky that senior management and their admin are very supportive of my condition and some of my limitations.
We have shuffled the schedules and locations of meetings to suit my needs, especially those that involve travel.

as much as possible i plan tasks to suit my fatigue/concentration level. Harder tasks that need concentration at teh beginning of the week, put easier less taxing tasks later in the week when my concentration levels are reduced

thanks to the people in the PP family I embraced acceptance of MC into my life quite early after diagnosis, being honest and transparent about the disease with work colleagues etc worked really well, having an attitude of i am not embarressed about this condition and its symptoms worked really well. It is what is is and i wasnt going to let it beat me.

doing the diet 100%, has helped me manage the MC symptoms big time - some days it is hard that I cant partake in any morning teas and lunches etc there is no such thing as a small amount of gluten or dairy. small amount or large amount the reaction is the same.
I just rock up to work lunches with my 'gabe food' and joke that i am not willing to share it (no one wants to eat it anyway!)

with the travel that you do - ensuring that you are 100% protected from contaminates would be really really difficult.
If I follow my eating plan, manage fatigue, stress and do yoga and relaxation, I would only eat out about once a month (if that) I have minimal symptoms. Any deviation from this and symptoms increase. I am not taking any meds, I only use questran if i have a bad reaction to contimination

I have made quite a few lifestyle changes ie not going camping/4wding - Trips away now involve small self catering apartments.

hope this helps!

[Joefnh]

Hi Rich, being in research I do have a more flexible environment than most. Up until last April though I had been leading significant efforts in 3 major programs and was working 60+ hours a week for years.

That's all changed as of these past couple of months. My managers were very understanding and have worked with me to scale back to 1 main program and act as in an advisory role on the other 2, this has allowed me to keep my workload at about 45 hours a week. I have also stepped back on managing 15 other engineers to only directly managing 7.

I am also fortunate that our work culture allows and even encourages working from home if your schedule can accommodate it. This has saved me several times as there are times I really do not feel up to a 1 hour drive.

Like Gabes I bring all my own food and snacks to work and keep a snack drawer stocked with safe foods. I still struggle with corporate catered events as there are no food offerings at these events that I can eat.

This has taken some adjustments to accommodate the limitations of this disease but in my case the changes were fairy easy to make.

--Joe

[hoosier1]

Ant, Gabes, Tex, Ginny, Linda, Zizzle, Starfire, Joe,

Well this is some sobering feedback. And I can't say I am surprised. I should have asked the question rhetorically. I will be interested to see how others post. Perhaps this is a good question for a poll? As I stated in a previous post, I think many of us (myself included) are, or were, type A personalities. Seems to be a very driven, self-motivated, and accomplished group.

The irony is that I really do enjoy what I do. I have had jobs that I have hated. But I have no animosity to the company, or the president, for whom I work. I see him as a friend first, a friend who is concerned about me, and I about him. When he asked me to run the company for him (more like assigned it to me). I did so because he has been so good to me, and because I see him as wanting to, and needing to, slow down and enjoy his retirement. He has earned it. So the challenge of the work is not a bummer for me at all.

The travel and lack of routine are the killers for me with this condition. And unfortunately, that is required of my job. I am required to go where the loss occurred, period. The scene of the crime, so to speak. That is where the investigation starts. Haven't figured out a way to do it remotely yet :)

It can also be physically demanding at times. Especially when the weather heats up and I have an outside scene to investigate.

My wife works from home and I can see that it sometimes drives her crazy because she is a social butterfly. But I would like to try it for a while though (not what she does, just working from home)!!!! But I do know in the end, I would go stir crazy if I worked solely from home.

If anyone has any creative ideas as to how I can continue in my line of work while minimizing my travel, I am welcome to suggestions.

Appreciate everyone's input. Look forward to more. Appreciate you all. Wishing continued Normans for all of you!!

Rich

[Gabes-Apg]

Rich
similar to the advice i give new people

you have to figure out what works for you, meds, diet, lifestyle, work etc it is very obvious by the discussions that there are some similarities between individuals, then again there some vast differences what works for one may not work for another.

it is a big thing to contemplate and figure out.
listen to your heart and your head.....

[tex]

Rich,

Remember that according to most GI docs, this is only a "nuisance disease, with a benign course". We're probably all just wimps.

To get to something more constructive, though, I have to admit that I'm envious of your job. The challenge, and the feeling of self-reliance, has to be absolutely exhilarating. I wouldn't consider giving it up, either. When the sledding gets to be tough, you might have to consider slowing down your schedule a little, or take someone with you, to do some of the more routine stuff, to allow you more time to recover your energy, (wherever you are). It takes a lot of energy to fight the inflammation, and to heal the gut, and the malabsorption issue robs us of a lot of our energy, to say nothing of the sleep issues. Early on, I used to drink a can or two of Boost, Ensure, or Encore, daily, to keep my energy level up, until I realized that I was reacting to the dairy ingredients that they contain. Even the sugar in a Coke helped, but I had to limit my intake. I could tolerate one can per day, but two sometimes caused problems, depending on how much sugar was in my diet, otherwise. Anyway, energy was a major issue for me, when I was doing a lot of physical work.

I agree with Joe and Gabes, that taking food with you, and minimizing eating in "unproven" restaurants, is a key to survival, when traveling. Planning ahead, and locating MC-friendly restaurants ahead of time, may take a few minutes of your time, but that can save you a lot of misery, in the long run. There is almost always something "safe" available, even if it's just a barbeque joint, (try to find one that doesn't add any sauce until after the meat is cooked, and ask them to leave off the sauce). Most small cafes are willing to scrape the grill, (to remove all the crumbs from the hamburger buns), and grill you a steak with nothing added. Many will nuke a plain baked potato for you, to avoid the butter that is pre-applied to the spuds in many restaurants. Salad bars are generally to be avoided like the plague, because not only do people drop croutons in the lettuce, sometimes, but the lettuce especially, and all the other raw veggies, will "get" you anyway, just from the fiber, and so will many of the dressings.

I have to go run an errand, but at least this is a start, that others can add to.

Tex

[Gabes-Apg]

via the elimination diet process i have confirmed intollerance to Gluten, Yeast, Dairy and Soy. I cant tolerate salad or fruit
it is well cooked meat/fish and veges for me.

my sensitivity level is that if tongs/utensils have touched a gluten product and then touch my food then i do react

Part of the reason i avoid eating out, is that unless the restaurant caters for preparing foods for people with serious intollerances then as tex mention the risk of contamination is really high.

all the cheap 'stables' used by restaurants when preparing food has yeast and soy in it, so even though the meal is gluten free it wont always be yeast and soy and dairy free.

Even going to a steakhouse type scenerio is tricky as the meat will be cooked on the grill with oil or butter

Eliminating gluten from the pantry was quite easy, finding all the hidden yeast and soy products was way way harder

my suggestion - before you make decisions about career, first put the effort into determining the full scope of the diet/ingredients situation is for you and what limitations it may present

[Tanya Lynn]

I'm just incredibly stressed just reading how yall manage working with this
dreadful disease. I'm so very blessed not have to work outside the home.
I've been keeping my 16 month old grandson just about everyday so my
daughter can work. I know now why I had children in my 20's.....

He's alot of work. He just wears me out at the end of the day...

I have always said to my husband, I just don't know how all yall can work
and live in the bathroon at the same time.....

Gabes, you seem to have a busy, stressful life. I admire you and Polly. I can't
imagine being a Dr. and having to run to the potty. Or a teacher. Tex, I don't know
how you do it either, and everyone who has to travel, that's a huge challenge.

I would just have to quit work as much as I stay in the potty in the mornings.

So, the answer to the question is....

I thank God I don't have to work right now.

Tanya

[hoosier1]

Gabes and Tex,

Am listening to my heart and doing a lot of soul searching as we speak. And I have had my share of docs who think this is a mere "nuisance." Where do these people get off????

Your advice is consistent with the things I think I can manage. Tex, I actually took a young technician with me the last two days investigating a fatality in Indianapolis. And he is on staff to help up "older" dudes manage these difficult scenes. Was a bad start to the week though. We were towing what is called an exemplar product to Indy and we had a trailer failure. We lost both the trailer and the load, and almost the truck we were driving!!! Fortunately, no one was hurt (and amazingly). I grimace at the thought of the vehicles behind us who could have slammed into the 1,000 lb.+ load. Someone was looking out for us that day.

My office manager is already scouting out diet friendly restaurants, but I think I am going to challenge her even more on this front. That could be a huge help to me. This is good stuff, guys. Will send her an email right after this.

Before I throw away this career, I am motivated to work harder to make this work. There must be a way.

Tex, you may recall the Todd Willingham case down in your neck of the woods. He was executed in Texas in 2004 for allegedly having lit the fire that killed his children. It has been all over the press. My company performed, and several other peer forensic companies and law firms (as part of the Innocence Project) some extensive pro bono work to have the governor of Texas reconsider the evidence and "science" that was used to convict this innocent man, and ultimately, that was used to end his life (death sentence). You see, it wasn't really until about 12 years ago that the scientific method was actually incorporated into fire origin and cause determination. Before these times, a fire marshall could make salacious claims that the fire was arson in the absence of other competent ignition sources (basically, in the absence of facts). IOW, if he couldn't determine what caused the fire and lacked the ability to do so, it had to be arson (called Negative Corpus in my world) in his mind. I still find this mindset regularly. It is amazing how many of these poorly trained "investigators" (most public sector) are still out there. Furthermore, the field lacked people of education, experience, and the appropriate engineering qualifications to make such determinations. It was a lot of "reading the tea leaves" I call it.

Now these so called experts are being held to a higher standard or they are summarily disqualified as expert witnesses. The president of my company actually authored the majority of the standard that my industry now uses (NFPA 921), and the courts require, to competently process a fire or explosion scene by appropriately trained private investigators. So yes, it is an interesting field (so unlike CSI... that show cracks me up).

As I tell my associates all the time, lest we forget why we do what we do, it is first and foremost to save lives. And secondly, it is to prevent loss of life and property from the root causes were determine and the corrective actions that are deployed. Unfortunately, we could not save Todd Willingham. Such a tragedy of our judicial system. Makes me sick to this day.

Appreciate you guys.

Rich

PS Boost and Ensure used to be my crutch. Wish their was another safe energy drink on the market for us MC'ers. Perhaps someone should develop one?