Changing Careers due to MC?

[tex]

Wish their was another safe energy drink on the market for us MC'ers. Perhaps someone should develop one?

That's a million dollar idea. It would definitely find a ready market. Obviously none of the supplements of that type, (and many medications, for that matter), are designed by people with digestive system issues, because anyone with a digestive system issue knows damn well that everyone with enteritis, is lactose "intolerant", and most people with digestive system issues have other food sensitivities, as well. So what market do supplements of that sort target? Why, people with digestive system issues, of course. Normal people don't need them, because their digestion is just fine. So who can tolerate those drinks? Why, normal people, of course, because they don't have any food sensitivities. Well Duh!

Yep, that was a sad case, for sure. And he's certainly not the only innocent person to be executed by the government for a crime that they didn't do. Over the years, Rick Perry has done a lot of things that have not endeared him in the eyes of Texans. He seems to make too much money selling out the State of Texas, to be bothered with taking care of business the right way.

And one of the issues in that arson case, was alleged child abuse. IMO, child protective custody is by far the most abused form of governmental privilege, ever conceived. In a child abuse case, the accused parents have absolutely no rights, and the government appointed agents have no liability for any mistakes they make, (and they make plenty). I'm not saying that the agency is totally without merit, but there are far, far too many cases where the parents are the ones who are abused, and they have no recourse. Child protective custody should not exist in America, under it's current operating guidelines. It needs to be completely redone, with the use of a little common sense.

Aw hell, now you got me started on political issues. Sorry about that.

Tex

[starfire]

Rich,
I wouldn't let a career like that go without a fight either. It sounds like a very rewarding career and I'm grateful there are people like you out there willing to dig down to the truth of matters.

I will definitely be keeping you in my thoughts and prayers for a solution to your situation.

Love, Shirley

[ant]

Dear Rich,

Agree with Shirley.

IMHO there is no higher or more noble a calling than a Seeker of the TRUTH.

(including, of course, seekers of medical TRUTH!)

Best, ant

[hoosier1]

Shirley, Ant, Tex:

Not gonna let it go without a fight. But the reality may be I may have to.

Time will tell. In the mean time, I am going to stay in the "fight" so to speak.

Thanks!!!!!!

Rich

[Gloria]

Rich,

I wrote in an earlier post that I worked for a year and a half after getting MC, then retired. I didn't retire due to having MC, however. Like Gabes, I used to bring my own lunch to work and shunned all of the free goodies that were regularly offered, including free lunches on faculty meeting days. I had a bathroom down the hall from my office, so I didn't have too far to walk.

I don't travel extensively as you do, but I do take about 3-4 trips a year. For my present trip, I prepared food days ahead of time. I make waffles, pancakes, muffins, tortillas and bread, then package and freeze them. I also make my own ghee and salad dressing (without eggs or vinegar) to bring along. I pack cereal in plastic bowls and bring nut butter and rice cakes. In addition, I bring a small amount of rice flour and corn flour so that I can make gravy. When I arrive at my destination (usually DD's, but in three weeks it will be Hawaii), I go to the grocery store and buy fresh meat, vegetables and oil and anything else I need.

Yesterday we ate at a Brazilian restaurant for dinner after being at the Family History Library all day. The last time we ate there, I was only able to eat the meat and some olives from the salad bar - not a very fulfilling meal. This time, I was able to bring some prepared rice I had made at DD's, a rice tortilla and a muffin I had made at home, and a small amount of my salad dressing. When the meat came, I cut it and put it on the tortilla, added the salad dressing, and ate the rice which I had warmed in the microwave oven at the library prior to leaving for dinner. I was full enough that I didn't need to eat the muffin. This morning I had a perfectly Normal BM.

I think it is possible to travel if you do some planning ahead of time, but my travels are much simpler than yours, and I make sure that I have a kitchenette at my destination, or at least a refrigerator and a microwave.

If you love your job, I agree with Tex that you should try as best you can to keep it. If you plan ahead, you might be able to accomodate all of your food needs except meat and vegetables. It would be very helpful if you could arrange for a hotel/motel with a kitchenette or at least a refrigerator/microwave. You might be able to pack a single burner and a compact set of camping pots/pans. I did that last year on a weeklong driving trip. I have a list of items I need to pack and use it each time I travel.

The little ones are up and I must go. I hope I've given you some ideas to consider.

Gloria

[hoosier1]

Gloria,

That is good advice. I have booked a Residence Inn once or twice with a kitchen. The only problem is, I hop in and out of cities so quickly.

But I do bring food now. I brought some bananas and my Lara Bars. Also, I am getting choosier about gluten free restaurant menus. Like last night, I went to Olive Garden and got their mixed chicken grill. 100% safe. And it tasted really good.

Today, I at only the meat from my sandwich for lunch (not very filling... boy was I tempted to eat the bread and the cheese but I didn't).

So, I am working it. And will take food as I can. But in my case, it really needs to be pre-prepared and can't take up too much luggage space.

Appreciate your suggestions.

Rich

[tex]

Rich,

I have some bad news - if that meat touched regular bread, or cheese, you did indeed eat some gluten and/or casein. If the preparer touched bread before touching that meat, without washing his/her hands in between, then you ate some gluten. That kind of contact transfers enough material to the meat to make most of us react. Hopefully, though, since you are taking Entocort, it will be able to mask the effect of such small amounts. It depends on how sensitive you are. Most people greatly underestimate the problem, until something happens to make them realize the extreme extent of their sensitivity.

You are making progress, though, so good for you.

Tex

[natythingycolbery]

I haven't even thought of careers and having MC yet, but I have with every other medical condition I have (Anxiety, depression, tendonitis, high metabollic rate, something with my knees that I always forget the name of!)... I am an odd odd child. ATM I am at uni so am dealing with getting used to having MC and being at uni. Oh and the irony of working for a bakery shop when I am home for Summer, Easter and Christmas.

I should start factoring ALL medical conditions into career choices now....

[hoosier1]

Hi Tex (and All),

I weighed the "meat touching the bread" issue (it seriously did cross my mind). Took the chance. Everyone at the laboratory thought I was a little strange, but heck, I'm an engineer, right? I know it was risky, but it seemed even less riskier than my past behaviors. Plus, the meat was stacked so I ate the center portions... But I do understand the cross contamination risk. Still working to lower the PPM of bad stuff I am eating... with a goal of zero, or as close to zero as possible. My client even ate the same meal with me tonight. He loved it. I thought it was cool that he wanted to try. That is a client worth keeping!!! He is also a client with not so great GI function so perhaps I have a convert in the making.

Anyone who eats out, check out the mixed chicken grill meal at Olive Garden. Very good and nothing bad for any of us. Reminds me os shish-ka-bob... The only oil used is olive oil.

Which brings me to another question. Anyone have problems with black or green olives?

And a final question.... How does one explain this condition to one's boss???

Rich

[Gabes-Apg]

Rich
firstly i can not tolerate any olive oil or vegetable oil (soy) - i can only use Rice Bran Oil (hence why eating out is not a good option for me)

secondly explain the condition the same as would explain it to your family or friends (and this is what i did)

It is an auto-immune condition of your digestion system - there is no accurate way to confirm how or why it started
if you ingest anything that is a 'bad trigger' it generates symptoms, sometimes really quickly ie within an hour. The main symptom is D, caused by inflammation and there are the supplementary symptoms of fatigue, aches, discomfort, foggy brain etc etc

talk about what your known triggers are, also mention there is no quick cure, that it is a very finicky type condition and it takes time to work out what is going to work for you. As it is auto immune then you have be cautious about your health and wellbeing and fatigue levels, if you dont then you can be more susesptable to colds/flu etc

there is nothing to be embarrassed about, as i said earlier, by being honest about this with my work colleagues it has helped ALOT.

[tex]

Rich,

I agree with Gabes about being candid with your boss. (Though you may need to temper your disclosure to fit your boss's personality and attitude). In a supervisory engineering position, though, I'm not sure that I would volunteer any information about brain fog. While I certainly wouldn't deny having the symptom, (if I did indeed have it), if asked about it directly, I believe that I would volunteer than information only if it were a significant, and frequent problem, that you honestly feel that it might interfere with your overall job performance. If the topic comes up, though, be sure to point out that proper treatment controls the symptoms - they're only a problem while your gut is healing, and after your recovery, they would only be a minor problem if you happen to slip up on your treatment. You might mention that the symptoms are very similar to celiac disease, except that you have a few more food sensitivities than celiacs.

Tex

[rbks321]

Very interesting discussion going on here. I too am contemplating what to do in regards to work. When I was first diagnosed, my doc wrote a note to my employer explaining that I needed office space/desk near a restroom. He obviously did not listen to me and what type of work that I do. I am in the office approximately 2-3 hours a week. I typically see clients in their homes or at other locations through out the community. When I can, I do paperwork and make phone calls from home.
I am not working at the moment (on FMLA) and it truly sucks. I miss it alot. It's hard to schedule and plan my days in advance when I have absolutely no idea what I am going to feel like moment to moment. My supervisor is awesome and very understanding. She calls me every few days to check in and see how I am doing. We have discussed the option of me going back to work part-time. I love my job and can't imagine doing anything else.
These are hard choices, and I think the best thing to do is weigh all the options, both pros and cons, and go from there.
Good luck, Joe. It sounds as if you enjoy what you are doing and there may be possiblilty of tweaking your job description and responsibilities to assist you at this difficult time.
-Rebecca

[tex]

Rebecca,

Are you aware that the Americans With Disabilities Act applies to inflammatory bowel diseases, (including MC)? I'm pretty sure that most employers are not aware of that. Prior to Jan 1, 2009, the burden of proof, (whenever any dispute arose), fell on the employee. Employees had to prove that they did indeed have a viable, (ongoing), disability, that required special considerations, (such as a bathroom nearby).

The legislature clarified that law, though, on Jan 1, 2009, so that the burden of proof of current hardship was removed. Now, only proof that you have a qualifying disease is sufficient to support a legal claim, which will hold up in court, if necessary. IOW, a doctors certification that you have been diagnosed with an inflammatory bowel disease, should be sufficient proof. It doesn't even matter if you are in remission, at the moment, because the "mitigating measures" limitation was removed - the diagnosis itself, should be sufficient to require an employer to comply with the revised terms of the Act. See these past discussions:

http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewt ... sabilities

http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewt ... sabilities

Tex

[Joefnh]

Rich echoing Gabes & Tex openly discussing what is going on with your boss is almost a necessity, to not disclose it could lead to false assumptions on their part, and potential problems. I also have taken the step of discussing it with my fellow employees, fortunately in this environment that works well. I have found that with others around me knowing what is going on can really be helpful; for instance if I am not feeling well in a meeting, they will know and understand if I need to skip out for a bit.

Also with food choices I have recently had a couple of occasions when a small group of fellow employees was going out for a special occasion and they even took the time to find a local GF friendly restaurant to suit my needs.

Best wishes Rich

--Joe

[hoosier1]

Gabes and Tex and Rebecca,

I love olives. And was hoping that olive oil could be one of my staples. I guess, like anything, I need to try it out on me.

My boss is understanding. He has IBS type issues. In fact, his daughter in law is suffering through similar, undiagnosed issued right now and he asked me to speak with her (I have). We used to laugh about our mutual GI problems until my condition worsened.

He called a breakfast meeting with me for Monday. And I know it is because he wants to know what he can do for me. He already pulled rank on me for next week and took half my week's work for himself. And I am actually OK with that. But he is an older gentleman and I worry about him too. And it is my job to run the company... So there you have it.

Had a good week eating wise and a good morning BM wise (relatively speaking). Just got severely glutened on the plane though, so I am glad it is the weekend. Didn't read a label carefully. Slipped up again. But becoming more disciplined.

Rebecca, I have some tricks I use to manage when I work. They may not be the healthiest things to do but the get me by in a pinch. If you are interested, I could post those things (though I think I did a couple weeks back just don't know how to find them).

Thanks again everyone. Nice to have your unconditional support.

Rich