Something Nubian

Having fibromyalgia and working full time can be challenging. As of today, I  am currently taking some time off to keep my current job if that makes any sense at all.

By law, employees are eligible for Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) if they have a disability or is taking care of someone who is close to them that are either mother, father, spouse or child. Last year I exhausted my FMLA in six months instead of the usual twelve months allotted. I usually run out early either way but not this early.

The fact is those with fibromyalgia can work but with stipulations; sitting still at a desk all day or moving all day can cause a lot of problems such as spasms and stiffness due to moving a lot or lack thereof. There is a happy medium but would include many accommodations which include more breaks than a normal eight-hour shift and adjustments to your daily routine.

As a call center specialist, my job consists of sitting in the same spot for at least seven hours a day, five days a week, taking calls that could range from simple to very complex. Working in a stressful environment due to high demands from the organization as well as the customers can increase flare ups and once they begin, the only option is to shut down for a while or the rest of the day.

When my company transitioned while I was still sitting in the same seat, the changes became more stressful as one megacorp was being taken over by another. Although the faces in the building were the same, everything else changed from benefits to systems being used. We no longer were able to process anything the same other than the actual calls.

I tried using a medical/workout ball, to bounce on, to at least keep moving, which is the hidden relief for this condition, but ultimately the stress of the job took precedence. Each day there were new emails with more demands with consequences if not followed.

I have been in customer service for about twenty-five years and am fully aware and understanding of changes but I have only had fibromyalgia for seven years and my body just does not comprehend.

What seems to work best for me is currently not paying the bills, which is writing and advocating for others who are suffering. I wrote a book detailing how I was able to cope and deal with others once I was diagnosed. This book is called The Black Woman’s Guide to Minding Her Own Business. I began to write the book as I was seeing many doctors and specialists to determine what was actually wrong with me and why I was experiencing so much pain all over my body with no flu but “flu-like” symptoms.

Although most often the pain flare-up at night, the side effects from the prescribed medicine spills over into your day if you are on any. There are plenty of natural remedies (which I go over in my book) but ultimately this thing has a way of making its presence known whether you like it or not, causing other medical issues for one to deal with such as hypertension and lack of focus.

While I do not have the best diet in the world being in pain most of the day increases my blood pressure so while I am treating one symptom of disorders I would also have to take precautions for another. In addition to taking medicine to lower my blood pressure, I was also taking a narcotic to concentrate. I was on uppers and downers and felt spun around.

There have been plenty of times I would leave work early using FMLA and a few hours later would feel better, due to moving around outside of a cold building causing stiffness and stress. I would find myself worried if someone would see me from work and assume I was not actually feeling bad at all.

My family and I started a garden, to improve the household diet and I would go outside to help pick the produce or water the plants and would look around to see if anyone was watching me. Dealing with all of it was even more stressful causing headaches, pains in my neck, nervousness, and forgetting things.

I would experience these same issues on the job and although there are plenty of resources to assist with the job function cognition is still extremely low.

Applying for disability is really a joke, I was denied for working too many hours and making too much money however my current employer is the main source of income and would definitely put my living situation in serious jeopardy if I were to play the game they are expecting me to play. There is no guarantee other than these doctors and pharmaceutical companies getting their cut while sit and suffer in silence.

My last days of the leave of absence are nearing and I have been researching to determine what others are dealing with and it is pretty much the same, they are worried about functioning on the job they know how to do so well with a condition they know little about.

Although there are plenty of options for relief there is very little for resolution.

I send all positive inner-G who are struggling to cope from day to day.

Namaste
La Trecia Doyle