Working Life with Chiari

[Guidinglight]

Hi Gang!!
Just wanted to know how many of us folks with chiari are still working. I am just back at work after 5 months off and am really struggling. Dizzyness, muscle pain, headaches, neck pain & stiffness. Not been to see specialist yet and do not have any idea of the do's and donts of living with chiari????
Are there are restrictions that i should be observing??
Luv n light to all !!

[Sweetpea32]

Had my surgery 09/09 and 11\09. Went back to work first of december. Of 09 and just did part time. I am a medical receptionist so the sitting in front of the computer is ruff. Now I have been fulltime for 6 months. PT and massage therapy get me through the work week. A lot of stretching, muscles relaxers and rest in between shifts. I work 12 hour shifts once or twice a week. Those are ruff days. I have recently offered my 5 to 9 shift to a co worker on my 12 hour days. It was so much easier to come home after a 8 hour day!

[lu7997]

I have been off for over a year. I am a Hospice nurse and thatrequires a lot of driving which no one will let me do.  I went back PRN. In June and after three shifts I blacked out in yhe office and they haven't called me since.  I struggle to donbasic house work and care for my three young kids. Most days I feel like they are raising me.  I miss my patients and my clean house and my normal life.  I don't think I will ever get to be the nurse I was again.  And that saddens me.  I wish there was some great advice I could share withbu on how to deal with working with chiari. But unfortunetly I am not sure how to my self.   All I can say is good luck and I feel for u. I really do.

[zippyjo]

I was back to work part-time telecommuting after 6 weeks, and then full-time after about 2.5 months, still with some telecommuting.  I'm back to telecommuting exclusively because driving is perilously tiring (may have to do with something other than Chiari surgery, though, not sure.) My work is almost with a computer, so that's possible, and I'm generally more efficient working from home as well.  For some people, I know this is not the case, though.  I probably pushed it and went back too soon or stress out about things too much (including the potential for loss of the job that Selma mentions.)  I'm still having issues 8 months post-op and trying to figure out why, so your struggles sound familiar!

I found that I really, really noticed ergonomics when I returned to work!  Trying to get the most ergonomic setup you can, taking frequent breaks to rest, get up from your desk if that's part of your job, stretch your neck (gently!), etc. may help some, but I still have the headaches, stiffness, excessive muscle tension, etc. etc. that you mention.  Some of it at first may just be *lack* of use during recovery, though - even a couple of months away and I was "out of work-shape".  Sitting - or doing anything, really - all day *does* require endurance, we just may not notice it most of the time.  Hopefully after a few weeks you'll re-acclimate to it somewhat.

Best of luck, but don't be afraid to stop and take a break, lie down, or cut the day short if you need!

[stephanie_C]

I'm about a week and a half shy of two months post-op and I have been back to work for the last three weeks. I must say that I feel GREAT! I am absolutely amazed at how good I feel. Now don't get me wrong, I am well aware of the fact that I am not 100%. I still have some lingering headaches, but nothing like prior to my surgery.I still try to keep any lifting to a minimum and rest my head and neck as often as I can, plus am I still doing to PT. I know I still have a ways to go in the healing process, but I'm taking this as a positive step in the right direction!

[BigJim_in_NY]

I returned to work after two months. I'll be one year post-op on 8/5/10. When I first went back to work it wasn't really that bad. Now that I am almost one year out things aren't that great but then I did lots of stuff on the naughty list.

Selma is absolutely right. Some Chiarians are doing quite well, and others not so much. Only being 5 months out you still have some healing to do and some symptoms are still to be expected. My symptoms went away gradually after surgery and before I started jogging the only symptom I had was the funky headaches.

[selmaS]

Hi,

There r a few that have returned to work, I am not one of them. Some of us lose our jobs when we ran out of FMLA time....and find it diff to get back to work.'
Others have gone back a bit too soon to keep their jobs, and some of them are not doing well.And then again, there r others doing quite well.

I am including a link to a list of activities to avoid-
http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Neurological-Disorders/Activities-to-avoid-with-Chiari-and-Syringomyelia/show/986?cid=186

Most important- listen to ur body.

"selma'

[neava]

congrats on going back to work,

that must of been scarey, i havnt had surgery, but i work from home and find that hard, i setup weddings, and cant even climb the ladders,
im finding that when i have my head down to long, i get dizzy and feel really bad

im not sure on the dos and donts, im noticing just in myself what i cant do, maybe thats how you will have to work it, it takes while to know which movements effect you

good luck