Whatcha think about summer vacation compared to the rest of the year?

[nabean]

Okay folks here it is,

Last May I was dx with MS. I pushed through the spring musical and end of the year committments and made it to summer.

I spent the summer swimming at the local pool and reading and enjoying my husbands company in the evenings. Then I went back to work in the fall...and started to feel poohy all the time.

It has only been the last two months that I have been able to go a full week without needing a sick day to recover ( or a long weekend or PD day). Most days I am struggling to have the energy to get through until 3:30. I do find that the acomendations have been helpful. but lately I find myself wishing away my life for the next weekend and now I see summer as the light at the end of tunnel. I know that everyone feels that way, but the last time I truely felt like myself was last summer when I was able to rest when I needed to and exercise.

I hate to say it, but I kind of miss me. I used to have a good sense of humour and smile alot and now my husband is always asking what's wrong because I look sad...but really I am just tired, my face is drawn out and my eyes are always puffy from me rubbing them to stay awake! haha

I find that I am unable to find a good time to exercise because I stay in bed until the last possible moment on the morning and then Iam exhausted in the evenings. I try to get in some exercise on the weekends.

I feel like it isn't healthy to always be looking forward to a day when I don't have to go to work. and despite how challenging my job is (p-8 general music, 6-9 band, three different schools) I do enjoy what I am doing.

Anyways, does anyone else feel like knowing summer vacation is coming is the only thing that is keeping them hanging on for the rest of the year?

Does anyone else feel like when they are on summer vacation that maybe you could put up with numb and yet painful hands, the balance issues because the fatique is not causing as many limitations?

What does feeling this way after only being dx for one year mean for me in the long run? Nothing I hope, I hope feeling this way is somewhat normal, given our circumstances.

thanks,
Jill

[chalknpens]

It took three years from my first neuro visit to diagnosis... had to wait for a second symptom in a different place before he would do MRIs ... once MRIs were done, evident that I'd had RRMS for more than a decade or two or three.

During that decade before diagnosis, I was very busy taking care of elderly parents with Alzheimers and Parkinsons diseases. No time to focus on my on and off issues, and no reason to think it was MS (no one in my very large family ever had that.) Thought I would one day have Parkinsons, like my parents had. Later, not now.

Once diagnosed with MS, I made some healthy changes in menu and activity ... but never felt well or optimistic again. After four years on the nightly injections, I'm retiring due to extreme fatigue, anxiety and some cog issues. It's two years before I'd planned, but it's time.

Getting myself ready for the endless summer ... still hard to believe I'm retiring soon ... never will believe this is MS (but MRI says uncountable lesions on brain and spine)... I lost my fifties somewhere, and am now early sixties.

I loved my job ... never wanted to retire... rarely took sick time, but now I'm retiring. I'm on sick leave right now, and doing less each day. Unbelievably different than what I expected the end of my career to be. Very sad, but relieved. I will not miss the paperwork and hours, but I will miss my teammates and students.

[Nabbosa]

I'm looking forward to the time off, but I'm also dreading the heat! I really enjoyed the winter break because it didn't take me long to recover from the whole teaching thing, and I could be very active in the cold.

A lot of posts I've read tonight remind me of how hard the first year or so after diagnosis was. I'd say around 2 years in is when I finally felt back to myself - not so much because of actual symptoms, but because I hadn't figured out how to deal with the diagnosis, or the new medication routine, or how to evaluate "symptoms" that could be MS, but maybe not. Was I tired because of being a full-time graduate student and teaching part-time in another city, or was it MS fatigue?

This year was a lot better for me. I think I've gotten a lot better at knowing how to pace myself - how to place a coffee break with a colleague or a student so that I get a little rest, but it doesn't necessarily stand out to others as rest.... that kind of thing.

And I've gotten better about making decisions about how much energy to expend for teaching. I'm not talking about shortchanging my students, but there's a certain amount of preparation and effort that wears me out, but doesn't necessarily show to them. And they don't notice if you do the little bit extra, or if you don't. Figuring out where that point is has helped me a lot in terms of conserving energy.

It's also made a huge difference to take time for me - in my case, by finding a sport I like to do. Sometimes I'm tired and it's hard to participate, but the regular exercise is making a big difference for me, too. I don't know if I was suffering from fatigue, or if I was tired from poor sleep habits (and poor quality sleep) - but when I exercise 3-5 times per week, I can handle a lot more than when I only exercise twice a week.

All that just to say, "I hear you." Hope the summer is restful for you - I have three more weeks.

[Ramirez]

That is really nice and great info. Thank you very much for sharing such useful info.

[nabean]

Hi,

thanks for the feedback folks.

Only one more month left until summer. I hear ya about the heat though, not looking forward to that. I need an air conditioner!

I am really looking forward to seeing if not working for a couple of monthes helps.

I recently recieved news that I have new job. Starting in the fall I have a new job. I will be teaching band to grade 6-9 in the fall at three schools. no general music. I will be going from teaching/preparing 20 different lessons a week to teaching 8 different lessons a week. Just teaching each lesson 2-3 times. I am so hopeful that this is going to help me manage the fatique better that I can hardly wait til fall to try it out! haha!

that being said I am looking forward to spending the summer at the pool and getting prepared for the fall.

[edu6th]

My last day with students was June 3rd. Since then we have finished our teacher work days and I finally feel like summer can begin. I have an appointment with a new neuro tomorrow and I am a little nervous. I look and feel really good right now. I know that this is just my summer "me" and not the working "me." This is my third summer since being diagnosed and I have come to the realization that just as there are seasons in the year I too have health seasons too. Last year I was seriously considering leaving the classroom. I just didn't know if I could continue to give everything to my students during the day and not have anything left for my family at night. We all made it through another year. My advise is enjoy each health season.

[Lexie]

I'm not a teacher but an administrative data entry operator in an elementary school. I've been here 33 years . I choose to give up my career and work as a para professional because it was the only thing I could do and still be with my boys. It is a decision I have never regretted! I started here when my oldest son was 6 and he is now nearing 40. My granddaughters are now here and if it were not for them I would be ready to go. I am tired physically and mentally. Feeling the younger generation ready for the "old" people to go. I feel the same feeling that God gives us when we have teenagers. If God did not make then so irratable at this age how could we ever let them go out on their own?

So even though my work on the computer is still great my new boss already has a replacement for me. It's a sad feeling and a position I have never been in before. I have two years to go and I just take it one day at a time. I only have until June 23rd and I get 4 weeks off. Can't wait and wish I did not have to come back, but the Deferred Retirement Option Program in Florida (DROP) is just too good to walk out. My last two years will amount to $40,000 plus my regular pay. I just can't walk away from that in these economic times. Thanks for listening to me. There are very few people or places I can vent! So very glad I found this site!