ANA Discussion Forum
Post-Treatment => Balance Issues => Topic started by: lorjacks on May 30, 2014, 08:37:41 am
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Hi all - I was just wondering if any of you wonky heads out there were still working everyday and how you cope. I just started a new job (pre-toastie) and find I'm wobbling from the parking garage to the building. Once here I'm better (I think stress or nerves have a LOT to do with your balance).
Anyway, I'd like to hear your stories about how you cope with the challenge of balance at work.
Thank you
Loree J.
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Hi Loree,
I have been able to work all day, every day both pre and post Gamma Knife with all my symptoms, wonky head and balance issues being the most challenging. Stress can increase my symptoms but I am more sensitive to barometric changes and darkness so for me winter was a real challenge. My wobbling was noticeable enough that a few coworkers commented on it. I just brushed off their questions saying I was fine, just having some inner ear balance problems, and that was usually the end of their comments.
I also find being 8 months post Gamma that I still require plenty of rest. I stop everyday for lunch and find a quiet place to put my feet up, close my eyes and listen to relaxing meditations on my Ipod for 10 - 20 minutes. Being well rested makes a huge difference in all my symptoms.
Pace yourself and keep rested, you'll do fine!
Cathie.
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I returned to work 3 months after surgery and have continued working ever since, full time nursing. How do I cope with the balance issue? I just "carry on"....push myself. Yes there are days I am so dizzy I don't know if I can make it through the shift, but I do.....and yes I have had to be off sick when things are really bad (say I get a cold or something else that effects my sinus area, that will make things really bad). I guess a lot depends on the type of job you do, your own interpersonal coping skills etc.
Take care, Kathleen
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Hi Loree. I returned to work after four months, but at reduced hours for another three months while I continued physical therapy. I work as an engineer, on the computer all day, and my vision was a real challenge at first due to facial paralysis and dry eye. I used Lacrilube, which is like looking through Vaseline, so I was essentially a one-eyed data analyst for eleven months.
After two years, I still tire easily, but I am finding ways to cope. I find extreme multitasking to be exhausting, so I try to structure my workload to focus on just a few things at a time. That's not always possible, but it helps with my energy and focus.
Background activity distracts me now, so I sometimes leave the cube farm and find a quiet place to work. Or I stick an ear plug in my non-AN ear - amazing how much that helps with focus and, oddly enough, with tinnitus too. I still take occasional vacation days just to rest, and I sleep a lot on the weekends. and that's frustrating after two years -- I feel like I should be past that by now. But it's usually a result of working too much (eleven hour days) or letting things get too hectic.
Hearing is an ongoing challenge, and while most people are very accommodating, some are not. Straining to hear is exhausting, and there are times when I miss something. I do ask people to speak up when needed, and to speak one at a time in meetings. And I try to position myself at the corner of the conference room table. All that helps, but I will tell you that I am starting to consider a career change. My work environment is fast-paced and multilingual, and there's only so much I can do to manage it.
All of the above -- the stress, the fatigue, the hearing. the blurry eye -- affects my balance, and I have recently had some near-falls. I love what I do, but overall quality of life is important, too. Everyone's situation is different, and many people do just fine at work. I wish you all the best in your journey.
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I was able to return to work 8 weeks post op, but should hae taken a few more weeks. I also am a bi-vocational pastor and returned to thar after 4 weeks. My tumor side balance nerve was 97% non functioning so besides being tired I did fine. More recently, 4 years post op, having more issues and struggling to make it through the day. From my first week back I have napped Sat and Sunand slept in on Sat to help with overall fatigue.
I have been lucky though.
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Thank you all for your responses! :D I am very encouraged and I need that right now. I see Dr. Eshraghi at Univ. of Miami on Friday to discuss Cyberknife.
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I was fine until 9 - 10 weeks post GK, then got hit by bunch of side effects, including sudden dizziness -- couldn't drive to work for a week. At the same time, I got some bad headaches, almost unbearable tinnitus & total hearing loss on my AN side.
After a week, the headaches went away & few weeks later, my hearing got a little better. It's been 6 weeks & I'm still dizzy, though not quite as bad. Had a MRI done a few weeks ago that showed swelling, which would explain the side effects.
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Hi,
I would to say if you can work do so. I had complications and was told my job would not be there for me. (this was after about 9 months and I was getting worse) So I went on disability and long term disability insurance. I'm very grateful for this and to my wife who has done all the legwork. Here the thing - once you go on disability it might be difficult to get off. At least that is what I am finding.
Tom