Do you work?

[willowtreewren]

Hanify,
You are fortunate to have such a supportive princiPAL!

Not everyone on the list is so lucky. 

Aleta

[kitkatz]

I have chocolate in my cupboard at school.

[Beth35]

Hanify, you are SO lucky!  I would LOVE to stay at my current job and work only a few hours per week.  But according to my lawyer, they do not have to offer that to me.  My district is not known for being super supportive.

[kimcanada]

I don't work, way to tired and to many doctors appointments

[esherman77]

  I work too. However, I work overnights and then go straight to dialysis. By the time I get home I am so exhausted that I take my meds, get my stuff ready for that night and crash. It is very hard! But since I am alone, I only have the option to work. I can't get anyone to pay my bills for me
Elaine



Edited: Fixed smiley error - paris, Moderator

[Wenchie58]

Hanify, you are SO lucky!  I would LOVE to stay at my current job and work only a few hours per week.  But according to my lawyer, they do not have to offer that to me.  My district is not known for being super supportive.

I'd get a better lawyer!

[joyfulmother]

Do I work?  Well not a "paying job".  I am a homemaker and I homeschool my boys.  I chose PD so I could continue to school them.  I know I'm tired at the end of the day but no, I don't work. 

[paris]

i taught at a private school for 18 years.  Always had perfect performance evaluations. But, they decided the job was too much for my physical condition and didn't renew my contract.  Legally, they didn't have to.  I hate not being at school.  I bow to those who work full time and do dialysis. You are inspirational.   

[willowtreewren]

It looks like we are going to have to go back to working 10 hours/day and then go home to do dialysis. I'll probably be whining about fatigue here on IHD! 

The economy is affecting our enrollment and we just aren't going to be able to afford the staff to allow us to leave early. Sigh.

Paris, I feel for you. I've often said that it would be really hard to retire. I know that there are lots of folks on IHD who wish they could work. So I guess I better NOT whine aabout having too many hours... 

[cherpep]

I hear ya, willow.  I get sooooo tired working all day and then coming home and doing dialysis.  It seems I have no time for anything else, it's hard keeping up the house.  But, it's hard to complain about it when others want to work.  My doc mentions disability everytime I see him, but I just can't afford to do that yet, so I keep working those 10 hour days.  We were hoping that I could finally stop working in about a year, but these hard times with the auto companies is making that goal further and further away. Rough times all around.   I did enjoy my hubby being off last week and getting the housework done, but I don't enjoy the 0 check.   

[pklipe57]

I started dialysis about 1 month ago and I work full time.  I am an accountant (bookkeeping and income tax).  I finished tax season which I normally work 10-12 hours per day and started dialysis the next week.  Now I work 8 hours a day on Tuesday and Thursday and work 7 hours a day on Monday, Wednesday and Friday which are my dialysis days.  My dialysis is at 5:00 p.m.  By the time I get home from dialysis, I am ready to go to sleep. 

[ddawson77]

When I had to go back on dialysis my company was very supportive for me (I was in a sales position for a big medical staffing company).  I stated out in center, did that for a few months then went to Home Hemo, and we did that for 9 months, roughly.  The thing with that is I was working 11-12 hour days, then I would get home we would make dinner and seem like we would start setting up the machine.  It never left any time for us.

So I spoke with my doctor about it and we decided to try nocturnal with the Nextstage system.  I was the first person in our area to try it and it sounded like a great option.  We did that for a few months but the problem for me was I started not sleeping during the treatment.  So 5 nights a week I would only get a couple of hours of sleep.  I was starting to look like the walking dead!

So I went back to in center, but when I did that my company started acting funny.  They told me I will need to file a FMLA form which I can understand, BUT....  Then they told me once my FMLA hours were up they would make an "employment decision."  At they same time they are going to reduce my salary, understandable, BUT....  they are not going to reduce my goals, and even if I stay late to make up they hours, they were not going to pay me for them.

I have not been working since, which was about 2 months ago.  I am planning on going back to school to finish my degree.

[willowtreewren]

What a bummer, Dawson. 

It must have been hard going back in center after NxStage.

Best wishes,
Aleta

[rebeccallana]

I replied yes as my partner has kidney failure and he still works

[smileeface]

Absolutely!  I am the primary bread winner - so don't have a choice.  I also LOVE working (not necessarily the job), but I have to be busy all the time.  I work 50 - 60 hours a week - play softball, work in the yard and hang out with my 9 year old.

I'm not sure I can be "counted" in this poll - although my kidney's have failed enough to be listed for a transplant and have a living donor transplant scheduled for July 21 - I am beyond fortunate that I have not had to start dialysis.  I'm educated and ready for it - but have not / will not need to start it any time soon.

Karin

[carson]

I used to be a funeral director and worked full time on PD until I moved and went to work for a small town funeral home - the woman found out I was on dialysis (which totally didn't interfere with my job!) and fired me, stating I wasn't able to do my job because I was on dialysis. I sued her ass and went on to get a job waitressing. Now I work 2 waitressing jobs and it's really quite physical, but I also go to the gym and work with weights, train and spend time with my horse and dog, plus keep the house. Thank God for nocturnal home hemo!!!

[RenalSurvivorDotCA]

Yes, I still work. Like some others here, we live alone and need to work to survive. I've been lucky that my energy levels have returned shortly after I left the hospital. I haven't been on venofer, epo (or Aranesp?) for about 5 years now. I've also been lucky that my job is in a 24/7 industry so I can choose my hours. I'm a computer programmer in the shipping industry. I typically work 40-55 hours a week; some of that at home, some of it even in the dialysis unit.

Bill

[Riki]

I started dialysis in 2004. and worked in a call centre up until 2008, when I started finding it hard to keep up with the fast pace.  I also think I was starting to burn out, which is something that happens frequently in the call centre industry.  I'm on a disability pension now, and it pays my bills and my transportation to and from dialysis.

I was watching Undercover Boss last night, and they were in a call centre.  The phone rang, and I cringed, so my guess is that my call centre career is over. *L*

[sullidog]

I too am in a call center and between dialsis and the job burn out, I feel ya.
Troy

[Marina]

After  6yrs  and  4 months  on  CAPD, I'm  still   working  in  a physically  demanding  job  (night  stocking in a supermarket).

For  the  most  part I  feel  great  and   very  energetic.    In fact the  more   work I  have,   the  faster  I work,  the better I  feel.

Ofcourse  there  are  those  low hemoglobin or  low B/P  days  when all I  want  to  do is  crawl  under  a shelf  and  take a  nap     But  I  keep  going.

[wrenchturningredneck10]

Wow, this thread is inspiring!!  I'll be graduating from college this fall, and hopefully going to work full time as a diesel mechanic....glad to see I'm not the only one working and running the 3-ring circus known as kidney failure!

[Hazmat35]

I work approximately 50 hours per week plus 3 days of Dialysis! 

On the days I have Dialysis, i come in about 5:00 AM and work until 1:00 PM and then do my 4 hours. 
On the day I don't have Dialysis, I come in about 6:00 AM and work until 5-6:00 PM. 
Then I come in on the weekends, when I have to get what I need to done.  I do what ever I have to, to keep my job. 

I work as a Project Estimator and sit at a computer all day, looking at blue prints and specs for upcoming projects. 

[albiecl]

Hi all,

I work 35 hrs a week as a Client Trainer. This means that I currently split my time either in the office or out and about seeing my clients.  This can be very tiring for me, especially the day after Dialysis when I can find myself getting in after 11pm but somehow my body has gotten into a routine and I'm coping with it. My work have been pretty good but to be honest I have not asked for very many considerations from them except to be able to leave 30 mins early on Dialysis days and a fixed desk so that when I came in tired after a visit I have a guarnateed desk to sit at.

I like working as it offers a level of normality to my life. Unfortunately though it means that on Dialysis days I see my husband and 4 year old daughter briefly whilst we are all getting ready then I don't see my daughter until the next day and my husband when I get home in the night. Not great but bills need to be paid and I like to shop 

[Henry P Snicklesnorter]

.

[Hazmat35]

I recently started full-time employment after working for some time as a contractor.
I currently work 70 hrs a week in the heavy earthmoving industry. Being on PD means that I can work a normal day and dialyse while operating the machine I am on at the time. My employer saw no problem with employing someone 60 years old with renal failure. (I should say that operators with my particular skill set are in very short supply, - a situation which is unlikely to change in the short term. Doubtless the shortage of skilled labour has much to do with my employer’s attitude, but in fairness, they also seem to be particularly nice people.)
As part of my requirements, I asked for and got one afternoon a month off to see the Neph/have bloods taken. I have told my medical providers that any visits/consults can only take place on this one afternoon a month. So far this is working well, - amazing what they can organize when given no other options.

You have a good boss that understands!  So do I.  I try to make all my doctor appointments, as late as possible during the days I don't have Dialysis.  I am fortunate to have nephs/doctors, that have longer hours so I can work a full day (6 AM - 5 PM) and make a DR. appointment for 5:30 PM.  My boss is really cool about things if I have to make an appointment during the day, as long as he is aware of it ahead of time.  So, I usually schedule things at least a month or two out! 

You have to work with your boss, as long as he/she is willing to work with you! 

Pro’s and cons of working and dialysis for me;-

Pro’s – I sleep better, pay my own way, am far better organised than I may otherwise be, (dialysis has to fit in with me – not the other way round. ) I am much healthier, - (too busy to be sick?) I have control of my medical schedules - my service providers seem able to fit in with my needs.  The money. Life is busy and fulfilling.

Cons: - my hobbies are playing music, sailing, writing computer programs, motorcycles, old cars, house renovations and woodwork.  All of these will have to wait while I am this busy.








EDITED:Fixed quote tag error-Kitkatz, Moderator