Hi fellow MSers.
I have RRMS. As I have been booking for work, I have considered becoming a carer in a nursing home, part time. Anybody doing anything similar? Is it doable? Other than the side effects of Plegridy, I do not experience any other health issues and I can manage my energy levels reasonably well. Also, did you disclose your MS to the employer? TIA
Just to say that I carried on working for a few years after diagnosis and did tell my employer ( I have a cheeky suspicion that it helped them with their numbers of employees with a disability ). MS in those days didn’t affect me much and I did my Avonex injection on Friday night ( I enjoyed my work and didn’t mind devoting my weekend to getting over the side effects of Avonex)?
My work was mainly desk based plus travelling for workshops , committee meetings and the like. Out of work I was still physically active with no problems
Thamk you. I have been thinking the same, regarding injecting on a Friday instead, so that it doesn’t affect work. What worries me is the 12 hour shifts with 1 hour break.
I think we all deal with our MS and symptoms differently. I find for the most part that working through my fatigue is the best way for me. My job is very active (well known high street coffee shop) and I am on my feet for 8 hours. For me, this is a good thing. I tend to get more tired and fall asleep if I sit down for too long, regardless of whether or not I work or how much rest and/or sleep I have had. The advice for MS is generally to get plenty of rest and not over exert yourself, but this doesn’t always work for me. If I do stop, I find it difficult to get started again, so this is a system that I am currently happy with. I did used to work in care and it was fine, I just switched careers as I felt my boss was awful in general and I needed a break from care.
I think this is a decision that only you can make based on your own experiences and how you deal with your symptoms. Is it not possible to just take on earlies or lates? Most homes offer those types of shifts for people working part time at least.
I’m sure if you discussed with them you could probably work half a shift? It’s very rewarding line of work to do. I started working in a care home early 04, now I support a gentleman with an ABI in his home.
I’m guessing that as @animali says the home might well be very happy to discuss working patterns. Nursing and Care homes have long suffered with recruiting staff (if anything that’s becoming an increasing problem) and would be very grateful for a caring member of staff
Thanks. 
I have not disclosed the MS. I decided to wait and see - I may be fine doing the 12 hour shifts. I noticed that not all parts of the job are that demanding. I will play it by ear.
Good afternoon. Yes, they hired me straight away, but that was not my first career option. I simply need to get back to work now, as I have been unemployed since March. It’s an exciting new career for me. Let’s see how it goes. I have good days and bad days with fatigue… but most days are good days. Let’s hope it stays like this. Waiting for my MRI results now, fingers crossed MS is not active.
Well, congratulations and good luck !
( like wise on fatigue and I’ve never been able to work out if there is any reason. Yesterday was a bit of a struggle but I managed to work through it cleaning gutters on the bungalow, today I seem to be fine! Weird)
I wish you well in the new venture, it’s a very rewarding career to work in. 
everything goes well for you. It’s good for your wellbeing to be working and I’m sure it’s a nice distraction away from everything else. X