Was hoping someone can answer this question for me. Do I keep working, or leave work and nurse my body through the life I have left? At the moment I am so tired from the pain. Arghhhhhh!!
Oh BE what a question!!!
What do you mean hon by ‘the life I have left’??? Have you got a terminal illness?
If you have MS you have NOT got a terminal illness at all. Most people… the vast majority of people… with MS live as long as anyone else… and with new treatments coming along all the while AND a cure on the horizon there is no reason why you won’t die in your own bed aged 100!
Some people do have to give up work because they cannot cope with it anymore. But far more people continue working… sometimes having to go part-time, but many people continue working full-time until retirement.
I know… OH believe me I know!!!.. how depression can be caused by MS. Basically we have a double-whammy… it’s sometimes hard living with MS and that can bring us down, and then the lesions in our brains can mess about with our emotions making us even more depressed.
I suggest hon that you see the GP. It seems to me that what you need is a) something stronger to help you with the pain and b) a good antidepressant so you do not feel so gloomy.
Antidepressants are really good nowadays and can make you feel a whole lot better and many of us with MS use them. Nothing to be worried about or ashamed of.
So my love make an appointment with the GP and tell him/her exactly how you are feeling and also how bad the pain is. Help is out there!!!
With help with pain, help with the depression and speaking to your employer about how they could make your job a bit easier (which they are legally obliged to do) there is no reason why you shouldn’t continue working… AND making plans for the long life ahead of you!
Take care hon… and make an appointment with the GP tomorrow!!!
Pat x
Please think very carefully before quitting work, as not only will you get no kind of retirement deal or severance package if you leave of your own accord (and might not get any benefits either), but now is a very bad time to be looking, if you subsequently regret your decision, and want to get back into work.
Take some time off sick if need be, but do NOT resign.
If it becomes clear to both you AND your employer that you are incapable of continuing for health reasons, there may be a scheme in place that could offer you ill-health retirement (i.e. early collection of pension). But this would only usually be on the table if you’d already spent a lot of time off sick, AND you and your employer had explored ways you might be able to continue - e.g. change of duties, change of hours etc.
At the very least, if you spent six months on sick pay before being dismissed for poor attendance, you’d still be six months’ better off than resigning tomorrow, with nothing.
The longer you can hang onto the job - even if you’re off sick from it - the longer you’ll keep the pay and benefits that go with it. If you resign because you’re “tired”, you can kiss goodbye to all that, and if you suddenly start feeling better next week or next month (MS is notoriously unpredictable like that), you’ll unfortunately have burnt your bridges.
Tina
It’s a legal minefield out there. Oh depression is not whats wrong at all Pat. My body has been to hell and back I over the last eighteen months with no let up in pain and problems. I’ve had numerous operations, and infections and kept on going. My body just feels like I’m burning the candle at both ends. With two young kids, on my work days I have no time. the exhaustion that hits me is brutal as you all Know.Just need to rest when I come home. I have reduced my hours at work to try and help me, but the loss of money is also a stress 
To be honest I feel my body is now controlling me. Woman are able to deal with pain better than us men. 
At least I think you are. Thanks for the replys on earlier post. Thanks BE