work advice
I have been out of work as a over the road truck driver since middle of june for my MS. I'm usually gone for about a month at a time. so getting all the testing getting started on treatment, I need to be home for it. you are still medically cleared to drive a semi with MS. my neuro has not signed the paper saying it's safe for me to drive a truck. work wont let me back. they will not let me do light duty work. light duty work is in chicago 5 hours from detroit where i live and pays minimum wage. i have lost my health insurance been turned down for medicaid (government assistance medical coverage). I'm starting to realize I might not be able to do my old job. It's the unloading part of liquid chemicals that are haz-mat. that i think i cant do lifting 20 foot hoses that weigh 100 pounds over my head. my mom, friends ad i have noticed cognative diffaculties with the leisons covering about half my brain. I have a hard time driving a car. I don't want to admit it but with the weakness and fatigue in my muscles and the brain, I'm starting to think I could be disabled. but this pride thing gets in the way. my employer called today and i didnt answer. if i tell them i cant work im fired if i push things and talk my neuro into siging the form im afraid i could get into a very bad acciedent where multiple people die. i plan on talking to my neoro on the 30th if he doesnt cancell this time.
Don't forget in all this that you are very newly diagnosed and things are just as likely to improve as they are to get worse. From what you say, your symptoms are changing all the time. Six months from now, you may have stabilised. But equally, your turmoil now will be certainly 'feeding' the MS. Stress makes symptoms worse and may trigger relapses and it sounds as though there's no-one around to share any of this with. I think the only answer is to really quiz the neuro, get any meds you need to help with the symptoms and if possible delay any work decisions. Telephone counselling from the MS society might help, too.
Travis, re driving your car, you say you are having a hard time driving a car, may I ask what you feel the problem is, if it is to do with your legs, weakness, footdrop etc have you thought about hand controls, best thing I ever did!