Returning to work - next stage in my recovery

Good luck @Mrs5K , I’m sure you will get a lot from returning to work, but it will also take a lot (out of you). There will be good days and bad but colleagues will find it difficult to understand this. One day you’ll be flying and buzzing and another drained and struggling to focus.

I don’t suppose any of this will come as a surprise to you or the other SS here.

One important thing from my experience…I think 13 weeks is a very unrealistic timescale to get up to full time!!!

Anyway I genuinely wish you well with your endeavour and certainly don’t want to put you off. I’m really happy being back at work. Currently at 3 days, moving to 3 & 1/2 in a couple of weeks, then 4…but can’t see 5 for the foreseeable future, if ever.

Everyone is different, and I certainly didn’t expect to be finding it this hard (but fulfilling) so just be prepared that full time may not be achievable. I hope I’m wrong but just trying to manage expectations.

Over long post for which I apologise.

Good luck and prove me wrong :+1::four_leaf_clover::tada:.

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@EmeraldEyes tgank you. that is a very valid point. Saying no is not something i’m very good at but hope to get better at it quickly :grin::grin: i did say no to the conference so that’s a start :rofl:

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@Ingo66 thank you for your honest feedback. I am concerned about the 13 weeks not being enough. My boss has said i should be able to go part time but of course that comes with a pay cut. I have worked some figures to see how many hrs i can drop & still pay my bills just on case. I have plenty of leave that i hope to use to help with my return too. That of course only helps until I run out of leave.

I think i’m prepared that full time may not be achievable until it becomes a reality of course :grin: just hoping i can manage enough to keep the wolves from the door.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

Hope your increase in hours goes well.

Ann xx

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Dear Ann, great news about your return to work, the best bit of advice I could give you is learn to say NO especially if your work is physical until you know in yourself that you can do what they are asking.
kindest regards

John

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@bigjay57 Hi John, you’re absolutely right. Im not great at saying no but am getting better at it. I will definitely turn down things that I woukd previously have taken on.

Hope you’re keeping well.

Ann

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Week one completed & I survived it. :partying_face::partying_face::partying_face:

I knew it would be tough but have to say I found it harder than I imagined. I only worked 3 hours on Monday, Wednesday & Friday and found I needed a nap afterwards. I also napped on the days inbetween.

I was quite emotional on the Monday in the meeting with my boss…grrrrr to stroke emotions. I was all over the place on the Wednesday & wasn’t sure where to start & just sat staring at my notepad. I caught up with some colleagues though which was great. Friday was better but after 2 hours my vision went blurry so I stopped a bit earlier than planned.

One thing I found difficult was making sure I took a break. Once you get into doing something it slips your mind. Must get better at that. I found I could only do one thing at a time. I used to juggle loads.

I’m going to try venturing into the office on Wednesday this week & see how that goes.

I’m already finding it difficult to keep up my exercising but maybe when I get fully back into the swing of it that will get easier.

Loads of colleagues have sent me lovely messages welcoming me back. Apparently I gave them all a scare :rofl::rofl:

It’s early days but i’m sure it’ll get easier in time.

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@Loshy thank you Loraine. I will take it steady I promise. Hubby is going to drop me at work & pick me up when i’ve had enough :grin: i’ll have to pay him chauffeurs wages soon :rofl:

@Mahoney that’s a great idea about setting a reminder for breaks. Never even gave that a thought. The tears were embarrassing but I had prewarned her so I don’t think she was surprised. :grin:

Best wishes

Ann xxx

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Well done @Mrs5K for taking this brave step back into the workplace, it seems like you are aware of your needs at this time. Perhaps take a little break from exercising or incorporate it into your job, gently.

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@Rups thank you. It does feel quite brave in a strange way. You could be right about the exercises. I was just trying to make sure I don’t lose the gains I’ve made but trying to do much could be equally as counterproductive. Oh…it’s a fine balancing act isn’t it. :face_with_spiral_eyes::face_with_spiral_eyes:

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@Mrs5K and others

Thanks for producing this report of your initial progress and concerns. You might not have thought about it but these sorts of posts can be of great use to those finding themselves in the same position.
Every comment, every success, even the downside, helps others to find their way around.

Post stroke, we arrive, not only in the dark, but in a maze. After a while we begin to realize that we are not alone and there are others going through what for a better word I will describe as a process.
Sharing our experiences helps both ourselves and others in dealing with something which can seem at times to be overwhelming yet on other occasions to be quite surmountable, especially when we look at what others have achieved.

I yearn for encouragement, which I am sure you also seek.

It is there in the efforts of others all around us.

Thank you and

Keep on keepin’ on
:smiley: :+1:

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I strongly support your words @Bobbi. After my stroke my brain was very scrambled just from the Aphasia alone, I certainly didn’t have wherewithal to sign up, log in and ask a question let alone use the search box. All I could manage initially was to scroll, click and read in very short bursts. The most I ever got through was one or two replies initially before the fatigue set in once again. But I could leave the post up and come back to it again. Navigating was very iffy and sporadic because of my fingers as well as my brain. I still have a very clicky finger, it still takes me places I don’t want to go :confounded:

This is now why I’m here and tend to give lengthy responses, it’s for the silent warriors out there hoping and praying someone will come along and ask their question or give the answer to it. It’s also why I tend to give lengthy posts, trying to cover with as much detail of what I experienced as the question asked of. And I do that because I can now :wink:

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I have now been back at work 2 months. Currently working 3 days a week (Mon, Weds & Fri) for 6 hours a day. It’s going ok & my employer is being very supportive & just feeding in work one task at a time with a plan to let me take on more over the next few months depending on how I get on. I have 4 weeks left before my pay will be reduced to the hours I am working (i’m lucky that the phased return period is on full pay). This concerns me a bit as I am not doing half my hours yet never mind double them up. I am prepared to take the hit initially but can’t afford it longer term.

Since I’ve been back I have found my dizzy episodes have increased…some really bad others just low level & I feel permanently exhausted. Coincidental with my return to work? Maybe but suspect it’s related in some way.

For those that have returned to work how long did it take to get past the exhausted stage? How far did you push it before having to take a step back & rethink things (assuming you did)?

I’m taking breaks in my working day. I even have a software package that pops up to remind me to stop. I’m not doing a lot around work apart from some housework & an occasional short walk.

I guess i’m just concerned that my exhaustion & dizziness levels will just get worse as i increase my hours & take on more work.

I’m having another occupational health referral done in about 3 weeks so will see what they say.

Any tips or advice greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

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Hi Ann,
Well done you sound like you’re coping pretty nicely. I’ve been back over a year and did go up to 4 days before getting the help from my company’s insurance appointed neuro OT. After discussion with her, we agreed it was best to drop back to 3 days for a period (to help improve the work/life balance).

I did that for a couple of months before adding another half day about a month ago. The plan is to run like this until end of June before reassessing.

Currently I think 3 & a 1/2 days is manageable, but will take my time before agreeing to more.

I think I will be able to manage 4, but don’t feel I’ll cope with 5. It is difficult, and obviously can’t keep going up and down with my days.

Just be carefull not too move up too quickly!

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Thanks Loraine @Loshy kind wishes & hug greatly appreciated.

Here’s one back for you :hugs::hugs: xx

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@Ingo66 thank you. It’s really difficult to know how much is too much isn’t it. I’m not against part time hours but to be able to pay my bills I need to do 4 days of 7 hrs at least. I shall probably need to increase my hrs next week & will see how it goes as can drop back down again in phased return period. I also have leave to use which I can plot in to enable me to manage my fatigue. I don’t feel i have a work life balance at the minute as I’m doing nothing much outside of work.

Sounds like you have a supportive employer which is great. If 3 1/2 days is doable for you & gives you a work / life balance its definitely worth considering staying at that. Like you say you can’t keep going up & down.

Hope it all works out for you.

Best wishes

Ann

I think I’ll probably be able to manage 4 but we’ll see. I hope you get to where you want/need to.

Hopefully, like me, you do see a benefit in still being able to work. I’m certainly enjoying being as normal as I was pre stroke as far as work is concerned.

Good luck.

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@Mahoney thank you for replying. It’s so difficult to find the right balance isn’t it. I could probably manage financially (with adjustments) working 4 days & this may well be the way forward. The dizziness is the worrying bit for me as it is quite debilitating at times. I don’t know if increasing my hours will make it worse. Time will tell i guess.

It’s a shame you’ve not got the energy to do much outside of work. I’m finding that increasingly difficult too. Think we all need a battery recharge machine :grin:

They’re very right when they say stroke is life changing. It definitely is. I thought i had come to terms with it all but i think returning to work has just reminded me of it all over again.

I hope in time you get your energy levels back & can start doing all the things you love again.

Best wishes.

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