Parkinson’s News Forums Forums Living ​With​ ​Parkinson’s How do you manage your Parkinson’s at work?

  • judy-cimala

    Member
    August 3, 2022 at 10:20 am

    My husband is still working. He is 71 and is thinking about retiring at the end of the year. PD doesn’t interfere with his work at this time. But being 71 and having this makes it harder. He wants to do some other type work after he retires that is not so demanding. With PD you don’t know how things will be in a given amount of time.

    • ally

      Moderator
      August 10, 2022 at 8:10 pm

      Thanks for sharing, Judy. May I ask what kind of work your husband currently does? Are his plans for retirement related to his role (e.g., consulting in his field) or does he want to try something else?

      How has providing care for your husband impacted your ability to work?

  • richardo

    Member
    August 3, 2022 at 3:01 pm

    The thing that concerns me most is my balance because the consequences of a fall can be so serious.

    I walk about a mile virtually every day and do balance exercises. In the past 3 yrs I’ve had 3 minor scrapes.  After getting up I do a self check of what caused the fall and how to prevent it from happening again.  I’m open to all suggestions,

    • mary-beth-skylis

      Moderator
      August 4, 2022 at 12:08 pm

      Richard, my dad has always loved Rock Steady Boxing classes, and Parkinson’s specific programs because they often focus on common Parkinson’s struggles (like balance). Have you tried a program like that?

  • bill-skillman

    Member
    August 4, 2022 at 3:10 pm

    I let everyone I work with know I have Parkinson’s and to expect the tremors, quiet speech at times etc. Its been a good strategy. I also use a drop or two of a thc/cbd/cbn product called Calm. Takes away the Parkinson’s edge. Riding my bike before work sets up the whole day for success! And I ask Jesus to help me through every day.

    • ally

      Moderator
      August 10, 2022 at 8:10 pm

      Thank you for sharing, Bill. How did your colleagues respond when you shared your diagnosis? Do you have any advice for others who want to open up about PD to folks at work?

  • terry-f

    Member
    August 4, 2022 at 4:39 pm

    I was working full-time after my third attempt at retirement when I was diagnosed 3 years ago at age 68. I need to be busy, productive and working with people I enjoy. I work retail at a local hardware store and averaged about 3 miles a day walking and 15 flights of stairs at that time. After I returned to work Post-Covid I found working 40+ hours a week was tiring me out, I was also doing Rock Steady Boxing every Tuesday and Strength Training at a small semi-private class on Monday and Wednesday nights.

    My job originally required me to work alternating weekends and two nights a week (closing). My bosses have been terrific about working with what ever I needed so I dropped all weekend duties and no longer closed. I slowly reduced my days from 5 to 4 and finally 3 days a week.

    I’ve temporarily stopped RSB (other reasons) but continued my strength training, which I highly recommend and would be happy to go into more detail if asked.

    Finally about work now: On most days I keep so active I often completely forget that I have PD. It’s on those occasional days where my meds are not helping that I notice my tremors more. Even my staff will comment that they often do not notice my tremors.

    I’m open for question.

    • ally

      Moderator
      August 10, 2022 at 8:13 pm

      Hi Terry, thank you for sharing. I’m like you — I prefer to be busy and productive if possible. Do you expect to be working 3 days/week for the foreseeable future or do you think you will need to reduce the amount you work further? Do you have any advice for others who may be thinking about reducing their working hours?

      • terry-f

        Member
        August 11, 2022 at 6:58 pm

        Hey Ally,

        My plan is to keep working at the current pace for the foreseeable future. I work Mon-Wed-Fri which works well for me. I would only cut back more if my health dramatically changes or when my wife retires and we decide to travel more.

        My advice for anyone contemplating reducing they’re work days is to make sure you keep those days-off filled with physical or mental activities. It’s too easy to vegetate on those days, not that an occasional day lounging about really hurts, but have projects or hobbies lined up and ready to work on.

        If you aren’t already doing a regularly scheduled physical activity I would use those days to take a strength training class. This, other than dialing in my meds, has had the greatest positive impact on my well-being. I won’t try to sell anyone on this but I would be happy to share my experiences if asked.

  • Richard

    Member
    August 11, 2022 at 2:21 pm

    I am 55 and do plan to continue working until 60 (Good Lord willing!) and so far having Parkinson’s has not negatively affected my performance at work. I work in a larger hospital managing a team of about 40 staff that take care of the facility and its maintenance needs. I hesitated to tell my employer when I was first diagnosed three years ago but needed occasional time off to participate in a clinical trial so I did inform my manager. He was and is still supportive and shared his experience with his father who also had Parkinson’s. The most difficult to manage aspect I do notice is that when we experience a stressful situation at work, my anxiety peaks and I have to work to relax and not get too wound up about the issue at hand. I’m not certain if this anxiety is all related to the Parkinson’s or not but it never used to affect me that way until the last few years.

    • ally

      Moderator
      August 16, 2022 at 3:09 pm

      Hi Richard, thank you for replying. I’m so glad you have a supportive leader at work and can continue working at a job you enjoy. Have you found any techniques that help you manage your stress/anxiety at work when challenging situations arise?

  • alan-m

    Member
    August 11, 2022 at 9:12 pm

    Ally,
    Like Judy’s hubby, I’m in my late 60’s and have made the difficult decision to “hang up my spurs” this December.
    I went from working 5 days per week to three days/wk — and I’m hoping I can keep busy enough to allow me to retire fully doing all the things I enjoy (not that I never enjoyed being a therapist).

    I hope I can spend the rest of my days with my children and partner, playing the scottish small pipes, doing Genealogy, exercising (Tai Chi) and reading! So many books, so little time has been a long-time motto of mine.

    I haven’t lost my balance as of yet — but feel unsteady at times going DOWN stairways. I have to hold the handrail to feel secure descending stairs.

    • ally

      Moderator
      August 16, 2022 at 3:07 pm

      Thanks for replying, Alan. Sounds like you have a lot of great hobbies and interests to keep you occupied. 🙂 How are you preparing mentally/emotionally for the transition to retirement? Do you think you will miss working?

       

Log in to reply.