OT Job Update

[Muse-Inc]

For those who might have wondered and those who might have noticed my scarcity 'round here the past few wks. I missed y'all something fierce and I'm still alive & kicking . The 3-wk gig turned into 5 & 1/2 wks, then they furloughed me...I call back 4/12 to see if they still need me. Meanwhile, the acct rep has another acct that is desperate for someone for a day or 2 next wk, so my fingers are crossed I get the gig next wk and that they still need me at the original company on the 12th.

Things I've learned/done for myself:

• I need 8 hrs of sleep to feel and be fully functional, less makes me scatter-brained, easily stressed, anxious, & prone to making mistakes. Less than 7.5 and I gain wt...consistently regardless of how well I stick to my eating plan.
• 8 hrs of sleep is almost impossible to get when cooking dinner, preping b'fasts & lunch for the next day, doing laundry, reading mail, eating, bathing, answering calls, planning clothing, washing equipment, paying bills, shopping for food, & having some quiet downtime before maskup & sleep..forget housekeeping or exercising
• My brain still works in spite of my backslide into apnea last yr & 11+ months on unemployment
• I still have the apnea-caused short-term memory problems and simply have to find ways to compensate...notes, reminders, lists, etc
• I was depressed, a lot, and unaware of it as it didn't take the usual forms...read an artical about 'atypical depression' and it described my symptoms very well. While it escapes my memory now, it's worth investigating if those around you say you're depressed...I was & they were right. If I end up being laidoff again, I will ck with my primary about what to try if increased omega 3s & daily 100% grd cacoa don't help enough...plus I will try the supps suggested in that article which I can't put my hands on right now.
• If I'm stressed, I don't sleep well; when I don't sleep well, my cognition, mood, stress tolerance, resiliance are negatively affected. Too, if I don't sleep well, I am easily stressed -- this is a nasty catch-22 dilemma as it's hard to figure out what to focus on resolving first...trying to manage both seems beyond my ability. Plus, my numbers aren't as good and I had been having AIs most nights. Since starting APAP last Nov, I've only had AIs about 1/3 of the nights...I feel less energetic/good the next day following nights with AIs.
• Having some $ gives you options...options are good
• I have now re-stocked ALL my supps.
• I have ordered new glasses, the ones I've been wearing are 2.5 imes too strong & I haven't had the $ to replace 'em until now -- I am really looking forward to the new glasses!
• The diff in medical copays with a small company compared to a large one is huge: $40-->10 doc visits, one script $60-->15... got incensed about healthcare costs re private insurance all over again
• Pollen congestion: just sucked it up & started the nasal steroids early & use twice/day, Ocean spray works better (for me at any rate) than the generics & several times/day is better than 1/2
• Remote control for the vertical fan is wonderful!
• I'm still averaging about 3 wakeups a night...following events maybe? I have ordered the ResMed card reader so maybe I can figure how to reduce 'em.
• I can now tell the difference between feeling tired and feeling sleepy...before they pretty much felt the same. Should I credit the better sleep on APAP for this new awareness...I think so.
• Repeating a word/phrase over & over a la a mantra really does short-circuit worrying/too wired to sleep thinking
• Paying attn to other's issues stops my obsessing over my own issues
• Taking time to eat lunch & NOT think about work, even it's just doing an online tutuorial or taking a short walk, is refreshing mentally

[mars]

Hi Muse-Inc

Good to hear from you again, and what an interesting post

It sounds like you got stuck into your job after all that time off working, and handled it well. Hope you get more work coming your way.

Your cognitive functioning seems pretty good to me. I had to forget about notes etc, because I forgot to look at them. Even leaving things in front of the door didn't work, as I just stepped blissfully over them. Then driving down the road remembered I had forgotten something. Acceptance of impaired memory became my way of coping.

Nevertheless and anyhow, and by the way, you sound alive, well and vibrant, which is great

cheers

Mars

[kteague]

Wow, you've gained lots of insights in less than 6 weeks. Thanks for sharing them, and hope the future holds all the work you need. Stop in as time permits. We miss you too!

[BlackSpinner]

Wow great job!

One note - don't forget to ask for help, especially at home!

Blinkers- when we are stressed, depressed or frightened we seem to wear blinkers (or for some of us "deer in the headlights"). Try every once in a while to "think outside the box" or ask someone else's opinion as to what is "available/going on" around you.

[roster]

Muse,

You demonstrate a very good grasp of the human condition you are in and are very proactive. That is the most any of us can do regardless of the point in time or our station in life.

You are an inspiration.

Best regards,

[Rebecca R]

It's good to hear from you Muse.

r

[Muse-Inc]

Thanks all! So very satisfying to have a family that understnd the challenges of dealing with life as a brain- & body-damaged hosehead

Mars, I put the laundry basket in front of the door to the utility room with full intention of doing the laundry then get side-tracked. It's just off front door so I go by it every trip in/outside. I regularly pass by with nary a notice that the basket is overflowing...did this for an entire wk I have come to rely on 4x6 cards: white for grocery lists (they stay in my purse), dayglo yellow for errands, bright pink for 'what to cook ahead this wkend' that sits atop the coffeepot. Without cards, I am clueless

Oh, I have also noticed that my brain is now single-track, I can no longer successfully multi-task. At our Forum Meetup 2 Saturdays ago, I was talking to BeanMeScot and trying to attach the headgear on my old beloved OptiLife and failing at both. Finally, just hadda concentrate on the mask, then the conversation. Now that I know this, I can better accommodate.

Oh, memory thing I read about. As we age, our brain is less apt to remember details when surrounded by distractions, so to help the brain focus, tap your hand while repeating what you want to remember, like tapping & repeating "keys are on the bookcase by the door".. So, to remember for example, 3 things to get from the garage, tap your hand on something even if just your body as you repeat the 3 things...mom & I have been trying this the past 4 days and by golly it works.

[DreamOn]

I was just thinking about you yesterday, Muse! You've been missed around here. Good to hear that the job went well and that it may lead to more work.

I'm gonna try the hand-tapping trick! I'm not as organized as you are with the colored 4x6 cards. I just have white pieces of paper all over the place! I write things on the calendar, and then forget to look at the calendar.

[mrbreezeet1]

Thanks all! So very satisfying to have a family that understnd the challenges of dealing with life as a brain- & body-damaged hosehead

Mars, I put the laundry basket in front of the door to the utility room with full intention of doing the laundry then get side-tracked. It's just off front door so I go by it every trip in/outside. I regularly pass by with nary a notice that the basket is overflowing...did this for an entire wk I have come to rely on 4x6 cards: white for grocery lists (they stay in my purse), dayglo yellow for errands, bright pink for 'what to cook ahead this wkend' that sits atop the coffeepot. Without cards, I am clueless

Oh, I have also noticed that my brain is now single-track, I can no longer successfully multi-task. At our Forum Meetup 2 Saturdays ago, I was talking to BeanMeScot and trying to attach the headgear on my old beloved OptiLife and failing at both. Finally, just hadda concentrate on the mask, then the conversation. Now that I know this, I can better accommodate.

Oh, memory thing I read about. As we age, our brain is less apt to remember details when surrounded by distractions, so to help the brain focus, tap your hand while repeating what you want to remember, like tapping & repeating "keys are on the bookcase by the door".. So, to remember for example, 3 things to get from the garage, tap your hand on something even if just your body as you repeat the 3 things...mom & I have been trying this the past 4 days and by golly it works.

My aunt was telling be about that, we'll sent a link o face book,
But the "tapping" seems to help you.
Lord knows I need help, super forgetful these days.
I often get mad at myself for doing dumb stuff.
I didn't want to forget my exit for the bank, stuck my bank card where the cd goes, and it sucked it in. Had to remove my radio to get it out, broke a wire, had to get a radio (used) off e bay.
It was a whole bug thing.
Hang in there.


Sent from my MotoG3 using Tapatalk

[LSAT]

Thanks all! So very satisfying to have a family that understnd the challenges of dealing with life as a brain- & body-damaged hosehead

Mars, I put the laundry basket in front of the door to the utility room with full intention of doing the laundry then get side-tracked. It's just off front door so I go by it every trip in/outside. I regularly pass by with nary a notice that the basket is overflowing...did this for an entire wk I have come to rely on 4x6 cards: white for grocery lists (they stay in my purse), dayglo yellow for errands, bright pink for 'what to cook ahead this wkend' that sits atop the coffeepot. Without cards, I am clueless

Oh, I have also noticed that my brain is now single-track, I can no longer successfully multi-task. At our Forum Meetup 2 Saturdays ago, I was talking to BeanMeScot and trying to attach the headgear on my old beloved OptiLife and failing at both. Finally, just hadda concentrate on the mask, then the conversation. Now that I know this, I can better accommodate.

Oh, memory thing I read about. As we age, our brain is less apt to remember details when surrounded by distractions, so to help the brain focus, tap your hand while repeating what you want to remember, like tapping & repeating "keys are on the bookcase by the door".. So, to remember for example, 3 things to get from the garage, tap your hand on something even if just your body as you repeat the 3 things...mom & I have been trying this the past 4 days and by golly it works.

My aunt was telling be about that, we'll sent a link o face book,
But the "tapping" seems to help you.
Lord knows I need help, super forgetful these days.
I often get mad at myself for doing dumb stuff.
I didn't want to forget my exit for the bank, stuck my bank card where the cd goes, and it sucked it in. Had to remove my radio to get it out, broke a wire, had to get a radio (used) off e bay.
It was a whole bug thing.
Hang in there.


Sent from my MotoG3 using Tapatalk

You might want to look at the date of Muse's post....It was 7 years ago

[mrbreezeet1]

OH, Sorry Lsat, Guess it might help. Was on my phone with my Big mask on, didn't notice.
Sorry about that...........................
Funny it came up so "soon" on my phone. hard to tell.
Thanks for The FYI

[prodigyplace]

Perhaps forum software should auto-lock a thread after a year of inactivity.
It seems all forums have issues with zombie threads being revived.

[mrbreezeet1]

Perhaps forum software should auto-lock a thread after a year of inactivity.
It seems all forums have issues with zombie threads being revived.

Yes, Not a bad Idea!

[Pugsy]

Perhaps forum software should auto-lock a thread after a year of inactivity.
It seems all forums have issues with zombie threads being revived.

Been cussed and discussed since I started here almost 8 years ago. It's not going to happen.
There's still a lot of good information in those old threads and the forum owners don't want to do the auto lock thing and it's their forum so we have to just deal with it.

Sometimes the old threads get revived by spam and if we spot it soon enough before someone says something in reply we can send the old thread back into the archives.
I don't think that was what happened in this thread though. I don't see anything that was spam removed.
Don't know why mrbreeze happened to see it like he did.

Some people get really annoyed by old post being revived. It really doesn't bother me one way or the other...I just note the original date on the main screen and most of the time just don't even bother to read it at all unless I am checking for spam which is how I came here this time.

I don't use tapatalk but from what I have read tapatalk doesn't make it so easy to see the dates and stuff.

[Goofproof]

They could be made READ ONLY, then newbee's would have to actually have to start a new thread, if they want to add something that was answered in the original thread a few times already.

But as you say it isn't going to happen!

Other than a post with POLL's (Pollock Posts), Someone must post on a OLD thread to resurrect it back to the front page. Mostly as a Me I'm Here post. It's too much effort to hit the NEW POST button, and start your own post. Jim