A Bad Day at Work

[LisaMarie]

I'm just finding it hard to deal with work today.  I really think it is the lightening in here.  I'm sitting with a blanket on and still feeling cold.  I want to close my eyes and go to sleep.  I try to rest my eyes, but when I close them, it still feels like it is extremely bright.  Like the light goes right through my eyelids!  I'm feeling sore and tired especially in my lower back and my shoulders.  I just want to sleep.  I only have like an hour left in the day.  But it is just so hard to hang in there.  I feel like I have to go hide somewhere and take a nap so I know I won't be too tired to drive home. 

I have had a few nights where I could only sleep for 3 hours.  So, Sunday night, I took a sleeping pill to help.  I slept great.  Got 8 hours in.  But last night, I had a function at my husband's restaurant and did not get home until 10:30.  I get up at 5am.  So I only got like 6 hours of sleep.  At one point in my life, I could have handled this.  But lately, I can't. 

I fear now that I'm going to throw off my sleep again because when I get this tired, I can't sleep.  Ugh, how I hate this.

My scalp hurts.  Literally.  It tingles and hurts. 

Thanks for letting me vent.  I can't complain at work.

[quietdynamics]

Hello LisaMarie....just lending you a shoulder to lean on...

I remember after work sometimes wondering if it was safe for me to drive.... I was so tired.

If you can, when you get home allow yourself to crash.

I use an OTC sleep aid and Melatonin,  as I learned that when I do not sleep well (a full 8 hrs or more) it can take 3 days to recoup. In fact, for me the lack of quality sleep adds another stressor to an already stressed body = a no win situation. I realize that when I am in this "state" my body/mind is hyper-sensory. Even sound is bothersome, as well as light.

I kept and still keep a short note diary, so I can identify my stressors.  I find that any adaptation I can make allows me to feel empowered.

[engy]

I'm so sorry. I'm sending hugs.

I have major issues with fluorescent lights. I only turn on half my lights in my classroom & it helps. Funny that my students prefer it too. There are some stores I can't stand to be in for more than a few minutes & I think it's their lighting.

I too cannot go through a day without adequate sleep. For me that mrans a minimum of 8 hours.

I hope you are home resting right now & have a better day tomorrow.

Carie

[KellyG999]

 

Lisa Marie,

I know exactly how you feel. I have been back at work for 5 weeks, after a two month FMLA. I get so tired, sore and achy. I want to crawl under my desk. I keep a heating pad on my neck and back. (I am also freezing cold at the office.) I started taking iron as others mentioned a big improvement with it. I am a vegetarian so this makes sense to me. Not a megadose, just 100% RDA.

Hang in there, you're close to an upswing - I can feel it! God bless you. You're doing your best.

KellyG

[Narablueeyes]

I totally get it Lisa Marie.  Today seemed especially draining.  I fell asleep at my desk for a while and that helped some but as the day wore on, I don't think there was an inch of me that didn't hurt.  Dizzy, irritable, hurting...I didn't think I'd make it home. 

I hope you get the much-needed sleep tonight.  I'm headed off to a hot shower and turn in early myself.   

[LisaMarie]

Thanks for the understanding!  It sure does help to have that extra support here.  I did manage to get home.  I was tired and felt as if I was not the most alert driver on the road.  I managed to get about a 1.5 hour nap in already.  But still very tired.  I'm going to try to hang in there for at least another hour then head to bed.  I did mention to my boss about the lights. 

I asked if we could have the ones above my desk removed.  He asked that I hang in there until we possibly move in June.  WTH...How will I make it until June?  I think I will ask him to look into it anyway. 

[Pisces24]

Can you wear darker glasses or put a filter on your computer screen for the time being?  My screen at work was waaay to bright but we finally have screens that are set so we can tone down the light and change color. It does really help to not be so much of a strain.

I am very close to a ceiling air vent.  For some reason, I smell the cooking smells from downstairs cafeteria and the oil from any trucks delivering. I must have a very sensitive smeller. LOL Stuffed up and dry but it smells stuff real well. 

I also when I don't get the sleep I need it catches up with me. Once I get caught up on sleep I am ok but it is not good when I get behind.

Oh:  At times when I have been feeling tired at work, I chew gum. Sounds dumb but it seems to help me perk up a bit until I get off work.

[LisaMarie]

So, yesterday I got to work from home.  I made the entire day without feeling pain or tired.  Lights are softer.  I felt productive. 

Today, I'm in the office an hour and a half.  Lights are bright.  My ears are burning and my scalp hurts again. 

I think the only way I can deal with this with my boss/employer though is to have some sort of evidence that this is an issue.  Any suggestions on how I go about proving that the lights in this office are an issue for me?

I'm going to head out to a darker room now.  Probably the break room if no one else is working in there with the lights on.  Even the hallway is better than this.

[Narablueeyes]

Just a few credible websites that may present you with some printable help:


http://www.consumerhealth.org/articles/display.cfm?ID=20000102232127
http://www.naasln.org/documents/articles/kitchel_fluorescent_light.pdf
http://www.macular.org/bluelite.html
http://www.lupus.org/webmodules/webarticlesnet/templates/new_empty.aspx?cx=016941646516273541596%3Aivv9xkjkidg&cof=FORID%3A11&q=Fluorescent+lights&sa=Search&siteurl=www.lupus.org%2Fnewsite%2F

[A66eyroad]

The summer my first M-I-L moved into her adorable new house with the big and beautifully bright kitchen lit with wonderful flourescent lights, she suddenly began getting sick all the time and finally broke out in the most terrible itchy and bleed-y rash all over her arms and legs. The rash stopped at the neckline and at the short-sleeve line of her arms, and at the edge of her shorts. It took a long time for her to be diagnosed.

We finally had to have all the great lighting replaced with incandescent lights.

So here are some other links to go with the ones NaraBlue has provided:

http://www.sjogrens.org/home/about-sjogrens-syndrome/survival-tips
http://www.sjogrens.org/files/brochures/sun_sjogrens.pdf