overwhelmed suggestions

[Guest guest]

No kidding, Elaina, you are majorily stressed out. You need to SLEEP

for as long as needed. Some ideas for you:

1) Can you go talk to the Registrar at school and see if you can

either drop your classes for now (or, if you're too far into the

semester, perhaps take " incompletes " - set a date to complete them by

the end of August. I think you may have to talk to each professor,

but just having the school issue off your mind, might help. You may

even be able to stretch the " incompletes " for a full year, since this

is medically necessary, so a doc's letter here would be good to have.

2) Oh yes, overtime at work is a killer. Definitely talk to HR about

this, again, based on medical necessity. I have forgotten much about

Labor laws, etc., but I don't think YOU HAVE to work overtime. Maybe

right now would be a good time to take 2 weeks OFF - again medically

necessary so get proof of your needing medical leave from your

doctor. After you get back to work, still on " medical directive " ,

start work on a PT basis.

3) As for the boyfriend, well, some are supportive, some not, same

with parents, but what you MUST know is that you cannot be PRESENT

For anyone, be it the boyfriend, family, coworkers, until you stop,

slow down, and take some time to care for yourself and CMT. I have

found sleep to be the best restorative in the world.

Stress is not helping your CMT, and is known to exacerbate CMT

symptoms. It is time to Be Kind to Elaina for as long as you need to

get back to where you can work, go to school, enjoy the boyfriend and

family.

And yes, it is very hard to MAKE people understand what is going on

with you. A very good tool is the booklet that HNF-cure.org wrote

last fall. I have given copies to a number of people, lol, but now

they are really interested and ask me all kinds of questions.

Lastly, I'm pretty sure the doctor letters and medical support you

will need can come from your Internist. If you don't have one, get

one. They handle alot of things, and are FAR BETTER at providing

paperwork for school/work issues than neurologists. (An internist

would just need to get your neurologist's records - that's easy, you

sign a form, records are either transferred or the neuro can write a

simple one page report.

The Internist can then check you for " signs of exhaustion " (which

really exist) can also do blood tests for iron deficiencies, creatine

levels, etc. This will all PROVE your exhaustion and need for rest.

While you are sleeping, if you have to, wear earplugs, an eyemask,

turn the phone ringer off, so that you will not be disturbed. You may

or may not need some relaxant medication at first to help you wind

down, which again, is where a good Internist can come in.

So that's my 5 cents worth. If I can help with anything else, you

know you can always contact me privately.

~ Gretchen