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New Message Board Archives >> Medications, Treatments, Therapies 2002 >> What do you do for employment?  Is there a link?
(Message started by: gills on Aug 16th, 2002, 9:02pm)

Title: What do you do for employment?  Is there a link?
Post by gills on Aug 16th, 2002, 9:02pm
I can find no research on CH sufferers employment activities.  Perhaps there is a link.  What do you do for a living if anything at all.

Perhaps there is some commonality between us that can be explored.  Do must of us work with our mind or work in a physical environment?  Most poeple's remarks and comments seem to be written by highly educated people and professionals.  

Myself for one, am a professional working in the financial planning and investment industry.

Im not suggesting that our condition is stress related, I do not believe that to be the case, but it might suggest a link between brain activity and relaxation.

Please respond!!!!!!!!!.

Gills

Title: Re: What do you do for employment?  Is there a lin
Post by Ueli on Aug 16th, 2002, 9:52pm
I think what most clusterheads have in common is that they have been raised on mother's milk.   ;D

Title: Re: What do you do for employment?  Is there a lin
Post by BobG on Aug 16th, 2002, 10:57pm
Hello gills,

IMHO it is the relaxation that may bring on the attacks.

Many here have, if not most, have stated that the attacks come on after the work day or after a stressful situation. Most of us get hit an hour or 2 after falling asleep for the night at the time REM sleep mode sets in.

I can't say anything about if the type of job a person does has anything to do with attacks but since you asked, my job is 80 percent sheer bordom and 20 extreme adrenaline rush. After more than 30 years at this type of job I can only remember having 2 attacks on-the-job.

Title: Re: What do you do for employment?  Is there a lin
Post by gills on Aug 16th, 2002, 11:11pm
Bob G

I agree.  I am trying to find out if anyone who does Physical work suffers from CH.  I dont know of anyone in this category.

Perhaps those who work with their body, dont suffer ??? because their minds/brain dont go through the stimulation, relaxation phase as dramatically. ??? ??? ???

Gills

Title: Re: What do you do for employment?  Is there a lin
Post by Ree on Aug 16th, 2002, 11:35pm
My hubby drives tractor trailer for the post office... He also does mechanic work on the side... One common thing is sleep deprovation.  He works 1 am to 9am.  I was wondering what the common link is also... ree

Title: Re: What do you do for employment?  Is there a lin
Post by pjbgravely on Aug 17th, 2002, 8:42pm
I am a electrician and have never had a ch start during work. I've had plenty of shadows. A ch will always start before or after work.

Title: Re: What do you do for employment?  Is there a lin
Post by gills on Aug 17th, 2002, 10:51pm
Ree

Thanks for your comments.

Tell me more about when your husbands ch and shadows occur?  What times of the day and what seasons or time/s of the year.  If you tell me the time of the year dont forget to say where you live.

In Australia fall is in March/April/May.
I guess in the US it is in Oct/Nov/Dec.

Working at noght I guess he gets the during the day 8) 8)

Gills

Title: Re: What do you do for employment?  Is there a lin
Post by kim on Aug 17th, 2002, 11:43pm
We do for employment what it is that we do.  There is no referral for you.   If you do for a living that which makes you sad, then I vigorously suggest you consider an alternative.  This will not ensure cessation of ch.  I love what I do and still periodically get my ass kicked BUTT GOOD.

maybe Hugh Heff has a better answer.

Title: Re: What do you do for employment?  Is there a lin
Post by gills on Aug 18th, 2002, 4:41am
Kim

I think you have missed my question.  Im not suggesting we get ch because we dont like what we do.
Im more interested in the brain stimulation/relaxation changes.

Gills

Title: Re: What do you do for employment?  Is there a lin
Post by debbie4278 on Aug 18th, 2002, 11:41pm
I personally think there is some link with cigarettes.
I was chronic when I lived at home as a child.
When I left home, I had a 7 year remission.

Now my episodes seem to trigger when I start a new job where there are alot of people smoking.  About every 2 years.

Just my thoughts.

Title: Re: What do you do for employment?  Is there a lin
Post by BobG on Aug 18th, 2002, 11:51pm
Could it be the "alot of people" rather than the "smoking" that triggers the cycle?

Could it be the stress/relaxation cycle that goes with a new job?

Just wondering.

Title: Re: What do you do for employment?  Is there a lin
Post by debbie4278 on Aug 19th, 2002, 9:13am
Could be?????  I wish someone knew and we could beat this thing.

I have had so many though that come at such non-stressful times, I always got frustrated when a doctor said it is probably stress.  I have had some God awful stressful times in my life and been CH free.

I just started working in a max custody state prison, with North Carolina's best murderers and rapists.  No stress there, but everybody does smoke!!!!! ;D ;D ;D

Title: Re: What do you do for employment?  Is there a lin
Post by Sarge on Aug 19th, 2002, 3:24pm
I am in the Air Force and they have shifted me around from job to job since I became chronic Feb 2001, and currently I am working as a supply clerk in a warehouse all by myself.  Just me, the roaches, the mice and the Beast, yeah he's here too.  I am about as relaxed as I can be but I still have my daily 0700, 1200, and 1700 Beastly arrival.  I am usually home for the 1700 (that's 5:00 PM for some of you ;) and it's about as bad as the rest.  I'm not a smoker and neither is my wife, so I wonder if maybe those mice are smoking behind my back! ;D

Title: Re: What do you do for employment?  Is there a lin
Post by forgetfulnot on Aug 19th, 2002, 5:22pm
Learn how to kiss your wife's ass, do some laundry, sweep the floors and I know it is almost impossible but learn how to operate the dishwasher (this has been the hardest for me) :o She might let you hang for awhile.

All kidding aside, trying to sell yourself at my age (48) is very hard, if you throw in C/H you can forget it where I come from.

I keep waiting for some rich relative to expire so I can invest in a hotdog stand. The only problem is, last I knew rich relatives don’t exist in my family  .

Then we must explore the degradation of SSI. Can we degrade ourselves and our families to the point that we must get on the Gov. TIT?

So far I am kissing butt, may have to change that soon.

Good luck, Lee


Title: Re: What do you do for employment?  Is there a lin
Post by casino on Sep 3rd, 2002, 10:57pm
I was a 20 year firefighter /paramedic retired after having several traumatic brain injuries on dutie. I had them occur at work and at home and continue to have them. I do not think I ever had one prior to the trauma and for the one person that posted about mothers milk. I was adopted and was told I went to standard milk from firmula at a very young age.

Title: Re: What do you do for employment?  Is there a lin
Post by ave on Sep 4th, 2002, 7:09am
Gills and Debbie, a great many of us have tried to find  rhyme or reason in the pattern of our attacks.

There does not seem to be any, although there are related quirks and symptoms. Some of us are seasonal, others bi-annual.

Some of us have "brain" jobs, some of us have muscle jobs, some work out to get rid of or prevent attacks, others get hit worse when lifting weights or whatever.

Many of us smoke, and many have stopped, but we still get hit.

Whatever it is, we haven't found it yet.

The only thing we have in common, it seems, is a small deformation in the hypothalamus, that's in the brain.




Title: Re: What do you do for employment?  Is there a lin
Post by justin on Sep 4th, 2002, 9:22pm
just to add levity, my favorite reasons are

1. aliens are trying to communicate with us
2. we are all superheroes with magical powers we haven't learned how to tap yet
3. it's got to be that sloping forehead
4. the hippopotamus in my head is f#@$ed up
5. god hates us (seriously, JK!!)

Title: Re: What do you do for employment?  Is there a lin
Post by Marcos618 on Sep 5th, 2002, 11:23am
My Ch's started when I was in my early 20's and worked in a warehouse driving a forklift and stacking boxes (physical work). Since I have been an electrician in a factory and worked as a engineer out in the field driving a car most of the day. I now am a desk jockey and sit in a office all day.

The Ch's all hit with each job. As I get older they seem to be getting shorter cycles, and except for the first "Welcome I'm Back" Ch, the pain seems to be less. That first one in a cycle is always the worst.

I smoke. Use to smoke Menthol cigarettes, but found out they were a trigger, so I switched to non- menthol. I had tried to quit smoking during a cycle and notice the headaches only hit when I cheated and smoked a menthol cigarette.


Title: Re: What do you do for employment?  Is there a lin
Post by Slammy on Sep 5th, 2002, 4:27pm
My Clusters started when I was 14, and my lifestyle is a bit different now.   :D   I still have clusters.........



Slammy     8)

Title: Re: What do you do for employment?  Is there a lin
Post by Drk^Angel on Sep 5th, 2002, 4:53pm
My clusters started when I was 11... Maybe it was all that illegal child labor I was forced into... Damn forklift doesn't run itself ya know... LOL  :P  The way I see it, it's not my job that causes it (didn't really drive a forklift when I was 11 incase y'all was wonderin'), it's not cigarettes (wasn't smoking at the time that they started, and have spent some of the time between then and now away from cigarette smoke and still got hit), It's not stress (I wasn't too stressed when they started)...  It'd be nice if there was something that we could point out, and remove from our lives that would help, but at this time, it doesn't look as if anything like that has been found.  Of course, different ppl may have different triggers... Cigarettes, menthol, stress, work, food, air... The ppl that can find a trigger are lucky, because they may have a chance of cutting out the trigger to help with their clusters.  I have yet to find a trigger other than some forms of alcohol while in cycle.

PFDAN........................... Drk^Angel

Title: Re: What do you do for employment?  Is there a lin
Post by Mako on Sep 5th, 2002, 11:02pm
I have worked hard ,under pressure, board, days, nights, inside, and outside, lived at sea level, and in the mountians, in the north(US) and the south. the only thing that I found different was when I worked nights, I didn't have nearly as many that woke me up and were already a kip 9 or 10.
pfdan
Mako

Title: Re: What do you do for employment?  Is there a lin
Post by BobG on Sep 6th, 2002, 2:39am
Drk^Angel,
Eliminate relaxation and sleep.

Stay stressed, never relax, never sleep. Ever.  ;)

Title: Re: What do you do for employment?  Is there a lin
Post by vaughn on Sep 6th, 2002, 4:36am
i got a job in a timber yard once.really heavy aggresive work-offloading timber by hand from trucks.it almost killed me but the funny thing is -my clusters evaporated.now i have no real proof that the change in my activities helped but i really think this is the case.mainly because the pain didnt wind down over a period of weeks-it just stopped after a few days.the work i was doing made my heart race all day , lots of sweating, running etc.early to bed and early rise.who knows? ???

Title: Re: What do you do for employment?  Is there a lin
Post by Drk^Angel on Sep 6th, 2002, 11:20am
BobG... I still get attacks while stressed, and I never sleep anyways.

PFDAN.............................. Drk^Angel

Title: Re: What do you do for employment?  Is there a lin
Post by pjbgravely on Sep 6th, 2002, 2:25pm
I changed from a job in AC to a job in the sun and heat (not my choice) and now I'm getting hit during work. I can sometimes stop them by making myself really stressed.

Title: Re: What do you do for employment?  Is there a lin
Post by Drk^Angel on Sep 6th, 2002, 3:45pm
I'm sorry pjb... But that made me think of something... I can just imagine... An attack starts, and suddendly I think, "Oh god... Did I remember to untie my wife from the bed this morn..."  Might have to give that a try...

PFDAN......................... Drk^Angel

Title: Re: What do you do for employment?  Is there a lin
Post by Marcos618 on Sep 6th, 2002, 4:12pm
pjbgravely. Being in the heat and sun are one of my triggers for starting a cycle. 6 weeks ago was in Las Vegas and spent a day in the sun and heat and started this cycle which I think is ending. Cycle before this started while on vacation in Puerto Rico after being in the sun and heat for several hours.

Either that or vacations are my trigger.

Title: Re: What do you do for employment?  Is there a lin
Post by dtruett on Sep 7th, 2002, 12:59am
???I worked for ten years as a manager in both high volume and high pressure restaurants and hotels. Then I quit and since then have had the relaxing job of teaching 9 year-olds for 11 years (that's a joke, in case you've never visited a classroom). Chs the whole time. Quit smoking for years and still the same. If I could avoid going to sleep, ever, it might do the trick (and at 4 hrs. a night, I'm coming close). I think we all need to check our scalps for sixes.

Title: Re: What do you do for employment?  Is there a lin
Post by islandtimefl on Sep 10th, 2002, 7:26pm
My cycles come every year and a half and last about 3 months with ten to fifteen daily clusters.  My cycle started yesterday.  
I was kinda both.  Maual labor plus brain work.  Aircraft mechanic.  Personally I think my dog now wills them on me for not feeding her prime rib and giving her as much as she feels necessary!   ;D  Because of an unrelated neuro problem I'm not allowed to take many things.  I take 240 mg of Verapamil twice daily and use oxygen which works great for me about 75% of the time.  Any other suggestions?  I'm all ears.  At times I'll get one of a 58 on the Kip scale of 1 to 10 and have to go to my neurologist to get so doped up tthat I don't care if I have a cluster.  As most of you know that takes ALOT of drugs!  I don't want pain but neither do I care to trade it for an addiction to some narcotic.
Robert in Kinston,  NC
islandtimefl@earthlink.net



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