I think I might choose to make a drastic change to my vocation, now that I get little to no warning before vertigo. I know these can happen in clusters with a long remission, so I also don't want to jump the gun unnecessarily. Anyone have a crystal ball ? Or some hindsight 20/20 vision from your own experience?
I teach college, and I asked my bosses to make some changes--scheduling my classes in the same building as my office so I don't have to walk all over campus, understanding that I may have to miss meetings, etc. I hate to play the "handicap" card, but it's just reality. Also had to give up my 40-year career as a musician. I worked steady year 'round, and I'm losing a major chunk of change. I hope you can find a solution. Is working at home on the Internet a possibility? I know we have some members who do that..... Bless all, Ron
My work knows what my issue is. If I get an attack here at work, someone drives me home in my car while someone follows. One day in April where I was so "off" I actually asked someone to come to a meeting with me in case I went dizzy, I could excuse myself and they would take over. That didn't happen that day, but I was prepared.
I had to change vocations. I was a firefighter, now Im a city clerk. Took me three years to find a job with benefits. I still have bad days but I ride a desk now not the big red trucks so its not a big deal. I still miss the excitement of my old job.
Thanks, guys. I'm a family doc, and have already made a lot of limitations/changes to my practice. It's only 2 mornings per week, doing only mental health work. I try to screen my patients so I'm mostly seeing reasonably stable, non-urgent issues (no schizophrenia, severe bipolar etc), but stuff happens. Even though it's not my fault, of course I feel very bad when patients get cancelled on the day of their visit. I have some back-up, in that I'm located in a walk-in clinic, but I can't guarantee the quality of doc that they would see in my absence. For now, I will stop taking new patients, and make plans - exit strategy, or even stricter criteria, maybe a letter to my patients letting them know about the possibility of stat cancellations, options of other docs they can transfer to if/when necessary. Sigh. I do also teach at the med school. It's a longer drive home than the clinic (discomfort for me if done during vertigo - you guys know!), but if I have to cancel, it's all small group work, so the students get shuffled into other groups. Nobody dies! And then there is my art. That's my other question - has anyone had a vocation change due to their Meniere's that they were perhaps happy/relieved about? feeling that Meniere's was, miserable as it is, a knock on the head from the universe? Don't get me wrong... I'd rather that we all did not have this, and had full choices in life!
I so am wondering the same thing... I work in higher ed in the development division. I have a 40 minute commute, which seems to be the biggest hurdle for me to get over. It's a terrible situation to get stuck 40 minutes from home awaiting a ride in an already uncomfortable situation.... I love what I do - I work with students and young alums mostly, but my schedule includes nights and weekends that are usually large events that are high stress to plan and execute. And my night vision seems to be worse with Meniere's - I get a severe sense of falling. The whole position seems incredibly overwhelming in my current state - and I can't help but want to look for work. However, it is really difficult to find employment closer to me (cabin in the woods), where I would make comparable money and have benefits... So I am hunting, and thinking about pursuing other things in my life that I appreciate. I think I can find it. If you look, you usually do. It just might take some time...and I am hoping that others can share about their positive career/vocation transitions. I would love to hear more.
I never felt comfortable working outside my home since I always had MM and had it when I started to work at age 18 or so. I had several jobs but MM kept getting in the way. A few years after I got married I began tutoring at home and did that for 21 years then for the last 10 years I own online pet boutiques. I taught myself code and learned about SEO and built my first store in 2004. I now have 4 stores (I used to have 5 but it was too much work) I enjoy it immensely most of the time. I would have never gone down this path if it wasn't for having MM.
Vicki, thanks for your positive, hopeful reply. I am sorry you developed this beast at such a young age. I was just telling myself today that I am grateful, I had until my 40's without it. Gypsy, yes, a 40 minute commute is nerve-wracking! I hope you do find something closer to home. I did quit my clinical position about 1-2 weeks ago. The lowered stress is so worth it. I just found out my hearing is much worse, so I am glad I am taking it easy while I adjust. I will try to take this as an invitation from the universe to rest, enjoy the important things in life, take care of myself and my family, do more art... Looking forward to more replies about vocations!
Hi Anne! I made a pretty big career shift several years ago due to MM. I was a hairstylist for about 25 years and loved it but when the 12 hour days of standing on my feet got to be too much for me I quit and started my own business. I now run a small commercial cleaning company from my home. It's worked out great for me. I set my own hours, work at my own pace and if I'm having a bad day I can stop what I'm doing and take a little nap. I no longer have the stress of trying to keep to a schedule or the worry of having to cancel on clients at the last minute. Plus it has given me more spare time to do some of the little things I wouldn't have had the time for before like take some CE college courses (just for my own enjoyment) and take up the guitar again. I do still have days where I miss working in a salon (I worked with a wonderful group of stylists and had a great clientele) but all in all a change of careers has been the best thing for me. Wishing you all the best for a very bright future on whatever path the universe takes you! Lulu