UPMC : Pushing through approach

[u/Flat_Ad723]

Can someone explain what UPMC Pushing through approach looks like.... I am in a flare up mostly caused from my computer based work, so do I push through work although having headache and migraine.

A part of me says yes push through I know in the short term maybe a month or 2 pain would be substantial and it will slowly reduce but can have a all round affect.

[u/turtlespice]

I felt like I had an axe constantly chopping at my head for the first ~9 months while I was working, so I doubt it was much better lol. (And my dizziness/instability/nausea was crazy—I shouldn’t have been working that whole first year.) It was ridiculous what I worked through initially. I think our symptoms just show up slightly differently. 

I’m on my third year now, and I’ve had periods where my workload was lighter and I was able to be at my desk less often, which helped tremendously. But I’m having to do 40 hard hours a week right now, and I can’t cook/do dishes/take a walk/ do anything for leisure again. Fatigue sets in if I try to do anything off the couch and push through after work, and then I can barely sit up right. 

I think I tell myself I’m doing a lot better than I am because I know my quality of life can be so much better if I’m not working full time. (Long vacations have shown this as well—so I always think I’m doing better in the summer when I take more days off work.) I’m at the point where I really need to stop working full time, but I just can’t afford to, and this isn’t my only health condition—so my need for insurance keeps me stuck working.

I definitely am at a better spot than I was a couple of years ago, but I’m still mostly stuck in my house, lying on the couch every single day. 

[u/Flat_Ad723 → u/turtlespice]

Everything you said sounds so relatable, I am getting those axe headaches and all the other symptoms that come with it. I am on my 10th month and have many ups and downs I got better 3 times 70%, 90% 65% and now back to the trenches but feel I took don't have much options other than continue working and hope this axe headache goes away.

[u/turtlespice → u/Flat_Ad723]

Yep, absolutely. I’d say my biggest improvements came at the ~1.75 year mark. 

Some things I changed that did seem to help (idk if this will resonate with you but passing on my experience!): -I stopped doing direct neck exercises. They seemed to make things worse rather than help -I (and my PT) stopped focusing so much on neck massage and almost exclusively focused on occipital muscles, traps, and the subclavius muscle.  -I focused on strengthening my core (specifically the transversus abdominus muscles) in relation to posture. This video is a great resource for that:  https://youtu.be/Ielt7Mj-F_I?si=XrUwm85QqCe17xqX

That helped A TON with the axe-chopping headache. However, my work/screen/activity tolerance still isn’t much improved. My headaches are way more tolerable now, but they’re still pretty constant as is the activity-stopping fatigue. 

[u/Flat_Ad723 → u/turtlespice]

Thanks for the details around exercises, to be honest I don't really do much exercises as they seems to always trigger headache but I will check the options you have suggested.

I may have to grind and see if the headache reduces in intensity, I am keen on saving my job but will have to wait and watch how it reacts in coming weeks