Working with MS

Use your energy efficiently at work

Working with MS 1. Obtain a carpark near the entrance to work.

2. Ensure you have good lighting control.

3. Use a chair with good back support.

4. Arrange desk and chair heights to maintain good posture.

5. Ask to have a place made available for a lunchtime rest. Use it every day.

Listen to the warning signs

By Dianne, MS Society of Auckland

If you listen carefully to your body you may avoid trouble. Fatigue, burning skin, intermittent numbness and tingling, intermittent double vision, and night sweats are all familiar, but often ignored, warning signs.

It is uncommon for a patient to slip into an exacerbation without at least one of these warning signs, or symptoms, preceding the episode.

If you experience any of these symptoms, begin a rest programme immediately. Continue this programme until all symptoms have passed for at least two weeks.

We recommend an hour of rest morning and afternoon. If you are working, try to rest during a break or lunch hour. Go to bed an hour earlier than usual and reduce busy work and exercise by half.

If the symptoms persist and begin to develop into more serious trouble, then it is time to STOP. A long weekend, or three or four days with no work, may reduce or stop progression of the symptoms. Stop all exercise and extra work until the symptoms remit. By adhering to these simple rules, you may avoid real trouble and possible disability.

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