Working
I was first told I had COPD five years ago. In my own crazy way of denial I had it in my head that as long as I stayed strong physically that I could somehow stop the advancement of it. Guess I fooled myself for a while. My career choices have always been very physical types of work. I recently had to accept the fact that I have to have oxygen at night while sleeping. This has been a tough reality slap for me. I know in my heart that my next step is going to be a career change. My pacer says I take 13,000 steps a day and I am around cleaning chemicals during that time. It is becoming too physically demanding for me. Has anyone gotten new employment while on oxygen all the time? Not sure what to do. If I leave my current employment to save my health then I walk away from insurance to cover my medical also. Any experiences in this field would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Cindy59 - thanks so much for posting here. I'm sorry to hear about what you're going through, and it sounds like you ARE very mentally tough! It makes sense that that would be your first approach.
While you may hear back from community members about their personal experiences with work, I wanted to let you know that you have certain rights as an employee under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and I thought you might be interested in some articles on the topic -
There are workplace accommodations under the ADA: https://copd.net/living/workplace-accommodations-under-the-americans-with-disabilities-act/
As I mentioned, you have rights as an employee under the ADA: https://copd.net/living/workplace-discrimination-workplace-rights/
And here's another one on workplace accommodations: https://copd.net/living/workplace-accommodations/.
I do hope this is helpful for you. Please do come by and let us know how you're doing! We'll be thinking of you!
Best,
Jenn (Community Manager, COPD.net)
I was diagnosed with COPD in 1999 have been hospitalized several times for exasperation's and still have kept my job . I have been a mechanic for over 40 + years and just can't for the life of me see quitting. I suppose at some point I'll have to but as long as I can still get up on time and still have the desire and drive to keep going than that's what I'll do. I am on Oxygen in the evenings and take 3 different inhalers twice a day. From what I've read on this site I don't have anything different going on that everyone else is going thru.
I have had to make some serious adjustments on what I'm able to get done in one day and I realize I am no longer 25 and full of piss and vinegar, but I can still produce and am an asset to my employer or I don't believe I'd still be there.
I wish you well and speaking for myself I'm glad I found this site. I've had a lot of questions answered here just by reading other people's posts.
Hi Goose-
Thanks so much for sharing your experience here. It sounds like you're living an active life with COPD, which is wonderful to hear. I thought you might appreciate this article from our writer Derek: https://copd.net/living/staying-active-is-key/ as well as this story: https://copd.net/stories/copd-makes-things-harder-life-fun/. It's so important to stay active and we're so happy you're doing that!
Also, related to continuing to work, there are laws in place that protect the employment of people with chronic conditions. I thought these articles might be helpful in that regard: https://copd.net/living/workplace-accommodations-under-the-americans-with-disabilities-act/, https://copd.net/living/workplace-discrimination-workplace-rights/, and https://copd.net/living/workplace-accommodations/.
We're so glad you found this site. We hope you'll come back any time you'd like to tell us how you're doing - or for information, support, or a listening ear!
Best,
Jenn (Community Manager, COPD.net)
