Wow, I can't imagine how you managed to do that kind of work for any period of time at all. You must be a very determined lady. Is it not possible for you to get the idea of how things work without having to physically strain yourself? I hope things work out okay for you. Take care of yourself Kelley

I'm glad you came here to talk about it, where others do understand you.
You shouldn't be so hard on yourself for what is physically out of your comfort zone. You didn't choose to hurt every day. Instead be proud of yourself for giving it your best effort.
You have a business degree, go after something that requires no physical work.
Best wishes and HUGS!

OUCH is what I say. I can't believe you've been able to do warehouse work. What is your pain? Is it in the back, knees, hands? Do you see a pain docctor? Just being nosey.

I agree with irocket that you should use your degree in a field that requires less physical activity. Certainly there is something you can find.

Good luck to you.

Hi drica,
Portugal is such a beautiful country- it's on my list of places I want to visit. Not that this has anything to do with your post! lol.

I can't believe you actually made it through even one day of that work! You must be a strong, strong woman. It seems odd that they make you work 6 months in the warehouse. You must have a brain, since you have a business degree. Just how long do they think it takes for someone to understand the logistics? 6 days, maybe, but 6 months? It sounds like they know they can get cheap labor.

I also agree that there must be another job out there you can get without all the physical labor. Leaving your first job after college is not that big of a deal. Just tell your next possible employer that the job just wasn't a "good fit" for you.

And I do understand what it's like to try to work in pain. When I first was diagnosed with lupus, I had such severe joint pain and managed to go to work as a RN almost every night. But sometmes it was just too bad to continue and, like you, I'd go home early. Your health comes first in life.

I am also a positive person and I try to laugh as much as I can. But sometimes, the pain is just too great. It's okay to say how you're really feeling- especially to your new husband. You can try to hide your feelings from others, but not him.

I'm glad you're here, and believe me, you're not alone. So many of us feel the same way.

I hope all of this works out for you. Please let us know how you're doing and what you decide.

Sandy

drica, i'm glad that you found us, too.

please don't blame yourself for not putting yourself in more agony. that seems like a terrible job requirement when you could have observed the process.

please take every precaution now. i'm not sure about the disability laws there, but it will get worse if you don't take care of it now.

you don't have to apologize here!

hugs and hope!!

i also can't believe you made it a month working a warehouse job. i certainly couldn't have done that. i doubt i would have made it a day! you're certainly very determined. i'm also not certain of the disability laws in portugal, but before you quit this job, check into them. see if you can get out of the warehouse portion of the job with proper documentation from your doctor - if you have a doctor stating that you can't do this type of work because of a legitimate disability, then maybe you could go right to working in the store instead of the warehouse, especially since you made it for a month and should know the logistics of the warehouse by now. if not, then consider looking for a job that requires less physical labor where you might be happier. you're smart and have a degree in business - i'm sure that you could find a less labor-intensive job fairly quickly. good luck with everything :)

Thank you so much for your replies.

lilchit2, my pain is all over my body. The worst one is in my back, neck, harms and hands. I have a pain doctor. We tried almost every medication, but nothing was effective!

I also don't understand this requirement of having to work for six months in the werehouse Sandy, the weird part is that they are paying me as a manager. I make as much money as the store manager is making. So, I really don't understand. But, I know that this is company politics, because everybody goes through the same. What they do is: We work 8 hours in the warehouse, then they pay us 25% more at the end of the month, so we don't have a leaving hour. What happens is that sometimes, so we can finish the office work, we leave at 20.00pm (when we started work at 6:00am).

I also don't know how I am doing this. I am looking for a job and I leave this one as soon as I find another. I feel bad for leaving and make my husband work more hours, so that we can afford our monthly spends.

What concerns to disability laws in Portugal, I should have told them that I have Chronic Pain before signing the contract. In college I had "special treatment". But, I didn't know that I had to do this kind of work, so I left my disability out of the discussion, since it is very hard to find a job here. You must know that Portugal is going through a very rough time and the unemployment is through the roof and companies tend to recrute only very healthy people, that can work work work and work same more (so that they can have a little work force).

I thank you, again, for the support. It's great to talk to you: it makes me feel so good.
I hope you are having a better day than mine.

Ps: Sandy, if you ever came to Portugal, you have a tourist guide here :)

Welcome to our little corner of DS. Hon, we can't always just suck it up and do what others expect us to. I realize that income is important, God do I realize that and the job market is not always easy....but sometimes you have to cut yourself some slack and wait until the job that works best for your situation comes along.

I gave up a 6 figure income with all the perks like really great insurance because it didn't fit with my Chronic Pain and BiPolar issues, the job was making me sicker.....it wasn't worth it.

You might want to give this some serious thought and think about what is really the best thing for you and your family overall....material things are just things....your health and being the best that you can be is the most important.

Take care,

Kat

Hey there and welcome. I totally understand how you feel. I am exactly the same way, I get so angry with myself that I am not doing better at everything. I always feel that the chronic illness shouldn't matter, that I should be able to do everything everyone else can and I get really down on myself when I can't.
The fact of the matter is that it does matter and it does impact on doing certain things. It is just part of the package. I am trying to learn to accept this as part of my life and judge things accordingly. You are great for being able to get a degree, a job and stick with being in that level of pain for so long just so you could keep that job, you should feel so proud! Try to go easy on yourself and don't judge yourself so harshly.