This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

So I am not going to go into too many details, but I will give a brief overview of my problems, hopefully someone can help with my problem.

I went to culinary school down in Texas, graduated with honors got offered a great job making a great salary, packed my bags went to graduation, three days later...

WHAM

Diagnosed with MS........

I was told that being in a kitchen was not for me, heat, stress, yada, yada, yada...so now I have a great big student loan, and can not afford the payments as I am not making as much as I would have been if I was a soux chef as originally supposed to be right after graduation. This was a few years ago, so deferrment is out of the question, I have already gone that route, I just don't think that it is fair that I went to school for a degree that I can not even use now. It seems like there should be some sort of clause in there. I mean if a surgeon went to school, and lost his hand in an accident would he have to pay back his student loans? It just doesn't seem right that he should have to pay those back either?

Anybody have any legal experience or know of anything or can anybody point me in the right direction, I have googled everything I can think of and can't find anything.

Thanks,
Wallace-

i think you could still be a chef depending on your signs symptoms and progression to date, and also whether you are open to some of the diet and lifestyle changes that help so many with ms. alternately what about doing something along the lines of dietitian/nutritionist, or food journalism? what if you did the chef thing for a little while, making sure to take care of yourself as much as possible, just to pay the bills, while looking for a more sedate option?

by contrast i find that my active and often heat stressed job keeps me in good shape and it's days with nothing but sitting that really mess up my functionality.

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my approach: no meds so far - just balanced whole foods (partial 'paleo', much less outright elimination), science, supplements, & bloodwork
my regimen - www.thisisms.com/ftopict-2489.html
www.whfoods.com, www.nutritiondata.com

I had to do an internship for school, six months, and during this six months I had two relapses which is what led to my diagnoses in the first place. So that being said I don't think that the kitchen is the best place for me...you know the old saying ''if you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen'' there is a reason that is so well known. The kitchen is definitely one of the most stressful hottest places that I have ever been.

I have a job, don't get me wrong, and I make decent money, but not what I would be making if I were a soux chef or an exec chef in a 5 star restaurant.

ugh that's no fun. well i can't claim to be a genius about employment unfortunately, i have part time outdoor seasonal work and it's not going well at the moment!

a friend of mine had to quit being a chef d.t. epilepsy and he is now at school for dietician stuff. not glamourous, but manageable. maybe you can find a way to use your degree in a less stressful setting.

ever thought about having your blood tested for some of the nutritional 'usual suspects' in ms? i'm a strong advocate for that kind of stuff because i was able to find so many links in the research on nutrition in ms patients and what was going on with me. i improved steadily and have reached a plateau at this stage but am much better off than my dx attack.

stress all by itself can drain important nutrients and that could be what happened. if there happens to be alcohol or substance use in the mix, that can make things worse - you may have noticed recent posts by TIMS users regarding symptoms after alcohol use. alcohol consumption in particular drains some of the important nutrients that are known to be low in MS patients.

hope you find a way out of the situation soon! but testing and diet changes and supplements aren't free, even though they might help you discover some deficiencies and possible ways forward.. it's hard.. i'm having trouble with student loans too right now. such a pain!

_________________
my approach: no meds so far - just balanced whole foods (partial 'paleo', much less outright elimination), science, supplements, & bloodwork
my regimen - www.thisisms.com/ftopict-2489.html
www.whfoods.com, www.nutritiondata.com

Yeah I have not had a drop of alcohol in over 8months and have completely changed my eating habits and working out habits, I know that all this is great, but it still defers from the fact that I have 90g in debt for something that I can't do.

This was something that I went through about 4 years ago, I tried catering for a while and doing the private chef thing, both do not offer enough money, less stress, but with less money comes more stress. So until they big lottery ticket comes through, I will stick with the job I have. Steady work adequate stress, and good people.

From talking to another lady she said that she knows of a lawyer that deals with this sort of thing, but I figured if anyone had heard if this was true it should be someone on this forum.

Student loan forgiveness can only happen when you have been declared permanently disabled.

http://www.salliemae.com/after_graduati ... bility.htm

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Best,
Rosie
My blog: http://gothicrosie.wordpress.com/
transverse myelitis May '07 & optic neuritis Oct '07
DXd RRMS Dec. ‘07: No lesions & 3 OG bands
Hubbard MRV scan Jun. ‘10/CCSVI Jul. '10

Ah...so that's what I was looking for, thanks gothic!!

hope that helps sj!

_________________
my approach: no meds so far - just balanced whole foods (partial 'paleo', much less outright elimination), science, supplements, & bloodwork
my regimen - www.thisisms.com/ftopict-2489.html
www.whfoods.com, www.nutritiondata.com

my pleasure

_________________
Best,
Rosie
My blog: http://gothicrosie.wordpress.com/
transverse myelitis May '07 & optic neuritis Oct '07
DXd RRMS Dec. ‘07: No lesions & 3 OG bands
Hubbard MRV scan Jun. ‘10/CCSVI Jul. '10

I know how you feel Shaky. I just graduated from grad school and was diagnosed halfway through. I've had to change a lot of my lifestyle since the diagnosis, and the high-stress career I was hoping for has been sidelined. I've come to terms with what I can do and what I will be able to do, but it just took time. I also know what you mean about the loans, such a drag. Here is another link discussing disability discharge. http://ifap.ed.gov/disabilitydischarge/ ... ocess.html

If you are really struggling financially you can also file bankruptcy and hope to get it discharged that way. Generally they look to see if your loan is an undue hardship. From the sound of it, you aren't anywhere near this step. But just thought I'd throw it out there.

Also, the government has programs that modify your loan repayments based on your income, depending on if you have federal loans. http://www.ibrinfo.org/

One of the programs forgives all your loans after 10 years if you work for a nonprofit or any government.

Try contacting your school's financial aid office, they are usually very willing to help.

Yeah I am trying to buy a house now, this renting thing does not make sense anymore, and they have shot my credit to heck over the past year...so I don't know what to do. I didn't think that bankruptcy took care of federal loans? But even if it did I think that I need to get a house before even looking at that. Because I could get a house and not put that under the bankruptcy file. Trust me I am not looking for the easy way out or anything like that, I would be more than willing to make $250 payments for the next 20 years but asking for $1100 for the next 15 is obsurd, especially for something I can't use.

"Knowledge is power"-thats some expensive power-haha...sorry lame joke

I know your position all too well. I have PPMS and I am currently a sous chef at a large convention center. Most people are shocked when I inform them that being a chef is rated amongst the highest stress of any profession. I used to thrive on it, and now it's the enemy.

I also looked into going back to university, but the three years of credits that I have prior to culinary school are no longer valid. That means I would be back to the beginning of attaining a degree, still a possibility, but I'm having difficulty deciding what to do.

I don't know what is required to be a culinary instructor where you are, but that would be something to look into.

Another alternative, one I am currently exploring, is a move towards restaurant management or ownership.

Other possible alternatives include working for restaurant purveyors or liquor purveyors. Becoming a wine rep definitely has it's advantages.

Good luck with whatever path you choose, I know how difficult it is to lose something you feel truely passionate about. This leg of the race is not quite over for me yet, but it's close.

I am on the permanent disability program. As long as I don't work or go back to get further education for 3 years my loans will be forgiven. Oh, also as long as a cure isn't found for my disability That's with the Dept of Education.

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Diagnosed 1994, Self EDSS is 6.5