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I am 40 years old and own my own computer consulting company. I make decent money-enough to live on without my wife working and able to save a little each month. Some weeks I work 20 hours, some 40-50. I could definitely work more and make more money, but have chosen since my MS diagnosis to not actively try to get more clients, because I haven't wanted to get too stressed out. I was diagnosed with MS last November.

One of my friends/competitors has decided to exit the business, and asked me if I want to take over his clients. It would increase my pay and work time by about 50%, and my wife and I would be able to save a lot more each month or pay off our house in a few years. It would also increase my stress levels-- by how much would depend week to week. If I were healthy it would be a no-brainer, I would take the clients.

So, the question for you is, would you rather have the extra money and the extra stress--or keep things as they are now with low stress? I haven't had MS long enough to know how stress will affect me, but perhaps some of you who have had MS for a few more years could give me some wisdom.

Thanks!
Sam

ms patients tend to be low in minerals that help mitigate against harmful physiological stress responses. you can take on this challenge, but best to examine and measure your status of a couple key things and get them into optimal condition before you do.

it means a review of dietary intakes, a little bloodwork, possible boost to intakes of certain foods, and possible addition of some key supplements especially in times of acutely intense stress.

magnesium is a big one in the stress department. easy to address with food, an easy cheap blood test, one of the trickier ones to supplement but far from impossible and all the info you need is already posted on this web site.

You are the only one who can say how much stress you can handle.
Two ideas come up:
1- Can your wife handle some of the admin stuff (maybe she does this already) to keep the load down on you?
2 - Can you find a bright young person with a CS background (or a tech who wants to move up) and let them take the extra work (or some of it) while you handle the admin and take a small cut. Think like a hair salon where the individual chairs are rented out. This is a lot better than employing someone.
If they do OK, this could be the person that you sell your business to (paying off the mortgage) while you retain a few clients to giev you a small income.

I knew a guy on Cape Cod with a small cafe, who started by giving his chef a small share in the business, and a couple years later was able to sell him the whole thing.

JeanDeEau has good suggestions.

An unfortunate fact of MS is that in about 20 years (or much less, if you're unlucky) you are likely to be unable to work full time, so you really want to earn as much as you can *while* you can. Stress sucks, but I think most of us tolerate the daily ups and downs with no MS issues -- it's the sustained/extreme stress you need to worry about (like not being able to pay your bills).

Best of luck...

Thank you for your responses.

Jimmylegs: Thank you for your posts about nutrition. I have learned a lot from reading what you say and appreciate your approach.

JeanDeEau: Very good points. You may very well be a business owner yourself. I don't know anyone right now to mentor, but have a few friends in the business that perhaps I can work out a relationship to cover each other when we are too busy. You are right, I need to find ways of delegating tasks that I don't need to do.

MarkLavelle: My mindset is definitely changing. Up til now, I have been more inclined to take risks. Now I am thinking more about getting out of debt and building a strong foundation. It is sobering to think I might not be able to work more than 20 years or so. I think you are right, I need to make as much money as I can before that time. BTW, I see you are on Copaxone. I start in a couple of weeks. How was the beginning for you, and do you have any tips for me?

Thanks again!

plethora wrote:It is sobering to think I might not be able to work more than 20 years or so. I think you are right, I need to make as much money as I can before that time.

Well, yeah, but don't forget to have fun, either! I had cancer when I was 40 and foolishly didn't learn very much about living in the moment, and now I kick myself a little bit for not doing more when it was (physically) easier...

BTW, I see you are on Copaxone. I start in a couple of weeks. How was the beginning for you, and do you have any tips for me?

Other than the daily bee sting I haven't had any problems, and after 6 months or so I wasn't even getting much sting a few days a week. The sting goes away fastest (for me) if I just press hard on the injection site for 20-30 seconds.

Both the "autoject" and manually work fine for me, but I slightly prefer manual injection (you can go slower). They say room temp is good but I think closer to body temp is better, so I keep the syringe in my arm pit for a few minutes just before injecting.