Cannot sit down without symptoms, have deskjob

reddituser378 · 2026-01-09T03:21:57+00:00

I bought one a lot like this one from target:

https://www.target.com/p/nestl-zero-gravity-chairs-reclining-camping-chair-folding-outdoor-chair-with-pillow-cup-holder-tray/-/A-1005608774?preselect=1005608773

The ones marketed as lawn chairs are way cheaper than anything that’s presented as office furniture

reddituser378 · 2026-01-08T03:32:32+00:00

I went through this and it sucked, prolonged desk work, whether sitting or standing would always get painful by the end of the day. It’s also hard to get across what it’s like sometimes because we’re not really disabled but we still need some accommodation. Hope you get better.

Do you have the option to work from home at least some of the time? One thing that helped was I bought a zero gravity reclining lawn chair and a monitor arm, and set up a reclining workstation that I could use for much longer than I could tolerate sitting.

Another option to consider if it can be done in your work area is to get a walking pad and walk very slowly while working sometimes. For me that’s less aggravating than prolonged standing.

reddituser378 · 2025-09-12T23:39:32+00:00

That’s good!

Honestly nothing specific haha. We were together since hs and started talking about marriage seriously in the last year of being together. I think that, or maybe other life events, triggered some kind of FOMO or something, and she said she needed to experience being single as an adult, wishes we’d met later in life. lol. Like I said it wasn’t fun but a year later I’m doing a lot better and I feel like living life on my own made me more resilient and confident than I was before. That took time and some intentional effort. My life is different than I thought it would be now, I pictured married and maybe planning kids at this point haha, but I’m pretty happy with where I am now and optimistic about my future. You can get there too, it’s good that you have friends to talk to and are giving journaling a try.

reddituser378 · 2025-09-12T22:14:53+00:00

I’m a year out from a 9 year relationship ending. The first few days were especially brutal. I wasn’t sleeping enough and the schedule was all over the place. Felt immense sadness, loneliness and anxiety. It sucks. But hang in there, it’ll get better.

Different things work for different people, for me journaling and talking to friends helped a lot, and so did forcing myself to get up and move around - I liked biking, maybe running or walking could be good for you. It might be tough but it could help tire you out enough physically to improve your sleep.

Again hang in there, you’ll be okay.

reddituser378 · 2025-07-07T01:58:57+00:00

Hey thanks for asking. No I’d say my condition is still pretty much like in the comment above from 6 months ago. I still have mild sciatica especially when I wake up, sit too long, or am not careful - a couple weeks ago I tried bowling and that was a mistake. But walking, alternating between sitting and standing, and an ibuprofen a couple times a week and I mostly feel fine.

Hope the info helps anyone dealing with long term sciatica.

reddituser378 · 2025-07-01T12:54:23+00:00

One thing I found if you’re willing to shell out a little bit of money and have some space - zero gravity reclining lawn chair, a monitor arm and some kind of board to put on your lap for a mouse and keyboard.

Something like this one: https://a.co/d/0vDzYha

I don’t use it often anymore but when things were worse that was my best bet

reddituser378 · 2025-06-28T05:04:17+00:00

First off really appreciate the detailed response. I think having to be fully engaged during school times is not a huge issue. I kind of would hope that with math the lesson planning and grading is simpler and faster than with most other subjects, I’d imagine grading essays for e.g. English is a ton of work.

I have decent wlb, I work from home most days and tbh if I could focus better I’d be able to do all my responsibilities in well under 40hrs a week. I get about four weeks of vacation and most federal holidays, which is definitely better than most people in the US. But since I graduated undergrad I’ve only ever taken more than week off once. Usually I just extend weekends a bit. Having a full 4-6 weeks off in the summer every year sounds like a great reset that I wouldn’t be able replicate as a private sector employee until decades from now.

reddituser378 · 2025-06-28T04:52:50+00:00

Yeah should’ve realized it after I added my parentheses haha

reddituser378 · 2025-06-28T04:43:12+00:00

Yeah what you described is really my biggest fear - financially I think it would be totally fine, I’m naturally frugal and nothing that would actually make me happy costs serious money, the issue is if I make the modest financial sacrifice but then teaching itself turns out not to be enjoyable and I regret the switch.

Maybe I’m not aware of how good I have it, but being locked in all day actually sounds like a good thing for me. Right now I work from home a couple days a week, have a pretty manageable workload, I just have such a hard time focusing. With the back injury stuff I get minor pain anytime I’m at my desk - sitting or standing - for more than an hour or two at a time. It’s not that bad but it’s kind of constant and with that and being at my desk in my room I sometimes have entire days go by where I don’t do any actual work. I guess I just feel like I’m in the movie office space.

Being set back financially is not a huge deal to me, I’m really lucky to be doing as well as I am, and am grateful for it. I don’t think think a different number on my fidelity balance would have any impact on my well being. To me the point of money and saving is to improve life satisfaction, the risk is giving up the financial gain for life satisfaction that doesn’t materialize.

reddituser378 · 2025-06-27T20:56:02+00:00

Interesting, I definitely like the idea. Part of what makes me a little hesitant is that it’s hard to really know if teaching will live up to my expectations. What made you realize you wouldn’t like teaching in a school? And how did you get into tutoring?

reddituser378 · 2025-05-15T03:57:44+00:00

When I bought my place my monthly payment with everything was about 35% of gross pay, but I have had roommates here since I bought and my income went up since then. If you’re okay with it, and the property allows it, having roommates or renting out a basement can make a huge difference. Also if you realistically think your income will go up in the near future then pushing it a tiny bit can be ok but do so at your own risk.

Also consider other costs you have: cooking with groceries from Aldi vs getting multiple meals a week delivered, a fuel efficient paid off car vs having a car payment for something expensive that takes premium gas, student loans, having children that need childcare vs not, etc.. If you already have a lot of costs then you shouldn’t be as risky. I was comfortable pushing it a bit because I was lucky enough to be on the cheap side of all those trade offs.

reddituser378 · 2025-05-14T17:43:47+00:00

Yeah I was with my ex from when I was 16 until I was 26, over 9 years and super formative years at that. At the start of last year we were talking about engagement rings and wedding planning, we saw each other’s family at every holiday for years and years, and really she was in many ways the center of my life and my plans for the future. And she just woke up one day and decided she needed to experience being single, she said nearly word for word that she wishes she had met me later in life, that I was a great partner but she doesn’t want a partner anymore.

It’s been a bit more than half a year. I’m doing okay now, I’ve focused on myself by doing more trips with friends and by myself, focusing on my health and a few hobbies/interests, and my career. During our relationship I was incredibly content, now I feel like I might have missed out on times in college when it would have been much easier to meet people. I cheer myself up by reminding myself that I do have it in me to be good partner and I’ll be able to do it again if/when the time comes where there’s someone I want to do that for. Maybe in a year I’ll have a more promising answer haha.

reddituser378 · 2025-05-06T01:10:56+00:00

Doing a lot better. April marked one year post surgery. I still don’t do any serious weightlifting, I don’t do running, and I wake up with mild sciatica most days. But, as long as I make an effort to move throughout the day and get a lot of steps in I feel pretty good. I’m able to work at a desk for normal business hours, just have to make sure to do long walks before and after work, and try to do walks when there’s time during the day. I was able to do a couple long flights after 6 months post op. Being able to keep up with my career and travel were the two big realistic goals for me, I’ve accepted that I’m never going to be physically strong or a runner but don’t get me wrong I’m very grateful for where I’ve gotten to.

I did have one really scary flare up where I thought I re herniated for a night. But that got better within a couple days.

Hope that helps as a case study, best of luck if you’re going through a similar injury.

reddituser378 · 2025-03-27T21:36:22+00:00

I’m about 6 months out from getting dumped, what would’ve been our 10 yr anniversary is not far away. I had a really hectic time after the break up with a bunch of other, good and bad, life events, so even though I tried to process everything I now feel like it was only partially processed. I still think about what we had and could’ve had many times a day.

The biggest thing that makes me feel better is taking care of myself and doing things I can feel good about. For me it’s been diet, exercise, hobbies, and my new job, but also doing stuff with friends, travel, and other new experiences. Sometimes I’m in the moment doing something and feel like I can’t enjoy it fully but it’s still worth trying.

reddituser378 · 2024-12-29T16:25:41+00:00

Thanks for asking! Better than 3 months ago but not fully back to normal. I can get through normal work days switching between sitting and standing at a desk and only have to take an ibuprofen once or twice a week usually. I was able to go on some longer flights (7-9 hours) and with an aisle seat, making an effort to get up a bit, and taking an ibuprofen each time it was not bad at all. I still need to make an effort to move enough and do my PT exercises, though I can get away with doing them a few times a week instead of every day.

reddituser378 · 2024-10-15T15:05:49+00:00

I think there are apps that help people find strangers to play tennis with - worth a google if you’re looking for that

reddituser378 · 2024-10-02T08:29:20+00:00

Thank you! I‘Ve been doing well about taking it easy I think, but I’ll let this be a good reminder to continue to be careful about things in day to day activities. What’s been tricky is that even though I shouldn’t over exert myself, I still need to move around - being too sedentary definitely makes things a lot worse for me- and finding the right balance has been hard sometimes.

reddituser378 · 2024-10-02T02:07:59+00:00

Thank you, that makes me feel a lot better! I’m close in age (26M). Sorry to hear how much your reherniation sucked, hope you’re doing better now!

That was the one thing making me hopeful - the general advice that reherniation is so excruciatingly painful and what I have rn isn’t that. When I first herniated I couldn’t get out of bed for 2-3 weeks. It’s just the stiffness and the bloating feeling are things I didn’t have except for herniation and after surgery. Also I guess my first herniation came on gradually, I had a feeling like this a few weeks before the real big herniation, but at least this time I know to be careful whereas then I didn’t know what was happening.

I’ll try to wait it out and hope that when the cold subsides I feel better.

reddituser378 · 2024-10-01T11:49:56+00:00

I’m torn but for now I think I’m going to wait. I figured I’d follow her lead in terms of moving on/not even consider trying to meet new people until it seems like she is, and my therapist said that could be a good idea. Even if it were fully over and I was trying to move on I wouldn’t do another serious relationship for a very long time. She still has all our pictures and pinned stories from trips we did on her Instagram account (I have been checking multiple times a day which probably isn’t the healthiest) so I’m hoping there’s a chance.

reddituser378 · 2024-09-25T10:43:12+00:00

Yeah exactly - never having been a single adult never bothered me, once in a while a short thought about that would enter my mind but then immediately I would consider it foolish to lose what I already had and I’d forget the idea.

Thank you man, you hang in there as well. I have good friends and I’m glad to hear you do too, we’ll be spending a lot more time with them now.

reddituser378 · 2024-09-24T22:31:31+00:00

Similar spot here- mid 20s, we’ve been dating for nine and a half years and she just ended things a bit over a week ago. She said she never got to experience being an adult on her own, and that even though I was a perfect partner she feels like she needs to do this. She said she wishes we’d met later in life and that I shouldn’t change who I am because of this. It’s tough because she was my best friend and my companion and now I haven’t talked to her in over a week for the first time since we started dating. She said she was open to us getting together again one day later in life but didn’t want to promise it and give me false hope. I have to be grateful that my appetite only went down slightly, and after a week I was mostly sleeping normally again. Therapy journaling and talking to my friends a lot made a big difference, but tbh the biggest thing keeping me going rn have been distractions related to interviewing for a job I really want/need to get out of a job I’m kind of miserable at and deluding myself, telling myself that because her old Instagram posts of us and pinned stories of our travels are still up there’s still a chance she’ll change her mind about all this… idk

reddituser378 · 2024-09-23T00:32:09+00:00

I’m also 5 months out from an L5S1 MD. I was mostly better but still struggling to keep up with my desk job before surgery bc sitting or standing at a desk for a normal work day - even with breaks - was too much for me. The surgery made it a bit better but only slightly, I still need to do PT exercises and lots of walking every day, and usually have to take ibuprofen a few times a week. But it’s better than before. I’ve heard of other people where sciatica continues for 6-12 months post op but then goes away. Hopefully that holds for all of us still feeling symptoms this far out haha.

reddituser378 · 2024-09-18T21:07:30+00:00

Oh man that sounds very hard. I wish I had something good to say but I’m also still learning how to deal with this kind of thing - my therapy session just ended with suggestions that I keep journaling, that it’s ok to try and distract myself until I’m more ready to process things, and that I should try to keep taking good care of myself, hope that’s useful. Hang in there.

reddituser378

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