Should I Retire?

Despite me overcoming my initial reluctance to a mask I am only gradually managing my experiment. This is partially because I am still working part time. CPAP markedly increased my mental alertness and cognitive functioning, memory etc only after a 10-days of use for a 4 hours. When I have to go to work in a Casino (no other) as I am a dealer of cards; so being awake and functioning is important. This has been giving me a performance anxiety for years. For some strange reason I have difficulty "pulling the trigger" and just walking away. Even now I am secretly hoping that because of the CPAP I am going to perform better at work and will last until 2018 Dec when I turn 62. Financially, I could just throw in the towel now but I have no idea what I would do with myself for that year(2018). I'd guess focusing on my health (breath and sleep) could be the replacement. Any constructive ideas ?

If you enjoy your job ... why stop?

If you feel your job is depreciating your health and you are unable to take care of both health and job ... then I would always choose health .... but that's just me.

If on the other hand you are able to both improve your health with CPAP and maintain a job you enjoy ... then I would do both.

Best of luck with whatever you decide though.

I was always the one who said, "when I retire... I'm going walkaway into the sunset.... bla, bla, bla...." After retiring, I could watch only so many episodes of Gunsmoke. What I didn't know about retirement, is it IS a life changing adjustment that you cannot prepare for. You can prepare the financial end, but not the mind altering changes. I decided to work partime doing something I always wanted to do. It's nice to work not to put food in your mouth. It a pleasant way to work. Only you can decide when to "pull the trigger". You'll know when....

It's a great time in your life.....

You can always go back to work.....

Sheriff

Would your employer consider giving you leave without pay for a few weeks perhaps, and you can see how life would be when you stop going in to work everyday?

Do you have any interests/hobbies that would keep you physically and mentally active when you retire? Most important, do you have a social network of friends and family so that you don't feel isolated when you stop working?

Once you retire, is there any going back if you change your mind? Ask your employer if they would rehire you if you discover retirement is not for you.

Many times I was driving home and I was running on fumes (mentally) I have to pull over and nap in the car, I am afraid I might have an accident. The job is very demanding mentally and physically. I also have a bad back and feet (sciatica) etc. I have been taking leaves of absence but my current PCP is a prick so I am changing doctors. I do not like this job but I am still hanging in for some strange, unexplained reason.
Just to clarify; I am only working part time (3-days) in the Casino. I have plenty of hobbies and things to occupy my time but not having a structure will be a major challenge. I could even find another job or volunteer someplace.

andrasnm wrote:CPAP markedly increased my mental alertness and cognitive functioning, memory etc only after a 10-days of use for a 4 hours.

Sorry I missed this part earlier when I replied.

So you're very new to getting used to and using CPAP. How are things going with it? When I started I only spent about 4 hours on it as well each night, and with time built up to a good solid 7 hours a night.

You can expect to see much greater improvements the longer you are on it each night. That might well influence how you feel about giving up your part time job as well.

Do you have any data or Sleepyhead graphs to share? Maybe folks here can help you to check out if your settings are optimal.

Retirement early did not work well for me, my health got so poor my job couldn't be done safely, two years after I retired, the big one hit, leaving me unable to do what I liked to do. From then on it's been downhill.

Doesn't SS kick in at 65 for you, not 62. Life is a crap shoot, some of us plan for the future, then fate ruins our plans. I never took a vacation, always was working to keep the Wolf away from the door.

Others are Grasshoppers, living day to day, no concern for the future, counting for others to take care of then in the storm of life. Twisting in the wind, living for the minute, little regards for what Fate holds for them, others will provide.

Good Luck, with what you decide, we make our decisions, then try to live with the results, such is the way of Life. Jim

The negative effect of your job on you is reason enough to retire early.
I have seen too many guys stay at their jobs until finally leaving, broken and sick.
If finances allow, you might consider volunteer work (it's not just for liberals)
You do need to be active--avoid that comfy chair, unless you are ready to die in it.

chunkyfrog wrote:The negative effect of your job on you is reason enough to retire early.
I have seen too many guys stay at their jobs until finally leaving, broken and sick.
If finances allow, you might consider volunteer work, (it's not just for liberals)
You do need to be active--avoid that comfy chair, unless you are ready to die in it.

And you don't have to take all that time making posters to throw on the ground in front of Starbuck's after the protests. Jim

Before you make a decision, work up to using your CPAP all night, every night. You might find your head a lot more clear and your energy even more improved.

andrasnm wrote:...
Financially, I could just throw in the towel now but I have no idea what I would do with myself for that year(2018). I'd guess focusing on my health (breath and sleep) could be the replacement. Any constructive ideas ?

If you're eligible for social security you'll get a bigger check every month if you delay collecting. When you say "Financially, I could just throw in the towel now ..." that kind of indicates you probably know this already, and may not even care if you're in good shape financially. Time of course is the one thing you will never get more of. I could come up with plenty of more satisfying ways to occupy myself if I felt I could throw in the towel tomorrow, but of course I probably should have been (and to some extent have been) doing those things all along, just not well enough to make it pay And if the CPAP is putting you back on track, that's some valuable time you've got there to make use of!

If you're working part time, you can start SS at 62 and continue on working. For the year 2017, the limit on earned income is $16,920 ($1,410 per month). The amount goes up each year. If you are collecting Social Security retirement benefits before full retirement age, your benefits are reduced by $1 for every $2 you earn over the limit.

Janknitz wrote:Before you make a decision, work up to using your CPAP all night, every night. You might find your head a lot more clear and your energy even more improved.

+1

I'm not sure if your story is elsewhere in another thread, but wondering if you have a projected timeline for using it all night every night or is it a thing where you wake up and are unable to sleep?

I gave retirement a try. It didn't suit me. You might be different, or maybe the same as me. Got a cup of coffee and minute? Here's my story:

The company I worked for for 27 years laid me off as the result of a corporate merger. I thought I saw it coming. But the Big Boss kept reassuring me that, despite my project having been cut, I was not a candidate for being laid off, despite the merger. Bastard lied to me with a straight face. 4 months later, the rest of the department got the axe. I had 15 months of full salary in a severance package. And I rolled my company stock into a 401(k) at just the right time. I was sitting pretty, financially. You'd think with no financial need to work any longer, I'd be happy. I'd be able to do whatever I wanted to do. Time Enough at Last!, like the ironic Twilight Zone story.

But I started having repetitive dreams about being back on company grounds. Somehow, and for an unknown reason I snuck past the guards, or pole-vaulted over the security fence. Sometimes I flew over the fence and touched lightly down and nobody saw me. I kept dreaming I was back at work, walking around, but I didn't recognize anyone. The faces had all changed. I was very puzzled about that, even in my dream. I went to my 40th HS reunion and when asked, told people I had taken early retirement. And hadn't it always been my goal to retire in my 50s? But that rang hollow.

The no-sleep thing got so serious, I went to see the doc. He said I had a lot going on with elderly parents, an injured wife, two kids in college, more volunteer work than I could comfortably handle, no work and not enough sleep.** He said it was depression and put me on SSRIs (which I got off of as soon as I read about their side effects). He allowed, however, that the depression "could be situational." Pill-pusher. Ready-shoot-aim!

A couple weeks later after my third cup of morning tea, I checked the new company's website to see what had become of my former employer, and on a whim looked at what jobs were available. I saw one that I was over-qualifed for, but I knew the people in the group that offered it, and it was a group I had interfaced with regularly in the past. When I saw it, it had been posted just 16 hours before. I applied, not knowing what to expect, was enthusiastically interviewed and was quickly and enthusiastically offered the position, at a higher salary than I had been earning before.

Depression vanished, as did the repetitive dreams. I started sleeping like a baby again. It turned out the company laid off too many of their most experienced people and promoted all the remaining ones to fill the spaces, and then realized they needed technical help. They were glad to get this old horse back, even if I only stay a few years (I'm 61).

Long story, even longer, consider that there might be more to working than just drawing a paycheck. For good or bad, some of us have a compelling need to work. And volunteer work isn't the same as seeing a paycheck bump the bank balance twice a month. I was raised by parents who grew up during the Great Depression. Maybe that's my problem. But don't discount the value of having a job. There might be more to it than you think. Or not. Everyone's different.

Much to my surprise, my repetitive dream seems to have been prophetic. When I started back at work, I noticed that my dreams were true. All the faces had, indeed, changed.

** I kept track of my numbers. My AHI, etc., didn't appreciably change while I was without work and having difficulty sleeping. But I was sleeping longer, with less REM sleep, as evidenced by episodes of erratic breathing.

Two thoughts...
1. Keep working. Someone needs to pay my SS.

2. Make a bucket list. Make an exit plan. Unless you plan to live forever and who doesn't. Learn to live within your means.

Retire while you still have your health and can enjoy it or you will find yourself planning your week around doctors appts, your call.

Tomorrow is not promised to any of us. You must know someone younger who passed unexpectedly, some half your age, some at work.

After retirement, I don't know how I found time to work <evil grin>.
On 3rd thought I like #1.