Getting classed as Disabled

nonaproxin

Hi to all....I have just joined the forum ...so it's all new to me....unlike my OA problems...Told to re-post this in this forum...
I have been off work long term sick after enduring a slipped disc followed by a big toe fusion for OA...During my treatment phase I was gven an MRI scan which revealed narrowing of T11 AND T12 DISC SPACE with disc dehydration at T12/L1.
Also further disc dehydration at L5 and L5 with disc narrowing(this was the site of my trapped L5 root nerve causing sciatica).
There are also "mild degenerative changes in the lower lumbar facet joints".
I think this means that I have OA of my facet joints ?. I now have further problems with my knee "crepitas" (OA again I think ? ) and am undergoing further investigation of this....I have more OA in the next toe to my big toe which was fused...and my finger on one hand is also giving me problems...OA ..I think

I have a very strong family history of both OA $ Ankylosing Spondylitis...
Struggling with work...on a phased return ...getting a bit of pressure from Occy Health about increasing my hours ...so I finally blurted out the above to them ..in order that they "back off " ...I told them I think I have a level of Disability which I feel they should take into account and make some reasonable adjustments to my work (I cannot bend down cos of back and knees).. I am not sure if I have done the right thing here by telling them but I was at the end of my tether..and cannot hide the fact that I am in pain and walking like quasimodo !!.

What I do next I don't really know..I have been told I need my Doctor to tell them I have a Disability in order to back up what I have said....Will he do that for me ...anyone advise please......panicking about being pushed out of job..they have mentioned (occy health) permenant health insurance...I don't want this I need to work , and can with adjustments to daily tasks.
SORRY ABOUT THE WAR A PEACE type posting....

dreamdaisy

Hello, welcome to the forum and I hope we can help with information and support. I don't know much about OA and employment as I am self-employed and have a wonderful boss. I do know a little about disability though as I have two sorts of arthritis (an auto-immune and OA) which affects my toes, ankles, knees, sacro-iliacs and a few other bits and pieces too. I am reliant on crutches for getting around and I use a rollator for longer distances or when I am going to be on my feet for a while.

I have not had to ask my GP for any official statements about my difficulties but I remember he did support my application for a Blue Badge by writing a letter confirming my difficulties with walking and the reason for them. I think your GP would do the same to help your case, it could also be useful for you to contact your local CAB, DIAL and ring the Helpline here too, they have all sorts of useful info at their fingertips. I wish you well. DD

dreamdaisy

Hello again nonaproxin, how are things with you today? I hope you are as well as you can be. DD

nonaproxin

dreamdaisy wrote:

Hello again nonaproxin, how are things with you today? I hope you are as well as you can be. DD

Hi there,
Thanks for your concern, I am going through a bit of a rough patch at the minute...Been in constant pain since January....got my refferal letter to Rheumatologist today, so hope he can help with meds etc. I always knew I would get OA ...But it seems to have come on with a vengance since I slipped my Disc and then had my toe fusion.
Have always been very active...Then mid fifties ....BANG...can hardly walk around the block now....

All this combined with worry over job security makes one a very unhappy camper........People just take health for granted ...I know ...I did.
Regards
nonaproxin.

stickywicket

I'm sorry things are so difficult for you, nonaproxin. I do hope the rheumatologist can help. Does this referral mean they suspect an auto-immune form of arthritis?

dreamdaisy

I totally get the BANG bit - that happened to me in my early forties and it's a ****. I can walk around my block now as long as I have my rollator to hand - and as it has a seat I can have a nice sit-down to boot.

I began with an inflammatory arthritis in 1997, I began taking meds in 2002 and it was properly labelled in October 2006. The joint damage that caused has led to OA in my knees and ankles and that is not pleasant. I am extremely fortunate in that I'm self-employed and married so I am not too troubled by money worries at the moment but to have that on top of everything else - ye gods. That can't be easy. I hope that the forum can offer you support as well as information about meds etc, all of us appreciate how tough things can be when one is living with arthritis. DD

nonaproxin

stickywicket wrote:

I'm sorry things are so difficult for you, nonaproxin. I do hope the rheumatologist can help. Does this referral mean they suspect an auto-immune form of arthritis?

No...they (GP'S) DON'T SUSPECT ANYTHING...they are not interested in doing any exploration of my symptoms..... I have had to drive this forward myself ..as the GP'S are totally useless at my Surgery ..except one guy. You really have to paint the picture for these people ...I was told ...(regarding foot ) Oh that's just a bit of OA..we can sort that out from the inside with Naproxen...(hence my forum name).
The tablets nearly put me on the floor with severe stomach problems. I have been on Omeprazole for years for stomach problems ..so you would think they would have worked out that I just might not be suited to them.
Any way I figured that with my family history ..I really need an audiance with someone who just "might" give a *hit ..and sort me out ...

I went private for the big toe fusion and slipped disc...as the doctors said I would have to wait three months at least to see anyoneon NHS ..AND EVEN LONGER FOR AN MRI ....Money talks...within one week I had had a MRI and diagnosed slipped disc and joint narrowing / facet joint degeneration.....and Diagnosed with "classic Hallux rigidus of big toe...disc problem and sciatica now much better....but OA seems to have gone into overdrive...spreading into knees and toes and starting in fingers...so with the work thing hanging over me I need help to sort out whats going on..and to keep employer from throwing me onto scrapheap...so I have read up on employment Law..and if you have a disability they find it much harder to "BIN YOU " ...and should make adjustments to your job to help you keep it (reasonable ones that is ! )....just not sure how disabled you need to be in order to qualify for this protection....and thats a worry and very hard to make sense of......sorry to rant again...it makes me feel better....
I see rheumatologist in a week or two...so fingers crossed I can get properly " Labeled" ..so Doctors just dont fob me off ...and I can get employment protection.... :x

stickywicket

Hello again, nonaproxin. Am I right in thinking that your two main, current concerns are (a)pain and (b)the need to get officially described as disabled for work purposes?

The treatment for OA is paindullers, sometimes combined with anti-inflammatories, and, eventually, surgery so, to be fair to your GPs, they prescribed what they could. Some people with stomach problems can tolerate anti-inflamms if they also have a stomach protector (I did for years). Sometimes one kind can be tolerated but not others – it’s very much trial and error. If you feel dissatisfied with the GPs in your practice your best bet is to change to another. Others on here have done so with good results.

I’m wondering how and why it is that you have been referred to a rheumatologist if an auto-immune type of arthritis is not suspected. Is it the family history of ankylosing spondylitis? Whatever the reason, I hope you get some answers. However, whatever the rheumatologist says, or doesn’t say, I’m fairly sure your own GP could write to your employers to certify that you have a disability and what that would prevent you from doing.

I hope you can soon get some peace of mind.

nonaproxin

stickywicket wrote:

Hello again, nonaproxin. Am I right in thinking that your two main, current concerns are (a)pain and (b)the need to get officially described as disabled for work purposes?

The treatment for OA is paindullers, sometimes combined with anti-inflammatories, and, eventually, surgery so, to be fair to your GPs, they prescribed what they could. Some people with stomach problems can tolerate anti-inflamms if they also have a stomach protector (I did for years). Sometimes one kind can be tolerated but not others – it’s very much trial and error. If you feel dissatisfied with the GPs in your practice your best bet is to change to another. Others on here have done so with good results.

I’m wondering how and why it is that you have been referred to a rheumatologist if an auto-immune type of arthritis is not suspected. Is it the family history of ankylosing spondylitis? Whatever the reason, I hope you get some answers. However, whatever the rheumatologist says, or doesn’t say, I’m fairly sure your own GP could write to your employers to certify that you have a disability and what that would prevent you from doing.

I hope you can soon get some peace of mind.

Hi ,
Yes you are right on both counts. I asked my Surgeon to refer me as my identical twin brother suffers from Behcet's Disease, and the other brother Ankylosing Spondylitis. Plus parents both crippled with OA.
I just want to be sure that I am getting the best advice and treatment.
rheumatologists dont just look after auto immune conditions, they have helped with my brothers Anky spon for years.He advised me to see one.

Cheers and thanks.

dreamdaisy

Gosh, this rings bells with me. In '97 my left knee started expanding and kept on expanding (with all the swelling being above the kneecap). My GP kept saying it would sort itself out. I eventually went to the physios at our local footy team (who were in the Premiership at the time), my reasoning being that if anyone knew anything about knees they would. They were the ones who referred me initially to orthopaedics who then referred me to rheumatology who then referred me back to ortho. That wasted another year. By the time it came for surgery my knee was a magnificent 27" in circumference, all above the knee and most of it was solidified inflammation. Ye gods.

We do have to push things at time because GPs do vary in quality, as do consultants etc. Given the family history of AS (which is also an auto-immune condition dealt with by rheumatologists) then yes, a referral to a rheumatologist does make sense and your GP should have arranged that sooner but one of the pitfalls of GPs is they know a little about a lot, not a lot about a little. The better-informed ones do exist but they seem to be rare. For OA it is true that little can be done apart from pain dullers, anti-inflammatories and gentle exercise to keep one's muscle strong. OA can (and does) spread as do all other forms of arthritis but how fast and where to is very individual. Keep fighting your corner, nonaproxin, we'll be here to encourage you. DD

barbara12

Hi nonaproxin
And welcome to the forum
I have OA and understand what you are going through, I strted with a painful knee,referred pain from my hips...one knee a bit iffy...my back, neck and hands have joined in very quickly,
I got my GP to write me a letter for a blue badge, this he did and I got one, so from then on I classed myself has disabled...I still feel strange saying it, but I have to accept it...
I have only seen a rheumy once and he was very dismissive, but I am going to ask to be referred again, has there are so many types of arthur, including the inflammatory ones.
I am retired so I dont have the work issues, but I do wish you well with everything xx

nonaproxin

Thanks to you all for your advice and comments to date...I have just returned from a week in Spain....within 12hrs of arrival I could not take in the change in my OA...I was like Peter Pan for a week..well nearly....but been back less than 24hrs and It's coming back at full throttle....

Seeing Consultant 27th sept....might get some answers then

Dreamdaisy.....I totally agree with your views on GP's and Consultants..I just hope this Consultant is one of the good ones....

Cheers for now.

dreamdaisy

There's nothing worse than things easing for a whiile only to return - it does make one wonder when that happens how the hell one put up with it. :roll: I'm pleased to hear that you had a good holiday and I hope that once you're adjusted to things again it's not as bad as it's feeling. Good luck with the next hospital visit and please let us know what happens, yes? DD

stickywicket

Good about the holiday: shame about the return. I have long suspected humidity as a contributory factor but it won’t be pinned down quite so easily. Good luck for 27th.

nonaproxin

stickywicket wrote:

Good about the holiday: shame about the return. I have long suspected humidity as a contributory factor but it won’t be pinned down quite so easily. Good luck for 27th.

Just had a letter from Hospital..due to unforseen circumstances appointment now for 11th October.......
Xray results last Friday revealed no cartlidge damage or gristle floating about....which would tie in with my Holiday experience of being pain free...it must be purely down to OA....Doctor says that the very fact that everything has come back upon return to UK shows it's Arthritis, as he says this is a typical reaction to heat..then returning to damp....

Back been giving me gip now as well so diazepam for spasms....but it's working...just going to shut the window so I don't fly out of it !!!!.

Cheers to all.

stickywicket

Something that works is always good news. Pocket duties available for 11th if required.

nonaproxin

Just an update.....now classed as being covered under the equality act (former disability act ).Occupational Health now reduced my hrs from 8 to 6. Still trying to get me to go for Ill health retirement via insurance scheme.....even before I get a proper diagnosis....they just want me off the books


Saw Consultant today....he seems very keen to find out exactly what's going on with me...so having the various blood tests, and another MRI scan to see if I have A S signs in spine as he said I am sooooooo stiff...so needs to either confirm or rule it out....



Watch this space

stickywicket

That sounds like good news to me, nonaproxin. Some way to go still but a bit better, eh?