Newly diagnosed

danni2k

Hi all
I've just been diagnosed with Osteoarthiritis.
Its my knees, hips neck and hands.
I work full time in quite a demanding job and wondered what i do now.
Obviously i am going to have to notify my superiors tomorrow but to be honest I have struggled on for a number of years now especially in winter as im outdoors a lot and i do find the cold makes it worse.
Would it be unreasonable for me to ask if i could drop my hours.
Thanks
Danni

dreamdaisy

Hello, I also have OA and flaming miserable it is too. Outdoor work is going to be tough on those joints, especially in the colder, damper winter months, so I don't think it at all unreasonable to ask for a reduction in hours - or could you be reassigned to something more indoors-y for part of the time? I have recently had to give up work (I also have another form of arthritis and fibro) but as I was self-employed I really cannot help too much. I hope your employer proves to be understanding. Please let us know how you get on - has your GP prescribed any pain relief or anti-inflammatory medications? DD

danni2k

Hi
Well i told my manager on Friday. She did'nt seem that sympathetic but then that is what i expected to be honest as one of my work collegues suffers really bad from RA and the large corporation that we work for has been very unsympathetic towards him.
Anyway i have signed myself off for 7 days so i can visit the doctor to get my medication etc tomorrow and then i did think about a trip to the local citizens advice.
Ive been prescibed Naproxen and omepreszole to protect my stomach.
A couple of years ago a doctor prescibed these for me because of a swollen knee but another doctor took me off them saying to me 'we can replace knees we cannot replace stomachs'. So i'm in 2 minds whether to take them.
xx