RA & OA in both knees

Cazza1966

I’m struggling to walk and do day to day housework, I work in a school sorting out exams (setting up, sorting out the entire running of them) I’m afraid I’m not going to be able to do my job, my employers know I have RA but I feel they don’t take it serious, if I can’t do my job how do I address it? I need a knee op but they said I’m young for it, nearly 55 but my quality of life us suffering, thanks

Shell_H

Hi @Cazza1966 - welcome to the online community!

I see you need advise in how to deal with your work situation given you have RA in your knees which effects your work a lot.

Do take a look at this post by @MoWW - she is an employee at Versus Arthritis who has a lot of knowledge in this area. There's a lot of information in there, which is actually a reply to another user, but I think it has some information there which you might find very useful.

My advice would be to make a list of the things which you do for work which are affected by your arthrtis so you can show them exactly how much of your work your arthrtis affects. This may help them take it more seriously. I'd also look into getting benefits such as PIP (which is for any long term chronic illness which affects your life, regardless of if you're working or not), that way you can feel more secure.

Sadly saying you're too young for an operation is quite common - the replacement joints do tend to need replacing again after 10 years or so, so doctors try to push it off until it's likely you'll only need the one. You can always ask for a second opinion on this to try to get the op done, but this can take a lot of time.

Have a look at our resources here and see if any of them help at all:

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/living-with-arthritis/work/

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/living-with-arthritis/financial-support/

Do have a look around the community and join in any conversation which looks interesting to you. We always welcome new people 😊

Lovely to meet you!

Shell

MoWW

Hello @Cazza1966

If you are still experiencing persistent pain that is making life or work difficult, make sure your health professional is aware, check with them if they have pain management services or groups. Ways to manage chronic pain - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Depending on your role you may find it useful to have some equipment or support, check out the Access to Work website, Get support in work if you have a disability or health condition (Access to Work) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

NRAS produce a useful booklet on work, Work | NRAS | Managing RA in the workplace | Work Matters They also produce an employers guide to RA, An employer's guide to rheumatoid arthritis | NRAS

If you work within the public sector you may still be able to apply for an assessment through AtW, rules are slightly different for employer refund of costs. Happy to chat if you would find that helpful my contact details are within this link to our site, Working Well with Arthritis (versusarthritis.org)

@MoWW