Back at work

slummymummy

I'm just posting to update you on my journey so far. Diagnosed with RA in April/May, then got worse very quickly over next couple of months until I had to crawl upstairs, couldn't drive, write, etc. Stopped work in July. Had 5 months sick leave (full pay, thankfully) while tried Sulfasalazine (a disaster) and methotrexate. I felt better a month ago, for a couple of weeks, so made arrangements to go back to work, gradually. Then I got Flu, which was awful, and set me back to square one again, but I still went back to work.

First day back was stressful.... having to talk to people about RA, watching people quickly avoiding eyecontact because they didn't know what to say....

The back to work interview was an experience in itself!!! ... more for another post....

I am now absolutely shattered, can't sleep and feel very down about it all. The children are wonderful, and cuddling my little one is the main thing that's keeping me going at the moment. Husband is.... 'coping'....... :roll:

I rang the rheumatology nurse last friday, and she chatted with my consultant. They advised steroids 10mg a day for now, and increasing my methotrexate to 17.5mg, which I'm glad about.

I love Christmas, and it's nice to see family, but I have to explain to them that they can visit, but I can't cook a meal for them :oops:

Back to work again tomorrow morning. Feeling a bit sorry for myself. Last week I drove home from work and felt like screaming with the pain in my legs and feet (my own fault for not getting round to buying a new automatic car).

I thought life was hard, but it just seems to be getting harder.

Slummy

fishyface

Well done getting back to work Slummy. Don't be too hard on yourself woman. Look at the last 6 months you've had. Let alone Christmas/kids/stressful time. Take it easy on yourself.

Did OT give you any reasonable adjustments, shorter days, part time or such?

It was never going to be easy first few weeks new routines again.

Best of luck, Merry Christmas to you and yours x

slummymummy

Hi fishyface,

Thanks for asking. No, OT did'nt do a 'work assessment' or offer anything before going back to work. I didn't have to go through any kind of rigorous testing like scottishlass either. If they had asked me I would have told them they I couldn't pull open the doors because the spring things are too heavy, and I couldn't pull open the filing cabinate drawers because they're too old/rusty/stuck. I would also have liked a parking space near the main entrance, so that I could avoid the embarrasing morning hobble across the carpark, in full view of all the windows.... They didn't ask me, so I have none of these (yet).

The return to work interview went something like this...

(my boss) "I don't want to do this interview, but they tell me I have to...
There's a form somewhere on file, can you find it and bring it to my office....
Is that it? OK, questions on the form are.....
Why did you go off work? (me - RA)
Did you return a sick note within 7 days? (no - it was about 3 weeks but I phoned them)
What did you do to minimise the amount of sick leave? (I took meds, physio, OT, podiatry)
What improvements will you make?" (eh????) My boss just wrote, "Return to work" for this one.

That was about it. Not atall what I expected from what I have read about here. No mention of 'reasonable adjustments.' No, "What can we do to make things easier for you?" I was a bit gobsmacked really. :shock: It was a bit like getting a telling off from the headmaster. :shock: I really wish I had been more prepared and taken the initiative on discussing the things I needed. Instead, it was striaght into a meeting and business-as-usual. :?

As I have said before, I don't like this job anyway. I'm sure I'll be looking for a new one in the new year.