Medication............what should I expect?

parky2

Hi All

Not too sure if anyone will be able to help me or not. I am waiting on my bloods coming back before starting Methotrexate and Plaqunil (sorry dont know how to spell it) I am off work at the minute and have been since beginning of November. My immediate manager has been pretty ok and arranged for me to see OH at my request. They agreed that there would need to be certain assessments and adjustments carried out to enable me to do my job. However on tuesday my manager left me a voicemail basically asking when I was coming back to work. I have a sick line that covers me until the end of the month and my GP advised me to give him a call and he would write me a further one for the month of February. Whilst my manager wasnt nasty when I called her back she wasnt exactly nice. I fully understand that she is probably well and truely fed up with me costing them money and not actually being there but its kinda something that is out of my control!

Anyway I suppose my main question is this, I have agreed to meet her on Tuesday to discuss the results of the OH assessment and I know she is going to ask me when I will be returning. Given your experiences of Methotrexate and/or Plaqunil would I be best telling her that I simply dont know until I have started meds and see how they go?

At the moment I have good days and bad, I got a steroid injection on Tuesday which hopefully will make things a little easier. I suppose it comes down to the same old thing, I dont look sick and am worried that her, and a lot of my colleagues see me as a bit of a fraud.

Can anyone offer any advice?

L xoxox

jimmy77

parky2 wrote:

Hi All

Not too sure if anyone will be able to help me or not. I am waiting on my bloods coming back before starting Methotrexate and Plaqunil (sorry dont know how to spell it) I am off work at the minute and have been since beginning of November. My immediate manager has been pretty ok and arranged for me to see OH at my request. They agreed that there would need to be certain assessments and adjustments carried out to enable me to do my job. However on tuesday my manager left me a voicemail basically asking when I was coming back to work. I have a sick line that covers me until the end of the month and my GP advised me to give him a call and he would write me a further one for the month of February. Whilst my manager wasnt nasty when I called her back she wasnt exactly nice. I fully understand that she is probably well and truely fed up with me costing them money and not actually being there but its kinda something that is out of my control!

Anyway I suppose my main question is this, I have agreed to meet her on Tuesday to discuss the results of the OH assessment and I know she is going to ask me when I will be returning. Given your experiences of Methotrexate and/or Plaqunil would I be best telling her that I simply dont know until I have started meds and see how they go?

At the moment I have good days and bad, I got a steroid injection on Tuesday which hopefully will make things a little easier. I suppose it comes down to the same old thing, I dont look sick and am worried that her, and a lot of my colleagues see me as a bit of a fraud.

Can anyone offer any advice?

L xoxox

One rheumy told me EVENTUALLY, the plaquenil deal can take up to a year so don't look for quick results.. I dropped it years ago and I am not sure those malaria drugs work on RA anyway. They spend more time talking about the potential eye problems then whether it works anyway.

Good luck
Jimmy77

staceyh

Hi if I were you I would advise her that you simply need to wait and see, everyone reacts differently to different medications and what works for some may not work for others if you are not fit to work then you just have to advise her of that and I'm sure your gp/rheumatologist will back this up. Just explain while you would love to give her a timescale it is completely impossible and hopefully she will be understanding.

Good luck

colinone

Hi Parky Treatment and drugs can be quite a grey area what works for one might not work for another. I can only coment on the methotrexate. Once the Rheumy puts you on the drug you dont go on at once you will be sent for drug education and could wait a couple of weeks for that. That done you start your drug and the Rheumy will or hope she want to see you in 12 to 16 weeks to see weather or not the drug is having any positive effects.
Regarding your meeting with boss or line manager you do not have to have it at your place of work you can have her come to you.
Are you in the union if so talk to them. Do not see your boss on your own if you have not got a union rep take another person with you. or have another person with you at home,Make sure you ask for everything in writing and dont make any promisis of return to work. However you can explain how ill you feel and how much you would love to get better and return to the job you love so much.
Take care
Colin

woodbon

Hiya
Sorry about all your problems. I'm going through occy health at work at the moment, and I know how stressful it can be, even with understanding managers.

I agree, don't see your manager alone, have someone with you, union or friend. They give you confidence and also help you to remember whats been said. All the best, Sue xx

berkshiregirl

Hi Parky,

I too am waiting on an OH meeting. It's true that managers look at you and can't really tell how bad you are feeling. I even had to get a taxi to work last week 'cos I couldn't drive and I needed to be at a meeting. About the drugs, unfortunately only time will tell as they are different for each person.

Hope you go on OK.

maddyc

Hi Parky

It took several weeks for methotrexate to kick in when I first took it, but of course everyone has a different reaction to medication. The steroid injection should make you feel better but I know I struggled just with day to day, house and kids before meds got the upper hand with my RA. I think it's awful that you are being put under pressure from work because added stress is just the worst thing to have to deal with when you are battling a chronic condition.

Take care and look after yourself. There seems to be some good advice here on the OH situation.

Maddy

parky2

Hi All

As always your great replies have made me feel a little more relaxed. Still absolutely dreading tomorrow but know that for once I need to put me first.

I have a really funny feeling that since my diagnosis my manager has decided that she doesnt want me on her team anymore. For example on my referral to OH she told him that I wasnt fit to do my job anymore.............needless to say OH was not impressed with what she had said and went into a complete rant about how it had taken him 16 years to get where he was and how dare she! I actually found it quite amusing!

Am going to be up front and honest about how I am feeling and about the meds and she is just going to have to like it or lump it! I know in myself that as my RA is not under control there is no way I can go back to work right now. A strange little bit of me is actually quite interested in what she is going to say!

OH has reccommended that a workplace assessment and a manual handling assessment be carried out. I know however she is still going to ask me what bits of my job I will struggle with.............to be honest the more I think about this one the more difficult it becomes, Im not really sure until I try and I obviously cant try until Im back in work. Seems like a bit of a vicious circle.

Anyhow, I will come back and update tomorrow whether it is good or bad news!

L xoxox

roczko

Good luck for tomorrow.

I remember being in that position. My departmental manager was so unhelpful and downright rude with regard to my health problems.

Funny how they became such a problem for her when I'd worked for the same employer for 20 years before she came along. They had been so helpful in adjusting my hours (even though I still did the full 37½ hour week) - just an earlier start. Suddenly that became "unfair" to my colleagues. It never stunted my promotion prospects though and I managed to get to a senior managerial position - just not as high as her unfortunately

Anyway, to cut a long story short, I'd had enough so reluctantly took ill health retirement so I suppose she won :?

Best wishes for an outcome that suits you!

Patrick