Working and pain management

[Shooppoop]

Hi all,

For anyone who has looked at my thread on the intro's page you will know I am still not properly diagnoses and receiving no medical help, although they are willing to admit I have ANCA-positive vasculitis.

Anyway I have been trying to work but it feels like I keep hitting a brickwall. School have so far allowed me to reducing my teaching hours from 40 per fortnight to 16 and they have taken me off the cover and duty roster. But my line manager is constantly pushing for me to come back full time or get permanently signed off. I have given him all the information I can on vasculitis but he doesn’t read it, I tell him when I am seeing consultants and the next day he asks me what happening again. I’m so fed up.

When I over work the pain in my right side gets so bad I can hardly walk or move and this is stress from work isn't helping.

Shoop

[Rose]

This is a real problem for people with chronic illness and only people who have been through this truly understand . I am suffering my first flare since diagnosis and treatment. the first symptoms of a flare occurred soon after I had attended a line dancing class. Spring was in the air, I needed to lose weight and I felt the best I had felt since before getting ill and my blood results reflected this. Within a few days my body was telling me I had crossed the line.

This is such a frustrating disease in so many levels. There is an article easily found on the internet and written by a lady suffering from chronic illnes called the "Spoon Theory". i am sure you will find it helpful as it explains in simple terms the consequenses of over -doing it and how to keep those energy batteries charged without emptying them.

[Sangye]

I'm so sorry, Shoop. It's impossible to describe the type of fatigue and weakness we get with Wegs. I don't think you'll get anywhere trying harder with your manager. I suggest you just give him/her the facts and make your decisions. Some people are more closed down to hearing and understanding than others.

[Shooppoop]

Well the situation got worse today, we have another spoonie (CFS/ME) in our department and he has approached both of us to up our timetables due to the fact we have 1 member of staff signed off due to stress, one looking after her son who had a very nasty accident, one member of staff leaving on Tuesday and another leaving in 4 weeks. She isn't evening teaching at the mo due to her CFS/ME but doing other roles around the school.

I don't want to be signed off as I love teaching. My GP and I have agreed that loosing out on something I love would not be a good thing and if the school will allow me to do a phased return I can cope. But if he keeps pushing me I'm not sure I will cope.

The other thing that annoys me is I am in charge of the Year 7/8 curriculum but as I don't attend meetings, due to my reduced timetable, they keep making decisions without me and then expecting me to change the Scheme of Work to suit them.

Sorry just needed to vent.

[Al]

I don't want to be signed off as I love teaching. My GP and I have agreed that loosing out on something I love would not be a good thing and if the school will allow me to do a phased return I can cope. But if he keeps pushing me I'm not sure I will cope.

The other thing that annoys me is I am in charge of the Year 7/8 curriculum but as I don't attend meetings, due to my reduced timetable, they keep making decisions without me and then expecting me to change the Scheme of Work to suit them.

Sorry just needed to vent.

This is heartbreaking and stupid. People can be rather dumb. Now, I don't blame them for this--it is difficult to be smart about something you haven't actually faced. Yet, I gather the medics themselves are shunting you off. I do not understand this. Isn't dealing with medical situations their job?

And, speaking of jobs, more generally we all, regardless of how sick we are, want to contribute however we can, right? So there should be, there must be a way to make that happen. If you can work part time, then that should somehow be good for everyone.

So that's my rant!

Al

[maria garcia]

Who ever admited that you have Anca - Vasculities can they give you a letter regarding your need for time off? My daughter is also Panca positive vasculities undiagnosed. Finally the puzzle is being put together and she will be taking medication after seeing 4 different eye Dr.s finally found one who was willing to do a Biopsy. Her vasculities has affected her eyes. She just hasn't been diagnosed with the exact Diagnoses. You need to see a Doctor it sounds like you are having a flare.

[pberggren1]

What is the exact diagnosis Maria?

[Dryhill]

Having been in middle management I can partially understand your boss; he is undoubtably getting pressure from above and knowing the government cut backs and tight fiscal constraints forced on him he is clearly frustrated and trying his best to sort out the staffing mess. The trouble is it does not sound as though he is a very good manager, remember the old adage "everyone reaches their level of incompetance".

You do not want to be layed off yet because I can assure you it very, very unlikely you will get any Disability Benefit. I was off work for some seven and a half months and got zilch (and I am self-employed, so no work, no money). All you are likely to get is Statutory Sick Pay. The reason given to me was based on the probability of treatment putting me into remission and then being able to resume a normal working life. Our dear government is desperate to save money and benefits are being axed left right and centre.

Are you a member of Unite or any other union? If so why not ask your local union rep if something can be done about stopping your manager constantly harrassing you? Failing that would your GP give you a letter setting out the situation, much as Maria suggests? I noticed from your earlier threads that you are going to the Royal Berkshire in a couple of weeks, surely work can wait till the end of the month when you should have a clearer picture as to what is going on.

Al, the trouble with the UK's National Health Service is it is far too big and extremely bureaucratic and therefore slow. I was lucky my GP took one look at me and decided I was paler than the walls of his office and my sats were only 78% so I was sent to the hospital as an emergancy. Once there they were not allowed to send me home until they know what was wrong. Its big advantage is it is free, and when you get to my advanced age of 60+ all your meds are free as well.

[Al]

There are good things and bad things about the UK system relative to that of the US. But here the system is so politicized that anything other that that mostly private thing is never going to fly. We try to make the best of it, but it is far from ideal for any long-term ailment.

Al

[Shooppoop]

Hi all,

My GP has been really good about this, he is supportive of me doing phased return as he has seen my ups and downs and knows as long as I don't push myself I can do some work. He was the one who kept sending me for tests when the hospital told me there was nothing wrong and he is pushing for them to get me in a treatment programme.

As for work, I am in a teaching union, but I work in an Academy so they are not bound by the Burgundy book (Teacher pay and conditions). This means they don't have to follow the normal rules with in teaching for sick pay etc however they do have to abide by UK employment laws. Also teaching in the UK is rife with work place bullying and my school is no exception, unless you are in the right click you never get anywhere. If I have to bring in the big guns and get the union involved I will but at the moment it is just my incompetent line manager who is just flexing his muscles as he is being questioned by on high as to why so many of his team are becoming long term sick or wanting to leave. Hopefully when our new head arrives, in Jan, things will settle down a bit.

Shoop

[Dryhill]

it is just my incompetent line manager who is just flexing his muscles as he is being questioned by on high as to why so many of his team are becoming long term sick or wanting to leave.

Shoop if I was your managers boss I would be very worried about the reasons his team are becoming sick and would be concerned about his people skills. I used to work in BT and was used on several occasions to go and sort out the mess caused by a manager who did not know how to treat their staff, and I am afraid it was always a male manager that seemed to cause the problems (by the way I am a bloke so I am not being sexist). I was also a school governor for five years and during my time we had a change of head teacher and I was amazed at the difference it made to the ethos and harmony in the school. So I hope you get a more responsive and considerate head in January.

[Shooppoop]

Oooo, he took the biscuit today. "Following your letter from the hospital (possible Kidney damage seeing Renal tomorrow to confirm) the head and I have decided we are taking your top band group GCSE group (predicted the magic C, the holy grail in UK education) and giving them to another teacher to reduce your workload. Okay sounds good, but you will have to take on 6 hours of year 9 OCR Nationals (mickey mouse subject) if the hospital says your fit enough and then if that goes well 6 hours of year 11 OCR Nationals but you will share these with another teacher (this is the ME sufferer who has brought in the unionsto stop this as her docs have said no to her teaching yet)"

[Dryhill]

Ever get the feeling they are trying to make life unpleasent so that you decide to leave?

The head of our local comprehensive decided she would start correcting teachers spelling mistakes. This might seem a good idea, but not when she was quite happy for the pupils to know which teachers were being ridiculed. A once happy and high achieving school changed, well until another head was appointed.