Don't they annoy you?
i had someone at work say to me yesterday oh well you won't need anytime off with asthma and you shouldn't with your other physical illnesses either you only get tired - -no I don't, and I said to her you really dont understand what its like
Yep!!! At work we are only aloud 3 absents. Last february i got the flu. September i had a infected lump in my breast, December i had the flu. And now i've got a really bad cold & i'm sighned off for a week! So i'm expecting my warning letter when i go back to work.
Pigs me off cos, it seems to be me off lately. Theres so many illnesses going about. I'm healthier than the others. Most of them drink, smoke & never exercise. I don't drink of smoke & i have 3 working sheep dogs to which i work at agilty, so i'm always running or walking.
Its not fair is it!!! I'm going back to work with a gold fish bowel on my head
often the rule for number of absences is so they have someway of keeping track of who is off frequently so they can see if the person needs to see occi health, or if they need a kick up the backside- you know, so there is a meeting with sombody who then looks at the evidence and says, ko you have asthma, sorry you havign a rough time is work making it worse, or oh, you have been off 3times with hangovers you layabout. so it is a way of sorting out who is sick and who isn't really. hope you find that is the case and they are supportive.
Yes i know. Its just the guilty trip i've got. I'm sure they will be understanding.
I know a few people who have skived off work. i just couldn't do it. My work place wouldn't bother thinking about how the work place effects me. They would sack me.
Their not aloud to do it. I'm sure i'll be ok
Thanks
Julie
I know when i was on long term sick from the hospital they were the most uncaring emplyer? untill i went to occi health and they were brill, its not so much the time off as how many occasions, if you have a genuine illness and docs notes they havent got a leg to stand on, its those who take the mick with a day here and ther usually before or after theweekend!!!
andrea xxx
Hi
I am posting this on behalf of my wife. Her employers use something called the Bradford index to monitor sickness. Normally they are allowed a score of 100 calculated by No of days absence x No of spells of absence x No of spells of absence. In the past she had mentioned that this was unfair on people with disabilities that could cause a number of short term ( in her case often one day)absences. 5 single days would take it over 100. Liz has been to hospital following 999 calls for both asthma and epilepsy. She has also been to work about 4 hours after being allowed out of A & E so you can see that she does not like to take time off.
During 2006 she exceeded the allowance they had decided to give all disabled people (170 which equates to less than 6 single days) and received a letter asking her to attend an attendance review meeting ( the normal outcome of this is no company sick pay for 3 months and an expectation of no time off for 3 months). As she had already been hit in the past by this and knew it had been recognised within the company sickness policy she queried whether it was correct. The meeting was adjourned while they took advice from occupational health who advised them that they should follow their own policy which stated that the Bradford Index may not be appropriate. Silence from the employer once again but no action taken. Several months later we are still waiting for the result of the adjourned meeting.
I suggest you consider whether the employer may need to make a reasonable adjustment under the DDA regarding odd days off work if their absence management policy discriminates against someone with a disability. Be prepared to take out a grievance over the matter if necesary
Hope you get it all sorted out ok
Michael
Thanks for your support everybody. It means alot to me. I feel a little at ease now.
Just going to concentrate on getting better. Its like a prison sentence having to stay at home & do nothing!
The better i fix the healthier i will be.
XX
Hi, Michael again on behalf of Liz
Liz understands the frustration of not being able to go to work, the thing she finds frustrating is that they won't let her go even though she is well enough. once again she is sat at home on full pay, because of her employers ""health and safety concerns !!!!!??!!!!! ""
Michael
Mine is very different case to most of yours as I have a lifethreatening physical illness and am VERY seriously ill not just wtih possible asthma but with other VERY SERIOUS chronic physical illness and I'm not saying on here what I've got as that is noones business but mine and my consultants
asthma and other chronic illnesses are covered under the DDA - i.e. employer can't discriminate against you 'cos of yoru illness. 1st tehy ened to be supportive and put in palce reasonable adjusments, which could include: shorter hours, longer breaks, more absences allowances before formal action, allowance for time off for appts etc. mine have included able to work from home when feel ill so not ahve to have as much time off sick, but not everyone can do that. Idea is to support not to punish.
my point was that people assume that you are well just cos they cant' see anything wrong
The problem side of my asthma is the atopic (allergy). My boss had to prove to occi health that she had done everything possible to make the work environment as safe as possible. My most serious reactions are to certain flowers, sprays, perfumes and air fresheners. That has meant that we have notices up saying no high pollen or strongly scented flowers, staff have all toned down their perfumes when working with me, all air fresheners have to be turned off and any member of staff assisting a patient with their sprays has to warn me first so i can disappear from that area for a while. My responsibility is to have at least 2 days off work after every allergic reaction that I get. I must admit that I am not very good at keeping my side of the arrangement and if the allergic reaction has been out of work then I just carry on as normal but get very tired and chest is grumpy for a few days. Like most people, though, I do worry about how high my Bradford score is because of the number of episodes rather than total number of days. Occi health got involved very early on last year when the serious allergic reactions started to happen totally out of the blue.
We don't have an OH department at my work
We don't have OH either
If you dont have occupational health your company should have a designated emplyee who is responsible for sickness and absence protocols
I believe that occupational health services are available from the national health. I don't know whether the employer has to pay or how the arrangements work. I attend OH appointments at the local hospital.
I'm not stupid I ahd already asked my employer months ago about this. The PCT allocates so much money but doesn't allocate it to all Drs surgeries and where I work hasn't been allocated any
Reading through the posts I thought everyone was being very supportive and trying to help so i dont think there is a need for comments like i;m not stupid and my illness is nobody elses business. Anyway surely if you work for a doctors surgery they have the medical knowledge to understand your illness and need for absence? I would have thought that the Pct must have some form of Occ health dept. Some people do find it hard to understand how disabling asthma can be and use comments like 'is it just asthma' but at end of the day all we can do is try and educate people about the effects of the illness physically and emotionally.
Julie
Thamks julie, i sorry my post offened you fluffyfish but it was not intended as patronising and rereading it i dont think i does? it was ment to help and i find you pm to me very offensive!! i am not like that you obviously have some hang ups if you cant see what others see that it was supporting you??
I am deeply upsat by your comments!!!
Andrea
Dear Wheezyab,
Please try not to take the comments posted from Fluffyfish personally. Sometimes people say very unkind and thoughtless things when they are under a great deal of stress or in pain. I see this almost every day at work and when they calm down they often apologise. You cannot be responsible for or control the emotions of others - only your own. Please keep posting because I for one find your comments very helpful and in no way offensive. Take a deep breath - if possible, and I find a BIG, BIG glass of wine helps.
Regards
Yvonne
Fluffyfish, please try not to be inflammatory with your postings OR your PMs. We try to create and maintain a friendly, civil atmosphere on these boards. We know you're not stupid, people are trying to be helpful when they suggest things. They don't know that you have already investigated this route.
I will re-itrate that if any messages or PMs upset anyone please can they report them to web ed and also via PM to myself or PeakSteve.
Thanks
CathBear
(Moderator)
Fluffyfish,
Whilst not wishing to contribute to the slightly inflammatory atmosphere on this thread or to appear to be turning this into a game of medical one-upmanship, I feel I must point out to you that there are many people on here who also have what you describe as 'VERY SERIOUS chronic physical illness' - some of us have asthma to the degree that it is life-threatening and extremely disabling. Many of us also have diabetes, high blood pressure and other conditions as a result of taking long term steroid tablets as well as other unrelated medical conditions.
I point this out to you partly so that you realise you are not alone in being affected by serious illnesses other than asthma, and partly because I feel that your comments could be slightly upsetting to others who are struggling with their medical problems. Of course it is no-one's business what your medical problems are, and I don't believe anyone would ask you directly if you didn't want to say, but you might not be as alone as you think!
It is obvious from your posts that you are at work at the moment, albeit struggling with it, and I am very glad for you that you are able to work despite your serious medical problems. However, I would ask you to please remember that there are many people on this site who are unable to work at all due to the severity of their asthma, some of whom have been told by their medical teams that they are never likely to get back to work again.
As Cathy says we are usually friendly and civil on this site (pred-head related comments notwithstanding!) and I hope you will find it a great source of information and support. I think you will find it easier, though, if you remember that there are some extremely unwell people on the site and post with a little sensitivity towards them.
That said, I think we can all understand and empathise with your frustration - people often do underestimate our medical problems because there is nothing visibly wrong (I got roundly glared at by a coven of old ladies today when I used my Blue Badge outside the supermarket, so I am a little sore on this issue!). There's a great website at butyoudontlooksick.com which talks about the problems of invisible diseases and disabilities (cut and paste into your address bar and then delete any spaces that the forum software has put in!).
As for people who are well, yes they can be annoying, but I can't resent them too much since my husband is one, and thank goodness he is because it enables him to spend a lot of his time looking after me!
Well, I hope you soon settle in and find this forum useful.
Take care
Em H
Fluffyfish, I think if you are looking for help and support it might be an idea if you stopped sending out PM's that hurt and fanning the flames here. Take if from me many here are have seriously compromised lives because of their asthma, some have had gone from a normal life to almost nothing in a very short space of time. When you have to plan getting upstairs to the loo then you can see just how bad things can be. One other thing if you don't want to talk about your other conditon don't mention it although we have quite a few Dr's who will no doubt know and understand about your other condition and who if you feel unable to explain what it is about I am sure will wade in help you. They can access massive amounts of information on even the most obscure conditions.
Bex
*nods*
Too true Bex - as always there are hands to deck to try to answer all questions - even if only to say ""I don't know"".
Again, any PMs which are concerning please forwards to me - I seem to be hovering tonight!
Cath, read that as ""hoovering"" not hovering and was about to post telling you to put it away and sit down, before I double checked 
Bex
Bex - hoovering?!?! Wash your ""mouth"" out. Hoovering on a Saturday night indeed. I draw the line at sitting on my bum surfing and sewing 
Oh do you want my mending pile? I keep saying my brica-shakes are too bad to attempt it but I really must do something about it soon or I will have to buy new trousers for my son, to keep his dignity in tact he keeps moaning about the draft
Bex
I don't get asthma bad. Only when i have a cold. The virus which has triggered this asthma attack is a bad one. My mums been hacking away with a cough for a while. Theres also been 2 people off work with it for a couple of weeks.
I really feel for everybody on this forum. I've always brushed the fact that i get asthma aside. I have found it a big shock this week & very very frightening. My attack & virus has left me feeling really weak. My peak flow has risen from 400 to 450. I'm desperate to go back to work on monday. I was even thinking of going. I've already given my doctors note in on friday. But i need to recover properly. I feel like i've had a few rounds with Mike Tyson 
And i'm still coughing. I'm going to really take my asthma seriously. Exercise helps me. My lungs feel huge when i've had a run.
I'm going to start running for charity & donate proceeds to the asthma organisation.
Ugh, not that kind of sewing - but very kind of you to offer, thank you
Engaged in cross stitch for my Dad's 60th. Rather a project, if you get my meaning.
Ooops, I'm getting off topic again.
Hey Julie, come and join us on the AUK 10km run in April!
(It's in Windsor though, don't know where you hail from but it may be a bit of a trek)
I live in the Midlands Cath. Near Leamington Spa. It would be a bit of a trek. When i'm better i am going to start training. i'd really like to run the half marathon. I ran the race for life last year & really enjoyed it.
can anyone recommend any hotels/bed and breakfasts in Grimsby (DN32)
Hey Julie - nice to see another Midlander.
I'm keeping my targets at the 10km at the moment - I'll be glad to get to the finish! If things go well I might make a habit of it, depending on how things are. If my body is done with its rebellious phase you never know...sky's the limit etc...but that's just a pipe dream now. But hey. we have to dream....
I have done the Race for Life for a number of years but had to give it a miss last year.
MIDLANDERS OF THE WORLD UNITE!
Hey Julie, come to Nottingham and do the Robin Hood marathon or half-marathon - it's in the autumn so you've got a while to train! I don't do it myself <ironic laugh> but a lot of people I used to work with do it and say it's a really nice route and a fun day out. If you run it for AUK I will come and cheer you on and pour drinks over you!
I can really empathise with the shock and fear of the asthma getting out of control... I can still remember my first bad attack like it was yesterday, even though it was about 14 years ago. Like you I used to take my asthma for granted and try to ignore it - until it made itself unignorable!
Give yourself time, both physically and psychologically - if you rush back to work you won't benefit in the long run, you'll potentially make yourself more unwell. It takes longer than you think to fully recover from a bad attack, so don't be surprised if you're exhausted easily for a few weeks or even a couple of months to come. You're obviously still quite shaken by it all, so you need time to get your confidence back as well - don't be surprised to find your emotions ambushing you unexpectedly, perhaps even at work, which can be inconvenient!
You WILL get there, just take your time over it, and remember there are people here who understand what you're going through!
Keep on running too! - actually if you wouldn't mind running extra to make up for the fact that I can't at the moment, that would be great!
Take care
Em
Unignorable ???? Is that a real word?
Bex
Yes Bex it most certainly is a real word... are you questioning my credentials? I'll have you know I'm married to an English graduate!
I love my cat very much, so does that qualify me to comment on the finer nuances of meows?
I would have thought so, provided you have spent long enough studying the various nuances of your cat's meows.
PS Emily, I see your ""married to an English Grad"" and raise you ""daughter of an English teacher""!!
Cath, I can't match that, I fold unreservedly! (My mum's a maths teacher, but her spelling is dreadful!)
Mwhahahah!!!
Incidentally, Dictionary.com turns up a blank at Unignorable. Though personally I think it should be a word. Do OED have a website?!
They do, at oed.com, but you have to subscribe to get at the words! Not fair.
It sounds like it should be a word, anyway.
<goes off to sulk in a corner>
LOL to you all!!!
Nottinghams not far. I am going to start training as soon as i am well.
My fear is work won't understand. I'm sure they will, but i'm worried i will catch another cold & have the same chest infection. My fridge & fruit bowl are bursting with Vit C!!
I'm going to do pilates every other week & i'm going to sign up & start Tae Kwon Do.
I have 3 working sheep dogs so i walk loads anyway. I'm really missing taking them. My OH has been taking them out.
I can't believe how tired a attack makes you feel. I've slept for england this week.
My partner was wheezing more than me this morning ( he smokes ) His peak flow nearly 600. Makes you sick.
Unignorable? Why not.
ummmm.....
I'm a third year PhD student in English, if that's any good?
I've just logged into OED (well, I'm in the library on a Sunday so got to waste some time somehow....):
The dictionary doesn't actually have 'unignorable'....
BUT (before you doubting-Thomasinas look too self-satisfied)....
it does have 'ignorable': 'Capable of being ignored; of which one may be ignorant'
and a large section on 'un-' : a prefix 'expressing negation' and which 'can be used with the greatest freedom in new formations'.
I read that as a yes to 'unignorable'....
One-nil to EmilyH I think!
xx
This site is for support, reassurance and companionship for people with a whole variety of lung problems, including asthma. It's NOT a contest; we're not here for a round of MOST SERIOUSLY INCREDIBLY ILL as some of us have been there, bought the shirt and live with the consequences.
That said, some don't know what you're dealing with, and it can be really isolating even when they do, as people find it hard knowing what to say.
Enough flaming. Yelling that you’re ill and acting defensive when people try to help will make them more inclined to call malingerer. Try explaining what it is you go through, and they may be less sceptical of your time off.
Wooohoooo!
Yay me!
Hmmmm English ah?
Quote from asthma and hyperventilation thread:
'we consciously or subconsciously over-ride our brain's natural setting of respiratory rate and start to breath in a very rapid and shallow way. This can happen in an acute attack or more chronically. This causes us to breath out carbon dioxide'
I do believe there is an 'e' missing off the end of 'breathe' Em 
Di someone mention sewing- Bex can i put my load on the pile for any willing volunteer!!! Between my 3 i have 17 badges to sew onto various beaver,brownie, guide uniforms plus swimming badges to go on camp blankets as well not to mention repairs!!
Hope your son isnt too draughty!!
Unignorable -i like it even if its not in the O.E.D!
Fluffyfish - my hubby has had to explain many a time to colleagues when imin costa that asthma is not just a ""simple puff of your blue puffer! Hope things get sorted soon.
The way i look at things like you dont understand is that no- one truely understands as we are all so different but we have better idea instead.
Okay Tks, I will admit that I am not infallible on the subject of spelling! In fact if you were to ask my family they would say I am really quite bad at it... thank goodness for spell-checkers!
breath"" is the American spelling of ""breathe"" -English A Level student!
Agree, but last time I checked this was Asthma UK.... heheh!
Looking for people like me
People 
Telling people you have asthma
Looking for some one who understands
Asthma not well controlled 
