How do you deal with the pain at work??

[mazzda]

i work in an office and have been quite lucky as since endo has flared again i am only ever in pain at the weekends. But then yesterday the devil visited and i was in agony at work. As usual you have to try and hide how much you are acctually in pain. i had pain killers and the helped slightly for a while but cant keep taking them.

is there anything that anyone can advise on how to cope with it at work??

Thank you

[Pikachu]

Have you told your boss you have it? I haven't because I don't want to risk my job as it's very full on and I'm in my probationary period but I think it'd be worth while. Employers are normally very understanding and they can let you have frequent breaks (in breaks try a hot water bottle and a warm drink) also take some pain killers at the start so they have time to kick in hope you feel a bit better soon

[mazzda in reply to Pikachu]

thank you. yes my employers are aware and are supportive do take pain killers and find a hot water bottle dosent help at all. feel like im taking the micky if i go home as i have period pains feels like being 14 again and at school so just wanted to know if anyone had anything they do to make it more comfortable.

thank you for your reply. you should tell your work and if you need help with how to tell them go on this link and click the download fact sheet it you will then get options on what area you need information on, go on the one for employers this may help you be able to talk to them.

endometriosis-uk.org/aboutu...

they cannot just sack you for it or even use it against you. if not speak to a union and get advise if you feel thretend and they can help to.

good luck x x x

[missteal]

I have no answers for you other than I can't work. I planned to go back to work when my son started school but my health has been so bad that no sane person would employ me....

"I'd like a job please but I need to sleep for 2 hours every afternoon and have 2x1 hour baths during the day, oh and some days I won't be able to come in because the pain killers I take make me sleep all day! I can't lift anything heavy, sit at a desk for more than an hour without needing to get up and move around, stand for more than an hour without sitting or laying down for a rest or do more than one task at a time as my tablets and pain give me brain fog!!" Not a great CV lol.

I have now set up my own business from home as an artist/graphic designer and that seems to be going well so far. I am lucky in the fact that my other half has a very well paid job so I rely on him financially. Not that I like having to ask him for everything I need but I know he understands.

Good luck hun, hope you manage to work a way of keeping your job so you don't end up like me...xx

[jojo777]

I always have a heat pad (you warm it in the microwave) left at work, and when I need it, I always stick it on my pelvis or lap.

If you suffer from lower back pain too, heat patches (stickers) are good to keep your back warm for several hours while you are on the go. xx

[Hidden]

Hi, although I don't have specific answers, I fear this too! And how strange, but most of my endo pains are at weekend as well! If I had them at work, I'm not sure what I would do because I work as a Lecturer so I can't really just leave the classroom. I think though, the first thing I would try to do is not panic, unfortunately, the pain is sometimes just out of my control!

Now that you've brought this issue up, perhaps you should prepare a back up plan? For example, I can set my class an "emergency" class exercise so that I all I have to do is supervise, so that I can keep still - I find keeping still is the best way to reduce the amount of time I'm in pain. At home I use a TENS machine. Don't just buy one on my recommendation - but I find that it works on my lower back (also use it for headaches). If I had it at work I could just put it on. I don't worry about people seeing me with it, I think it's better to show you are trying to do something. I could take mine to work with me - I would even put the patches, but not connect the machine so I could just easily "hook up".

So thanks to you I've just worked out my back-up plan. Can you do the same? Can you adjust your work so that if you are in pain and don't want to leave, you can do a task where you can sit quietly for a while? A task which doesn't take much brain power? Hot water bottles are excellent, though you could invest a gel one so you can just microwave it. See if you can borrow a TENS machine from someone and try it out? If you buy one though, get a decent one (£40-50). Good luck!

[jojo777 in reply to Hidden]

I have the gel heat pad for the microwave too. Its God sent!

I keep one at work and one at home and replace them every few months. :)) xx

[lucythom]

I'm finding it harder and harder working. I currently work 4 days a week 8.30-5.30 with just a 45 minute lunch break. I work in a nursery with young children so if we're quiet I can sometimes get out for a bit or have a sit down but if we are busy I have no chance of a rest! My boss and colleagues are brilliant but sometimes with ratios etc there is nothing they can do about the situation. I'm really interested to know at what point people have given up work as I'd love to (partly because of the endo and partly because I have a son at school so childcare is always a bit complicated) but it seems like such a huge decision to make.

Lucy xxx