struggling to stay at work

[elaneh]

hi everyone. am new here. diagnosed with fibro in 2013 following injury in 2006 and a range of operations to cure that. I have got much worse since 2015 following a car crash (on the way home from spinal injections) and have become very anxious.

i am working full time but it is a big problem as typing hurts and my voice activated software rarely works properly...

has one suceeded in getting good adjustments to keep working full time? my sick leave is very high but at the moment I wont be dismissed for that (we have a good disability leave policy) but the sheer pain of typing all the time is the problem

thanks!

Elaneh

[TheAuthor]

Hi elanah

I sincerely hope that you are feeling as well as you possibly can be today? Welcome to the forum and it is wonderful to make your acquaintance. I have pasted for you below a link to our mother site, FMA UK which hosts loads of useful Fibro information:

fmauk.org/

I am so genuinely sorry to read of how you are suffering and struggling, and I was wondering if it was feasible for you to reduce your workign hours to try and make things easier? If not, I would ask for an ''Occupational Therapy Assessment,'' if you have not had one already?

I want to sincerely wish you all the best of luck and please take care of yourself my friend.

All my hopes and dreams for you

Ken

[mand65]

Hi im experiencing the same my job involves a lot of typing , i had to reducr my hrs a few yrs ago but unfortunatley i never seem to have good days recently so my sickness is very high . ive not found anything to improve the situation, only time off but still in pain and exhausted, im not sure i can continue much longer every day is a battle of wills which i rarely win .Hope you find some improvement .x

[Bevikins]

There are many pain meds out there so just ask your Doctor 😊I used to use tramadol and eat curry with lots of tumeric and ginger and garlic (foods that help inflammation.. Only take strong co codimol these days 😊.. But there are lots to try so good luck and well done you !! and your company for working together to enable you to keep working 👌

[Veiga]

Hi Elaneh,

I'm sorry to hear you're struggling, your situation strikes a chord with me and I'm sure many others on here. I'm presuming you got your equipment via Access to Work? if so you can always ask for another assessment as the equipment is not meeting your needs? If you haven't already had AtW involvement you can request an assessment, just google and give them a call- that's what I did after reaching rock bottom - so please do it asap if you've not already.

It also might be worth getting the useable memory on your pc checked - it should ideally be 8GB RAM to support the voice operated software program, sometimes its possible to have a memory upgrade which should stop any glitches? Your employer should be able to find this out for you. I'm still training on my VOS and having glitches which the trainer advised me were due to it not having enough useable memory.

After 34 years full time as registered Nurse in NHS I've had to reduce my hours to 22.5 per week to give me more time to rest due to the pain and fatigue I have which is exacerbated by typing and driving ( I'm a Community Nurse), the alternative was dismissal. In desperation I contacted Access to Work and now have individualised equipment - an ergonomic chair set up for my needs, ergonomic, soft touch keyboard and a special mouse. I was recommended Dragon voice operated software and a digital voice recorder, which you connect to the PC and it translates words into type - all aimed to minimise the repetitive strain on hands and upper limbs/shoulders etc.

Maybe you could work from home with a lap top? Voice operated software is compatible with most, again check the RAM , and you'd need ergonomic equipment set up at home too. It's fortunate that your employer is supportive and has good policies around chronic ill health, the lst thing you need is to worry about your employment being terminated at this stage. Good luck lovely lady, wishing you and all on here better days ahead xx