Newbie

[Markredtildead]

Hi

I`ve been a member on here for a bit and have read some interesting posts but none giving me the answers to my problems.

I was diagnosed with RA about 3 years ago,was prescribed the usual by my consultant which didn`t touch it.I`ve been on 25 mg methatraxate by injection (tablets made me feel sick ) and folic acid 3 days later.

I glad to say this dosage has my RA under control and in my consultant`s words "in remission" and I can work doing my job as a bricklayer to virtually a full capacity.

The problem I have is, when I get home from work I seize up and generally feel unwell ie tired,bad -tempered and achey.I have told my consultant about this and basically, because of my job, this is the cause and she doesn`t think she can help me further.I wondered if anybody else has sympthons like this and could advise me further.I am due back at hospital on Thursday and after the conversation on my last visit could see my dosage of methatraxate dropped.I must add,at weekends .holdays i`m fine really, apart from the odd flare up so i can pinpoint work as the cause of my aches and pains.Unfortunately i can`t afford to give up work due to my young family and bricklaying is all i have done for the past 20 years and would struugle to earn the same money as i do now doing another job.

Thank you for your time in reading this and any advice would be greatly appreciated

Mark

[allanah]

Hiya just a thought but why don't you preempt the pain after your physical work by having your anti inflammatory drugs such as Brufen just as your shift finishes? By the time you get home it might have kicked in and then have a hot shower to help the muscles.

Hope it sorts though cause it's so hard why you spend all night getting ready for the next day and no fun for the other half a.

So good though to be controlled apart from that.

The other thing that springs to mind is fibromyalgia but then one would think that would be there during the day. Anyway good luck with it all xx

[aligator]

Hi Mark, stress makes my symptoms worse so can understand why you feel better at weekends etc. I've no answer except keep talking to gp.rhuemy nurse&consultant.. I really wish you well. Love Alison

[sylvi]

Mark i will start of by saying welcome and sorry that you have joined us due to RA. You could have Fibromyalgia as Allanah has said, But having said that you wouldn't be fine when your not at work. You really need to make it clear to your rheumy that your fine at other times rather than when your at work. Don't take no for an answer make him understand that you need something to support you through the working week. Now you might not like what i am going to say,but here goes. You MIGHT need to look at other work because if your job is making you worse then you really now the answer yourself. I know you have a young family,but have you thought about claiming off the dwp. I know you really don't like that idea,well look at it and apply for PIP. This is the new goverment scheme that gives support to working people lie yourself. Now this pip is going to be difficult to get as it is a new one what used to be DLA. It was given to people like yourself who need support though they were still working. If at first you don't succeed keep on trying,by the sounds of thinks your a hard worker. Speak to your employer as well and see if there is any way he can support you to keep you in your job. With your experience you could apply to the colleges in your area as a person who trains the youngsters in the art of bricklaying. That way you could earn an income yet still work full time. If not there are lots of benefits out there for you to apply for if the worst comes to pass and you have to give up work. Yes i know thats the last thing you want to do,but as a last resort think about it. Sorry if i haven't been able to give you the answer your wanted,but its the best i can come up with.

Keep your chin up Mark and keep on at your doctors. xxxxx

[alibromo]

Hi Mark & welcome. I have been a sewing machinist all my working life, then in September 2012 i had to give up due to the same reasons as you have said. My work was starting to fall in quality & quantity. I was working from home as selfemployed for a wheelchair company making the upholstery. I gave up under a bit of pressure & the thought i would get all the financial help i needed & deserved, but NO! Was firstly told after assesment i was fit for work although i cant use my right arm due to inpingement & tendernitis. I appealed & won . I was put into the work group though & because i had already had my 365 days esa i was entitled to!! So no money & having to cope on just my husbands wage wich is a struggle but because of his pay we are not entitled to anything. I went to CAB monday for advice about being moved into the support group which would mean i would get some money. After going through my tribunal report she said theres nothing you can do they have awarded you all the appoints you deserve, you have full use of your left arm & you can walk ( although i did say i was in pain when i walk).

So my advice is to think very careful about anything & yes i understand how hard it is to work through pain. Perhaps as someone has already suggested try taking painkillers about an hour before you are due to finish work.Tell your rheumy nurse your sittuation & you need good medication to get through it, my nurse was always telling me my job wasn't helping. Good luck & best wishes to you xx Alison.

[LavendarLady]

Hi Mark, welcome to the site - glad you have found us as you will get lots of support here. I usually take Nurofen gel capsules (200 mg) and paracetemol (1000 mg) (recommended by Rheumy consultant) to keep pain and stiffness under control.

With the job you do which is heavy work and involving your hands a lot, I am not surprised you are achy and stiff when you get home. You could take pain killers during the day (always after food) but the suggestion of taking it just before you go home is a good one. Alternatively, take it when you get home with a cup of tea and a biscuit, give yourself 30 minutes for it to take effect and put your feet up. That should then get you through the evening.

Is it possible your employers could move you onto lighter work for a while? Under the Equalities Act they have to make reasonable adjustments for your disability but if that is not possible, they could consider lighter work for a while. However, you may then have to go back to your original job and the problem starts again. Suggest the pain killers may be the route to take but speak to your GP/Rheumy consultant to see what they recommend.

Have you applied for PIP yet? It would at least give you an extra source of income to help with anything extra you need. CAB can help with the forms. It is difficult to get as you have to jump through hoops and you really need to lay it on thick in the forms as to how you feel using your worst day as a guide. If turned down, you can then appeal and that is often successful as the appeal people look at it properly with all your medical reports to hand, not just ticking boxes which is the initial (and pretty useless) assessment!

Good luck with it all. Keep in touch. LavendarLady xx

[denvajade]

hi Mark I find the same thing if I work in the garden for hours, my hands get all swollen, painful and don't want to work, of cause this makes you feel unwell and grumpy, you are doing really well to work fulltime. Its really overworking your body and its protesting.

[norfolkjo]

Hi I am only five months in from diagnosis and having to consider possibility of leaving job I have done for 17 years and am the main earner so I feel your pain . I got work to register me as disabled which gives you more power to request hour changes etx .. im considering parttime which will be a massive shock financially.. just sending you hugs . Being ill is bad enough withouy the worry of money on top xxxxx

[helixhelix in reply to norfolkjo]

Still early days for you, so you could be amazed at how much better you can get. I never thought I'd improve as much as I have, but it did take a long time.

[oldtimer]

It is really hard when you have always done a physical job to think about changing.

But long term, perhaps this is the answer.

There are job advisers at the job centre that you could make an appointment to talk to and what retraining you might be eligible for.

Using your skills to teach others might be one opportunity but you would need some sort of teaching certificate these days - not my field so I don't know what's available.

Or if you have something else you are good at, could that be developed? have a look in the library on the careers shelf for some other ideas.

I had to change my type of work because of my disabilities, so I can really sympathise.

[Marz21]

Hya Mark. I took redundancy last year from my printing based job as it was getting beyond a joke with how my work the managers were piling work onto me and workmates but expecting it done in half the time, but me having arthritis I was utterly shattered every evening and not a very nice person to live with at home. Im lucky I wasnt main earner but we too have kids to support and I wanted to work. Just no idea where to fit into mainstream jobs, so I approached colleges and they were super supportive. I started a college course, hope it will pan out for future, working from home, but I did get jobseekers allowance a while then they moved me onto ESA, both were tax based, not means tested, so pay upto 365 days, and Im waiting on an assessment to see where to go from there. Still struggle some evenings and the advice I got from docs was to take pain killers in the evening. I dont know how you'd go for that, personally I hate depending on them, can't take the usual stuff so get tramadol which make me loopy, so it's grumpy or loopy My family tend to work around my 'fed-up' state. Hope you find something to help. Incidentally my Dad ended up working at a tech college as an electrician and there were a few brickys he knew who worked there too, teaching young ones. Be less physical if you could get into something like that. Goodluck

[pineapple_head]

Hiya, I can see that you have received a very good all rounded advice from everyone so far. I can only add a couple of thing to this. Firstly, regarding taking anti-inflamatories after work (with food) is a good idea. These would work before you start stiffening up but there are many types of anti-inflamatories, I personally take Etoricoxib which have been prescribed by my Rheumatologist. You take one a day and they see you through for 24 hours. This is an option.

Others have discussed a change in your employment. I had to do that. Initially I was pretty down hearted but with thinking outside the box, I have found myself in a better position. Instead of working full-time with one employer, I now work with two employers part-time (working 25 hours a week). I have found work during the weekend for an employer who pays me a higher rate because weekends are considered unsociable hours. I work Saturday, Sunday and half day Tuesday and Thursday and this gives me plenty of time to rest in-between shifts. In our circumstances, we have to think about adjustments which require flexibility on our part.

- Things that you could think-of or consider would be for you and your wife to work part-time?

- You could think about working for the NHS in a caretaker capacity part-time and brick layer part-time?

I am not trying to tell you what to do. The above are only ideas or may be things to consider or just giving you a starting point about alternatives.

I hope that this helps.