Advice and support regarding employment with Rheumatioid Arthritis

[ma73jon]

Hello All,

I am an EU citizen who came to the UK in December 2018 to marry an English man.

I am a Rumanian Citizen with pre-settled status in the UK.

I have a background in care work which I did on a casual basis but it was very difficult as the work can be physical and I was in pain every day. At the moment my disease is active and I am in a lot of pain every day and especially in the mornings. I am also very tired every day. I am hopeful after hearing the advice I have received on this forum that effective medication will be found for me but this may take a long time.

Does anyone know of any agency or charity that might help advise and support me on an ongoing basis on what type of work I could do whilst experiencing pain from active RA?

I live in Ilford, Essex.

I have not signed on with the Jobcentre and am not on any benefits. My husband is employed with a good income.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you.

[JFlay]

Hi, you could try the NRAS helpline to start with. All the best!

nras.org.uk/helpline

[ma73jon in reply to JFlay]

Thank you JFlay .

[charisma]

Hi, you might also find the Gov site useful: gov.uk/reasonable-adjustmen...

Good luck!

[ma73jon in reply to charisma]

wow ,thank you charisma7aj very helpful !

[charisma in reply to ma73jon]

cu plăcere!

I do not know Romanian but I do have a Romanian pastor.

[ma73jon in reply to charisma]

[helixhelix]

Welcome.

First off, are you receiving treatment for your RA? As that is so critical in being able to control the disease and be able to work.

Have you been to talk to a care agency? As there is such a great need for carers that they may be able to offer you a job that requires less physical effort. In my mother's last months we had a wonderful Hungarian woman - a retired teacher - who looked after my mother. And it wasn't hugely physical as my mum had a bath lift, plus she only weighed as much as a child. She spent 6 hours a day with my mum, getting her washed and dressed, making lunch, taking her for a 20 minute walk, and then settling her down to wait for one of us to arrive. So not masses of activity!

[ma73jon in reply to helixhelix]

yes I receive treatment but its not working so well ...startet a four month ago metotrexat and I am not there ...meaning pain free...

yes I did this kind of job ,not in england .

thank you very much

[helixhelix in reply to ma73jon]

Methotrexate (MTX) can take 6 months or more to work fully. But if it doesn’t seem to be doing enough then push your doctors to review your drugs. It took me a year to find the right balance, but after then I was largely pain free.

[ma73jon in reply to helixhelix]

so nothing to do ...just wait

the methotrexate gave me head pain badly so the reumat. doctor reduse from 6 to 4 pills ...

so i am not sure what next

I feel lucky I can talk with you all ... because 6 months here i was feeling stuck with the NHS and blood tests showing that everything is fine with me ...

didn't know what to do ...

thanks a lot !

[helixhelix in reply to ma73jon]

4 pills is a low dose. I hope you take folic acid too? When is your next appointment with your rheumy doctor? And do you have regular blood tests so you can see what is going on? Even tho’ you have not been on it for long, since you are on a low dose perhaps you need to ask earlier about reviewing your drugs.

[ma73jon in reply to helixhelix]

yes the other day after mtx I take folic acid .

for two months I was taken blood test every two weeks ,I dont know how long I need to take ...

my appointment is somewhere in november ...

[Collielover in reply to ma73jon]

What about the Methotrexate self injections. I inject once a week at home . It has less side effects so might help you better .( That’s if you are ok with needles. )

Hope you get sorted very soon . Look on indeed.co .uk for your local area there might be something job wise you can manage on there ..

good luck 🤗

[ma73jon in reply to Collielover]

thank you very much Collieover .

ouch ...i am not sure i can inject my self :)...but thank you for the idea .

[Hidden]

Maybe this booklet will help. You can either order it free of charge, or download it to read on your cpmputer/iPad. nras.org.uk/publications/i-...

[ma73jon]

Thank you very much !

[AuroraB]

As well as the NRAS helpline and NRAS information, another charity which provides information is Versus Arthritis, versusarthritis.org

[ma73jon in reply to AuroraB]

thank you very much

[Leics]

I’m not certain but look up remploy on the internet. I’m kind of sure that they cater for people with disabilities and look for what you can do not what you can’t. ‘Ability first’ used to be their motto.

[ma73jon in reply to Leics]

thank you Leics .