i have RA and suffer quite bad, i just want to know what jobs you all do and how you cope with the job and your condition

[shirlthegirl]

At the moment I haven't returned to work since July due to waiting to start my meds, I work in food retail, which you can imagine it's a very demanding and physical job, When speaking to my GP, she said as long as the meds i go on agree with me, There is no reason why i can't return to work , But i am aware that some people on this site have had to give up their jobs due to RA,

So at the moment i can't really tell you much, Just i can't wait to return,

Also at once point, i couldn't see how i was ever going to be able to work, But with all the positive messages i have heard on this site, it has given me a lot more encouragement.

shirley x

[Hidden]

Hello,

I'm so sorry your suffering at the moment, are you still at the stage waiting for the right meds to work?

For me, I was lucky in a way as I was hit with RA whilst on maternity leave so I had extended time off as it was but when I did go back to work my Occupational Health nurse came in and did an assessment and out forward suggestions to my HR dept that would allow things to be a little easier. Now my RA is under control and I can do all that I did before (I teach in a college).

Does your work have an HR dept? if so they could also send you to see an Occupational therapist.

Before my RA was under control, I found it very hard to imagine doing the most simple tasks at work, I never dreamt things could improve as much as they did, hopefully you'll get there to!

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

im on employment support allowance at the moment and struggle in every day task my daughter is my carer and atos has seen me fit to work

[tamnwill in reply to Hidden]

Unbelievable.....they don't help with the stress levels do they, because they just don't understand! Just be honest at an interview, " I need to sleep for 1.5 hour every afternoon due to the fatigue from RA. My RA isn't under control yet and I'm waiting for results to see if I qualify for more advanced medication to see if that enables me to have a better quality of life. I take medication that can make me irritable, exhausted or sick. I have a low imune system so may get sick more easily. I am the main carer for my daughter so am restricted by the usual limitations a single parent has with this responsibility."

[earthwitch]

I have spondyloarthritis and really struggle. About four years ago I was on disability and could barely leave the house, but then had a bit of a breakthrough with treatment. Nowhere near normal, but it was enough for me to consider working again. Luckily a job came up where I could work part time at a good hourly rate, pretty much choose my own hours and spread them over the week how it suited me (with a few exceptions where I had to go to meetings, etc), and had a balance of being able to sit at a desk, move around, go out to meetings, etc so I didn't get stiff and sore with the same movements all day. I also have employers who allow me to use taxis instead of walking (for meetings around town, etc) and have got me a decent work chair, and lightweight laptop. Its worked for me, but really only because it is so flexible, and my hours get counted over a month, not week by week. I couldn't survive at all in a 9 to 5 job doing the same thing all day.

[Dotty7]

I have recently lost my job as a secondary school teacher because of the fatigue and brain fog elements of the disease - I just couldn't keep up with it any more. I could manage the pain, which is mostly under control, but I was exhausted. All the advice about pacing and prioritising simply does not work in a school.

[juddo39]

I have to agree with Dotty7's reply, working in a school is nigh on impossible. I left my part time clerical post due to RA the demand of the job took everything I had leaving nothing for my family and home, therefore I made the choice to leave. Luckily I have a supporting OH who brings home the bacon.

xx

[thekeys46]

I worked as a radiographer. I managed ok for a couple of years by reducing my hours slightly. The job is quite demanding and in February I went off sick and have not been back. with the support of my occy health Dr i I am now taking ill health retirement. I am missing work and the companionship and finding it difficult to adjust. My joints are ok but I seem to be having trouble with the extraarticular side of RA and am actually worse now than when I went off sick. On a positive note I am lucky in that I have an occupational pension and can still get about(although much more slowly and with the avoidance of hills)

[mistymeana]

Sorry you're having such a time of it at the mo. If you can't contest the Atos decision (disability right or CAB should be able to advise you) have you thought of contacting Remploy? They can try to help you find something that fits around your condition.

I worked for BT and they got Access to Work in to measure my workstation to check I had the right equipment. They built me a fabulous chair to help me stretch out and support me comfortably. Also sent me to OH for an assessment and they sent recommendations for me to be able to get up and move around regularly and avoid hourly targets and manage my own workload so I could work harder,faster when feeling better and ease off when I needed to. Don't know about others but my condition can alter by the hour! Sadly they had a big reorg and my job was sent to another site a couple of hundred miles away. I tried the new job they found me but it was very target driven and the management weren't very sympathetic. In the end they offered me a redundancy package as they'd contravened the DDA in more ways than one. The union wanted me to stay on and fight but the whole thing wore me out so much and made me so ill I decided to leave. Took six months out to recover and decide what to do. Then got a job two days a week in a GP surgery. It's manageable most of the time but I do find I need to spend much of the following day resting. Have also qualified as a reflexologist, using light touch to accommodate the bones :), and currently doing a post-grad course in maternity reflexology. Hopefully, when the economy picks up, I'll be able to build up my practice and give up the day job.

Hope you find something to suit and you're soon feeling better x

[saffron07]

I am only recently diagnosed with RA but have been dealing with it for over three years, I work in community support; Housing & Recovery for people dealing with Mental Health. I have been off work for six weeks now but hope to return early January once I've had OH assessment which I'm waiting for. I know things will be different and difficult but remember I have the DDA on my side if it got rough. I believe employers will accommodate a change to my hours and other aspects of my role at least that's what I hope. I feel I need to continue even though I'm in lots of pain, stiff, with moments of depression. It's just finding a balance if allowed and that takes time, don't be put of if its what you want and can manage, look at the benefits against the negatives.

Good Luck

William ( user name us my youngest daughters)

[cris1728]

Hi I worked as a nursing sister on a medical ward, I had 6 months sick last year ( not RA related) although maybe I did have symptoms at the time whilst I was off sick they closed my ward and when I went back last sept they found me a temporary ward until march. I was getting very disillusioned with the NHS and took early retirement in march rather than them find me another ward. Best decision I ever made have occupational pension and do odd shifts if I feel like it when and where I want. Not the targets and politics in that. Do find some things difficult like attatching drips and things that need fine dexterity but otherwise ok

crisxx

[Martyn1974]

Hi there. I lost my recent job due to technicalities and I would definitely say that have the right management behind you really helps when you have RA. On top of the job loss i have now had a total left hip replacement which means i will have to re-evaluate what my next job will be.

But before this unfortunate year I can say, with great positivity, that having RA never stopped me having a job. Over the years i have moved quite a bit and so in doing so my jobs have come and gone. Sometimes my RA would get the better of me and i would have bad days, but generally i kept a level head and just had fun. Here's a run down of the sort of jobs i've held: Cocktail Bartender (like Tom Cruise in Cocktail), Waiter, Assistant Pub Manager (to a 1.25 million pound per year business), Security Guard at a Virgin Megastore, Furniture Deliverer for a big department store), Heavy Metal/Rock DJ, Lead Singer in a Heavy Metal band (Not quite a job but damn good fun), Hospital Porter, Car Park Attendant/Traffic Manager, Road Sweep.....some were part time while i held full time jobs, others were 1 of 2 part time jobs to fill gaps.

My health has gone a bit wayward since then, but while i was able too i had as much fun as i could doing jobs that were fun and had me communicating with other people. I won't be as 'active' anymore but i will do the best i can in whatever job comes up next. At 38 I'd like my next job to be the one to see me out to retirement as i feel i'm getting to old to jump from job to job, place to place.

All i'm saying is that having RA doesn't stop you from working unless you want it too. Once you've started your medication just accept that you may still have bad days, but if you enjoy your job and the people you work with then bad days won't matter =) Just take it easy on the job and take it easy on yourself =) and good luck

Martyn =)

[Hidden in reply to Martyn1974]

thank you i bear that in mind ,i am on 4 diff meds and prob soon 5TH med and they all seem not to be working at the moment

[Hidden]

Poor you to be taking all those meds and still not to have relief yet. I am a freelance artist and I work with my OH - who is also a contracted night care worker in a public sector old folk's home. We are currently just at the start of a public art project for a hospital. This time last year I couldn't hold a pencil let alone stitch (much of our new work is hand embroidered) but now I'm fine as far as joints are concerned. I am finding being back in the area of public art quite stressful because it involves periods of intense activity that can't be planned around health needs so I realised today that I'm getting very tired and needling a rest most afternoons - I couldn't work for anyone else these days as my energy levels are much lower now. I think this is partly due to the medications and partly RA but at least my joints are all functioning again. I do hope you get some relief from your meds soon - what do you take and how long have you been on it for? Tilda

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

im on methotrexate salazoprin naproxen and omeprazole and on the 21st dec ill be going back to the hospital to see if im accepted for a pen like injectable med

[Hidden]

That sounds like one of the biologic/ anti tnf drugs to me. They are the newest and most expensive drugs and are meant to be very effective for those who are approved so hopefully that will make a big difference to you. Speaking of which I must go and inject my methotrexate now! Tilda

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

i didnt know thir was a injectable methotrexate im on the tablets

[Hidden]

Injectable is for people who can't tolerate the tablets too well. Tilda x

[_andy_]

rammstein .. have you being made to wait ,, 3 months or more to see if youve being accepted for this next treatment ... ??

if so .. this does sound like the anti tnf , like tilda says ..

with luck .. youll see BIG improvements

[Hidden in reply to _andy_]

no ,,,from the 19th nov 212 ive had to wait from

[Harpey]

I work full time in the public sector, which is OK and my organisation have been really supportive since I was diagnosed with RA last year but I don't have any energy to do much else other than go to work (which I need to do to pay the mortgage). I have an office-based job but it can be very stressful and involves giving presentations - which I find difficult as standing for long periods can be really painful. I'm hoping in the future to reduce my mortgage, down-size my house and not have to work as much so I have energy to have a life outside of work.

[Josie2]

I work as a ta in primary school.

Struggling now as my diagnosis might not just be ra but fybromygelia as well or instead of!

Am still going through trials and tribulations just to get dianosed!

[11shirls11]

aye work as a domestic in nhs ,sruggle everday, but aye just get on with it , because my husband got paid off. so got pay my bills , but aye no one day a have to give up

[Hidden]

i am now going to start soon on the enbrel injections for 6 months to see how it goes