I had a really bad night for pain- hips, knees, shoulders, neck, any bit you need to move around in bed was horribly painful despite taking amytriptyline. because of this I decided to have my Humira this morning, early, and not wait til Friday afternoon when I wasn't working (I was supposed to take it Wednesday but felt really ill when I got home from work). My legs were really painful walking to work but I didn't feel that ill, not any more than usual. After an hour though I suddenly felt awful, the room went spinny and I nearly fainted even though I was sat with my head between my knees. When my work colleague went to call a taxi to take me home I ended up flat out on the floor. I woke up thinking 'what am I doing here?' LOL.
I managed to see a GP, not one I have seen before but she was lovely and spent ages checking me over and talking to me. she said there wasn't anything specific wrong with me but my body just couldn't do what I was asking any more. she said I needed to remember I have a serious illness that I'm taking lots of serious drugs for, she was amazed I was struggling on with work at all.
I am really worried about how this will affect us financially, we are barely scraping by as it is.
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Dogrose
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I know where you are coming from with the financial side....we had a huge extension done on house plus mum was very ill with cancer (am sure all of this set my ra off) but it wasnt a financial worry at the time.
I now have a lovely house but too big to clean with ra, need to reduce my hours at work but feel guilty as our mortgage is bigger yet my wages will be smaller if i reduce my hours.
My hubby is a godsend and works every hour to keep the income high but i feel guilty as i am reducing income!!
Mum, thankfully recovered, and is now helping me with housework, hubby is working every hour and i feel useless!!
I do so feel for you.
Xxxxx
Jo
Poor you Dogrose. You don't say anything about yourself on your profile so I don't know the nature of your work or home life at all but it sounds to me as if you're going to have a serious rethink about how you run your life on a day to day level as the GP explained. Hope you can accommodate some changes so that you can adapt your health to your daily life better somehow? Most people on here who cut down their hours or change or give up their work have no regrets but speaking as a person who is self employed and worrying a lot about money I do relate to these financial pressures on you as well. Tilda
Listen to your body - it does have an amazing ability to let you know when you need to change a few things in your life. I gave up a senior management posititon with lots of driving until my hands an wrists were so sore it was all I could do to hold onto the steering wheel. After a few weeks off sick after I came to a grinding and painful halt, we decided that it was time for a big lifestyle change. I am still working full time, but am now a scheme manager for a sheltered housing scheme where I can go at my own pace and hobble about with all the residents!! It is about a third of the salary I used to have but I wouldn't change it for anything. We've pulled in our belts and made some changes but the quality of my life has changed for the better and with a few very early nights it has been so worth it. I am happy, have changed my attitude towards my RA and have even started to lose weight!! Whoop whoop!!! I love my job and my new more relaxed lifestyle.
Take care and look after you, respect your bodies ability to send you a warning but try and enjoy the life you have and the RA ruling it - one of the lovely ladies on here told me when I was first diagnosed that 'you have RA, RA doesn't have you' and that has become my mantra.
Ever had probs with sugar levels or anemia? Have a look at yr bloods :o) OR it's yr body telling you "I'm knackered, take a break.......Oh you won't?.........well I'll make you then!" Pace yrself chick. You may need some time off to recoup, just a couple of weeks? Usually it's 6 months (sick) full pay and half pay there after. :o)
Dogrose please rest up and listen to your body. you will be entitled to at least ssp if not occupational sick pay , im afraid health comes first says me living on my own only wage and mortgage( luckily small) Have some blood tests as tamwill suggests seems a good plan.
Take care x
hello Dogrose, that must have been so scary for you. I understand the financial implications as well and am in the same position needing to hang on to my job come what may.
I know that my OT and GP have asked me to consider cutting back or giving up work but I worry that i may never get back into it again if i do and I sincerely beleive it is much better psychologically for me to get up and out in the mornings. It is difficult and painful but then again so is lying in bed.
I hope that this is not forced upon you that perhaps if you are able to get a good few weeks off to recover somewhat, you may feel a bit better. Is your job very physical? Could you get moved to a different unit.
Glad that you got the all clear and good luck in your recovery.
It is just a minimum wage shop job in a small specialist shop, it isn't hard work and I don't do too many hours, there isn't really much to cut back on. I did a degree as a mature student a couple of years ago before I was became ill and was diagnosed with RA and still have the massive overdraft from that that I just can't shift (I wanted to be able to earn more and finally have nice things and a better life, haha), my partner doesn't earn much and has to pay a stupid amount of CSA money. So I have debts I can't pay off and already live frugally- I shop around at Aldi, Poundland and other cheap shops for food, don't buy clothes, don't visit my family any more (they all live 350 miles away, we can't afford the fuel to visit, they never come to see me). So my life is pretty miserable at the moment with not many bright spots to cheer me up.
I have a week off work sorted (taking it as a holiday) and will see how it goes from there, I don't think I'm entitled to any sort of sick pay with the contract I have, basically I get paid for the hours I work, if I can't work I don't get paid.
You don't say what your degree is in,can't you use your degree to your advantage. Take the week you have off to rest and i mean rest not going through the house doing the housework. My mum used to say the cleaning will be there long after you have gone. You do have bright spots, for a start there is this site and there are us ladies,gents who will always talk with you. There you go i have found a positive already. If you post daily some will answer you. Take care sylvia.xx
Hiya Dogrose, even if you don't get paid for the hours that you don't do, doesn't mean you will not get paid for being of sick, It will depend on how long you have work for them to get company sick pay, but you will still be entitled to SSP, which is claim by your current employee, I have been of sick now for nearly 6 months, and have claim SSP for all this time, I have just been informed that my SSP is going to stop and my employee has given me a SSP1 form which i need to hand in to the job center plus to claim for another benefit, Please... please..... go to the cab and ask them for advice, you really shouldn't need to work when you are really sick like this,
I also work in food retail as i have said before, and my job is really physical and demanding, and i know at present i am unable to return, and am also concerned about my finances as my husband is the only one working now, but there is other benefit that i believe i can claim if i need to reduce my hour when returning back to work, so please give them a ring, they are really helpful, Let me know how you get on, Take care and have a good rest XX
hi dogrose,poor you i know how you feel with the back and hips ,i do a little shopping for an old man and that hurtsfor a few days afterwards,hope you feel better soon and hope your able to sort work out
Glad you have been checked out and things seem fine, but I guess its a really big warning about not taking anti-tnfs if you haven't been feeling well until you get the OK from rheumatologist or nurse. Might be a really good idea to report to one of them what happened, just in case it is something to do with the meds.
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