During my initial diagnosis period I spoke to my company's OH adviser and they said to my company that I could be off around every 3 months with it my hashis (because at that time we were still trying to find the right dose). For nearly 3 years that has stayed in place. The amount of time I've had off has not been that much since I was diagnosed in 2020.
2020 - 18 days off sick
2021 - 3 days off sick
2022 - 5 days off sick
2023 - 2 days off sick so far
In 2022 me and my partner split up so I had more days off than the years either side because I got stressed and it triggered symptoms of hashis.
My work want me to have a conversation with Occupational Health again, to see if the "trigger points" for a meeting about absence have changed. I am loathe to do this as I believe they will say that now my TSH is stable (you know the NHS love to just look at that) I should be fine.
My conversion isn't great, but most of the time I feel good. I still can't do as much as I used to, I have to be more careful with my energy supplies, and what I eat and drink. But I get to live a normal life, just not as wild and crazy busy as before 😂.
The thing is now and then I might eat something that upsets my stomach, or not get enough sleep for whatever reason, or do too much in a weekend and find myself burnt out and then I need to take a day to recover so I can do my job well.
Is there anything anyone has been able to send their work which explains that even when I'm well medicated I still might need the odd day off here and there, and that this shouldn't form part of the "usual" amount of time they might expect me to be off because of course I have this chronic condition but I can still get colds and covid and utis and things that anyone without a chronic condition might get?
Written by
Flowerpot108
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
I have found (counter intuitively) that I now have so many diagnoses, CKD, HBP, IBS, Type 2 Diabetes, Fibromyalgia, Heart problem with accompanying odd ‘unexplained’ symptoms and not forgetting Obesity, Insomnia, Anxiety and Depression, I could pick any one condition to provide OH at the drop of a hat. The fact that all my conditions are in fact hypothyroidism escapes medics (and probably Personnel and OH). This idiocy, whilst not beneficial to us as patients, employers, or indeed the Nation, seems to be entirely acceptable to “the Powers that be”. Think about using any ‘other’ diagnosis (Co-morbidity) you might have, to support your case. I was never able to make this explanation because I had no diagnosis. Twenty years ago plus, I had to give up work, feeling like an utter fraud.
Oh gosh I'm so sorry to hear that. Yeah I guess I need to push things with the doctors a bit more to let them know I'm still experiencing the symptoms sometimes and see what they say.
That’s key Flowerpot. Hypothyroidism (as you are already aware) is not a well understood illness; unless you are unfortunate enough to actually have it. Doctors are worse than any member of Joe Public. Don’t bother trying to educate them or employers. Just present them with the diagnoses and or facts as best you can put them together. Good luck.
It’s difficult as I got in yesterday after not exactly a hectic day and just went to sleep for a few hours, didn’t mean to, which means I then don’t eat properly, work don’t see that side.
Are you able to agree flexible starting hours or offer to work from home on any of those days?
So I work in a call centre which should be shifts and they've already allowed me to do a set shift of 9-5 so my body can expect work and know when it can relax, and for me not to do Saturdays - so I get the whole weekend to recoup. I work from home 4 out of 5 days a week, and if my condition won't allow me to go in I can just say that and not go in. I usually find the week before my period is the worst (which I'm currently in). This could be entirely made up, but I wonder if the hormone changes at that time affect it because T4 and T3 are hormones? So maybe there's some interaction there...I dunno.
I'm waiting for a role to come out in this department in my company where you can work flexibly and they don't do Saturdays. So then (if I get it) I won't feel bad for being off sick when they've made all these 'adjustments'.
In the meantime though i just wish there was something out there which explained that even when "well medicated" we can still sometimes get hypothyroid symptoms and need to be off....
If you can get this survey under the noses of any Human Resources / Occupational Health people, then you will be doing all thyroid patients a favour ....It has had quite a bit of press coverage in certain sectors when it came out , but of course it still needs much wider publicity / recognition .
"Thyroid disease has lasting adverse effects on people’s wellbeing and labour market engagement, with only moderate improvements after the start of treatment."
"This evidence should draw the attention of the medical profession and policymakers to the nature and the consequences of the problems encountered by thyroid patients (even after the start of treatment)
and inform relevant healthcare policy debates and initiatives".
"Conclusions and policy implications The evidence that emerges from this survey confirms that thyroid diseases have serious implications for the life of patients, with adverse and long-lasting consequences on their wellbeing and their ability to engage with and interact with social activities and work "
"Why does it matter? When employers are informed of and more sympathetic to the fact that their employees suffer from a thyroid condition, the impact of the condition (after treatment) on work is less.".
"The symptoms seem to persist even after the start of treatment. The majority of respondents (over 90%) still experience multiple symptoms related to their thyroid conditions, with the most frequent symptoms reported being: tiredness and slowness (79%), cognitive deficits (64%), muscle aches and weakness (62%), weight changes and sensitivity to temperature (57%) and mental symptoms (54%).
"Of the symptoms reported, tiredness and slowness appear to be the most severe (as reported by around 35% of the respondents), followed by cognitive deficits and weight changes (slightly over 10%), and mental symptoms and muscle aches and weakness (around 10%), with very little improvement observed in the period before the start of treatment and now."
"It is therefore evident that diagnosis and the start of the treatment are not the end of patients’ journey."
"The persistence of symptoms may explain why the thyroid condition appears to continue having an adverse effect on people’s wellbeing and work, even after the start of treatment, despite some improvement reported after the start of treatment. Around 30% and 25% of the respondents have reported that after treatment the thyroid condition still affects “very much” their everyday life/wellbeing, and work, respectively."
"However, there are issues raised regarding the effectiveness of treatment. 92% of respondents reported that they still experience symptoms. "
"The survey ,The “People’s experience with thyroid disease” survey......conducted over a month (6 March to 7 April 2023)...... A total number of 1,176 people participated in the survey. "
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Hashimotos help! 
Help with results
Help from your wonderful knowledge base please
Graves Disease/Hypothyroidism and work life
