Arthritis Forum
Home.

News.

Personal Stories. Links. Message Board.  
Arthritis Forum  
Add your comments to this topic Start a new topic
Date: 19.06.2014
From: Jan

Subject: new to the forum need advice regarding home visit from my work

Hi
I dont usually make post but I need some advice regarding my long term sickness.
I was diagnosed with seronegative RA 10 years ago.
My meds are etoricoxib, sulfasaline x6 lansoprozol x2
I have had trochanteric bursitis in both hip for 2 years and have been reciving treatment with steriod injections and guied injections that dont last long.
The pain from this has become So bad I had to change my job roll and drop my hours, I did this so I wasnt on my feet aslong, 5 weeks ago I had to go on sick as my back could no longer take the strain, as my walking has change dramatically due to the pain from the bursitis the back pain is easing but the bursis as now become chronic I am now on crutches as I often fall due to the pain my GP has given me a sicknote for a further 12 weeks as my next appointment for guided injections is at the end of august.
My work now want to make a home visit (usual practise on long term sick) I am ok with this what is stressing me is that they may send me to another town to visit ocy health this is making me feel very stressed as I dont like to travel the usual work of occy health is make adaptions or changes to my job to get me bk to work more quickly.I have changed my job to make things easier for me untill I recive my guided injections my problems with my back and hips will not improve so in my eyes I dont see the point of me going as I plan to return to work after my injections have started to work.
Dose any one know were I stand on this please help it is making feel so ill stressing about it
reply | back to forum

Date: 19.06.2014
From: Sandy

Subject: Re: new to the forum need advice regarding home visit from my work

Hi Jan .. ive just gone through exactly the same thing .. in fact my final meeting with H R was this morning .. unfortunately its not good news for me as ive lost my job due to ill health ... but saying that your employer has got to be seen to offer any help that you request ... my employers have been decent to be honest ... in the end i knew i was never going to be able to do it ... as for making you travel ..you are perfectly within your rights to ask for the OT to come to your home as long as you state your reason for this as safety ... say you are at risk of falls and they cannot expect you to travel (i found this out when i had the same issue) .. it would also help you to get your gp to write a letter to state why you are unfit both for work and to travel .... ive been off for 9months now & because ive got another sick note for 12 weeks & gp & specialist letters my employer is having to pay me until my sick note runs out & holidays accrued . its a horrible situation to be in ... but i suppose we have to make the best of it ... i hate the idea of not working ... my employers have been ok .. id worked there for 11 years & they wanted me back .. so i was lucky i suppose .. but if your employers arent as good,take a representative with you .... i hope it all worjs out for you .. take care Sandy xx
reply | back to forum

Date: 19.06.2014
From: Julie

Subject: Re: new to the forum need advice regarding home visit from my work

Hi Jan sorry you are having such a bad time. I used to work for local government and if any of our staff had long term sickness it was a priority with the managers to be doing everything that they could to help the employee get back to work, with the help of occ health.

I can understand you not wanting to travel and I think it would be totally unfair of them to expect you to do this plus it would cause you a lot of unnecessary pain, if it was me I would ask for a home visit from Occ Health. If they insist (which I don't think they will do) I would tell your manager - or whoever is visiting you at home - to contact your hospital team to see if it would be okay for you, they will probably advise against it and if nothing else it would give you a bit longer
Good Luck
reply | back to forum

Date: 19.06.2014
From: Colin W

Subject: Re: new to the forum need advice regarding home visit from my work

Hi Jan , the problems with your back & hips are not related to RA , you can get problems with your hips but its normaly caused by lower back problems , know how painful hip pain can be as mine put me in hospital this year with it ,

how is the rest of your joints affected by RA , there is alot other drugs they could give you , sulpha is not the most effective drug & maybe one of the new biologics , cant help you with work as had to give up within a few month of developing RA 18 years ago
reply | back to forum

Date: 19.06.2014
From: Jan

Subject: Re: new to the forum need advice regarding home visit from my work

Thank you Sandy and Julie for your prompt reply
My asst manager and my supervisor are visiting me on monday this will be to ask how Iam doing what treatment I am reciving and for me to sign for them to access my medical files I have a million questions to ask sandy hope you dont as you just gone through what has just began for me hope iam not to intrusive my RA is drug controlled I have worked for this company for 13yrs I recently stepped down from my supervisory roll nd droped my hrs as explain above and really cant afford to loose my job I have already lost half my pay now what did your occ visit involve what prognosis did they give and did u leave your job or did they finish you under health grounds
My bursitis is now chronic and I do hope my guied injections will give me some relief so I can return to work my boss already knows all this so I hope they wont send me but under work policy I think they will have to and not give me the time I need to recover do any one else suffer with trochanteric bursitis that has become so bad they cant walk without excutating pain and fear of falling
reply | back to forum

Date: 19.06.2014
From: Jan

Subject: Re: new to the forum need advice regarding home visit from my work

Hi colin I was told by my RA nurse that the bursitis is a Related Condition like many other condition associated with RA and I'm reciving treatment under rheumatology for this my RA is under control mainly suffer more with my feet and ankles this is why the bursitis is RA related but I am under orthotic for my feet I dont want ti change my meds just yet as I believe although iam suffering right now once this is under control I will be well managed once again I do hope I am right I cant live like this roll on august
reply | back to forum

Date: 19.06.2014
From: Jan

Subject: Re: new to the forum need advice regarding home visit from my work

Hi Colin this May help this is what my RA nurse told me in so many words I got this off the web
Rheumatoid arthritis and gout. Bursitis occurs when the bursa's outer lining, called a synovial membrane, is inflamed. People who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis, which affects the synovial membrane that encapsulates joints, are more likely to get bursitis. Similarly, people who suffer from gout, in which there is a painful build-up of urate crystals in the synovial joints, are more likely to have to bursitis.
Hope that helps you understand why they relate it to RA
reply | back to forum

Date: 19.06.2014
From: Sandy

Subject: Re: new to the forum need advice regarding home visit from my work

Hi Jan ... I had 3 meetings with my HR dept (the last one being today) ..all of these were at my home.My works head office is in manchester & they originally wanted me to either travel there(they would have paid travel costs) or to attend a centre of their choice ..I refused both on the grounds that i was not well enough to travel & it was unsafe as i was prone to falls due to weakness caused by Ra .. they applied for my medical reports & sent a pretty much standard questionaire to both my gp & consultant asking diagnosis,long term prognosis,what drugs i was on,what time limit did they feel it would be for me to return & what measures could be put in place to help me ..both my gp & consultant stated that they could not suggest anything that could be done for me in the workplace & at the present time i was not capable of doing any work tasks ... my consultant stated that in his opinion i would always have difficulty working with RA due to the illness & the drug side effects ...& my gp stated that it would be dangerous for me to work with safety issues due to the potency of the drugs that i have to take !! (they really didnt do me any favours did they ??!!) ..the OT camewith HR on my next visit to as she put it "judge for herself" ..but admitted that they could offer a new desk seat,computer,headset for my phone,reduced hours or less days etc ..but she admitted that she couldnt really do much because it had been stated it was a safety issue ! ..have you looked into esa ? ...if youve had to reduce your hrs & lose your supervisor position .. would you actually be any worse off if you applied for dla as well ? .. i know myself that ive pushed myself too hard for years.You asked if i left myself or if i was finished on ill health ....theyve finished me on ill health ..but i have got another sick note for 12weeks & they are honouring that and they terminated my employment as from today .. but ..due to having a sick note ..they are giving me an 11 week window that if i feel that i can return that the termination will be stopped ... basically they are letting me have 3months notice (like i said theyve been decent) ... i think a lot of the outcome depends on how your gp & consultant word your report ...you have 3 choices with that as well ... a copy can be sent to your empliyers only,or a copy to you & your employer at the same time or you can ask to see the report before its sent to your employer (i dont know if you can ask for it to be altered if you choose to do tgat) ... if i can help any more pease dont hesitate to ask ... good luck ...take care Sandy xx
reply | back to forum

Date: 19.06.2014
From: Jan

Subject: Re: new to the forum need advice regarding home visit from my work

Sandy you have given me a great deal of info and filled in all my queries that I needed thank you so much for you time and effort you have put in this post it is greatly appreciated I will keep you informed of how the visit goes on Monday,
Thanks again
Jan
reply | back to forum

 

Add your comments to this topic
Subject:
Please type your comment here:

Your name:
email:

4+9=
(This sum is to help prevent automatic spamming through this page - thank-you)


top

Site design: T - Creative Home | News | Personal Stories | Links | Message Board