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remicade and employment

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 3/16/2017 8:48 PM (GMT 0)
the recent post about getting fired for missing 5 days in three months got me wondering and a little nervous. What do you do when you need a day off to get remicade every 8 weeks? I hope to be looking for a full time job in a few months, Is this going to be a problem? I have it done in a hospital that does not have weekend hours and really hope i don't have to change. What is everyone's experience with this?
Posted 3/16/2017 11:06 PM (GMT 0)
My son has remicade every eight weeks and his clinic (in a major metro area) opens at 7:00 a.m. and he is out by 9:15. He is a full time college student so he does not have the pressure of missing work but does have to miss a class or two. Do you have clinics that offer some early morning hours? Maybe making up work by staying a bit later on those days (depending on what job you might find?). It is hard enough to deal with this disease without having to worry about missing work! Does not seem right!
Posted 3/16/2017 11:19 PM (GMT 0)
I teach full time but I have a free period certain days a week and coworkers willing to cover, so I get out at 130 to make it there by 2, and then I'm home by 5. If I had to, I would get an afternoon sub to cover if I had to go get remicade on a day that I wasn't out early.
Posted 3/17/2017 12:03 AM (GMT 0)
When I was on Remicade during my first year of employment before I was protected by FMLA my employer offered me all alternate schedule. I could work 4, 9 hour days with one half day or 4, 10 hour days with one weekday off, to allow for time for those appointments. My employer did not have an issue allowing for the time off since they knew in advance and it could be scheduled. They did have issue with unscheduled absences.

After my 12 months I filed for FMLA so those days were covered.

With all of my employers I have found scheduled and planned appointments not to be an issue. What many employers have issues with is unscheduled absence because I think that leaves a feeling of uncertainty and unreliability.
Posted 3/17/2017 12:23 AM (GMT 0)
My company offers 7 paid sick days in a year. I am allowed to take sick time by hours, not necessarily a full sick day. That means I am allowed to take 56 hours of sick time in a year. If your company is not close to the hospital and you need 4 hours for one Remicade injection, then you only need to take 26 hours in a year for the medicine injection, leaving 26 hours for other medical appointment. In addition, many companies offer vacation time, which you can use to rest at home. I agree with others that you need to let your manager know well in advance.

If I were you, I would focus on looking for a good job with benefits. I would not worry about taking time off for Remicade.
Posted 3/17/2017 4:28 AM (GMT 0)
Thank you all! your advice and experiences really help!
I know I need to just focus on getting done with my thesis and then focus on getting a good stable job. everything will work out some how as long as I stay healthy. I was kind of blocking everything out while i was at my sickest while focusing on getting well and now that I'm doing better and trying to look to the future it all hit me this morning and caused me a whole bunch of panic and anxiety (how will I afford remicade if I don't have insurance right away? my doctors don't participate with many insurances and I don't want to have to switch now that i found a good team, how am I going to get the oral and hernia surgery done before I get a job so it doesn't conflict with work... and on and on) It was like reality all came crashing in but I think I've gotten a grip on myself and am going to do my best to work things out as I go along.
Posted 3/17/2017 12:29 PM (GMT 0)
Lab, when I was on remi my boss was very accommodating and I was also able to use PTO to fill in the missed hours. My current job has been flexible as well with my Entyvio infusions, as long as I make up the time it's no big deal. I've been able to work into a late afternoon appointment which doesn't disrupt my work schedule as much. Good luck with remi and the new job search!
Posted 3/17/2017 1:15 PM (GMT 0)
I would think most employers would offer accommodations if the appointments were scheduled in advance allowing them to fill the gap in advance. I think it's a bigger problem when you call in unexpectedly and then other employees have to cover at the last minute.
Posted 3/17/2017 5:08 PM (GMT 0)
Lab,

I think most people will work with you as much as possible. The key is to make it in the door and to where FMLA will kick in....then it gets easier.

My big sister told me just to breath, take deep breathes, and handle things as they come. It does help if you take one day at a time.

Clo
Posted 3/19/2017 3:32 AM (GMT 0)
Thank you all! This definitely helps me!

@clo- yep the deep breaths are definitely needed. I need to get through a lot more before I can even start looking
Posted 3/21/2017 9:15 PM (GMT 0)
Lab, what type of job/industry will you be looking for a job in? There's tons of variation across different types of work.
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