how many of you have stopped working cause of UC?

I have not, but if I did, I would have the jpouch surgery, I have to work to carry the benefits, my husband is basically self employed. I just see no other option for myself.

im in a small flare right now. no diarhea but i do see blood and i get cramps. i went to see my GI last week and he told me that my stressful job doesnt help with the symptoms. i think either i will try to find a new job or do things to help me relax like getting massages :).

I was a stay at home mom before I was diagnosed in Feb this year. I was actually looking for a job when a major flare landed me in the hospital. I still want to go back to work but I know that stress is my trigger so I need to find something that isn't too stressful (if it's possible). I am also dealing with my husband who is a germaphobe and doesn't want me to have to deal with the public because of being on an immunosuppressant. I am definately not going to let this disease keep me prisoner in my own home.

In all the time I've had UC, I've worked, and have only missed a handful of days. It really can be a struggle for me, but I have no choice. No job = no health insurance and no $. I've been lucky enough to find an employer that is tolerant of my condition.

barbl said...

I processed medical claims for one of the major insurance companies.

The center here in Phoenix has the worst processing record in the nation. It was run by a bunch of unhappy, older, bitter woman. They went through top management like water through a seive. I was the top processor with the highest financial accuracy. Unfortunately I'm petite, wear nice clothes and drive a corvette. THEY HATED ME. I was going to the restroom @ work at least 10-15 times with nothing but blood and severe cramping, I ended up in emergency with dehydration. I'm not a quitter, but I had enough. So I gave my notice. My manager almost fainted, begged me not to quit. I said no I quit probably 10 times. She then said you can go on short term disability for up to 6 months!

I filled out all the info, note from my Dr. saying I probably should have been hospitalized.

4 weeks later I got a letter listing my 10-15 bloody diahrea a day, extreme pain, dizziness, dehydration. The letter then went on to say that because my job involved sitting at a desk there was no reason I could not perform my duties.......well....Cigna can kiss my inflamed rectum

I bet it is one of those situations where they automatically deny, and you have to appeal and/or get a lawyer for them to comply, no matter what. Sounds like an unhealthy environment, anyway! Did you quit?

Good luck, and know all works out for the best. I wish you peace!!

BTW, I missed two weeks during my first flare in 1986, but have not missed another day that I can recall, although I spend a lot of time in the bathroom some days!!  And sometimes I'm late, but I don't really have to keep a set schedule.  I would turn to surgery before I would quit, and probably before I would take disability if I were that sick.

I curently get a flare 1 or 2 times a year and after remicade quiet working i have been flared for over the last year or so. 3 times in the hospital this year so far. I work as a mechanic working on heavy equipment, which includes anything from chainsaws (the hand operated kind) to earth moving equipement. Most of the time i work on refuse trucks (garbage trucks). Even when i was on remicade and in remission i was able to stay mostly sickness free, i washed my hands often wore gloves when working and tried to keep myself warm all the time. In the united states as long as you have been employed at your work for over a year and i believe they have to employ so many workers, (the number 12 seems familiar but i could be wrong) you can have your doctor fill out FMLA papers, (stands for Family Medical leave Act) which gives you 12 weeks a year of leave from your job. This unfortunatly is not paid leave unless your employer offers a short or long term leave. For me as i am hospitalized a cpl times a year becouse of severe cramping urgency and bleeding as well as i usually become anemic and dehydrated i am on leave from my work usually 2 to 3 weeks a year. I have worked through UC since 2004 or 2005. I hope this information helps you. If you google it im sure there is a ton of information out there for it. My job is through a municipality so every couple years it is very stressful when the politics start. I wish you well and im sure there is a job out there that you may be able to tolerate, hopefully you will find something.

When I quit my job, my hubby's insurance wasn't that great nor was mine. It hardly covered anything. And my pay wasn't the greatest either. So surgery wasn't an option for me at that point in time. I had a hard time working since then because working to me is a major source of stress and my gut has always reacted negatively to stress. And of course I would flare again. I even tried temp jobs but I would have to quit them too because of flaring. Now my hubby has a great job with awesome insurance (even though it's a pain in the tush sometimes!) so now I have that luxery of not having to work for which I am grateful.

Great advice on the FMLA forms. I have an intermittant leave set up that falls under FMLA and covers me whenever I'm out w/a flare or have to see my GI doctor. It is an unpaid leave or can be funded by sick/vacation days if you have them. Its mainly set up for job security so they cant fire me.

Massage envy is a great place! Very affordable and helpful for my UC and fibro symptoms.

I have been out of work on disability for the past two months. This was the first time since my diagnosis that I had to miss time. I have always been able to handle the UC but this time I landed up in the hospital for 19 days, on top of the UC I also contracted C-diff in the hospital. After I got out I was so weak and anemic which for a guy is not common my hemoglobin was like a 7. I did have a blood transfusion which helped I am just now getting back to normal. I have a standing appointment with my GI weekly since I was so bad off I am hoping to go back to work by November. I have an office job which makes it alot easier to deal with. Luckily I have good insurance. Make sure to understand FMLA policies and your state disability compensation. I don't know why I felt guilty applying for it. I used up 18 vacation days before I opted to apply. My doctor actually yelled at me and insisted I apply for it. Luckily my job is supportive and I have a back up.

My first flare got pretty bad right in the middle of my annual flight training at my company. Its the time of year when the company would reward us with training to fly better helicopters and as a result we make more money. I did all my recurrent training, but just couldn't hang on for the last little bit of training in which I was to learn to fly the MD500. Now this year I didnt even make it back to training as this flare has been persistant and I didnt think it would have healed by the time I am supposed to go back. I called and told them I couldnt make it to the training, and they laid me off :(