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How do you manage to work while flaring?

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 12/8/2010 3:07 AM (GMT 0)
Hi,
I'm just wondering for those of us who work, how do you manage? I work full-time and have been calling in sick and wonder if I need to go on disability until I get better. The symptoms and side effects of the meds are unpredictable and debilitating.
Posted 12/8/2010 4:46 AM (GMT 0)
Hi
I am from the Crohns side of things and I was wondering the same thing. I dont have a job now because I have not felt well enough to go back to work after I had my baby. But when I did have a job I called in so often that I was always getting talked to about my attendance issuses. Can we get on disability with CD or UC ?
Posted 12/8/2010 4:50 AM (GMT 0)
I am on Intermetient Family Medial Leave (FMLA)  I am approved for up to 40hrs a month.

Your work can't hold that against you. So when the morning is hard I take an hour or 2. I don't have to make up the time when I charge that number and I am protected by law when I charge it.

 

Posted 12/8/2010 7:45 AM (GMT 0)
I didn't flare often at all when working full-gime. Now, I have the option to cancel appointments...but all clients have bathrooms if needed.

I wouldn't be able to function at work if I were flaring and had daily bms beyond one or two, cramps, thobbing rectum, etc.

Tracy...what meds are you on?

You could also consider maybe fibre supplements or a low dosage of imodium...minimal so that you can function at work.

q
Posted 12/8/2010 9:21 AM (GMT 0)
I was working full time when I was diagnosed with uc - at the worst I was having 15-20BMs a day - I went for the - tell everyone the basics - approach, espicially when I was on a new med, when I first was put on pred I told everyone, espeically my team and my boss, that I was on meds that had mood swing type side effects and that if I was going off on a tangent that the team shouls ask my boss to call me on it. It just didn't seem fair otherwise. As it turned out the pred only made me babble really. When I went on azathioprine I told the boss and a couple of the other senior tem members what was going on, the possible long term side effects and in particular that over the next few weeks I might need a few extra sick days before things settled out.
I'm lucky - I'm in an office, the loo is not far, I've worked there for years and my side effects were reasonably light.

Good luck with it
Posted 12/8/2010 11:16 AM (GMT 0)
I work 10-12 hours/day in a demanding professional job and also have a 2-hour commute by public transportation. It is very hard - for a long time I wouldn't eat unless I was at home. Haven't told anyone or taken sick days - it will kill my career.
Posted 12/8/2010 12:54 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for your responses. Quincy, my sig should show now, but I'm on Asacol 1600 mg tid. I try to do the Canasa supps in am and Rowasa enemas in pm, but the enemas knock me for a loop in the morning. It takes me too long to expel it and I have nausea and dizziness. I'm aiting for my GI appt on 12/27 and call every fri to see if she has cancellations. I'm using leftover meds from last flare at this point.

I like the idea about using FMLA. I'm a counselor and have told some of my clients that if I cancel, bear with me. Sometimes it's hard to sit and talk about someone else's problems for 45 mins when you're not feeling well. Not to mention that sometimes it's just hard to sit for 45 mins without using the restroom! Maybe I could go on "light duty" and work the intake phones or something.

Good luck everyone!
@Alba29: It's really hard to keep this illness to yourself and I wish you the best in your health and career. I'm sorry you feel so much pressure to minimize your health concerns for your work. Money is important, but so is health. I don't eat when working, either. It'll make me sick for sure.
Posted 12/8/2010 5:44 PM (GMT 0)
I found working full time to be close to impossible while flaring. It is so embarrassing to have to always be smelling up the toilets and running to the bathroom, dealing with awful urgency. It's a lot to deal with mentally and physically. In order to maintain my full time job while I was flaring, I went the "no eating" route. I didn't eat starting at about 7pm the night before until after 4pm when I returned home from work. I had no choice. If I ate, I was pooping all day. Even without eating, I would expect a few smelly trips to the toilet. I was lucky because I was only working a few miles from home so I could run home if I was feeling really bad but that's not acceptable in a professional environment. Luckily, this environment was hip and people were nice. I've worked in more corporate place when I was younger, before I had UC and I can't imagine working like that with UC. Maybe some people could do it but I've never been comfortable about using the public toilets, I couldn't get up and run out of a meeting or conference to poop. I don't see how you would get ahead in that type of environment with UC. I am sure they would promote the guy next to me who wasn't running to the toilet and let me linger in the same position forever!! I work from home now, I find that the stress level is much lower and I am able to make the same amount of money when you account for commute expenses and write offs. I hope some day more companies allow people to work from home. With the internet, there really is no reason for people to go to work and it increases overhead.
Posted 12/8/2010 5:50 PM (GMT 0)
When I was flaring, I was working full time, and had a fairly small baby. The ony way I was able to work is that it was my "off" season (so I was at my desk and not outside) and the bathroom is literally right outside my office door. My boss also let me work from home on days I felt really bad.
Posted 12/8/2010 6:53 PM (GMT 0)
When I was flaring, it was pretty tough to work. I ran to the restroom constantly, and the gas/urgency/smell was horrible. I found some bathrooms that weren't used often, and mentally prepared myself for the run there. I used to hate it when I was running and someone would try and stop to talk to me. My coworkers knew that I was in my UC fog until my "magic hour" which was 11:00 am, and then I started to feel a little better. Not easy, not easy.

Posted 12/8/2010 11:45 PM (GMT 0)
wow. UC is really a problem. Today, I had an intern help me move some things in my office and farted LOUD in front of him. I pretended it didn't happen! lol.

Lonie, I have a similar experience: I feel able to function about 10-11 am. Before then, it's miserable, especially when I do an enema the night before.

I'm going to talk with hubby and my boss and try to figure something out. My coworker who has Celiac Disease suggested I just suck it up and go out on disabilty for a few months until I hopefully can get this under control. There's guilt associated with that, though. Guilt about my 60 clients who are going to go with minimal therapy during that time (lack of staff) and guilt about my Dad, who worked for years after being dx'd w/ TB and never complained a day in his life until he landed in the hospital. Sounds like I'm gonna need some therapy from my boss to figure this out!
Posted 12/9/2010 5:51 AM (GMT 0)
During my worst flare-ups I made arrangements with my employer to work from home. It was good for the employer, because I never really went off sick and so was able to continue to do the work. And it was good for me, just the fact that I knew that if I had rush to the toilet I'd be sure to get a seat was therapeutic in itself!
Posted 12/9/2010 6:20 AM (GMT 0)
If I can function and keep my BM's down to a reasonable level, I manage to get by, but it is miserable especially if you have a fever and don't feel well half the time. If I have to leave my machine to go to the can, I do it, most my co-workers know on a small shift so I think they understand somewhat.
Posted 12/10/2010 1:24 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, My two cents here...I work for a major airline. I did not qualify for FMLA as mentioned in the above posts. I knew there must be an alternative; to be able to take days off if needed and not have it counted against me.

In doing my research, the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) now protects you and your job. Apparently a bill was signed about a year ago confirming this as a true Disability. Bet you guys didn't know, I know I didn't.
Posted 12/10/2010 1:58 PM (GMT 0)
Interesting info, janicebuf. I'm not sure what it means pragmatically, though. I called and got an appt w/my GI on Monday!!! She keeps appts open for new pts and that slot didn't fill, so I don't have to wait until after Xmas! (Not sure what that means, either, though. Hope it doesn't mean pred.)
Posted 12/13/2010 9:39 PM (GMT 0)
I either work from home or am traveling for my job (consulting).  On a bad day and I'm not able to work from home, I just get up really early to "get it all out", don't each much and/or take immodium.  Otherwise I am so grateful to work from home!

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