Zero timeoff in nearly 2 years results in problem with HR after flare and WFH

I got an inquiry about having been out of office last 5 weeks yet not putting any vaca/personal time off into the system. I explained the rigors of UC and how being in the office was not productive. I also detailed how I have a desk with a large cutout so I can lay face down a large monitor then lie down beneath it with wireless mouse and keyboard to continue working without expending energy. I pointed out I worked the last 8 weekends until taking last weekend off. I said to ask my boss who communicated with me daily during that time to confirm with him I was actually working and not lounging. The HR person said I have 125 hours of time off and 4 personal days but no time off recorded.

"There has not been 1 hour of time off entered EVER. No vacation, no personal days, no sick time. I went back to your start date." ( of course I was charging for all those hours until spring of this year when I went to flat salary ).

I told her I am non-stop and was the only guy after the others quit which left no room for time off in this role. I told her I have worked with a pager 24x7 for almost 2 years and that we are trying to hire another guy so I can have a normal life and time off this holiday season with someone to rotate the pager with.

She said it was a 'problem' and if i took no time off in the last year that was a 'problem' too.

This did not sit well with me but then the new VP of Engineering told her in email reply that it is all correct and we need to hire another guy so I can have a personal life, valued employee and all that - it seemed to end. I REALLY appreciate the support from that guy.

I said thanks for the flexibility allowing me to wfh during this flare, if you want to recover some off time then do so but leave enough for me to be on vacation this holiday season I wont work straight thru again like last year.

I gave her the ugly details about how the john downtown is too small and with UC your going maybe 20-40 times per day so being here at office makes no sense. I also informed her that I will be going to zero medication soon and it could startup all over again.

Bizarre, completely unexpected.

Proves the old observation that if they like your work they put up with just about anything, if they don't like your work they will find the tiniest thing wrong in order to get rid of you.

Somedude said...
I am confused. In a few of your threads you mention going to the gym working out...now you mention working upside down lying down so you don't use energy and such.

I mean, which is it. Going to the gym, that takes a crap load of energy.

I also saw that you work like a madman, and you don't like to take time off? Like....why? lol

I mean, I get it, you wanna show you're a valued employee... but geez, if I was your employer, I'd force you to take time off. You're crazier than me...and I start early before my start time and finish late most of the time.

I also read you had a heart attack at one point? Dude man...you need to chillax lol

The only thing I'll give you props, it's for your dedication. But, that's about it.

OK here is the clarifications:

Flare started after taking amoxicillan. At that time I had been running sprints each morning, then lifting weights at home gym then at gym downtown in the afternoon. That is a lot of body inflammation.

When the flare hit plus the flu I had zero energy. This was 7-8 weeks ago that I was prescribed amoxicillan and the flare started immediately. So with no energy I had to continue to support the team deploying new custom software remotely and while lying down. I simply did not have any energy to sit up at a desk. I had no appetite due to the flu so I could not eat salmon 3 meals per day and shut the uC flare down. I lost 20 lbs immediately. Lack of food + flu + flare explains the total lack of energy.

That all changed when I came on strong at the GI office dictating email to the Dr about what the gameplan is for getting on prednisone. He prescribed that the next day. Immediately plunging body temps, headaches and lack of energy vanished. At that point I was sitting up working at my home office desk BUT as I told the HR gal it made no sense to come downtown and work while still having urgency and lots of trips to the men's room.

The reason I took no time off in 2011 nor in 2012 is because I was a consultant not an employee. I just completed 4 years of extreme alimony and I wanted the $cash$ not the time off. Since the other guys doing my role quit, taking a day off would halt the progress of development in the shop. So as long as they were paying 70, 80 hours per week I worked round the clock. personal best was 96 hours. That windfall paved the way to build a custom dream home for my daughter and myself and fix up the tiny place to sell ( base camp for sending out alimony checks ). We went from 960 sq feet to 3600 sq feet. Its a heck of a lot more to keep clean that much I know for sure. Then I plunged 16k into fresh landscaping, big trees and in-ground trampoline ( different HOA, different rules ). That was my 2nd best year of income ever.

Now I am employee and I am sitting here working NOT getting paid overtime so I need another guy so I can use my time off and also let someone else handle the pager from time to time at night.

No heart attack yet, sagittal sinus thrombosis which is a stroke and is related to UC. When they told me I too thought it was the heart.

On thin ice right now because these are the same exact circumstances as 2010 stroke tapering off prednisone after hot summer + dehydration. So drinking lots of water and taking curcumin + ECGC as anti-clotting agents.

If I exit the flare I go back to working out and put on the weight by xmas. I lifted hard today downtown but with dropping pred to 5mg next week and 0mg the next week weightlifting must stop - too much total inflammation for adrenals only making 8mg per day.

I hope that makes more sense.

Post Edited (aguywithuc) : 10/10/2012 6:31:06 PM (GMT-6)

Somedude said...
Well, it makes sense, but you're still crazy. (no offense) Just reading it makes me stressed out. lol

Try remicade, it might be a wonder drug for you, better than predinsone.

LOL, yeah I am crazy, but even crazier on prednisone - my god. My daughter has got to be walking on eggshells never knowing when an abrupt mood change will occur and I become volcanic over something rather small.

Your comment reminds me of Acthar. Instead of being a catabolic steroid both shutting down adrenals and erasing mucle development it encourages the adrenal glands to produce more naturally. I heard its incredibly expensive.

Acthar works by helping the body produce natural steroid hormones to reduce inflammation.
Acthar may be the right choice if you:
Are unable to cope with the side effects of corticosteroids ( count me in ! )
Have been treated with a corticosteroid and it did not work ( not last time but a wonder drug this time ! )

I have same problem with work, they want to get every minute possible out of you for as little as possible but the second you need to take a second of that time back, they have a problem with it. Corporate jobs are evil. What I don't understand is, why stop medication when it sounds ike you KNOW it's going to give you worse problems? How about trying to find something that works for you so you're able to live like a normal person? I understand all of your issues with your job and the flexibility issues, trust me, we all deal with that but at least try to do what you can to stay healthy. If you're well, you can put up the argument for why you need flexibility and maybe you will make progress in time if they learn to trust you.

Probiotic said...
Will take my chances next time.

Amen to that, unless they say 'you have the flesh eating bacteria and must take this cocktail at once' then fuggettaboutit.


NSSG,

I was so lucky last year, the VP I reported to allowed continuous work from home and boat loads of overtime and there was the work of 3 people to be done so it was perfect.

I converted to employee this year to help them save some money and to help take this to an equity event. He already did so with 3 previous companies and when this one sells he will cash in and hopefully ring me up for the next one and the one after that. As it turns out it was too much stress in high-tech for him - he bailed to a resort company with 6 weeks vacation annually :)

From interviewing candidates I can see its nasty out there where they work most employers are not very understanding and not very flexible.

Old Hat,

Here is the plan :

1 - Offer letter goes out to backup candidate today - this means time off and pager 'rotation'
2 - It also means my working from home for a flare is less of a big deal
3 - I already halted running from consulting contract to contract - staying put till the company sells
4 - Regular hours will mean more time to spend with daughter
5 - Point taken on seeking balance, going to spend more time stretching and deep breathing daily (chill)

Thanks all for the feedback.

:)

Post Edited (aguywithuc) : 10/11/2012 1:43:21 PM (GMT-6)

notsosicklygirl said...
I have same problem with work, they want to get every minute possible out of you for as little as possible but the second you need to take a second of that time back, they have a problem with it. Corporate jobs are evil. What I don't understand is, why stop medication when it sounds ike you KNOW it's going to give you worse problems? How about trying to find something that works for you so you're able to live like a normal person? I understand all of your issues with your job and the flexibility issues, trust me, we all deal with that but at least try to do what you can to stay healthy. If you're well, you can put up the argument for why you need flexibility and maybe you will make progress in time if they learn to trust you.

LOL NS...the company WANTS him to take time off. He doesn't want to.

And why he doesn't want to take meds? Cause he don't want to lol..he be loco.

therearemiracles said...
HI! So are you just tapering from Pred now? Do you take any other meds?

Feel better! Don't worry about your body image right now. I'm in the same place as you. I worked out 5-6 days a week hardly any cellulite on my body and now it's all over, because being on pred last winter made me sick and tired and I didn't no squat!

Yep, on 10 mg pred but crazy day interviewing downtown then racing back for parent-teacher conf, I never took my 3:00 pred, that was 4.5 hours ago. I am taking 2.5mg every 6 hours to tease the adrenals. I had a visual artifact preventing me from reading last night, we thought it was a 2nd stroke and nearly went to ER because of headaches ( I never ever get headaches even if I were to drink a bottle of booze ). I got to the point of taking a half tab of coumadin after teh pharmacy cuff read 107/75 - do not see how you can have a stroke and all that pressure backing up without high blood pressure.

Pain started to return an hour ago - then it dawned on me - its prednisone withdrawal. Popped my 2.5 and stopped worrying.

I totally agree with you, the body thing its temporary, you can get in killer shreaded shape but in order to keep it you have to keep after it. However the health benefits to UC and the brain are so strongly correlated that working just to be optimally healthy keeps me going to the gym, summer time when the shirt comes off well yeah then there is much more motivation. People have always said I look like Marky Mark, which is true but he is the better looking version by far. However when ripped I could pass as his brother same frame similar head. Not to mention he can act dance sing....

Back at ya - I appreciate your board presence and contribution as well :)

notsosicklygirl said...
It sounds to me like they just want him to use up his PTO.

So you're a salaried employee but you didn't show up for 5 weeks and you worked from home? I think the company I work for would definitely fire me after about a week.

I think the HR gal just found it unbelievable and figured either a) He is lying or b) He could not navigate the HR site well enough to properly enter those hours he took.

It was c) "Neither" - new VP backed me up 100% and I got his back for that.

I worked all of 2011 from home which swung the lions share of custody my way because she was here with me. This 5 week stint I cleared with them, I talked directly to the new CEO ( small company mind you ) and my new boss and said here is the deal either a) I go to hospital which means every 4 hours they barge in and draw blood and its noisy etc or b) My hospital becomes my home and my remote office.

Nobody had a problem with it, small companies have to be nimble and with zero depth at my position they just wanted to know I was going to pull my weight during software releases, emergencies and problems that prevent other employees from working. When they saw me constantly online ( as usual ) nobody cared. Well they cared in that they realized 'hey he is not superman, he breaks down every 2 years, we need a backup for him.'

Again I think the HR gal simply did not get the memo did not know I had talked to the key people about this. Apparently everyone was very concerned after hearing my voice on the conference calls, thought I might croak.

Old Hat said...
Sulfasalazine is the OLDEST 5-ASA, mesalamine bonded to sulfapyridine so that it will reach the gut. If one goes on it seriously for maintenance, one is supposed to get an Rx for daily folic acid supplement. (Just FYI.) You could also ask for the enteric-coated tablets to protect your stomach from upset. (Does it help to regrow hair?-- I doubt it.) Most of the scalp hair loss complaints here on the forum seem to come from UCers on steroids or Lialda. In any case, I'm glad you're thinking about 5-ASA maintenance because it would definitely be better for you overall to break the repeat flare-repeat Pred cycle. Steroids can lead to cataracts, joint necrosis, & many other problems with vital organs over time. Take good sound care of yourself so that you can enjoy cooking in the new kitchen with your daughter. My gastro says that the MAIN REASON UCers re-flare is that they quit meds instead of trying for maintenance regimens. (Gastro has 30 yrs. experience treating IBD) / Old Hat (32 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)

I agree and discussed with the Dr and he said he heard about hair loss too but it is just the disease course ( not absorbing nutrients in a deep flare ).

I think there are actual studies that show the reduced inflammation from sulfasz resulted in regrowth but its just funny there are two opposite camps out there as far as believing what it will do for hair. I have seen more good info on suflas-z so I wont be taking anything that comes with a cost offsetting the benefit.

Wow doing something right. I worked until 4:00 with Australia, slept a few hours but lost track of last bm it was sometime yesterday evening. Now I am finally getting ready for 5mg and 0mg week, cutting out remaining sugar and yerba mate did the trick. Still eating and taking stimulants so something is working.