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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 11/5/2014 6:56 PM (GMT 0)
I wonder how many of you work through your UC flare. For me, its practically impossible but I used to get through Bentyl. Now it doesn't work as well. How do you guys get through, esp if your boss is well informed or want to ignore it.
Posted 11/5/2014 7:31 PM (GMT 0)
Quit and get on medicaid and social security until I'm stable, but that's just me. :)

During a miserable flare I had two years ago, I was balancing between college and work. Tried "soldiering" through my job and my adrenals crashed because of the implicit stress levels, combined with the fatigue from colitis. I would also get close to blacking out when getting up from my desk to take breaks.

Nevertheless, I was incredibly lucky to have supervisors who understood my situation so well and they continued to let me work despite taking off so many times. I still ended up resigning from it, though.

It was more of a wake up call to me to take care of my health because it's something we only get once. Since then, I've been re-evaluating my career choices. I'd like to do something more people oriented (restaurant industry) and have my own schedule (preferably nights).

Other people on this forum are soldiers because they go through far worse on the job (accidents, etc). Me? Not so much. It's admirable how people pull through the worst of situations during flares. They are my personal heroes.
Posted 11/5/2014 7:32 PM (GMT 0)
If I flared then I'd ask for stronger meds. If I really needed to work on a bad day then I'd take Bentyl and Imodium. I would also come in late (mornings were usually tough for me) and stay later to get all my work done. I'd also eat only certain times of the day so I could "control things better".

I got so sick that I could no longer make it to work most days so I changed our phone system to a VOIP system so I could answer and work from home when I needed to. That was really helpful for me but it's not an option for everyone.

I'm speaking past tense because I finally had to go for surgery because my UC was out of control and I wanted my life back, I'm so glad that I did it and I feel great now and I am working full time again.

I think it depends on your company and where you work and what your responsibilities are. Depending on the size of your company you may have some protected rights by the government to assist you.
Posted 11/5/2014 8:49 PM (GMT 0)
First time I flared in 2013 God was fortunate and I was layed off because of slow season and was able to draw unemployment as I was going into the hospital.

Second time I flared God blessed me even more in just before it got bad I got a job offer as an Systems Analyst for the Aquarium in our area and its not a labor intensive job at all and usually near a bathroom, fortunately, only had one accident and it was because of my own foolishness. Ended up having to go to the hospital again for 4 days but my boss was very understanding and didn't get angry.

If I was doing a labor intensive job outside I don't know how I would do it, but God has blessed me exceedingly and seems that when I'm about to go thru a tough time, He makes the right accommodations.
Posted 11/5/2014 8:53 PM (GMT 0)
I think everyone's "flares" are different. I have been in a constant flare for over four years now since diagnosis. Never had one real remission. I have worked the whole entire time. The last couple of years though my flare has been quite mild. No pain, usually no diarrhea, usually no blood, no mucus, urgency usually OK, going 3-5 times per day, mostly in the morning. I actually live an almost normal life. Even when I was at my worst I still worked.
Posted 11/5/2014 9:24 PM (GMT 0)
I'm really lucky I have a desk job and can use the bathroom as much as needed during the day (unfortunately it can be very far away at times). I am very lucky to have great sick/vacation time benefits. If I am really sick I call in. I also did the FMLA paperwork- my job is protected if I call in sick or come in late. Mornings are really bad for me when flaring so I often make it in, but I am late. My doctor specifically wrote my FMLA for intermittent leave and noted that I may be up to 4 hours late 4 mornings each week.

I have not shared any personal health information with managers or co-workers. I am pretty private and don't welcome unsolicited advice or comments.
Posted 11/5/2014 9:58 PM (GMT 0)
I work in a pretty stressful, sales position and I've been there almost 12 years. Luckily, I have great benefits that allows me to take STD after using a certain amount of vacation days. I'm also covered under FMLA, as long as the Dr and insurance get all the paperwork in order.

There is no way I can work when I'm flaring. The bathrooms are very far away, sometimes I can't even make it 10ft to the bathroom at home.
Posted 11/5/2014 11:12 PM (GMT 0)
The first four months or so of having UC symptoms, I felt totally fine and was able to go to school and do all my normal stuff. The fact I felt so normal is what took me so long to see a doctor.

I doubted I had UC, but now I'm in a flare up so bad that I can hardly eat, can hardly get up and go to school, and do anything. My parents are really forgiving but I feel bad because I feel like I might not be trying hard enough. However my lab results came in and it confirmed that the UC is getting worse, so it's not just me imagining myself to be worse than I am. I wouldn't care about my bowel problems nearly as much if it didn't cause fevers, fatigue, and pain alongside it because that's what makes it hard to function.
Posted 11/5/2014 11:26 PM (GMT 0)
I work from home a lot. When I need to go to the office, I just wing it and hope for the best. The problem for me is that it's a large office and the bathroom is far away. it's also locked and I get very nervous fumbling with keys when I am in a rush. I try to work from home as much as possible. I get more done at home and I don't have to waste time or money on driving and gas. I do not understand why more people can't work from home. Seems like it makes sense with all the traffic and wasteful use of gas. I do not think i would have been able to hold a full-time job with my flare up if I had to be there everyday.
Posted 11/5/2014 11:35 PM (GMT 0)
Lomitil, Immodium. If not for those few things a lot would have been impossible for me.
Posted 11/6/2014 2:06 AM (GMT 0)
I worked through a pretty bad flare, luckily it's office work and the bathroom was a short sprint away.
Posted 11/6/2014 4:21 PM (GMT 0)
I once worked from home on the floor with monitor over me and wireless mouse/keyboard for 4 weeks straight due to severe flare and pneumonia. My boss told HR to buzz off when they tried to poach my sick time, he said I was online working every day.

Recently I worked from home for a full week to get a turnaround but told local and regional director to expect more however more was not required I bounced back quickly without prednisone or doctors by returning to my protocol.
Posted 11/6/2014 8:42 PM (GMT 0)
I'm flaring badly right now - the last two weeks have been especially awful - and I've worked every day. My desk isn't as close to the bathroom as I'd like, and I've had a few minor accidents (and more than a few close calls). Sometimes the drive to and from work (30 minutes) is worse. Like everything else with this disease, you do what you have to do.

I've used the toilet at work so much lately, that I've started expecting my toilet at home to flush itself...every time I use it! tongue

Anyway, for me, the part that really sucks is I'm so wiped out by the time I get home, I just don't have the energy to interact with my wife and two young kids as much as I should. Some days it's all I can do to make it home onto the sofa. cry
Posted 11/6/2014 9:01 PM (GMT 0)
I managed to work through my first flare, which was pretty bad (15-20+ very urgent BMs a day). Luckily, my office was literally about 10 steps away from a bathroom and only about 5 people used it. Plus, they all knew what was going on, so if they were going to be a while, they'd go use a different bathroom. I figured it was better to suffer a bit of humiliation to tell them what was going on than to suffer a lot of humiliation by crapping my pants at work.

I'm not sure how I'd have managed if the flare had occurred during summer, when I had a lot of outside work/travel. This was during January/February when I was always indoors. There was one or two meetings that I usually attended that I skipped, but I probably would have anyway because I had a newborn at home as well.
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