Says it all I guess

[soupdragon69]

I got a copy of a letter my GI sent my Occ Health Cons in the post yesterday..

It reads as follows:

Thank you for your letter dated 19th March regarding this patient. I certainly believe that her current occupation is aggravating her condition and that she would be far better from the disease control point of view if she was not working. We have tried all available options to control her condition and therefore it is unlikely we will be able to offer her more potent treatment than she is currently on or has tried in the past.

Yours Sincerely..

So now I guess I just wait and see what Rheums have to say....

Am shocked - which I guess in some resects sounds ridiculous.. but.. I honestly never thought my GI would actually say I shouldnt be working AT ALL...

 

[Creepy Lurker]

He didn't say you shouldn't work at all. It sound more like he thinks your specific job is unsuitable.

It sucks that a disease should dictate what you should do with your life

 

[soupdragon69]

My Occ Health Cons has requested the report Creepy because she has told me that she wants to retire me on grounds of ill health.

He is supporting her by saying what he has. Me? I dont feel ready to call it quits yet on the work front..

And yeah your are right this disease does suck and the tears are tripping me again.

 

[D Bergy]

I do not know how it works over their, but just because you are on disabilty does not mean you cannot work.

There are certainly many charity groups that would be happy to have you on board. You can reduce your hours to something that suits you, and work in a capacity that you would find rewarding.

Or, work for cash on the side.

Dan

 

[soupdragon69]

What this means for me Dan is I lose my nursing career totally.

Its something that I have wanted to do for years and never had the courage or thought I had the brains to try until my late twenties. As a result I worked very hard for it but have loved very much the field I am in etc.

I tried "redeploying" for a couple of years (the first 6mths of which I didnt know I had crohns or inflammatory arthritis), was promoted and loved teaching but working 5 x 8 hour days was too much as I didnt have enough recovery time. I also was able to flex my hours at that time in relation to how I was each day. Prior to that I dropped night shift for a year and didnt do any more than 2 shifts together (as I thought I was feeling ill due to shift work etc) and I still only do days now.

I was hoping that if I got disability living allowance (which is a benefit to help with mobility and care and you can still work) here I might be able to stay in my job and reduce my hours. But have known deep down that it would just be prolonging the inevitable (sp?). But I think I was hoping by then I would be more accepting of things whereas now I just feel as though I am being pushed in a corner backwards despite me digging my heels in to prevent it.

I have looked in the last months at other jobs - as in totally changing direction away from nursing. Everything I have come up with so far either requires manual dexterity and some power in my hands (which I dont have now to any great extent and just typing this is very painful but at least I can rest my hands partially on the comp and do it in stages). OR it involves alot of walking or sitting for long periods of which I can do neither..

Food wise at the minute I am down to one small meal a day and my elemental drinks around it. Just with that one meal on Friday I was doubled over in pain and in the toilet within 30mins of eating at work.

Financially I am just at the stage for the first time in my life where I have a reasonable enough income to be able to do little things extra. Of course I am worried about that huge drop with stopping working too. Yes its easy to say health comes first and I am by no means vain about money in any way but I feel I have fought so hard to come this far that its unfair to have to give it all up now. Does that make sense??

I guess I am trying to work through things on here... by putting them down - I dont know - maybe it will help me figure a way forward.. I know and acknowledge my body is screaming for me to stop but my head says no. I have this thing in the back of my head that says maybe if I just stop for a "Little while" (without admitting to myself how long it could be in reality) then I will be better and be able to pick up where I left off. Also in reality this would be a permanent loss of my nursing career and I keep thinking to myself there are so many folk worse off than me I cant really be as bad as they are saying!

Just feel like I have put down the biggest load of waffle ever!

My problem I guess is that I am not ready within myself to quit work.. or to lose my career.

There is a difference here between "disability" and "retirement". Also there has just been brought out a 2 tier system of retirement on ill health grounds. So yes one level could mean I MIGHT be able to do some voluntary work down the line but as a result of the above I have no idea what.

The biggest player in all this is that I seem to have massive ongoing inflammation throughout my body that seems to trigger either my gut, asthma or joints of which the first and the last ones never ease up and no one knows why. They keep trying to look for something more major on the autoimmune front. My crohns is such that I never seem to develop enough to warrant surgical intervention but am always too sick to feel well in any way. Yesterday I was standing at work after my lunch break and my temp rocketed through the roof, I could barely stand (had to sit down), had tons of pain and my guts kept wanting me to double over along with my walking getting progressively worse as the day progressed. The Remicade helps to improve things right across the board but it seems its not enough to give me a decent quality of life. Hence my GI and I think my Rheums along with Occ Health are saying I need to stop work as they think any level of regular work is aggravating the inflammation all round.

 

[BWS1982]

Wow, kind of intense if you ask me Jan, hopefully this is one of those "a door has shut and a window has opened" scenarios. But definitely sounds like the entire immune system to me at this point, too much evidence.

I might be a cop or firefighter now if I didn't have IBD ... Either way, chin up Jan, lots of lives were prolonged in superior conditions because of your endeavors!!

 

[Guest]

it's a very hard thing to accept, acknowledging that you can't do things you want to do because your body is stopping you. i know how that feels - there are many things i wanted to do in my life - some big, some small - that i have had to come to terms with that they are out of the question for me.

Jan i know how hard this is for you, and i know how much your career means to you and how much you've put into it to get this far but honey, it does seem now is the time to listen to your body and to the professionals. you have to think about yourself and what detriment to your health you may be causing by continuing to work as you are right now.

there are many people in this world who care for you, and no-one wants you to become more debilitated because you're pushing yourself to do something your body really isn't up to anymore. this is not a failure, this is unfortunately how things are for you right now.

regarding income, i have no doubt that you're entitled to DLA, and if you get it, your partner will then be entitled to claim Carer's Allowance (or someone else if they help look after you). you might get Incapacity Benefit too, or Income Support to some level.. and these might open doors for Housing Benefit and other financial help, depending on your circumstances.

why don't you give yourself a year off? things might change in that space of time, different meds, maybe a different approach.. even just the rest from work may make a difference. you can always return to some form of work any time in the future.

 

[soupdragon69]

Thanks Benson,

The ironic thing is I looked after a guy 2yrs older than me Friday afternoon - evening who is trying to get onto the transplant list for a heart. He said in the evening that I had made both him and his wife feel so much better.

I went in Saturday morning and the Sister in charge over night was calling out who was in what team (we have 3 on each shift with a total of 25 beds/nurses) and when she got to me she said Jan you have to go back to your chap in the isolation room from yesterday - he called me in and asked if it was possible.

When I walked in the door he cheered and the night nurse laughed LOL He is on the ITU version of dialysis because his kidneys took a hit with the heart failure. Both he and his wife said last night as I was leaving how glad they were I was there and they werent sure I could have any days off now LOL

Its making a difference in the little things for those I look after that make what I do worthwhile. Yes these folks have massive health issues (which put me into insignificance) but time and time again its the little things... like working out tasty foods to tempt him, helping him pick up mood wise by bantering or encouraging him and helping to do physio.

I also think when you focus on other things outside of yourself it helps you cope better - as long as you dont use that to hide from your own issues and I guess in some respects I have done that by constantly "allowing" myself more and more time to recover and just hanging in there when in reality it isnt happening.

I know they say "when a door closes a window opens - so jump". Your few words have given me food for thought Benson. Thanks again..

Ding,

Sigh... am so very tired of fighting my way through each day. I hear what you are saying about it being to the detriment of my health too.

What dawned on me this morning was that I have been waiting for them to "balance me out" in a sense.. I have felt for many months now that there is room to manouvre and they are saying there isnt.. I know in some respects there is improvement on the remi front since they got the dose right for my weight! But the remi dose for crohns is higher than for arthritis by 2mg/kg and its the constant high level of pain that is so difficult to manage along with stiffness etc on top on peaking and troughing on the gut front.

Seems I have some decisions to make..

((hugs)) to you both

 

[Guest]

Seems I have some decisions to make..

Jan - if someone with your symptoms came to you with exactly this dilemma.. what would your advice be? not just as a medical professional, but as the caring person you are... i'm guessing if you imagined that situation, you might just find the decisions aren't all that tough..

you're obviously giving so much to these patients, sounds like more than the call of duty, and they & their families are appreciating what you do so much. but i don't think a single one of them would want you to continue, if they knew what it was doing to you.

you can always do voluntary work on wards if you want.. there are many avenues to explore in this direction, and you could still give that special gift to people - but without the strain of actually working when you're not up to it.

 

[soupdragon69]

Yes mum!

I hear ya...

 

[Guest]

Yes mum!

I hear ya...

:ylol2:

 

[soupdragon69]

:tongue:

 

[D Bergy]

Since you have come to the end of your options with the conventional medications, why not try some alternative methods?

I use both to control symptoms, and have used alternative treatments for other problems.

Since most all of your current problems revolve around inflammation you may want to see an alternative practitioner that has experience with herbal remedies. The reason being is that there is adequate scientific evidence that many herbs have properties that can reduce inflammation. I use some of them myself, but my knowledge is not nearly as good as someone who works in this area professionally.

I realize this may be a big leap of faith on your part. It may not even work, but neither are the conventional methods. People involved with medicine are generally not too open to anything that lies outside of their knowledge base. It would require a change of mindset given that you are currently in the medical field. The old saying that "to a carpenter every problem can be solved with a nail" applies. In your case the nail has proven not to be the solution so another approach may be needed.

You really have little to lose at this point, and if you can do better on an herbal regimen you will not have to make the choices you are now faced with.

This is just what my next step would be if I was in your position. I hope you can improve and I believe you can, it just is a matter of finding the correct method.

Good Luck

Dan

 

[soupdragon69]

Interesing comments Dan you have made..

Being as I do work as a nurse I treat my patients holistically. Also its something I come into contact with virtually every day at work now as many of the "remedies" can have an impact on things like general anaesthetic drugs for instance and so its something we ask folk about pre and post op.

In the past I have tried Accupunture for nerve pain several times for different areas/reasons. I have had whole body aromatherapy massage and used homeopathy many times also. These are all things I have done and tried for me as an individual over the years.

I am also a great believer of what you take into your body can have a big impact so have always gone for diet related evidence to help me too.

What no one knows here is I am a qualified reflexologist and have been since I was 17yrs of age. Even had my own business in it in my early 20's. And have on occasion used it for folk I have looked after too to manage pain and help them relax etc.

So as you can see Dan I am mostly definately not wearing "professional blinkers" as it were and have been involved in alternative therapies from an early age and long before it was the "in" thing like nowadays. ;-)

However I have not looked at herbalism in any great depth. I want to go back to homeopathy and look at the inflammatory aspects of certain spices (which I know you use yourself). For me it has come down to having the energy to be able to explore these concepts and also to be able to relate them to my current meds treatment now I know where I stand finally.

So yes certainly an aspect I will be exloring much more in the near future.

Thanks for your thoughts and comments I do appreciate your input as always!

 

[D Bergy]

Well, you have been holding out on me. I have never heard you mention anything about your prior experience with alternative medicine. I know zip about most of it, and nothing about reflexology.

I have kind of specialized in things that may help my wife or myself and don't pay a lot of attention to the rest. As you say, it takes lots of time and energy to sort through it all.

Here is a few things I have learned. Arthritis has several treatments, most I have not used but have looked into.

An extract from the Green Lipped Mussel that is sold by several companies is supposed to work especially well for Arthritis. I have never used it so I will not say it works, because I do not know. It looks like one of the most promising treatments I have seen.

Frequency treatments have enough anecdotal evidence and even a couple of studies pertaining to Arthritis to make me think they do work most of the time. My wife does get relief from this using a Rife type frequency device. Her Arthritis is from Lyme disease so the mechanism is different than typical Arthritis as it is the bacteria causing inflammation. The frequencies kill the bacteria and the joint pain goes away.

In spite of this difference, most people using this method for Arthritis are not Lyme infected. There also are licensed medical devices using the same principle so the effectiveness is fairly well established.

I have it from a pretty reliable source that this same treatment can work very well for Ankylosing Spondylitis. Again, I have never used this treatment for this particular condition, so I can't personally vouch for it.

I have used this method for H-Pylori of the stomach and my wife's Lyme disease. It works very well for both of these by personal experience and the experience of many others.

http://www.rife.de/study_documents.html

http://www.rife.de/high-tone_therapy.html

http://www.arthrowave.com/Real_science/real_science.html

Here is a pretty good article concerning reducing inflammation with diet and Supplements.

http://www.itmonline.org/arts/lox.htm

That's about all I know about the subject.

Dan

 

[BWS1982]

Leprechauns are cautious by nature with conversational revelations via dialogue, so much gold has gone missing over the years, you are told what you need to know, Bergy.

 

[soupdragon69]

Spot on Benson! LOL

 

[D Bergy]

So THAT'S where my gold went.

Dan

 

[soupdragon69]

Nope you have just forgotten where you put it Dan - dont worry you will know when you trip over it! LOL

Now if I could just remember where I put the end of that rainbow......

 

[soupdragon69]

Ok update time I guess..

I spoke to my an advisor who specialises in health problems in my union for 40mins last Tues.

He kept saying throughout the conversation he just doesnt know how I have coped for so long with all the problems I have AND held down a full time job.

I read him out the letter from my GI and he said based on those words alone I my Occ Health Cons could retire me on grounds of ill health. He reckons I should get tier 2 in the pension scheme here at work which would mean a lump sum AND a payout every month that is based on 2/3 of my salary for the last 3yrs. Which would take SOME of the financial strain off me.

I got an estimate through from my pensions department a couple of days ago and basically this means I would still take the equivilent of a 50% pay cut minimum.

However, if I got Disability living allowance (DLA) at a reasonable rate and a motability component (none of this is means tested or taken into account) then that would improve things considerably.

I would lose my current home (have been here over 5.5yrs now) as it is staff accommodation. This would mean the local council would have to rehouse me as I would be classed as homeless not through my own fault. It would also mean I would get help with Council Tax and Housing Benefit for a start as I would be below their financial limits.

My application for a mobility blue badge to help with parking in disabled spaces etc here when I need to was approved and I got the badge in the post a couple of days ago. Am soooooooo pleased as it makes life sooooo much easier! It was also just in the nick of time to get the parking department at work off my back for parking in non staff parking areas that were close to my work entrance. This is because my stiffness and pain are so bad early morning and at the end of my working day I can barely put one foot in front of the other and walking to and from the staff parking areas is way too far for me, over uneven ground and up hill! So I was sticking my tongue out and pulling faces at the guy on the phone and a couple of my colleagues who could hear the conversation were laughing as the parking folk had to climb back into their box and allow me to park where I need to now!! YAY!! LOL They had given me a final warning and were threatening fines of £60 a time in future grrrrrr.

Currently work wise am working 6hrs Tues, 12hrs wed, 12hrs thurs, off Fri, back in for 12hrs (today) Sat, 6hrs Sun, and 12hrs Mon!

Its because work have brought in a new electronic rostering system and it mucked up my week next week when I have my Remi so my shifts had to be adjusted to suit and give me Tues-Fri inclusive off. They just didnt think to look at the week just gone and how it runs into the next one!!

I was up since 5am yesterday running to the loo, bad abdo pain, was so drained all day yet needed to go shopping and do washing etc. Now have been up again this morning since 4am with the same thing. Roll on Tues and my Remi and also so I can stop work for a few days!!!

If I cant make it til Tues I will end up ringing my GP to get signed of work then yet again grrrr.

I also posted my paperwork for a review of my DLA. They tell me it could take up to 11wks for a decision. If they turn me down again this time THEN I can go to appeal but it could take up to 12 MONTHS for a decision they say! I sent 12 pages of a statement detailing as much as I could, a booklet about Crohns and also one about Crohns and Food both by the NACC with highlighted bits that applied to me. I also sent a leaflet about Reynauds and again highlighted how it affects me on top of the 12 page letter doing this in detail. I included a copy of my GI letter and also a letter my GP has done for me detailing why he thinks they need to review my situation and my illnesses etc. He has been so good to me and is backing me to the hilt on this too.

Will let you all know how I get on on that front!

I am now on 10mg Methotrexate also. I dont think its doing much so far and just feel so flaming rough on it. Rheums now have me taking folic acid 6 out of 7 days a week in a bid to control the side effects. Here's hoping! LOL

Anyway, am off to lie down and rest for a little while before I have to start getting ready for work.

Am just going to take it hour by hour and if I need to come home I will. I promise!!

Hope you are all doing ok. I have been reading but just havent had much energy or time to post this past week as much as I would like to.

Have been thinking of you all. ((hugs))

 

[Guest]

well it sounds like you're a bit clearer in your mind as to how things would be if you stopped work. so what's next? do you have to ask work to retire you?

well done on getting the parking badge, and i can just imagine how satisfying it was when you told them you now had permission to park in the staff area!

remember what i said in my previous post, think about claiming Incap, and about someone else claiming Carer's Allowance if they spend any amount of time caring for you... also, if you get Housing/Council Tax Benefit, you should also get Income Support.

and..... re housing - you're not just limited to Council housing when you're on the Council Housing list.. you can approach every single Housing Association you can find and, because you're on the Council Housing List, you can be put on their lists too.

 

[merrywidow]

goodluck ith DLA i have applied twice and twice beeen turned down. ding you can only get carers allowance if you get middle rate DLA.
sharon x

 

[soupdragon69]

Hi Ding,

On the work front I see my Occ Health cons next wednesday morn. I think the chances are very high she will retire me on ill health grounds. I have told my boss finally what has been going on and she said she would be really sorry to lose me but I had been through too much and needed to ease up on myself and my health came first.

The senior sister who does my duty roster told me that she knew there were times I went back to work sooner than I should have and it was time to look after me now. She stunned me totally then by telling me she thought I should do a professional counselling course and seriously take it up. She said I was extremely good at listening to folk, helping them to work through things and draw the conclusions that were best for them without taking over their lives and telling them what to do.

For the last 6-8mths I have been wrecking my brains trying to figure out what to do and she comes up with the answer just like that! LOL She says very little to folk about their abilities but when she does it counts.

I finally decided earlier this week that I need to call it quits and give myself a total break. I will see what my Occ Health cons says and keep you posted.

The union have told me they will help me work out what I need/can apply for on the benefits front.

Sharon,

Duncan was telling me he had to apply for DLA 4 times and in the end go before a panel before he got his post heart surgery. I agree its not one bit easy. Will keep you posted on that front.

My understanding is its what you say/how you say it that counts. At the minute I have just asked for a review by another person and if that comes out negative then I will appeal it.

Time will tell eh?

My GP has just put me off work yesterday again for 2wks. I ended up going to see him because I was running a temperature and was in alot of pain but couldnt figure out why. Also had had my remi last tues and yet didnt seem to be picking up.

Turned out my gut had gone into spasm totally in 2 different places. He was able to feel the two ridge areas. Has changed my anti spasmodic from mebevrine to buscopan and if I am no better in a few days I have to go back and he wants to start steroids because my inflammatory markers are up.

I have come to Duncans - he started his new job Tues just gone (hooray!!) so I am just paddling about here at my leisure with the dog and enjoying it.

Hope you are both doing ok.

 

[Agent X20]

Jan
I hope that however everything turns out, it turns out for the better. I hope you look back maybe in a year or so and realise this was all a good thing, even if it doesn't seem so now.

Don't want to hijack the thread, but I'm having my own problems at work now (surprise, surprise). I'll post more details at some point, but now is not the time.

Best of luck for you and Duncan... and the counselling sounds well worth considering

 

[kello82]

it sounds like youre getting things figured out

and also, you sound a bit cheerier?
im glad

i hope all of the technical things get worked out and that your pain goes down

 

[soupdragon69]

Steve I truly hope things work out the way you would like them too. Its the frustration of waiting for decisions that gets me at times.

Kello, I am getting there honey. I have worked out what direction I want to go in now and that has been the really tough aspect.

As an update for everyone I saw my Occ Health Cons last week. She is chasing the rheums team for a response as they just havent bothered. She says the pensions people are making it incredibly hard for folk to get pensioned off and she had 2 staff turned down recently - one with MS for 15yrs who had got to the stage they couldnt work anymore and another with cancer who wasnt improving! She said its how things are worded. So will continue to work very hard for me to help me get what I need in the end - its just the specifics and the minute detail!

She wants me to do paperwork for her relating to activities of daily living and specific problems I have relating to work. She says by returning to work each time I am defeating the purpose of the early retirment on ill health grounds. As a result she wants me to stay off work!!!!

My GP read the letter from my Occ Health Cons (I asked her to send him a copy that she was sending to my boss) yesterday and he has just immediately put me off work for a month!

I have already been off work 2wks with my crohns causing my gut to go into really bad spasm and had meds changed. Started pred 40mg again yesterday as my asthma and arthritis are now flaring really badly. Am just so wiped out again. My ESR inflammatory marker has been climbing over the last few weeks from around 4 to now 17 and I think it needs to be below something like 11. The last time I ended up in hospital for 2.5wks my ESR was 18 so am desperate not to go there!!

I have to go back and see my GP next wed again for review as he is trying to just keep me on pred for 5 days but says I may have to go to 60mg again or increase the length of time I am on them grrrr.

Am feeling a bit better today in that I am at Duncans and can sleep as much as I want and paddle about at my own pace. Got up and made his sandwiches this morning for work then went back to bed til midday - this is the life! LOL

On the Disability Living Allowance front I got word they are giving me the low level of the Care Component as I have difficulty making a meal for myself. This amounts to just over £18 a week. They have already paid it into my bank and backdated it.

I am appealing this as I feel I am entitled to more and also a mobility aspect due to my arthritis restricting my walking and movement greatly and being in alot of pain.

The appeal has to be in by 11th June. Will keep you all posted on this one!

Outside of all this going on my father was rushed into hospital almost 2wks ago with severe pancreatitis and almost died. He was bordering on a coma on arrival, needed 5litres of fluid to kick his kidneys into working again because he was so dehydrated, a ton of morphine for pain and blood tests off the scale.

I went back to Ireland for a few days and he is much better thankfully. He had a procedure yesterday to take a gall stone out of his bilary tract that was blocking it and move it into his bowel so he could pass it. Had a big rush of bile after it so they have kept him nil by mouth until this morning again to allow things to settle.

The pancreatitis was caused by the gall stone blocking the bilary tract and they are running blood tests today to see how things are settling. They are going to remove his gall bladder and remaining stones in approx 6wks time once inflammation has settled down.

With my dad like he was and my mum on crutches post hip replacement and all the running about I was doing I guess its no wonder I am in the state I am in.

Just glad things are on the upturn for my parents now and just have myself to sort out again LOL

Anyway, sorry for the epistle but thought I would post an update on all fronts and it explains why I haven't been around much.

Have read when I could though... ((hugs)) to you all.

I have

 

[kello82]

jeez girl, both your parents too ??

im really happy that your dad is allright now...so sorry hes going through it though

keep on trucking. you are so strong and have such a full plate. just reading your post takes my entire mind's capacity right now, much less have to live it.

i keep thinking of you

 

[BWS1982]

Wow, Jan, seems you're strong enough for the whole family. Hope all stays "on track" to the best it possibly could in the coming weeks for all of you (and Duncan and his job).

 

[soupdragon69]

Thanks folks for continuing to think of me - it means alot....

I saw my GI yesterday. He increased my remi again and said that I really need to quit work totally and have complete rest for 1-2yrs to allow my body to recover and repair because I have so much going on. He wants me to go onto my elemental drinks for a month every time my gut flares to try and put an end to the constant cycles of steroids I have had. I worked out I have had approx 5wks steroid free since last August! Since then I have either had injections into the muscle with rheumatology to help my arthritis (it lasts 3 wks instead of 5-6wks) or oral because of my asthma and gut. Thankfully the tests to check my adrenal gland function came back normal - am so relieved!

He agrees that my asthma, gut, skin and arthritis are all linked and wants to keep me on a tight leash by having me touch base with the gastro nurses one week ahead of my remi so he knows my dose is accurate according to how I am.

Saw my rheums reg today also. She said she didnt answer my Occ Health consultant about the retirement info because she wanted to see how I felt about it all, how I was and was it what I really wanted. I really appreciated this sooooooooo much.

We spent alot of time going through how the steroid injections werent working as long as they wanted them to. The methotrexate is starting to impact on my liver function again with yesterdays blood tests but she doesnt want to stop it yet to see if things settle down but cant increase it and I am not getting the benefit from it I need either to make a difference joint wise. She agrees with my GP that I have now developed Reynauds Syndrome due to my arthritis in my hands and feet. Has also increased my gabapentin for nerve pain and wants me to start taking codeine intermittently on top of my tramadol and paracetamol for pain. Will discuss this with my GP first!

She then dropped the bombshell that she wants to admit me for treatment...

It wont be an urgent admission but will get me in as soon as possible. She checked out my joints today in all the areas I highlighted and she is hoping that by admitting me they can commence me on hydro and physio therapy and also do a complete overhaul of my treatment plan because I am such a complex case (oh to be popular eh? LOL).

She is going to do a complete body bone density scan and also an MRI of my right hand and wrist as she can feel the inflammation there more than the left.

She also is going to recommend I retire completely from work on the same grounds my GI is saying and she totally agrees with him.

I have been finding it painful to type again so havent been around as much but will be when I can! Grrrrr

I am seeing my GP at 8am thurs and will ask to stay off work til I see my Occ Health cons next thurs. Also have to repeat my blood tests again next week rather than 2wks time due to my liver function nosediving.

I have appealed my Disability Living Allowance on the Mobility front and have so far managed to get the low care rate. If I take retirement on medical health grounds I will get roughly the equivilent of half pay each month as a pension and a lump sum but only if I can prove I am sick enough and use the right words as I said in a previous post! Thankfully I have those that count on my side.

Time will tell. Will keep you all posted.

 

[kello82]

oh jan.
well, maybe a hospy admission will get you all sorted out faster than having to bounce from appt to appt and office to office?
i sure hope so.
fingers crossed that this long rest and recoup will make your years after GREAT ones and you can bustle around with no worry once again