Get signed off work?

PinkBatgirl

Since I moved to Norwich nearly a year ago I've bee having to travel down to London for my job 2 days a week. This has meant very early mornings and long days twice a week (usually different days each week). I had a lot of stress in my personal life from that point onwards as well and there have been significant changes to my job role since as well.

Since about October, probably as a result of all these things, I've been having migraines which last for 3 days each time - they were about once a month but since about February time (when I had a lot more personal stress happen) they've been about every 10-16 days.
Most recently, I've had a constant painful headache every day between the migraines as well (currently on the 19th day of it).

I've look at all the possible triggers for the migraines in my life and stress and/or lack of routine with my sleep are the only things I can find that may be the cause.

I'm doing what I can about both (getting up very early every single day so that the London days are no different) but I'm having to take a lot of time off sick recently as just the headache on its own is making it extremely difficult for me to get my work done and making the headaches worse.

My boyfriend has said that I should ask a doctor to sign me off work to give me a chance to recover, but in less than 2 weeks I have a 2 week holiday booked off work and I'm away out the country for the bank holiday this weekend as well and I can't see how on one hand you can be saying you're too sick to go to work and on the other going away on holiday. I also don't know what criteria doctors use to sign people off - would they say I was wasting their time or would he be likely to sign me off? If I was signed off, would that mean I would have to stay at home all the time?? Does anyone know?

I'd appreciate any advice!

dmg24

Are you actually ill at the moment? Your GP will not sign you off unless you are currently ill, recovery would be getting back into work. Has your GP referred you for further tests?

teabelly

You should see the doctor to rule out any other cause of the headaches. If you have a holiday booked then it would be better to stick it out until you get back from being away. If the headaches stop while you are on holiday then return when you work then it makes it more likely to be work related. But as you have also had personal stress you need to be dealing with the causes of that as being off work isn't necessarily going to make that stress go away.

If it is the long and irregular hours that are giving you the stress galavanting off over the bank holiday weekend doesn't look good.

Also make sure you are eating and drinking properly. Also stop drinking alcohol for a few weeks and see if that helps - it can make you dehydrated and dehydration causes headaches too.

There are some good migraine medications around too so they're not something that has to be suffered all the time.

SarEl

I'd suggest that you are very careful here. Sickness absence will more than likely get you dismissed if you start pushing this boat. You have already had time off sick, and sick leave is not intended to "have a rest". There are stresses at work for a lot of people, and many of us have a "commute" (your choice - you didn't have to live in Norwich!) - and personal stresses are not your employers big concern (sympathy is one thing - impact on capacity to work is another). You have holidays booked - have a rest then. And if the job/commute/ personal life isn't working out, get a new job, closer to home and resolve the personal issues. Adding possible unemployment to your list will not improve your stress levels.

PinkBatgirl

I saw the doctor a week ago and he has put me on beta blockers to try and make the gaps between migraines longer and make them less severe when they happen. He didn't do anything to treat the ongoing headache though, as at the time I was mid migraine so the headache had only been for a week between the last migraine and that one, I didn't know then that it would still be there a week later.
@dmg24 So yes, I am currently ill and struggling at work as the headache is worse when I'm at work and with the time off I've had then there is so much work I need to do and I'm really struggling to concentrate on it over the pain. Re further tests, no, he just put me on the beta blockers.
@teabelly I drink very little alcohol as it is (one or two drinks every couple of weeks max) and I've been making sure to be eating and drinking as much as I can, so it's certainly not dehydration.

I'm feeling very lethargic and not at all the bubbly personality I usually have, I think the migraines for so long have just worn me down but I at least have a chance to recover between then usually, but at the moment I've no chance to recover and I just want to curl up somewhere till it goes away

dmg24

Did the GP offer to sign you off?

Torby

sounds like stress, and while your employer can try and help, it looks like a change of work/lifestyle is required. You seem to have a good grasp yourself of what is causing your problems and it wouldn't appear that your employer has much control over them...I'm not a doctor, but it sounds very familiar, so I believe a change in work/life balance is required.

teabelly

I think the most practical solution is to either move closer to your job or find a job closer to you. Unless you have friends you could stay with in London and fix your days to being consecutive then I can't see how the situation is going to change for the better. Going off sick isn't going to change the underlying situation unfortunately and will just make it harder to get another job.

PinkBatgirl

@dmg24 The doc didn't offer to sign me off but then I didn't ask either and I was there to see him about the migraines and so that's what he dealt with. I have no idea if he would have signed me off if I'd then asked him to.

@teabelly, SarEl & Torby
-Changing personal stress is either out of my hands in some cases and would require massive life changes in others, so in the meantime I have to just deal with what I have in that respect.
-Finding another job to deal with work/life balance is easier said than done as in Norwich there are very few jobs available as it is and my job is a very niche one, there literally isn't another role for my career path available in Norwich.

My concern at the moment is ending this headache I've had for the last 19 days

SarEl

PinkBatgirl wrote: »

@teabelly, SarEl & Torby
-Changing personal stress is either out of my hands in some cases and would require massive life changes in others, so in the meantime I have to just deal with what I have in that respect.
-Finding another job to deal with work/life balance is easier said than done as in Norwich there are very few jobs available as it is and my job is a very niche one, there literally isn't another role for my career path available in Norwich.

Appreciate that that might be the case - but it's also not within the employers control either, and my point was that sympathy from even the best of employers only goes so far these days before it becomes a capability process leading towards dismissal. Time spent off sick - even legitimately sick - will almost certainly have negative consequences at some point, and that is only going to make matters worse for you.

PinkBatgirl

SarEl wrote: »

Appreciate that that might be the case - but it's also not within the employers control either, and my point was that sympathy from even the best of employers only goes so far these days before it becomes a capability process leading towards dismissal. Time spent off sick - even legitimately sick - will almost certainly have negative consequences at some point, and that is only going to make matters worse for you.

I'd agree with you if I thought my health issues were just due to personal stress, but I have found my work to be very stressful as well, to the point where I'm dreading coming into work a lot of days and I'm on the verge of quitting when I have no other job to go to.