moved back to the UK, out of work, with crohn's disease

marliepanda

I know three people with crohns, one who has a stoma fitted.

All three work. One is a teacher, one works as a manager of a retail store but before then worked in the delivery yard of that store, and the one with the stoma works in a betting shop. Definitely possible.

No one is passing judgment, but to say you cannot work because you need the loo frequently is restrictive and limiting.

Redacted

I have Crohn's disease. I work. That doesn't mean everyone with Crohn's disease can work, because the illness isn't uniform. Just like many other illnesses. There are many people who frequent this forum who don't work who have illnesses that are the same diagnosis as people who do work. The difference is in the severity of the illness for each person.

I haves worked with people who have anxiety disorders, depression, lupus, cancer, to name a few. Does that mean all people with those illnesses can work? Of course not!!

gazza554

marliepanda wrote: »

I know three people with crohns, one who has a stoma fitted.

All three work. One is a teacher, one works as a manager of a retail store but before then worked in the delivery yard of that store, and the one with the stoma works in a betting shop. Definitely possible.

No one is passing judgment, but to say you cannot work because you need the loo frequently is restrictive and limiting.

I'm not saying that I can't work, as I have been working for years now. Just that now that i'm back in England and have been admitted to hospital, and I am still waiting for a MRI scan to determine my problem and in the mean time I have not been prescribed any medication, not even pain relief. Just that I know a lot of companies, especially faster paced jobs would have a problem with me leaving my work space so often to use the bathroom and until I was back onto some kind of meds and my condition is under control again I was if I could get anything while out of work, that's all. No need to make me feel fraudulent for asking what I am entitled to. If it's nothing then that's that, but I don't want to miss out on anything if I can claim.

teddysmum

gazza554 wrote: »

Just that now that i'm back in England and have been admitted to hospital, and I am still waiting for a MRI scan to determine my problem and in the mean time I have not been prescribed any medication, not even pain relief.

Surely you have access to a GP , who could prescribe painkillers or advise you what to buy, if not eligible for prescriptions or over the counter is cheaper ?

specialboy

Redacted wrote: »

As with any illness, if you're not particularly familiar with it, you should probably reserve judgement on how easy or difficult it is to live with or work with. A quick read on the internet does not an expert make you.

What a stupid statement to make, my wife suffers from Crohn's disease so I think I know what I'm talking about. Go troll elswhere.

Redacted

specialboy wrote: »

What a stupid statement to make, my wife suffers from Crohn's disease so I think I know what I'm talking about. Go troll elswhere.

I'm not trolling. I was responding to your post, which I felt showed a complete lack of understanding for the illness in question; guven your blanket response that all people who have it are capable of work. I am deeply surprised to learn that someone significant to you has it, given the attitude and assumptions reflected in your prior post.

gazza554

teddysmum wrote: »

Surely you have access to a GP , who could prescribe painkillers or advise you what to buy, if not eligible for prescriptions or over the counter is cheaper ?

I did go to see my GP who said because I was already under the hospital, I would need to see my doctor, and basically shunned me away, Which is why I ended up being admitted, and because my doc wants the MRI before anything is prescribed to me, I am only able to use OTC pain relief.

von

If you are currently medically unfit to work and can provide medical certificates you can claim Employment & Support Allowance. When you phone up to claim you automatically claim Contribution - based ESA but you need to tell them you also want to claim Income-Related as, from what you've said you won't have paid enough NI contributions to satisfy the Cont based ESA.

As you have recently returned to the UK you will be subject to the Habitual Residence Test. The 3 month residence does not apply to ESA claims so it will be up to a Decision Maker to decide when you can be treated as habitually resident.

I don't know your full circumstances so can't say whether you'll qualify but there's no reason not to claim. The information is on this website
https://www.gov.uk/employment-support-allowance/how-to-claim. If the link doesn't work just Google how to claim ESA, make sure you enter a gov.uk website.

teddysmum

gazza554 wrote: »

I did go to see my GP who said because I was already under the hospital, I would need to see my doctor, and basically shunned me away, Which is why I ended up being admitted, and because my doc wants the MRI before anything is prescribed to me, I am only able to use OTC pain relief.

If the painkillers are working , fine, but if not, get in touch with your consultant, asking them to communicate with your GP.


If you have a letter from the former, look up their secretary's email address. Otherwise ring the hospital switchboard and ask for the address or a contact number.


I see a neurologist about every six months, but if there is anything my GP can't deal with, I use this method of communication.

mrshughes86

I have Crohn's and have found this website very useful - http://www.crohnsandcolitis.org.uk/support

There is information about financial help available and support if you have recently been diagnosed.

I also used the guides section and gave the employer guide to my boss when I was diagnosed - http://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/files.crohnsandcolitis.org.uk/Publications/employment-and-IBD-employers.pdf

Hopefully you can find something to suit you and and employer who is understanding.