Feeling very down

Django Pony

Django Pony

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Hi,
3 weeks ago I was taken into hospital with suspected meningitis, thankfully it turned out to be a "complicated migraine".
Last Sunday I have either ruptured a disc or torn a ligament in my lower back which hurts a LOT, I have been on super strong painkillers and diazepam for the muscle spasms. I can't even think about riding for weeks. :(
To top it all off I now have cystitis :(
Hobbled back into work today and was treated to a "Return To Work" interview which is meant to be about how to support you when you return to work, but turned out to be a lecture about how many days off sick I've had lately.
I know there are people out there with far, far worse problems but I just feel really down and felt the need to vent.
Thanks for listening. x
 
big hugs for you!!

you dont sound happy at all! back probiems are never nice and not riding is even worse when your told your not allowed to ride!

i hope your back dont give u gip for too long and your back in the saddle in no time!
take care
 
Echo Mrs. M. and are you in a Union? These stupid return to work interviews are supposed to be helpful, not an opportunity for a crap manager to have a go at you! Makes my blood boil when these things happen.
 
what is it that you do .i know some companies the nhs included are very hot on this but i guess its the manner in which they do it, ,sometimes its just bad luck everything goes wrong all at once but you cant control some things. can i join you as my horse has done a tendon and ive just broken my wrist so off sick at a time that is really not good.
 
Aw, thanks guys, you've cheered me up an 'iccle bit :)
I'm sorely tempted to just call in sick for the rest of the week! Only problem is I was off most of last week and there is only so much Jeremy Kyle a girl can take! lol
I'm not in a Union, might look into it though. The irony is part of my job is to make sure people do return to work interviews properly, i.e. support the person back to work. It appears that my boss must've missed that training day!
 
debsflo said:
what is it that you do .i know some companies the nhs included are very hot on this but i guess its the manner in which they do it, ,sometimes its just bad luck everything goes wrong all at once but you cant control some things. can i join you as my horse has done a tendon and i've just broken my wrist so off sick at a time that is really not good.
Click to expand...

I'm an Operations Manager for a pharmacy chain - my boss is a pharmacist - supposedly a caring profession!
 
Poor old you, sounds like your having a horrid time. Work is always awful to return too when you have been poorly. Lets hope it gets better and you feel better asap. Chin up me ol' mucker ;)
 
You have my sympathies from a fellow migraine sufferer. They are very debilitating and I have to take time off work as well sometimes as I cant drive, and seeing as I have a 20 mile drive to work, I wont risk it. Hope the back is better soon.

Talking as a company director, we are always sympathetic with our return to work interviews. They are not designed to give the sufferer a hard time, but if we feel someone is taking the pee then we wont hold back, but its done in a positive and caring fashion, if you can believe that. Maybe your boss had a hard day - bosses do have them from time to time. One of my managers got my goat today whinging about her holidays next year. She got snarled back at by me, who she caught at really the wrong moment. OK I was wrong, but just because I own a large portition of my company, it doesnt mean I have to be sweetness and light all the time.

Keep your chin up though. **** does happen and it happens all at once. If you are a valued employee, any decent employer will endeavour to support you. I do hope that you feel better soon and yes, its pretty vile not riding.
 
We have "Return to Work" interviews as well - I always feel like I am being accused of pulling a sickie. The problem is that they do nothing to encourage you to come to work, they just make you feel undervalued and next time when you are not sure whether to go sick or force yourself to work, you just think that as they don't really care, you might as well go off sick.
As for your back, you have my full sympathies. I have a permanently "bad" back. Nothing major - just the way I am. I stretched up today at work and something went ping and I now have a strange stabbing pain in my back. Lots of ibuprofen for me, I think!
I hope you feel better soon!
 
Just as an update, I was given a "Fit Note" stating that I couldn't drive for longer than 30 mins. I went back to work and it was getting better but on the 3rd day I sneezed whilst driving into work and out my back out again :( My boss took me to the local A&E who said there wasn't much more they could do but gave me a letter to take to my GP asking for me to be referred to me for physio.
Went to my GP today who has referred me for physio (hurrah :D) and have given me another fit note saying "no driving" for 2 weeks.
Being back in the saddle, however is still a no-no for now :(
 
I was looking forward to a rest, howver my genius boss has come up with the idea of getting someone to be my driver for the next 2 weeks! What a waste of time and resources!! Oh well, Hi-ho hi-ho its back to work I go...... :(
 
hope your back improves soon, i don't think anyone can appreciate just how debilitating it can be till they've experienced it themselves :(

and i feel for you at your Fit For Work interview. I worked for HMRC for 27 yrs till last year. Couple of years ago i had time off sick for surgery and recovery was slowed due to an infection and complications from diabetes.(basically wound became infected, healing can take longer for diabetics anyway and my glucose control went crazy despite all attempts to manage it.) Ofc all was covered by a sick note.
on my return i had a FFW interview in which my manager told me she'd spoken to HR who had told her diabetes wasnt serious and shouldnt have affected my recovery so i should have been back sooner. Because of this i was given a formal warning! luckily i was in a union and my GP was willing to provide a letter for my manager explaining the risks associated with diabetics having surgery. And what p....d me off most is that the HR people have absolutely no medical knowledge whatsoever yet she chose to believe their diagnosis over my GP and consultant

That same manager was one of those who 'bravely' struggled into work with flu, infected the rest of us then was all high and mighty about people being off sick with it! i told her in no uncertain terms i would make a complaint about her if i was disciplined for being off with it!
 
I know the feeling. I worked for a well known petrol station chain for a year. One day I was riding Olly bareback when he tripped, fell on his knees and threw me headfirst into the floor giving me concussion. I know it was a bit naughty considering I was very queasy and seeing double but for the whole week I was ill I drove the 4 miles into work and did my shifts.
However when I rang in sick with the flu the new DM had a go at me. I suggested that he speak to the SM who told him that if I was ringing in ill then I must be really poorly and to give me a break as I was normally in come hell or high water. She was lovely - the only thing that I enjoyed about working there was working with her.

Hope you feel better soon hun, would a GP note telling her how sick you have been help?
 
This is a very difficult area and I can see both sides. I have needed time off sick, but I have also been a manager with an employee taking the pi%%.

This employee would always phone in with different illnesses and they were always for less than the week before you have to get the doctor's note. She ended up running out of sick leave (which was 3mths) in a year which shows how much time she had off. We were a small building society and worked on a skeleton staff. By being off sick so often we had to rely on cover from other branches, and the reliable staff lost out on their days off because she would be off sick.

As an employee I had surgery to remove my tonsils and had warned work I would be off for 2wks afterwards. I was signed off for those 2wks but my manager still called me twice in that time to check I would be back in when due (if not sooner). My husband spoke to her the second time and said she could not speak to me as the reason I was signed off is that I was in pain and could not talk, so by phoning me she was only delaying my recovery. That got rid of her!

Whilst I am a firm believer everyone has the right to sick leave and not to be made to feel bad about it as a manager I am aware people do take the pi$$ and these are normally the ones that always have something different wrong with them (as you have been unlucky enough to have). I am not saying that person is you, just that it is a trigger point to a manager. And do not go off with stress unless you really have to as it is one of the worst things you can do as it ruins all credibility at work - it has happened to people I know in a few jobs and they have ended up leaving because of it.
 
Poor you, sounds really rotten as if you did it on purpose, so am sending rotten thoughts to your bosses and see how they cope with the lectures. I know some people do throw sickies but never a horseowner as they go throu Hell and High water to take care of their neds. A bummer
 
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