Claire-R
Well-Known Member
double post
~Working with horses and Calling in sick
- Thread starter Fools Motto
- Start date
Claire-R
Well-Known Member
I haven't really suffered with migraines luckily but Mother has them constantly and she comes home when she gets them so I understand that they must be awful to work with especially when you're running around after horses and can't get away from the bright light!
My boss was ill constantly (stress related) so it was pretty much just me by myself running a riding school! So If I ever got ill I'd text her and get no reply so I'd have to go in anyway because there was no one else to take rides out and feed the horses, or to meet customers etc :\ Kind of glad I left that place to be honest!
FionaM12
Well-Known Member
I understand you felt you had to go in, even if you felt awful or were in pain. However, my point is there are illnesses (which it's sounds like you've been lucky enough to never have) which mean you simply can't carry on. In my ex husband's case it was migraine as I described earlier, in mine it was asthma. My attacks could be so severe that I'd have an emergency ambulance take me straight to ICU, but even if they weren't quite that bad, I couldn't walk further than a few steps, or drive. Those of us who have conditions like that, can't get into work or do anything else for that matter while we're ill.
ChesnutsRoasting
Well-Known Member
Never suffered a migraine, obviously. At various times I've carried on working with a fractured hand, torn ankle ligaments & morning (&night) sickness but a migraine completely floored me, even after taking magic pills.
AAR
Well-Known Member
I worked on a busy livery yard where the manager's daughter also worked. She would regularly call in sick that morning and I would cover/be left on my own doing 14 horses.
I knew for a fact that she wasn't that ill, or was just tired because she had been out the night before etc. I used to think, does she have no conscience that those horses which she 'loved' were standing in their dirty stables with no hay and feed for a few hours before I got called to cover? Didn't stay at that yard for long.
I worked for 3 years as a full time groom. I also suffer from bad migraines inherited from my mother. I know I have a half an hour slot once I get the first sign (a small blurry dot in the corner of my right eye) to get somewhere safe/sort out the horses so they are safe. Until I get a blinding headache and start throwing up.
Luckily my migraines were just from lack of sleep and not drinking enough water. I had 2 days off sick in the 3 years and that was from tonsilitus. I still tried to go into work but got sent home!
But what can I say, I loved my job. I carried on through 2 huge ear infections in the coldest winter, colds, coughs, hangovers etc etc.
I knew for a fact that she wasn't that ill, or was just tired because she had been out the night before etc. I used to think, does she have no conscience that those horses which she 'loved' were standing in their dirty stables with no hay and feed for a few hours before I got called to cover? Didn't stay at that yard for long.
I worked for 3 years as a full time groom. I also suffer from bad migraines inherited from my mother. I know I have a half an hour slot once I get the first sign (a small blurry dot in the corner of my right eye) to get somewhere safe/sort out the horses so they are safe. Until I get a blinding headache and start throwing up.
Luckily my migraines were just from lack of sleep and not drinking enough water. I had 2 days off sick in the 3 years and that was from tonsilitus. I still tried to go into work but got sent home!
But what can I say, I loved my job. I carried on through 2 huge ear infections in the coldest winter, colds, coughs, hangovers etc etc.
Moomin1
Well-Known Member
Lucky you! Gosh, don't some people like to blow their own trumpet?
Not every migraine is the same in every person. Some people aren't fortunate enough to get a 30 minute time slot in which they can sort out a yard full of horses. Not all people get warning signs.
I would also imagine that most people have battled on at work with ear infections/colds/coughs/hangovers etc too.
Spring Feather
Well-Known Member
Me too. I fractured my skull a few years ago and suffered from horrific migraines for a fair few years. I no longer get them thank goodness and actually I even rarely get a headache these days either.Yep, I suffer from migraines, or did. I left the UK though and they got better
I have worked through them. Yes it is dangerous when you are incapacitated but when you have to feed hungry animals, you have to feed them, on your knees if that's what it takes. Been there, done that, it sucks.
I don't/can't/won't take days off sick. I've 50 horses relying on me to feed them so if for any reason I feel under the weather, the horses are priority, and I always do them, then I will blob on the sofa for the rest of the day until I start to feel better.
OP the girl should have phoned in sick, or had someone phone in for her. Driving a car would not have been the most sensible thing to do in her condition however.
Spring Feather
Well-Known Member
Interesting. I always got notice a migraine was coming. I learned VERY quickly to spot the aura and knew that a migraine was on its way and would always run for my super-strength prescription pills immediately on noticing the warning signs. They didn't always stop the migraine from coming but they certainly lessened the ill-effects of them.
Moomin1
Well-Known Member
I don't get any warning. I literally can stand up ie off the sofa to walk to the kitchen, and wham..the right side of my head is excruciating and I can't move without it being almost unbearable immediately. The only way I can get rid is to take strong codeine, a cold towel on the head, and sleep in a cool dark room. But when I wake, I am out for the count for pretty much the whole day after - my head is so stuffy I can't think straight.
Beausmate
Well-Known Member
It really irks me that people claim to have a migraine, when all they have is a headache. They've obviously never had one for real, but it's a good excuse, right?
I sometimes had them so badly that phoning in sick wouldn't have happened. They came on so fast, literally in the blink of an eye; then the visual problems started, followed by the loss of use of my left side, then the pins and needles, the numbness, the eye pain, the slurred speech, the feeling that my tongue was swelling and my blood was fizzing. Sometimes I would throw up too, just to add to the fun. Pills didn't work and it's hard to make phone calls when you can't see or speak properly.
The headache was the easy bit! The next morning (or afternoon sometimes) I'd wake up with the worst 'hangover' going and just about manage to get to work.
I lived alone and on one occasion my poor horse was left for eight hours overnight, as I got sick on my way home from work and couldn't get to him. He was fine, pissed off and hungry but he got over it-I still feel guilty about it, but there was nothing I could do.
I get the impression that OP feels their employee is swinging the lead somewhat. Benefit of the doubt? If it happened again, I'd want to see a doctor's note though.
I sometimes had them so badly that phoning in sick wouldn't have happened. They came on so fast, literally in the blink of an eye; then the visual problems started, followed by the loss of use of my left side, then the pins and needles, the numbness, the eye pain, the slurred speech, the feeling that my tongue was swelling and my blood was fizzing. Sometimes I would throw up too, just to add to the fun. Pills didn't work and it's hard to make phone calls when you can't see or speak properly.
The headache was the easy bit! The next morning (or afternoon sometimes) I'd wake up with the worst 'hangover' going and just about manage to get to work.
I lived alone and on one occasion my poor horse was left for eight hours overnight, as I got sick on my way home from work and couldn't get to him. He was fine, pissed off and hungry but he got over it-I still feel guilty about it, but there was nothing I could do.
I get the impression that OP feels their employee is swinging the lead somewhat. Benefit of the doubt? If it happened again, I'd want to see a doctor's note though.
FionaM12
Well-Known Member
Trouble is, doctors don't give notes until you've been ill for a week. The first week's self certification. I found this hard when my asthma was bad, as I didn't think my employers believed my frequent, sudden and short-lived bouts of sickness were genuine.
Beausmate
Well-Known Member
Some will write to your employer on your behalf if you ask.
AAR
Well-Known Member
I was sympathising with those who have migraines and simply using myself as an example!
which is what most people on this thread have done?
happybear
Well-Known Member
That's interesting, I often get migraines when there's a thunderstorm, although they're also triggered by my hormones. While I was at Uni I had migraines every month that lasted for several days - they completely floored me and I was in bed for two days straight unable to see or stand up. I would wake up with them in the morning and there was nothing that would make them better, normal painkillers didn't have a chance of touching them! They are much more infrequent nowadays, I think probably due to my hormones stabilising, but I know how horrific they are and I know I certainly can't work with one.
3OldPonies
Well-Known Member
This is similar to when I get them. Except they always strike when I am asleep. So I wake up in agony with the most awful pain in the right side of my head and base of my neck. If I can get the pills down, and not vomit them back up, it's on with the cool pack and lie on the bed with no duvet to stay cool. I'm absolutely useless for the next two days, although I can usually see to the boys. If I can't drive either my OH takes me to stables or Dad comes to collect me. There is no way I would drive - I tried it once and have no recollection of the journey, only of having to be taken home again.
I know that I don't get them anything like as bad as some people, and I really do have sympathy for anyone who gets them regularly. To anyone who says they are 'just a headache' or 'just pop a pill' well to be frank, I very much hope that you don't end up eating your words and getting one because migraines are truly frightening, excruciatingly awful things.
Employer and employee have a duty of care when it comes to health and safety, so both are responsible. The employee should certainly make contact somehow to advise that they will not be in and the employer should also be on the case when someone doesn't turn up to find out why they haven't and to make sure they are alright. The employer should also not put pressure on someone who is sick to complete their work, especially in an environment like a stable yard in which so many hazards and risks exist. Every employee has the right to refuse to work if they are being asked to do something that they feel is dangerous or which they are not capable of doing safely. It could be said that someone with a migraine is not capable of working safely in a yard environment, depending on the symptoms and type of work.
honetpot
Well-Known Member
Slightly off topic but does anyone get migraine hangover the next day? Its like your there, no real symptoms but everything is a bit distant and disconnected?
conniegirl
Well-Known Member
yes honetpot, after a migraine I feel very distant and disconnected. for me the best way of discribing it would be that i feel delicate, as though if someone touched me I might shatter.
Its a very weird feeling
Its a very weird feeling
RunToEarth
Well-Known Member
This is rather the point, isn't it? How many people do I hear complain of "migraines" that are still functioning, upright, with vision in tact and everything. I think that is an insult to everyone who actually suffers with a genuine migraine. It is deliberating ( I imagine, thankfully I don't suffer them!) and it must be frustrating for people to doubt your genuine plight because migraine is overused to describe a headache.
wren123
Well-Known Member
Gosh yes, I had my first one at 56, went to A&E on the advice of my GP on suspicion that I was having a mini stroke as mine affected my eye in that I lost my sight in one eye. Saw the eye consultant there who said it was an occular migraine. The next day I felt as thought I had the world's worst hangover, it was horrendous! Interested to hear other people have this too as I described it to my husband as having a very bad hangover.
Flame_
Well-Known Member
Migraines aren't headaches, headaches are just sometimes one of the symptoms. I used to wake up with one on a specific day of the cycle, getting progressively worse and starting to reach incapacitating point. Sorted by changing contraceptive. I still get exactly the same aura, same crummy feeling very similar to a hangover, no headache anymore, just a strange feeling that I think is a migraine, just a very mild one. I wouldn't say to someone I had a migraine because I'd sound like a total drama queen, lol, but that's what I think it is. Like anything there's a spectrum of severity and with what I get now I can easily keep going, my mum can't sit up without throwing up when she has one. Humans and our random defects are kind of interesting, if frustrating.
Beausmate
Well-Known Member
Yep, totally exhausted and wrung out too.
Thankfully, the medication I'm on for something else has the excellent side-effect of virtually eliminating migraines. It is sometimes prescribed for migraine prevention, but as it's extremely expensive I expect you've either got to be pretty bad, or have a really nice doctor.
SkewbyTwo
Well-Known Member
Are the 9 horses yours? If so it may explain the difference in motivation?
Wagtail
Horse servant
Definitely. I also feel very depressed and tearful. Anything can set me off.
Meems
Well-Known Member
I haven't read all of the posts but there is a big difference between someone suffering from a genuine migraine and someone pretending to have migraine. Lots of people 'upgrade' their ailments, what can be a headache can often be called a migraine.
And don't get me started on people who have colds, who ring up and say they've got flu. The two couldn't be more different.
And don't get me started on people who have colds, who ring up and say they've got flu. The two couldn't be more different.
Kylara
Well-Known Member
This is also rather judgemental. I agree with others about migraines - horrible things. Luckily I don't get them but a friend of mine does frequently - she once had one on a flight back to her parents in HK and had to be ambulanced to hospital on landing. She also had them regularly at school, college and university and now through work. She is usually out of action for two days at a time unfortunately. I do get "migraine auras" occasionally during anxiety attacks, but the docs believe that is due to high stress and over production of adrenaline.
However going back to what I quoted from your post: I am one of a lovely 2% of the female population that get completely immobilised during periods. I literally can't get out of bed, and even in bed I am in agony with lower back spasms, gut spasms, and full body sweats and shakes. It lasts for two to three days at a time and I am bed bound. I am also in the awful position of no longer being able to take the high level NSAIDs that used to be prescribed to me to take the edge off, so that I could get some sleep in between the agony and short bursts of contraction agony
I'm not even allowed to take any ibuprofen products without a large dose of omeprazole stomach liner, and ibuprofen does nothing for the monthly pain. Luckily I have a sympathetic doc who has given me a pill that I can take for 3 months on the trot to stave off the pain, but I still get "mild" pain every month when I would usually cycle and get horrific pain when the 3 months are up. There is absolutely nothing I can do about it according to them, and I have seen about 8 or 9 different docs about it - the most unhelpful being a bloke who suggested that I should get pregnant and have a kid and see if that helped - I do hope he was joking, but I was in the middle of a haze of agony so couldn't really work out if he was or not! I have also had a friend who was visiting look after me when a particularly pad period happened and she commented that it looked like labour pains/contractions without the promise of something good at the end! (She has kids).
Periods and their related problems can be debilitating and working with horses is dangerous at full health, let alone if you are suffering from migraines or dysmenorrhea.
I agree that notice should be given if at all possible and I personally freelance and have organised my pill taking so that my "moments" happen on days I don't schedule anything on. If I had a "proper job" though, I would probably mention to the boss what happens and why I had to miss x number of days every month/few months. In fact all through school I used to take 2 days off every month and no-one ever realised what was wrong with me, even though it was boarding school and people would visit my room! I never said if I wasn't going in to school as the staff knew I was actually on campus and they assumed illness and sent a classmate to see if I was still alive during breaks
conniegirl
Well-Known Member
Kylara, I dont know if it has been suggested but what about the contraceptive implant. I have an implant and havnt had a monthly in nearly 3 years.
Or
A friend of mine suffered horrific monthlys found that a IUD realy realy helped hers!
Or
A friend of mine suffered horrific monthlys found that a IUD realy realy helped hers!
thatsmygirl
Well-Known Member
Boy I'm glade iv never had a migraine, bad headache is bad enough.
I'm lucky that I don't work with horses, so can push myself to sort mine out if I'm ill then go back to bed. My job is within equestrian retail so not as bad as no live animals that need looking after only feed and supplements which will look after themselves until I'm back to sell them
I'm lucky that I don't work with horses, so can push myself to sort mine out if I'm ill then go back to bed. My job is within equestrian retail so not as bad as no live animals that need looking after only feed and supplements which will look after themselves until I'm back to sell them
Flame_
Well-Known Member
This is also rather judgemental. I agree with others about migraines - horrible things. Luckily I don't get them but a friend of mine does frequently - she once had one on a flight back to her parents in HK and had to be ambulanced to hospital on landing. She also had them regularly at school, college and university and now through work. She is usually out of action for two days at a time unfortunately. I do get "migraine auras" occasionally during anxiety attacks, but the docs believe that is due to high stress and over production of adrenaline.
However going back to what I quoted from your post: I am one of a lovely 2% of the female population that get completely immobilised during periods. I literally can't get out of bed, and even in bed I am in agony with lower back spasms, gut spasms, and full body sweats and shakes. It lasts for two to three days at a time and I am bed bound. I am also in the awful position of no longer being able to take the high level NSAIDs that used to be prescribed to me to take the edge off, so that I could get some sleep in between the agony and short bursts of contraction agony
Luckily I have a sympathetic doc who has given me a pill that I can take for 3 months on the trot to stave off the pain, but I still get "mild" pain every month when I would usually cycle and get horrific pain when the 3 months are up. There is absolutely nothing I can do about it according to them, and I have seen about 8 or 9 different docs about it - the most unhelpful being a bloke who suggested that I should get pregnant and have a kid and see if that helped - I do hope he was joking, but I was in the middle of a haze of agony so couldn't really work out if he was or not! I have also had a friend who was visiting look after me when a particularly pad period happened and she commented that it looked like labour pains/contractions without the promise of something good at the end! (She has kids).
Periods and their related problems can be debilitating and working with horses is dangerous at full health, let alone if you are suffering from migraines or dysmenorrhea.
I agree that notice should be given if at all possible and I personally freelance and have organised my pill taking so that my "moments" happen on days I don't schedule anything on. If I had a "proper job" though, I would probably mention to the boss what happens and why I had to miss x number of days every month/few months. In fact all through school I used to take 2 days off every month and no-one ever realised what was wrong with me, even though it was boarding school and people would visit my room! I never said if I wasn't going in to school as the staff knew I was actually on campus and they assumed illness and sent a classmate to see if I was still alive during breaks
I don't understand why my viewpoint's anymore judgemental than others? I'm not saying no one's debilitated by periods, but yes if you are one of the unfortunate few surely its somewhat your responsibility to find a working system that can fit around that? It's very unlucky for anyone to be regularly out of action, but I don't think its reasonable to expect general full time employers to be OK with it, especially when the job involves responsibility for animal care. I'm a bit old fashioned in that I think that if you're employed to do a job then you pretty much need to turn up and do it, and if you won't or can't, then its not the job for you.
pippixox
Well-Known Member
agree with what a lot of people have said: a REAL migrane is horrendous 
I could manage work better with the flu or vomiting than a migrane! I have only had a few full blown migranes so far, which made me violently sick and then i could hardly move. pain was terrible and left eye had huge amount of pressure and blurred vision. during my first ever migrane i felt so ill that i nearly called an ambulance. except i could not use my phone. lasts a good 6 hours, and even then for 48-72 hours I felt ill still.
but i do know quite a few people who call in sick with a 'migrane' and I am pretty sure they are just feeling a bit tired and have a bad headache. As someone else said- the same as people with 'flu' who have a cold!.
I think the OP does not trust the groom enough to believe they truly have a migrane. My work know I am dedicated (I work at a SEN school and a SEN play scheme, as well as a groom for a friend).... 2 weeks ago a pony kicked me in the mouth. knocked to ground, huge nose bleed that took a while to stop, chipped teeth. I still had to get horses in and out and then go to be the groom of 2 horses down the road. I drove and turned out with icepack on nose and was at work the next day in huge pain and with a hideous looking mouth! worked 8.30-9 the next 2 days and did my horses, so did not get to a dentist for 3 days as too busy working. Like many have said- with some things you just have to get on with it. But i agree- a full blown migrane and my horses would just have to cope until I managed to use a phone and get help.
I could manage work better with the flu or vomiting than a migrane! I have only had a few full blown migranes so far, which made me violently sick and then i could hardly move. pain was terrible and left eye had huge amount of pressure and blurred vision. during my first ever migrane i felt so ill that i nearly called an ambulance. except i could not use my phone. lasts a good 6 hours, and even then for 48-72 hours I felt ill still.but i do know quite a few people who call in sick with a 'migrane' and I am pretty sure they are just feeling a bit tired and have a bad headache. As someone else said- the same as people with 'flu' who have a cold!.
I think the OP does not trust the groom enough to believe they truly have a migrane. My work know I am dedicated (I work at a SEN school and a SEN play scheme, as well as a groom for a friend).... 2 weeks ago a pony kicked me in the mouth. knocked to ground, huge nose bleed that took a while to stop, chipped teeth. I still had to get horses in and out and then go to be the groom of 2 horses down the road. I drove and turned out with icepack on nose and was at work the next day in huge pain and with a hideous looking mouth! worked 8.30-9 the next 2 days and did my horses, so did not get to a dentist for 3 days as too busy working. Like many have said- with some things you just have to get on with it. But i agree- a full blown migrane and my horses would just have to cope until I managed to use a phone and get help.
thatsmygirl
Well-Known Member
This is also rather judgemental. I agree with others about migraines - horrible things. Luckily I don't get them but a friend of mine does frequently - she once had one on a flight back to her parents in HK and had to be ambulanced to hospital on landing. She also had them regularly at school, college and university and now through work. She is usually out of action for two days at a time unfortunately. I do get "migraine auras" occasionally during anxiety attacks, but the docs believe that is due to high stress and over production of adrenaline.
However going back to what I quoted from your post: I am one of a lovely 2% of the female population that get completely immobilised during periods. I literally can't get out of bed, and even in bed I am in agony with lower back spasms, gut spasms, and full body sweats and shakes. It lasts for two to three days at a time and I am bed bound. I am also in the awful position of no longer being able to take the high level NSAIDs that used to be prescribed to me to take the edge off, so that I could get some sleep in between the agony and short bursts of contraction agony
Luckily I have a sympathetic doc who has given me a pill that I can take for 3 months on the trot to stave off the pain, but I still get "mild" pain every month when I would usually cycle and get horrific pain when the 3 months are up. There is absolutely nothing I can do about it according to them, and I have seen about 8 or 9 different docs about it - the most unhelpful being a bloke who suggested that I should get pregnant and have a kid and see if that helped - I do hope he was joking, but I was in the middle of a haze of agony so couldn't really work out if he was or not! I have also had a friend who was visiting look after me when a particularly pad period happened and she commented that it looked like labour pains/contractions without the promise of something good at the end! (She has kids).
Periods and their related problems can be debilitating and working with horses is dangerous at full health, let alone if you are suffering from migraines or dysmenorrhea.
I agree that notice should be given if at all possible and I personally freelance and have organised my pill taking so that my "moments" happen on days I don't schedule anything on. If I had a "proper job" though, I would probably mention to the boss what happens and why I had to miss x number of days every month/few months. In fact all through school I used to take 2 days off every month and no-one ever realised what was wrong with me, even though it was boarding school and people would visit my room! I never said if I wasn't going in to school as the staff knew I was actually on campus and they assumed illness and sent a classmate to see if I was still alive during breaks
HATE TO SAY IT....., I use to be this bad until I had my son ;/ honestly no pain since and that was 13 yrs ago.