Aa
getting rough
been on interferon treatments with ribarvirin 4 couple of months now. also do chemo once a month 4 CLL . i work in a small steel shop been there 13 plus years now . i thought my employer and coworkers would be a little more understanding as to whats going on . but it seems not . dont get me wrong , not looking for sympathy just gimme a break ya know. thinking very seriously of at least short term dis. getting very tired , aggrevated , just getting to hard to do but still got to pay the bills . thats really bugging me . any suggestions thx.
if you have to continue to work talk to your doc about procrit...otherwise the exaustion can be too much..
If they already know at work, then make the best of it and try to educate them that they cannot get it from you.
you may need a mild antianxiety drug or antidepressant to get through the day...I know people I used to take in stride are now much harder to cope with...they haven't changed but my tolerance level has....my whole stomach just knots up and quivers, and it's from the tx drugs....but if you need help, ask for it. Guys who don't get help often give up on tx because of the emotions or toll on job,family etc....so better to get some help with the sides.
what is your HGB count? Mine is 1/3 less than when starting tx...so I can only carry 2/3 as much oxygen as before...which is enough when sitting down...but walking feels like jogging. Being on your feet all day and working, with no procrit or neupo would be very taxing, especially in a physically demanding job. I hope your doc will help you with this.
mb.
If they already know at work, then make the best of it and try to educate them that they cannot get it from you.
you may need a mild antianxiety drug or antidepressant to get through the day...I know people I used to take in stride are now much harder to cope with...they haven't changed but my tolerance level has....my whole stomach just knots up and quivers, and it's from the tx drugs....but if you need help, ask for it. Guys who don't get help often give up on tx because of the emotions or toll on job,family etc....so better to get some help with the sides.
what is your HGB count? Mine is 1/3 less than when starting tx...so I can only carry 2/3 as much oxygen as before...which is enough when sitting down...but walking feels like jogging. Being on your feet all day and working, with no procrit or neupo would be very taxing, especially in a physically demanding job. I hope your doc will help you with this.
mb.
Because of the natural ignorance of people in understanding a problem such as yours and ours, it's best to make up a different story. For example, I'm an entertainer and when I was entertaining under treatments, yes 4 treatments, and felt sick, I would say I had a stomach virus and was taking antibiotics.
When you mention Hepatitis C, people have a tendency to run for the woods because of fear of infection. It's almost akin to shouting out that you have AIDS to most people. It's not their fault really, it's just that they don’t understand, and so you have to be inventive and make up a story such as a stomach virus, a bladder infection, etc... things people don't equate to possibly passing those kind of infections on to them...
Magnum
When you mention Hepatitis C, people have a tendency to run for the woods because of fear of infection. It's almost akin to shouting out that you have AIDS to most people. It's not their fault really, it's just that they don’t understand, and so you have to be inventive and make up a story such as a stomach virus, a bladder infection, etc... things people don't equate to possibly passing those kind of infections on to them...
Magnum
I was employed by the same law firm for 9 years when I started my first round of tx. They had just hired another when I was about 2 months in to my treatment. I worked for a very small firm (2 attorneys and 8 support staff) and we were always told that we were all "family" and there to support each other. Hence I had no problem disclosing that I had Hep C when I knew I was going to start treatment.
Well, did I get a lesson ...
The new employee resorted to calling me names ("the thing"), made it a point of letting everyone know she would not use the same rest room as me, would not touch the bannister on the stair case, gossiped about me constantly and refused to cooperate with me when it came to job related matters. I gave my bossy 3 strikes to get rid of this idiot. I was having a meeting with both attorneys when one of them told me "I should understand how Elisa felt as after all I had an infectious disease" and "I should not use the downstairs bathroom when I knew it would upset Elisa".
In addition to the idiot above NONE of the other 7 people I worked with did a thing to help me, wouldn't even carry my mail or my phone messages upstairs from the reception area if they were coming up. Schlepping up and down stairs with a hgb of 10 was a riot (we had no elevator).
4 days after my lost shot, I sucked it up and walked out. I NEVER looked back. I left with my dignity in tact and that is more important to me than anything else. So in my humble opinion ... if you have short term disability and you are experiencing a less than cooperative work place while on tx ... go for the disability. Your piece of mind is critical while treating both your Hep and your Leukemia. Oh by the way ... I'm a survivor of AML ... good luck to you.
Mouse
P.S. I could not sue my employer as employers with less than 15 employees are not subject to the federal ADA or EEOC laws.
Well, did I get a lesson ...
The new employee resorted to calling me names ("the thing"), made it a point of letting everyone know she would not use the same rest room as me, would not touch the bannister on the stair case, gossiped about me constantly and refused to cooperate with me when it came to job related matters. I gave my bossy 3 strikes to get rid of this idiot. I was having a meeting with both attorneys when one of them told me "I should understand how Elisa felt as after all I had an infectious disease" and "I should not use the downstairs bathroom when I knew it would upset Elisa".
In addition to the idiot above NONE of the other 7 people I worked with did a thing to help me, wouldn't even carry my mail or my phone messages upstairs from the reception area if they were coming up. Schlepping up and down stairs with a hgb of 10 was a riot (we had no elevator).
4 days after my lost shot, I sucked it up and walked out. I NEVER looked back. I left with my dignity in tact and that is more important to me than anything else. So in my humble opinion ... if you have short term disability and you are experiencing a less than cooperative work place while on tx ... go for the disability. Your piece of mind is critical while treating both your Hep and your Leukemia. Oh by the way ... I'm a survivor of AML ... good luck to you.
Mouse
P.S. I could not sue my employer as employers with less than 15 employees are not subject to the federal ADA or EEOC laws.
unfortunately, a lot of people don't understand how hard the treatment is. and a lot of people, when they hear hep c, assume you did drugs and did it to yourself. the sympathy won't come from a lot of people (and yea, sometimes we do need some, this isn't easy), but thats why you have forums like this.
if you think short term is what you need, do it, you have to take care of yourself. check on fmla also.
as far as the aggrevation, see about getting medication, lexapro, etc. it really helps with the rage you get.
good luck with your treatment and hang in there. it will be worth it in the end.
if you think short term is what you need, do it, you have to take care of yourself. check on fmla also.
as far as the aggrevation, see about getting medication, lexapro, etc. it really helps with the rage you get.
good luck with your treatment and hang in there. it will be worth it in the end.
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