Guest guest Posted November 13, 2003 Report Share Posted November 13, 2003 My past experiences with this is that I don't evade a direct question. If I come in limping or with a splint for some reason and someone asks me, I tell them I have RA. I prefer if it isn't the first impression they have of me and generally it has not been. Jocelynjlind_2002 <jlind_2002@...> wrote: Hi everyone,I hope you're enjoying the fall weather, and that your body is feeling OK as we head into winter.I have a question: I was diagnosed about a month ago with RA, and have been feeling the stages of grief associated with a new diagnosis. I'm feeling better now, but the past month was tough -- more snippy with people, and sad and angry. I'm worried that I may have been showing this distress at work. What makes it harder is that I work in an organization that helps people with a disease similar to RA, and the constant exposure at work, and not feeling like I could tell people at work what I was going through, didn't help me emotionally. My workplace is great, I just hesitate to bring in my personal life, or health, when I don't need to.So, I guess I'm wondering how you've coped with workplace communication as it relates to your disease. Did you wait until you had to make workplace accomodations, tell a few people, or just be "up-front" about it right away?Hope this is clear as mud. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 14, 2003 Report Share Posted November 14, 2003 Hi , I've had RA for 5 years now, and understand the challenges of deciding who to tell and how much - especially at work. Legally you don't have to tell anything unless you're asking for accomodation (which can include a reduced or flexible work schedule) or for time off for medical treatment. I'd say a lot depends on your relationship wth your co-workers and boss. In my case, I had been experiencing strange joint pains and problems for quite awhile prior to the diagnosis, and my co-workers knew it. I've been there for several years and have made good friends who were concerned about me. It was such a relief to put a name to the problems when I found out what was going on that I did tell many of them. It was a bit tougher figuring out what to tell my boss who was new to my group at the time. Since I was feeling so lousy (until I got things under control) and I knew that the word would probably get out, I told him of the diagnosis and that I didn't know what impact, if any, it would have on my work. I'm very lucky in that he was supportive and told me to take care of myself, and that we'd worry about impact to the job later. I still work for him, and I'm very grateful for his acceptance. I have been fortunate to get and keep things under control for the most part, and because of a supportive work place, I'm open about the disease and it's impact on my life and activities. I figure it's a good way to educate people about 'silent disabilities', since I look perfectly healthy and haven't had much visible joint damage to date. Sorry for the long winded message - hope it helps. Beth > > Hi everyone, > > I hope you're enjoying the fall weather, and that your body is > feeling OK as we head into winter. > > I have a question: I was diagnosed about a month ago with RA, and > have been feeling the stages of grief associated with a new > diagnosis. I'm feeling better now, but the past month was tough -- > more snippy with people, and sad and angry. I'm worried that I may > have been showing this distress at work. What makes it harder is > that I work in an organization that helps people with a disease > similar to RA, and the constant exposure at work, and not feeling > like I could tell people at work what I was going through, didn't > help me emotionally. My workplace is great, I just hesitate to bring > in my personal life, or health, when I don't need to. > > So, I guess I'm wondering how you've coped with workplace > communication as it relates to your disease. Did you wait until you > had to make workplace accomodations, tell a few people, or just > be " up-front " about it right away? > > Hope this is clear as mud. :-) > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 14, 2003 Report Share Posted November 14, 2003 Thanks you all for replying. I can't tell you how much it helps to hear about your experiences. Since I'm finally able to talk about RA now without freaking out, if it comes up naturally in conversation, I'll try to talk about it. It's weird--you learn a lot about how people react to bad news when you talk about this; or maybe, just how little people understand it. > I was diagnosed with RA about 2 1/2 years ago and told only my very closest > friends for a long time. It was obvious that something was wrong because my > feet were very affected and I walked very slowly and with an obvious limp for a > long time. For many months I would tell my coworkers that I just messed up my > foot - after about a year or so, many people just stopped asking. The reason > why I didn't say what I had is because I am a professional musician and RA can > obviously affect your ability to play. Luckily mine is mainly in my feet and > only once in a great while are my hands affected. Because of this stigma and my > own uncertainty about how to deal with this, I didn't feel comfortable telling > people of the diagnosis. But now things are much more stable and if asked > directly what is wrong with me, I do tell people I have arthritis in my foot. > Most people don't know the difference between osteo and rheumatoid and usually I > don't bother to go into details. Because I am relatively young and healthy > looking, people are usually taken aback, but very supportive. > > I think given a chance, most people are very understanding and extremely > supportive. But for your own sake, you may want to take your time and let yourself > digest the news before you start telling those around you. > > good luck. > > gloria Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 19, 2003 Report Share Posted November 19, 2003 I can tell you my experience.... I am a school teacher and I told my new employeer after the first week of school when I started my new job 7 years ago (thje year before I never told my employer in that school). I was scared about telling them but had to let my principal know because I was asked to escort children up and down stairs, which I cannot do. So I had to tell them. They were very accomodating and accepting. I was lucky. I escort the kids to the stairs and they go up the rest of the way on their own. This would not otherwise be allowed. My school was also nice enough to put an additional handicapped parking spot nearer to my classroom door. I didn't ask for this. They were truely wonderful and I am glad that I told them. It made my life easier. But I understand not all places are so accomodating. - > > So, I guess I'm wondering how you've coped with workplace > communication as it relates to your disease. Did you wait until you > had to make workplace accomodations, tell a few people, or just > be " up-front " about it right away? > > Hope this is clear as mud. :-) > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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