To use my sprained ankle as an excuse to have the week off work?

[Whitegrenache]

Fell down stairs in sat night and sprained ankle. Was agony and went to out of hours yesterday but no x ray, just told to walk as much as possible and to take painkillers.

It is a bit better today so I can hobble round the house a bit.

Obv off sick / limited duties at work as I am a sales rep and need to drive and walk around daily. I am going to do admin stuff and take some time to do some research and planning for my job.

I do however think by the end of the week I will be physically well enough to go back to work.

However

U have recently changed anti depressants and I am having bad anxiety and general feeling low. Hopefully the tablets should kick in this week, but would it be unreasonable to stay off work all week and "extend" my ankle Injury?

The very fact that I am asking this on mumsnet demonstrates my general worries about stuff and shows my guilty feelings.

[EBearhug]

You were told to walk as much as possible? I thought the usual advice for sprained ankles was rest, ice, compression and elevation (rice). Things do change, though.

I don't think it's reasonable to stay off work for one reason when it's really another.

I do know if you don't allow sprained ankles to heal properly, you're setting yourself up for long-term discomfort and weakness.

[whois]

Well it's not exactly reasonable but I don't think it's the crime of the century either.

[Whitegrenache]

Yes ebearhug the advice now is RICE in first 24 hours which I did, then walk as much as u can!!

[frostyfingers]

I had a riding accident at the w/e and sprained and crushed my ankle. Advice given to me by a&e yesterday was to rest as much as possible, for as long as possible, ice and painkillers.

Although still swollen and a lovely shade of blue, it is much better and I can move around although I think if I were working in an office (I work from home) I would take today off. Not the whole week though.

Using it as a reason to take the full week off to deal with your other illnesses isn't a good idea, that's a whole different issue and needs addressing separately - if you get found out somehow that you've used the ankle injury to cover for something else you could get into even deeper hot water.

[ChocolateTeacup]

Be honest with your employer and tell them you need time off because of your medication

[Whitegrenache]

I'm very nervous about telling them as in my last job I told them and I was pretty much treat like dirt and told I couldn't handle the job
Not saying every company is like that but once bitten and all that x

[TheDoctorsNewKidneys]

Get signed off with depression/anxiety. I also have depression and was recently off work for two weeks as a result. My manager couldn't have been nicer when I got back - he was kind, understanding and very caring over the whole situation.

Mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of and if you need time off as a result, take it, especially when you're getting used to new medication. I was signed off for a week to get used to my anti depressants, and the second week off was to help me get my sleep sorted again. I couldn't have worked in that first week, I felt so nauseous!

[ChocolateTeacup]

Yes that's completely understandable, you only have to be honest to a point, so that it doesn't come back to bite you. They may not believe you need so much time off for 'just' and ankle injury.

If you are that concerned modify the lie and have another fall on the weakened ankle which would set back recovery and be more plausible

[Tiptops]

I think YABU.

You do need to be honest with your employers if you need time off work during medication changes. Btw, anti-anxiety and antidepressant meds take 4-6 weeks to fully enter your system, so if you're struggling a week won't be sufficient anyway.