WIBU To ask the Dr to sign me off for this ?

[FakeItMakeIt]

I am under investigation for CFS; my appointment is not until June as there's a long waiting list .

I've been poorly lately with a bad cold and now I am so so exhausted . I can manage an hour or two out of bed and then I am too tired to do anything so go back to bed

My doctor isn't the most sympathetic and i am sure she thinks I am just lazy

It has been nine days now and my project manager is expecting me back in this weekend.

If I ask my dr to sign me off will she just laugh me out of her office ? Or am I perfectly reasonable to ask?

What can I ask her to put on my note to make sure the project manager doesn't just think I am lazy too !

[IrritableBitchSyndrome]

What department/consultant is assessing you in June? What were your blood test results (I'm assuming your GP ordered a full panel of blood tests as a starting point?) There are lots of causes of fatigue to rule out in order to end up with a cfs diagnosis, as it is a diagnosis of exclusion. Have you had glandular fever recently? Do you always feel exhausted after a cold? Some viral infections can cause post viral fatigue, but this goes away after a while. Cfs is a long term syndrome. It's not a great diagnosis to end up with, workwise. It's long term, hard for an employer to work around, and can make the sufferer very unreliable and brain-foggy. Avoid getting signed off for CFS, or anything featuring 'fatigue' as far as you possibly can.

[LavenderRain]

I don't think the GP can sign you off until you have had 2 weeks off.
Up until then you self certificate.
I get how you feel tho. I've had a virus since Monday. I think I'm fine then collapse in a heap. There's lots going round

[FakeItMakeIt]

irritablebitch (feel bad calling you that ) - yes all other bloods ruled out .

I've had this for years , only sought help when it got bad enough to interfere with my life . I don't go out much anymore and I have to plan any outings around my child's stay with his dad so I know I can rest the next day.

I feel so bad that I don't even know how I will cope with the commute tomorrow

[IrritableBitchSyndrome]

You might be better off going in to work, seeing how you get on and going home early if you can't cope, then self-certificating again, depending on what your manager and company are like regarding illness?

[PersephonePitstop]

Employees must give their employer a doctor’s ‘fit note’ (previously called a ‘sick note’) if they’re off sick for more than 7 days in a row (including non-working days).

From this Gov.uk website.

Can you see a different GP if you find yours unsympathetic?

[Musicaltheatremum]

It's one weeks off then a GP certificate. So if you feel you need another week then see GP. Viral illness would suffice.

[FakeItMakeIt]

Why is it so bad to have a diagnosis of CFS for work? (genuine question)

[shinynewusername]

Your employers can request a fit note if you have more than 7 days off work consecutively. There is no such thing as a sick note any more. TBH I don't think you need to bring the CFS into it (unless you want to) - all GPs are used to seeing patients who take more than a week to recover after a viral illness. Just tell your GP about the symptoms you have been having with the cold.

[IrritableBitchSyndrome]

Are you able to work from home at all?

[FakeItMakeIt]

No option to work from home as all the project materials are at work .

[FakeItMakeIt]

irritablebitch did you see my pp about work and a CFS diagnosis ? Why is it bad ?

I am researching as much as I can

[LavenderRain]

Apologies I thought it was 2 weeks

[IrritableBitchSyndrome]

From personal experience, in the industry I worked in, CFS was not respected as a genuine illness, and was a blocker to retaining employment or getting a job or promotion because the symptoms make the sufferer unreliable and often too tired to produce quality work. Unlike a physical disability, employers can't just install a ramp for a wheelchair to accomodate this long term disability. Instead they have to accept patchy and unpredicatble attendance and unpredictable work quality. This is not attractive to employers in general, so can be a real issue. A public sector employer I had in the past had an occupational health doctor who accused me of being an alcoholic and making up my illness as a cover!

[AnchorDownDeepBreath]

A CFS diagnosis is bad news - it's a catch-all diagnosis when they can't find what is wrong, and there is no treatment. Essentially, it means that the NHS has done its job in diagnosing you, and any further complaints you have will be put down to the CFS - but there's nothing that they can give you to ease it.

I have a fibromyalgia diagnosis, which is much the same. It took years to get doctors to believe that there was something else wrong with me, everything gets put down to the catch-all.

I'd guess that Irritablebitch was saying that having Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, or anything similar, on a sicknote, is likely to worry your employer. They will be concerned about how much your fatigue will impact on your job, and it could well lead to you being managed out if you work at a less-than-ideal place. This is more difficult if you've held your job for more than two years.

For what it's worth, I found that working did more than staying at home. There were many, many days when I could barely lift my arms and my eyes went blurry through tiredness, and I was pretty sure I was killing myself, but I can now work full-time. When I was resting every few hours, I found the fatigue got worse and I needed to rest more, which made me feel the tiredness more... Could you go in tomorrow, but bring everything home with you so you can work from home afterwards?

If you're due in this weekend, have you already got the sick note?

[AnchorDownDeepBreath]

Cross posts! Irritablebitch makes very valid points.

[IrritableBitchSyndrome]

Can I ask if you have any other symptoms? For example IBS, hypermobile joints, regular injuries, stretchy skin, asthma, rapid heart beat, dizziness, food sensitivities, bad pre menstrual symptoms if you are female...?

[FakeItMakeIt]

Thank you both , those are very valid points .

I have been pretty reliable in my work thus far - I've had this "condition" since having glandular fever a few years ago but I plodded on .

It wasn't until I had my son by crash section that it really began to take its toll . Now whenever I get common colds or bugs , it floors me and the fatigue is worse .

I'm pretty sure I have it , but definately don't want it

I have not got a note yet , I have an appointment with my dr at 6:45 - our practice opens late .

[FakeItMakeIt]

No IBS or hyper mobile joints , none of the things you listed other than raging PMT

I do get headaches , sore joints (nothing to see though ) , random aches and pains , constant neck and shoulder pain , a random sore throat sometimes only lasting a day , severe fatigue etc

[Redglitter]

If you've not been diagnosed surely he's unlikely to put that down. I'd put my money on him putting viral. That covers a multitude without being specific

[FakeItMakeIt]

Yes I'm hoping she will put viral .

Do you think I am being an idiot though ?

And prescribe me a grip?

[FakeItMakeIt]

Should read do you think she will think I am being an idiot

[IrritableBitchSyndrome]

My fatigue issues really intensified after glandular fever. In my case turned out to be part of a wider condition though - joint hypermobility syndrome. //Www.hmsa.org. Took me about 10 years to get to the bottom of it and understand what on earth was going on, after repeated cycles of gp visits and 'TATT' (tired all the time) blood tests, and in my case lots of joint and muscle pain, frequent joint injuries, IBS... all sorts of stuff that I hadn't realised was actually all inter related. There are lots of useful resources on the hmsa site regarding pacing etc which are relevant to chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia as well as hypermobility so it's worth having a look either way.

[FakeItMakeIt]

I will have a look thank you

[shinynewusername]

Well I'm a GP and I wouldn't think you are an idiot . Obviously I can't diagnose you over t'internet. But I do see lots of patients who are ill for a good couple of weeks after a viral upper respiratory tract illness (posh name for cold) and I don't think they are skiving - or at least not most of them

[IrritableBitchSyndrome]

Um... try not to worry too much what the dr thinks of you. She should be there to help you, after all!

You could try a simple exclusion diet to see if anything you eat is exacerbating your symptoms. Oats make me feel knackered and ill, for example. Also try trigger point therapy for your shoulder/nack pain in case you have trapped nerves or knots in muscles. There's a book called the trigger point therapy workbook by Clair Davis (Davies? Not sure of sp) that has made my life so much better. Hope some of the above helps with your research into feeling better. Also, you could try taking magnesium and b complex. Can help with pmt and fatigue.