To appeal this? (Work related - migraines & disciplinary)

[carelesswhisper27]

Hi - I've posted this over on employment but it seems to be quiet over there. Advice needed - thanks in advance.

here before about my migraines but things have escalated since then.

I've had migraines for 15 years and for the past 3.5 years have had to take daily preventative meds due to the number of attacks I get. For most of the time since starting the medication I have had them reasonably well controlled (3-4 a year).

I started a job just over 12 months ago which I do find quite stressful. Since I started the job I have had 8 incidents of sickness, 7 which were for migraine. Additionally 4 of those were over the course of a week period where I had kept trying to return to work and having more attacks, until at the finish my GP wrote a sick note and insisted I stay off work. During this cluster I suffered 8 migraines within a fortnight. This was three months ago; at the time I was invited to a formal meeting and we discussed my absences and no formal action was taken against me.

A couple of weeks ago I had another migraine - again I returned to work and again I had another attack which again resulted in two separate instances of sickness of a day each. My GP advised me to stay off and wrote another sick note for 2 weeks. I showed this to work but returned with agreement from my manager I should return as I had leave this week so could use that to recuperate.

I had to have a formal meeting and was issued with a first written warning. I'm worried sick; I can't control my migraines, I return to work as soon as I can every time I've had an attack and have used annual leave more than once to recuperate. I don't know what to do - in this position two more migraines and I could be sacked. Even typing it out now I am getting distressed and am in tears. Can they do this? Migraines were something I declared when I started working there. I have been as committed to work as I can be, any other sickness I power through because I know I can't afford it in case I get a migraine.

I am thinking of appealing the warning but worry this will give me a reputation of a trouble maker. I appreciate it is a business and they can only do so much in terms of support. However at my last meeting I expressed concerns that these attacks are not something I can control and was reassured if they continued work could look at reasonable adjustments. This was not mentioned this time and I didn't even question it I was so upset and shocked.

I just don't know what to do sad please help.

[TheWildRumpyPumpus]

My migraines are considered a disability under the DDA. I see my neurologist regularly and take daily preventatives but they seriously affect my quality of life.

I'm in a very unusual position with my work but getting the disability acknowledged really helped.

[Wolpertinger]

Migraines are very difficult in terms of sickness (I am a fellow sufferer and have got into trouble with sickness too).

However your GP is doing you no favours by just giving you 1 or 2 week sicknotes for migraines - this is not managing them AT ALL, in fact it is edging you to unemployment. Neither is it standard management for migraines. You really need to see a neurologist if you are reaching a dead end with your GP - can you see a different GP in the practice? Or is seeing someone privately an option?

Secondly your HR department should have access to Occ Health of some description. If you don't ask you won't know. I finally solved my problem as the adjustment made for me was a change in the way my sickness calculations were made to allow for the fact that I had lots of single days or mornings which made my score look disproportionately bad. Once this was done, I was instantly less stressed and of course had fewer migraines and therefore sick days.

[FolderReformedScruncher]

Just nipping on and have not RTFT but have you tried botox treatment for migraines? A family member has had astonishing results with having tiny blebs of botox in the skin of her neck and around her hairline. Doctor referral I presume but worth a punt.

[Mouikey]

I'm a migraine sufferer. They ARE covered by the disability section of the Equalities Act. As this is an underlying condition the employer MUST show how they have made reasonable adjustments, especially if you have let them know... One option they can do is to give extra days for the sickness target if you suffer from them. Our policy is 8 days in a rolling 12 month period. I get an 'extra' 4 days for the migraines (most allowed generally buy our OH). Ask for a referral to OH, even for a small company they should have this in place - I'd also raise the fact they they have not considered your underlying condition (which they are aware of and its covered by the EqualitiesAct) when taking disciplinary action.

I'd also ask you dr for a referral to a neurologist to get checked out - one that specialises in epilepsy/migraines - they can offer another daily treatment which is shown to work, but you shouldn't take if you wish to get preggers as there is a very high risk of cleft pallet in children - only consultants can initially prescribe.

Good luck, none of this will help ur poorly head xx

[Mouikey]

OH there is also the daith piercing which may help

[FraggleMountain]

I'm so sorry OP. I get bad migraines too, usually 1-2 per month. I have wondered how I would cope in a less flexible job, I would probably be in the same situation you describe. That said, I do find zomig zolmitryptan nasal spray fantastic. It can alleviate symptoms to let me finish work, and sometimes stops an attack completely. I always carry one dose on me!

[AnythingGoesWithMe]

Do your migranes affect all aspects of your life or just your work?
I ask because I used to work with a colleague that suffered migranes but consistently got them after horse riding and always had the next couple of days off. She wouldn't stop horse riding until OH pointed out that she had a duty of care to self manage.
I'm not saying that is the same but if your work believe that you aren't making any effort then that could affect their behaviour. Especially given that they've stopped talking about adjustments.

[carelesswhisper27]

When I have a migraine they affect all aspects of my life. If I have a migraine attack I have to stop whatever it is I'm doing and go home / go immediately to bed. If I don't do this, I have a headache that reaches an 8 or 9 in severity within an hour coupled with the most intense sickness you can imagine. Seriously, just lifting my head from the pillow will make me need to rush to the toilet to be sick. Then for two or three days later I have what can only be described as a 'hungover' feeling, that slow muggy feeling you get when you just can't think straight following a night on the lash. This coupled with a headache that does not go away (although by this point usually about a 5 in pain). Then I'm fine and back to my normal self until another attack happens. This can be anything from days to months later; I think the longest I have ever gone without an attack is about 6 months.

I have tried my hardest to identify triggers. I thought caffeine might be one, so I stopped drinking caffeine. I thought I may be dehydrated so now drink recommended daily intake of water (and more). I thought it was the brightness on my phones / monitors; I have them all switched to lowest brightness. I'm on daily preventative medication, a low dose antidepressant as someone mentioned up thread. I have prescription medication to take when I get an attack but as explained these don't always work for me. The only thing that works for a migraine is getting my head down in a dark room and trying to sleep. Oh and being sick. Once I vomit a couple of times the headache usually lessens in intensity and I get some sleep.

Like I said the daily meds have controlled them quite well until the last 3-4 months. I can cope with an attack every 3-6 months, I can't cope with clusters (2-3 or more within a short space of time).

I have missed family parties, seeing my friends, I have had to go home from nights out, from lunches, I've spent whole weekends in bed sick because I've had a migraine and then gone back to work on the Monday. I do absolutely everything I can do to try and stop them and nothing seems to be working. I am at the point of despair to be honest; after reading the comments on here I feel like an appeal is probably going to be futile, so I'm wavering on whether to bother. And then I panic and think I'm going to lose my job and the cycle continues

I have never been in trouble with anything in my life before now, even with my migraines, I have had minor issues at work before but have always managed to get them under control with medications. I don't know what has changed; that's what is so frustrating. I can't do anything about it!

[carelesswhisper27]

Suds yes to sleep, I have noticed in the past a couple of late nights followed by early mornings in a row can trigger an attack. I'm pretty regimented with my sleep now because of it and always get 7-9 hours a night. I haven't tried the anti nausea things but may ask for them as well because the nausea is one of the worst things for me.

The more I have them the more I notice signs leading up to them. This is a random one but my speech goes funny right before one, in the hours or day leading up to an attack. So let's say I was saying 'Peter jumped over the rope' what would actually come out is 'jeter pumped rover the tope' and the sounds at the start of the words all get muddled within the sentence if that makes sense. It's very disorientating - I used to worry about it but now I know it means a migraine is imminent

[AnchorDownDeepBreath]

It's not that it's futile - there's no doubt that you're suffering. It's just that the appeal may not help you much and it's best to be prepared! It sounds like it should be considered a disability, so your employer should make reasonable adjustments. They may feel that they've done this, and there are no further adjustments that would be both reasonable and helpful.

I've been there, and nothing really helps. I'd definitely push for more help medically, and see what your options would be if you couldn't continue in employment - look at benefits and part time work etc so you can see if that helps reduce attacks.

Do try not to stress. It'd be awful to trigger a migraine worrying about triggering a migraine.

[TheWildRumpyPumpus]

Mine are mainly triggered by using computers/watching tv for any more than 30 minutes (not handy in the workplace).

Have you seen a neurologist? I now get steroid/painkiller injections in the base of my neck (occipital nerve) which has helped a little.

[Wolpertinger]

careless if your speech is going funny that means you are actually in migraine then. It is likely why your triptans don't work - you take them far too late - try taking them when your speech starts going funny.

I think you would really really benefit from seeing a neurologist interested in headache as I don't think you have had great advice from your GP.

[TheWindInThePillows]

I also think you would benefit from seeing a specialist neurologist in migraines- it may be less expensive than you think, we have paid privately to see consultants recently and it's usually £150-300 absolute max for one appointment.

I would think about adding in more preventive meds, I use beta blockers on a low dose and found them really effective for me.

I also agree that you need to act at the very first sign- so if your speech feels funny or if you feel odd or if you feel even the tiniest headache- assume it is going for a full migraine and take the meds.

I also have anti-nausea tablets from the dr as I also found this the worst aspect and they definitely made the whole thing more bearable.

You poor thing- my own experience is that they aren't always stress-related in that each day of stress doesn't necessarily produce one migraine, but when I'm stressed, it triggers an episode for a month or so- it sounds like this is happening to you.

I think with better and more medicines this may be at least a bit better than it is now.

[TheWindInThePillows]

I meant to say that if the consultant is private, you can then rejoin the NHS for anything else, so I saw a consultant privately for something, but then joined his NHS list for tests/treatment etc. They are usually very sympathetic if they know you aren't wealthy but are completely desperate!

[fastdaytears]

Your GP isn't helping you at all by giving you these sick notes but no referral.

I would see someone privately. I know it's expensive but better than losing your job.

It does sound like it might be a disability issue, but also like allowing any more absence would not be considered a reasonable adjustment, so if you went for an appeal you could be putting yourself through a lot of stress for nothing.

[user1465823522]

did you inform your employer when they hired you of this medical issue and how it could impact on your work?

i ask because yes, i know that sometimes people get sick for a wide range of reasons, and that's fine. But to not disclose a long term health issue that directly impacts on your ability to do your job is just wrong. You say it's a small company - that is an added issue as getting someone to cover etc is harder.

you need to talk to your employer and your doctor.

[TrickyD]

You can join a Union as an individual, you do not need to have a branch in your workplace. You should do that ASAP; they will support you.

[MarcelineTheVampire]

In short, yes they can. However, it is a lot more complex than they can just dismiss you. If it is a long term condition they need to be logging these separately (but all instances have been related so far but this is relevant if off for another reason in the meantime), they do also need to look at reasonable adjustments and sending you to occupational health.

I would say to you- is the stress of the job worth risking your health for? Can you start to look for another job- obviously this isn't ideal but if this is directly impacting on your health and they don't seem to be supportive I would be looking elsewhere.

[MarcelineTheVampire]

Also, yes definitely appeal saying no reasonable adjustments have been looked at for you not have you been sent to OH- I think you may be covered by the equality act (but don't know until a medical assessment have been conducted)...

Good luck.

[MilkTwoSugarsThanks]

You employer can terminate your contract with very little comeback within the first two years of employment.

You can appeal this one, you can force them to make adjustments, but at the end of the day they could decide that it's not worth the long term bother and terminate you contract on the grounds that it's "not working out". It can be very expensive and very VERY stressful to take them to a tribunal to try and prove the real reason for your dismissal.

I know that probably comes across as unhelpful, but I think it's best to know what may happen even if you do follow other posters advice on using the DDA.

I'm still going to cross my fingers for you though and I hope it does work out OK. I get one or two a year and a big "FUCK OFF" to anyone who thinks a migraine is just a really bad headache!

[Sameoldiggi]

But they can't terminate it without comeback if it's for a reason covered under the Equality act, which this might be. I think establishing that this is viewed as a disability will attract better treatment by your employers

[LaContessaDiPlump]

Several things:

1. as I'm a migraine sufferer too (or used to be; they've reduced a lot) and they are bloody awful.
   
   
2. You need a referral. If you keep taking time off work it sounds like you will be in danger of losing your job.
   
   
3. Unpalatable as it may be, you may need to consider a change in career path. Stress is a major trigger for me (and many others), so part of managing your condition might be deliberately choosing a low pressure environment to work in. It's not wimping out or anything else you might feel of that ilk; it's prioritising your quality of life over the social convention of what you think you ought to be able to do.
   
   
4. I take propanolol daily for anxiety and it has an off-label indication for reducing migraine incidence (probably moreso in people for whom stress [and therefore presumably high blood pressure] is a trigger). Might be worth a look.

[AllChangeLife]

Please nag your GP for a referral... If not, see another GP. There may be a way that your migraines can be more under control.

Speak to ACAS - i'm pretty sure Migraines come under the Equality Act. Google reasonable adjustments for migraines and you come up with things like this:
www.nhs.uk/ipgmedia/national/migraine%20action/assets/migraineintheworkplace.pdf

I think there is more they should have done before giving you a warning - they might just be ignorant. Maybe do some research and go to them with a management plan. If they agree it, ask them to strike the warning from your record.