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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to have a nap in the loos?!

50 replies

DaffodilPower · 22/08/2018 14:16

Ok, I am shattered today!

I have Crohn's Disease and find the hardest symptom is fatigue, as people just don't understand how crippling it is. I am usually quite good at coping, but today is one of those days that I am not handling it.

I am shattered, can barely keep my head upright, and have been so unproductive it's unreal.

I am in my own office thankfully, but always have my door open, so closing it for a snooze would arouse suspicion, plus the boss is in (his office is next door)..

Would it be wrong to just have a quick 10 minutes in the loos? They're public/staff mixed, so I don't think I'd be noticed if I just shit myself away in a cubicle..!

Any other fatigue coping mechanisms welcome!!

OP posts:
Mari50 · 22/08/2018 14:18

so I don't think I'd be noticed if I just shit myself away in a cubicle.
This is a rather appropriate typo.

No, I’d not sleep in the loo.

Mari50 · 22/08/2018 14:19

Seriously, close your office door, put your head down for ten minutes.
I suffer terribly from fatigue so totally understand

MissisBoote · 22/08/2018 14:19

Do you have a sick room with a bed in it?
Or did you drive to work and you could go and have 10mins to recharge in your car.
Are your employers aware of your disability? Perhaps you could make some flexible working arrangements so that when the fatigue hits you can just finish for the day or take a longer break to rest.
I have me/CFS so know how crippling fatigue can be.
Grin at shitting in a cubicle.

MissisBoote · 22/08/2018 14:21

Also would 10mins listening to a guided meditation help you feel more refreshed? I know sometimes this is more helpful for me to feel more awake after a quick rest.

NaomiNagata · 22/08/2018 14:22

Can you fit under your desk for a snooze? If anyone looks for you, they'll just think you're out!

Or just close your door on your break time and have a sleep. No one will actually care.

SerenDippitty · 22/08/2018 14:23

Can you lock your door? If so you could put a notice on it saying back in 10 mins or something.

ShowOfHands · 22/08/2018 14:23

Not remotely the same but when pregnant and tired, I'd go and lie down under a tree during my lunch break and snooze for 30 minutes. Sunglasses on, alarm set. It was bliss.

Can you have a meeting and arrange a way of dealing with the ongoing fatigue. DH's colleague has a similar autoimmune condition and has 15 minutes in an empty office when necessary. He has a pillow, self inflating roll mat and black out mask.

Dancer12345 · 22/08/2018 14:24

I have the Headspace app and find that if I get a mid-afternoon slump doing a quick 5 min meditation on there really helps.

CheshireChat · 22/08/2018 14:25

Noooo, it would be uncomfortable and imagine if you nodded off and slipped into a puddle.

Under your desk and if anyone comes in claim you've lost something?!

Would you even feel any better with just 10 minutes though?

Stroller15 · 22/08/2018 14:26

I used to nap in the loo! I was 22, first corporate job and after big night's out - no one noticed but wasn't the comfiest. Under your desk or if you've got a car might be more suitable.

Good luck OP!

Original poster
DaffodilPower · 22/08/2018 14:26

Thank you all - What a great typo that was!! Oops!

Trouble is, my office is in a public waiting room, with a glass panel, so I'd not want people seeing me snoozing (though hiding under the desk could work). I did drive in, perhaps just a walk to the car and back would work?

My manager does know about my disability, and is wonderfully accommodating, but I've just had time off for shingles so don't want to take the mickey. I've previously discussed working from home regularly, which could help, but when it's fatigue like this I'm not honestly going to work if my own bed is in the same building.

Fatigue I think is one of the must misunderstood and underestimated illnesses. I work surrounded by healthcare professionals and have to say the majority just tell me to get more sleep!

OP posts:
Original poster
DaffodilPower · 22/08/2018 14:29

Ooo I'm going to try the Headspace app..!

If the weather was as it was in July, I'd find a nice spot under a tree somewhere, but it's drizzling here today..

OP posts:
FairyLightFiend · 22/08/2018 14:30

I have ME and when I was working full time having a nap, or even just switching off for 10 minutes, in the loo was the only way that I got though the day! I agree with PP though - if it’s at all possible I’d bring it up with your employers and see if something can be done. Even just access to a room where you’re “off” for 15 minutes (not on view, not interrupted) could have a massive positive impact.

Original poster
DaffodilPower · 22/08/2018 14:33

Thanks, Fairy.

I will have a chat with my manager when it is less hectic, I just feel like such a flannel sometimes!

I used to cope by eating loads of chocolate and having really sweet tea, but found the late afternoon crash and inability to sleep later awful, so I'm trying to ride it out sugar free..!!

OP posts:
Thelastredwinegum · 22/08/2018 14:34

I have UC and trying to explain fatigue to people is frustrating. The best I could say was but if you sleep you wake up and feel better, I could sleep for a year and still want another year's sleep :(
I'd definitely go to the car for 10 or 15 mins.

Greyponcho · 22/08/2018 14:36

Ditch the caffeine if it’s not decaf tea, you’ll feel like a zombie for the first two days but you’ll be better off long term without the peaks and troughs it gives you.
Lunchtime snoozes in your car perhaps?

EssentialHummus · 22/08/2018 14:37

WHEN I had undiagnosed hypothyroidism I used to go up to the client floor of my law firm and kip in the loo for 15 minutes, on my coat. Got me through.

Saggital · 22/08/2018 14:38

Eh?!?.....you’re ill. Go home.

MurunBuchstansagur · 22/08/2018 14:39

When I worked in a factory I had a 15 minute nap in the loo every day for about 7 years. There’s nothing wrong with me; it was just a really really boring job.

bringincrazyback · 22/08/2018 14:42

I second the 'lunchtime snoozes in car' idea, if you travel to work by car. I suffer from chronic fatigue (so I totally get that 'utterly exhausted' feeling - it sucks), and am luckily self-employed now, but when I was salaried some days all that got me through was a 20-minute power nap in my car. (Would have been longer, but my stingy employer only gave us 30 mins for lunch. lol)

Anxious2niteaaah · 22/08/2018 14:43

The loo is hardly the mot hygienic place to nap, what if you fall off during your nap and injure yourself?..

Why not have a power nap at your desk or maybe try a lucozade or a coffee to wake you up enough to keep going until you get home?

Anxious2niteaaah · 22/08/2018 14:43

*most

blueskiesandforests · 22/08/2018 14:46

I used to work in Japan and we had a tatami room for staff naps Grin excellent idea. Mind you presenteeism was chronic, everyone was on the premises 60 hours per week doing about 25 hours per week of actual work, we used to joke about putting mannequins dressed in our clothes at our desks 20 hours a day and probably getting a comendation for dedication...

Sorry, that doesn't help.

Tell your boss you feel unwell and go home, or get some air, or book a meeting room and set an alarm...

agedknees · 22/08/2018 14:47

Get your vit b12 levels checked.

blueskiesandforests · 22/08/2018 14:50

aged she already knows why she feels chronically tired; she said in the op it's a symptom of chrones disease.

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