Will GP think I am BU to ask for 2 weeks off sick?

[Rumors1]

I work a very busy job (including lots of unpaid overtime), been covering for a colleague who has been on extended leave for 7 weeks. Hopefully will be back next week.
I have an auto immune disease that has been flaring for months, I keep telling myself next week will be better.
My meds have been increased to treat the flare, but I am having side effects - nausea, headaches and fatigue.
My mother is in hospital, keeps developing new conditions - very stressful, father has advanced COPD and is requiring a fair bit of minding as mother not there. I am dealing with the hospital and attending meetings with Dr as mother cant hear. Have to bring dad to Dr this week as he is deteriorating.

I am burnt out and have been considering some sick leave to try to help everything settle. My condition is worsened by stress. I could keep going (I have been) but things are not improving. One week wont be sufficient as my work will build up and I will be twice as busy when I return. If I go for 2 weeks, there is a better chance the work will be covered.
Nervous about asking GP for 2 weeks off in case he thinks I am taking the mick.

That doesn’t sound unreasonable.
However, I’d also caution you to look at the bigger picture. What is going to happen with your parents care going forward? I’d suggest start thinking about carers/cleaners/gardeners whatever you can outsource, do it!
Have a look at the Elderly Parents board, you will find lots of people paddling the same canoe who are very helpful.
Hope you're feeling better soon.

When my mother in law was ill my husband had to go and get anti depressants - for some reason he thought the doctor was going to tell him no & that he shouldn't be depressed about his mum dying.
If fact the doctor said I'd be worried if you weren't affected by this.
They see this all the time and understand how worrying / affecting it is.
They may say that 2 weeks isn't enough. Take what they offer.

My friend was signed off by the docs for a similar thing. They increased her meds but told her she had to take it easy whilst they built up/as she got used to the side-effects/for the condition. She was off for weeks, I think, and made it much better (back to working far many hours now).

When I was in burn I got signed of for 4 weeks! I think gp will suggest you more than 2 weeks tbh

many Employers let you self certify for the first week of illness. So if your GP appointment system allows, you could go off sick for a week, see your GP at the end of that week and get signed off for the next two weeks. So you get three weeks off to recover. Sounds like you need it. Don’t fill the time up with caring for your mum, make sure you do look after yourself.

If you've only just gone off sick then I don't think the GP can issue you a note yet - you would normally self certify for work for the 1st week (employers can't ask for a note in the first week), once you've had a week and recognise you need longer then you can ask the GP to issue a MED3/sick note for you.

"SICK NOTE'S / MED 3 REQUESTS The Government’s rules around issuing a sick note (Med3) are that a medical professional can only issue a Med3 when an individual has had more than seven continuous calendar days off sick due to an illness (including weekends). For any period of illness less than seven days, you are able to complete a selfcertification certificate and provide this to your employer. In the unlikely event that your employer does not accept a self-certification then your doctor may be able to issue a private sick note for which you may get charged. "

Other than the timings, I doubt the request itself/needing x weeks off due to stress/medical issue would raise an eyebrow - from my experience there isn't really much concern about someone needing a note for this time period - some people are perpetually requesting notes over several months as they find the thought of working/being asked to look for work to stressful so are continually asking for notes to cover several months at a time.

Not unreasonable at all. May Ingently suggest that you ask the GP to put non work related stress if you don't want the faff of being referred to OH and stress risk assessments.

I think you need a better GP. That sounds so awful.

I'm really glad every GP I've spoken to about my suffering mental health has taken my burnout seriously and they've even explained the science behind the long term effects of stress, offered me sick leave for as long as I need it AND have referred me for counselling.

I agree a sick note is short term relative to OPs issues but without sick leave I don't think OP is in a position to start planning or thinking about how to tackle those longer term issues as she is already burning the candle at both ends.

Yes to boundaries. If a job won't respect your boundaries then that relationship needs to end.

Your alternative is to ask work if you can work less hours whilst you have this, hopefully temporary, family emergency situation.

Please stop doing tge work of two people and making yourself ill ... just say NO!

I'm sorry you're going through all of that OP. My DH also has an autoimmune condition that most definitely is worsened by stress, and sometimes when I can see he's really struggling I wish he would ask the GP to sign him off for two weeks. I don't think the GP would think you're taking the mick. At the end of the day you know you're burnt out, and I think you're right about 2 weeks meaning there's more likelihood of things being covered. Good luck OP, I hope you get a break and a chance to rest which it sounds like is what you need.

Also, just to add, in case you feel guilty (which you absolutely shouldn't do, but it sounds like you might and I get it), no one ever gets to their death bed and thinks they wished they's spent more time in their life working. They may well think they wished they'd had more time with their family, or that they wished they'd prioritised themselves and their own health more. I can look back on a time in my life when I was absolutely on the verge of a breakdown (I'm not saying you are) and I just kept going at work and papering over the cracks and with hindsight I wish I'd had the confidence to say enough - I need time off. It's not a sign of weakness, it's a sign of strength. Good luck OP.

Thanks all, @Lemonyfuckit thats exactly how I feel. I know I shouldnt feel guilty but I do.
I keep doubting myself and thinking I will be fine but I know in my heart the 2 weeks would do me the world of good.
I am in the public sector, we are over worked and understaffed.

Can you take carers leave?

OP@Rumors1 if you’re in the public sector you will have more options than most including better sick leave provision and occupational health access. Not unreasonable at all to ask your gp for time to regroup but long term your health may be impacted if you don’t take other measures …my auto immune issues mean I can no longer work and I wish I had taken action to address my health a long time ago as I may still be in work. My workplace actually told me it’s preferable to have one long period of sick than 3 lots of 1-2 days sick in 6 mths , nobody ever covered my work when I was sick so I struggled on as I’d be letting my patients down and they wouldn’t get any input but I realised employees don’t always act in your best interests unless pushed!

With that last sentence I mean it’s utterly unreasonable of your employer to make you do 2 people’s work for 7 wks and they are not acting fairly .

P.S. stop with the unpaid overtime…I know it’s rife in certain public sector areas but people have been propping up the services for donkeys years at the cost of theIr own health and it’s not on.