AIBU to go off sick with pregnancy symptoms when I can wfh?

[Namechange739]

I’m due to start my mat leave in 6 weeks and I’m having bad pregnancy symptoms, including horrendous acid reflux which is there all day every day (despite eating healthily, small portions etc) and is causing me to vomit at night and stopping me from getting any sleep.

I’ve also got terrible back pain and I spend most of the day sat in the same position on MS Teams calls which is really exacerbating it.

My GP has given me a sick note between now and my mat leave starting. The note lists the reasons as “acid reflux, back ache and sleep difficulties” which doesn’t really capture the severity of my symptoms! I work in a senior role in a professional job and I have the flexibility to work from home whenever I want to (I usually go into the office 4 days per week but have dropped to 1 day due to these symptoms).

My previous manager knows I’m a high performer and rarely have sick days so wouldn’t be off sick unless I really needed to be. However, I have a new manager who doesn’t know me well yet and I feel embarrassed giving her this sick note as it sounds like normal pregnancy symptoms which I could manage working from home. I haven’t even mentioned my symptoms to her before either because I hadn’t wanted to sound like I was whinging in our first few 121s.

AIBU to suddenly tell her I have a sick note and need to take time off due to my pregnancy symptoms?

Just to add, if the acid reflex is worse at night, you may find raising the head of the bed slightly (a few inches) on wood blocks is also worthwhile. A lot of people have a mild hiatus hernia where acid can flow back up from the stomach and a physical slope can really help prevent that.

I had to go of sick on my second. I was just sooo uncomfortable and soo heavy and I was fighting bursting into tears all the time maybe because I was tired with a non sleeping toddler. I had all these meetings and it was all too much for me.

I felt the same as you, that my sick note didn’t really say I had a thing, and I felt bad about it.

We shouldn’t feel guilty about this type of stuff. Easier said than done.

@AliBaliBee1234 Have you thought about what you would do to manage it better if not working? I knew i'd probably sit scrolling my phone which is no different to being on my work laptop. That being said, I was on low concentration duties at the end and your workload and how you're coping is key.

Sorry but not everyone can have an easy job. I'm a senior solicitor and every single thing on my desk has to be done perfectly or people lose money, filings are not done etc and clients are people too, some of whom are shitty humans who love to call up and abuse their own solicitor as they think that's what they pay for. Nothing like paying by the hour to make people think they literally own you. And while my bosses massively eased my workload, it didn't change the fact that anything that came on my desk HAD to be done ASAP. Not great for someone who can barely think. Yes, to you it looked like I was just on my laptop. But scrolling on my phone, watching TV and dosing on the sofa was exactly what I needed and very different indeed.

Tbh I think it’s better for your professional reputation to go off sick if you can’t do your job properly than to struggle through and make mistakes.

Take the time you need. As you know, wfh doesn’t mean you can switch your brain off and just not do the work. It’s just working in a different setting.

It’s not what you planned/hoped for but ultimately, you’re putting yourself under a level of stress you don’t need to be under if you don’t take this time.

All the best with the rest of your pregnancy!

I'd be tempted to WFH for a few days until the meds kick in, and that way if you still feel too ill, go off sick and you know you've tried everything.

To add - love hearts (the sweet in a tube) helped me massively with heartburn, alongside actual medicine. Might be worth a punt.

Given your update about maternity leave starting at 36 weeks I would just use the sick note and go off sick. They’ll have forgotten about it by the time you go back anyway

Omeprazole honestly worked wonders for me I had horrible reflux in all 3 pregnancies. It worked very fast, so I hope it brings you relief.

Don’t be a hero, if you’re exhausted (especially from a twin pregnancy!) just finish and rest! No one will thank you for exhausting yourself for the benefit of your employer.

This! But YANBU....
EDITTED as I saw your mat leave starts 4 days before due date anyway.
Try thenomeprazole for a few days, if it doesn't work then hand in the sick note and talk to the manager to explain the severity of the symptoms and that you tried everything...

They'll start your mat leave early.

It's whether you want it to mess up your mat leave, I guess. I wanted the max amount of time off with my baby so worked until the v end, gave birth on my last day in work.
In hindsight I wouldn't work so late again but I was a bit gung-ho about it all!

Yanbu you feel ill. Yes stay off.

Just go off op. Life is too short!

Hah reminds me of last year when my doctor signed me off with "anxiety". Just that one word on my fit note. I was having severe dissociative episodes where I wasn't behaving normally and couldn't function, constant panic attacks, and zero sleep for months. I also wasn't eating at all. I ended up under the care of CMH (still am).

If I could go back in time, I'd ask the doctor to write a new note that acurately represented my health issues. At the time I was too out of it to really consider the implications, though.

Maybe you could do that? Or request they write a vague explanation of severe pregnancy related symptoms?

You should rest if you're unwell and unable to perform at your job.

Go off sick, I went off at 6 month sick due to iron levels and morning sickness returning