Would it be unreasonable to get signed off

[Jazzy1814]

I’m waiting on a call back from the doctors and just wondering if it would be unreasonable to ask to be signed off work. I’m feeling horribly guilty about it but I have struggled with not being able to sleep this past year brought on mainly by worrying about ds who is on the path to being diagnosed with autism. It isn’t unusual for me to only have 3 hours sleep a night and that coupled with ds bad sleeping patterns I have gotten to a point where I no longer feel like I can function properly, I’ve put up with it for a year on and off but I’m at breaking point and having horrible headaches. I work part time but I work late evenings and don’t get home until nearly midnight and I’m just exhausted. I’ve tried otc sleeping tablets but they were too strong and I had horrible side effects so want to discuss it with a doctor before trying any thing else.

You can sign yourself off by doing a self cert for the first 7 days I think

I’m just a bit worried that my work wouldn’t see it as a valid reason to be off.

Hi OP. Sorry to hear you're struggling. I have been through exactly the same experience towards the end of last year and it got to a point where I couldn't carry on any longer. My GP was very supportive once I explained everything and I was off work for 14 weeks in total. Like you I also have a child who was in the process of being diagnosed. It is very overwhelming. I don't think it would be unreasonable at all to get signed off from work. You'll have time to rest and get yourself in a good place to enable you to face everything that is happening right now. The guilt feeling is natural but you need to do what's best for you and your family. Work survived in my absence! Hope you get on ok

Thank you for your reply! Although I’m sorry you’ve had to go through this too it’s nice to know I’m not alone experiencing it and there’s light at the end of the tunnel. I overthink things sometimes and felt like I needed to be told it’s an ok reason to go off sick. I want to get myself back on track for my dcs sake as well as mine.

@Jazzy1814 You're definitely not alone. It seems to happen to a lot of people but they don't talk about it. As a friend of mine said it takes a lot to ask for some help and not suffer in silence. Good luck x

Gp was lovely it actually (embarrassingly) made me cry. She felt like I would be better off on medication for anxiety but I wanted to temporarily try another otc sleeping tablet first incase it is just lack of sleep. I’m now signed off for a week but she said if i don’t feel better to call back for help. I can see why people suffer in silence, I have for a long time even worrying about what the Dr would think of me and if they would think I’m a bad mother, even now I’m embarrassed that my manager will see that I’m signed off and think I can’t cope which I guess is true, I’m not coping it’s just a hard thing to admit to yourself but I’m glad that I did.

@Jazzy1814 I was wondering how you got on speaking with the GP. Glad you got on ok. I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders when I finally admitted I needed some help and the GP signed me off. Hopefully with some time off you'll be able to rest and feel better. Take care of you