Time off with "morning" sickness - do you, and do you feel bad???

[Icoulddoitbetter]

Evening all,

I'm only 6+5 but feel god-awful and when I woke up this morning thought "sod it, I'm staying at home". I feel sooooooo much worse than I did with DS, where I felt nauseous but a bit of food settled my stomach. I've thrown up a couple of times both yesterday and today, and feel sick all the time. The thought of most food makes me gag and even drinking water makes me feel it, so I'm not that good really!

But, I know this is likely to go on for at least another 5 weeks, and I can't call in sick for all that time. I also know I could be so much more ill. But if I wasn't pg and I felt this ill, there's no way I'd go into work. The mornings are definitely the worse, and on wed I just wanted to lie down at my desk when I first arrived. I didn't intend on telling anybody yet but when I called in today I ended up telling my manager. Her response was just "Oh"! I've only been back from mat leave since nov .

So what is everyone else doing?. I'm rubbish at being ill and would love to just pack work in till week 13 but I know I can't do that!

Before-I-go-to-bed-bump??!

If you have severe morning sickness your doctor will probably sign you off.

I have to admit if my job wasn't home based and only 12hrs I would probably have been signed off as I couldnt really do much as I was exhausted and even walking 100 metres made me so nauseaus I was completely useless.

I was like you with DD2 and was in the exact same position, I felt guilty about not going into work but really felt awful. I ended up taking a good few half days and once ended up in the docs office in tears cause I just couldn't take it anymore and she signed me off for a week. thing is I ended up feeling nauseous every day for the 9 months and I mostly struggled on and just felt crap in work.

My advice is if you can get the time off take it, your not faking anything, I wish I had taken more time off cause it's now that I realise how sick I was. Take it easy on yourself and definitely don't feel guilty!

I'm 7+4 and my manager keeps trying to send me home as I'm worse than useless come mid-afternoon! Do feel a bit guilty about it as we're severely short staffed atm but if it gets much worse it wont even be worth me going in, I had five days off in lieu at the end of last week/beginning of this one and I felt so much better it was unreal.

It's my first so I think I still feel a bit like a drama queen!

When I was 6-7 weeks I got signed off work for three weeks, to get my head and body around the feeling of being sick. If you are sick take the time off, you cant help it, and to be honest what good are you at work if you feel so rotten. You'll only resent work more.

Theres nothing they can do about it if the doctor signs you off and theres nothign they can do about it as your pregnant. Maybe you need to tell you boss some more and also the HR department to wort out what you can do to ease the situation. Maybe reduce you hours for a few weeks. Only come in in the afternoons. The more up front you are with everything and the more you tell them they more likely they are to help you out and not think your being a drama queen.

I hope you feel better soon

i was like you at 5+6.. went to dr and was signed off... the day i went i thought it was a bit OTT to be signed off, but the very next day i knew i could not have made it...

am now coming up 14 weeks and have been signed off since, and been admitted to hospital, when really bad

i have felt so ill, there is simply no way i could have gone in.... getting downstairs has been an achievment some times...

you know how you feel and if so poorly then work will just have to manage without you.
its not your fault and u cant help it

What greenzebra said. I would be inclined to negotiate a later start for a bit, or can you do any work from home?

Congratulations btw

Thanks ladies, that's been really helpful. greenzebra did you feel sick or did you actually throw up? It's sounds like I need what you needed, some time to get my head around how awful I feel. I've got a day off on tusday (mon is my normal day off where so I'm with DS all day which is a whole other challenge!) so maybe I should go to the GP.

When I went to my first apt he gave me an antiemetic prescription but I haven't taken any for various reasons. Actually throwing up isn't too much of an issue yet. TBH the four times I've actually been sick I;ve felt at my best immeditely afterwards! Also, I'm still bf DS and don't want to stop.
So, is the GP likely to less sympathetic with me if I won't take his pills?

Icoulddoitbetter I was like you just really felt sick but wasnt sick that often, wish I had of been as well because I also felt so much better afterwards.

I had been off work for a few days before I went to the doctors to get signed off because of the new rules with being signed off, you have to have had seven days off of work before you can ask for a sick note. I told a little lie and said I had been when I hadnt. I think the doctor was a little annoyed that I had asked for a sick note but she just asked me how much I wanted off and gave it too me, I also told her that work wasnt that sympathic to my situation and that I needed some time to get my head round it to, and I didnt want to be too stressed.

When I went back to work, I had a chat with HR and discussed what could be done at work, the made my place athe desk more comfortable with a new chair, but to be hones they were a bit crap. I made sure I knew all I could about my rights and maternity leave, and then took a few more days off sick, they couldnt do anything about it. Finally they called me in for another meeting and they and I decided that I would use my remainder leave to take one day off a week.

Is there anyway you can use you leave to take some mornings off? If you dont want to get signed off.
Its another option.

Im 30 weeks now, and the extra day is a god send.

How did they help you out during your last pregnancy? Do you think they will help you out.

Oh another note, a friend of mine got signed off for two months with morning sickness, she layed it on really thick with the doctor and beacuse she had been pregnant before and used that also.

Good luck

I had severe morning sickness for 10 weeks and could not stand up at all. When I did I could only be up for an hour before feeling like death.

I've had probably three weeks off work in the last six because of severe nausea and fatigue. I'm extremely lucky to have a very supportive employer and doubly lucky that I'm working for an extremely understanding client (I work on client site all the time, and they could easily have asked me to be removed from the project). I'm able to go in to the office when I feel able to, leave when I need to, work at home when I need and not work when it's too difficult.

I've felt bad about every hour I've not been able to work, partly because I don't want anyone to think I'm faking it (I'm not, I really CANNOT work or get out of bed sometimes) and partly because I actually really love my job and want to get back to it.

But

The way I'm looking at it is that this might be the only time in my life that I do this, and while I love my job, I love my growing child more, and in a year, or two, the time I've had off won't matter, but my health and the health of my child will.

I went in but spent most of the day with my head down the loo. I felt guilty as there are 4 of us pg and the others were coping fine. In fact I was fine with dd1. Don't feel so bad now as I know it's twins but part of me wants to save up as much sick leave as possible incase I need it further on in the pg - daft I know!

I was signed off sick for several weeks for both my pregnancies due to hyperemesis, I felt so ill I could barely get to the GP's for the sick note. I sympathise, its a truly horrendous feeling. In fact, I was still throwing up at 9 months with my second, and only put on half a stone! Don't feel guilty, you are better perhaps to be off sick for a reasonable stretch rather than days here, there and everywhere.