Period troubles - how to handle with work?

[GeraldineThornton]

I have two days a month - day 1 and 2 of my period - where I feel like I'm going to die. I have to down tools and go to bed.

This has only started happening the last few months and these days have always happened at the weekend or days I'm WFH so its been okay so far.

But I'll be back in the office a lot more soon, and there will inevitably be days that I need to bail.

Should I tell my line manager now, ahead of time that this is likely to happen?
Or just take sick days as/when the situation occurs?
Should I get a note from my doctor to say what the situation is in case I get in trouble for missing days several months on the bounce?

Really appreciate anyone's insight into this. Thank you.

Have you been to speak to your GP about why this is happening? Particularly if it is a new development, I'd be wanting to find a way to stop it, not worrying about how to not be in work.

Agree. This needs addressing as it is clearly impacting on your ability to work.

How are you able to go to bed to sleep etc.
and still 'WFH'? Do you not complete your tasks set?

See your GP. There may be things that will help - my GP said, " no woman in this day and age should have her life dictated by periods." Not everyone is as enlightened, but there are investigations which can be made and various possible treatments.

As a manager, I would be more sympathetic to someone who is seeing the doctor and trying to improve things than just accepting it without any looking into it.

No, I haven't booked to see the GP yet.
To be honest it has to really occurred to me to do so but you're right that I should do. Thank you.

But I'm still not sure whether to raise this with my line manager now, or to just take sick days as/when they come and deal with HR/OT later on if that situation occurs. What do you think, please?

Ugh, hadn't really occurred to me. Sorry. Fat fingers 😄

Is this heavy periods or pain or something else? I used to feel like I was going to keel over on my heaviest days. There was flooding and clotting galore. Finally tried tranexamic acid and haven’t looked back. My periods have always been heavy though, if these issues are new than there might be an underlying health issue that needs sorting.

Either way if definitely warrants a GP appointment.

Honestly taking 2 days off work each month absolutely won't fly in most offices. You need to at least be seems to try and mitigate it but even so a day at least 24 days off a fortnight is going to be a challenge regardless of the reasons.

Presumably you've already been taking sick days while wfh, so there's nothing new happening? If I were you I'd tell your manager what's been going on, warn them that it is likely to keep happening, and also book an appointment to see your GP. Being off sick a day or two every month is likely to trigger some sort of managing attendance process, but as a PP has a manager I'd be more sympathetic towards someone who is trying to get the issue treated than someone who is doing nothing.

@bluetongue Thank you for your recommendation. Heaviness isn't an issue. I mean, I am quite heavy but not unmanageable. The problem that impacts work is dizziness and nausea. I can largely manage the pain, but feeling sick and woozy absolutely flaws me. I've tried various OTC medicines for dizziness/nausea but they don't really help.

Agree with this advice from @RichardMarxisinnocent . Your manager will definitely want to know that you are at least trying to get your symptoms investigated/treated.

@RichardMarxisinnocent Thank you, that's a good suggestion. Please may I ask what a 'managing attendance process' is likely to look like? Apologies if this is a naive question.
I haven't taken sick days with my period troubles so far, no. I've been almost permanently WFH since January and my job's very flexible/autonomous so I've been able to take it easy on WFH days and catch up later.
But I'm in work a lot more in the coming months and my concern is when awful period days coincide with me having to be in work.

Thank you. Is it enough for me to tell my line manager "I'm seeing the doctor to get things investigated". Or do they need more detail than this? Thank you.

It's also about travelling and the comfort of where you work.

I can work in bed or on the sofa with my feet up, have a hot water bottle, hot and cold running painkillers. Sat on a plastic sheet and towel just in case... hourly toilet trips, ability to check everything is ok without anyone seeing me swipe at my skirt...

Not that easy at an office.

How old are you? Perimenopause could be a possibility? But go to the GP.

I think if it's clear you will work a weekend to catch up, that's something you can offer when you mention it to boss.

If your suffering with nausea and dizziness and it's recent, maybe your iron or ferritin levels could be out of whack?
Definitely needs an urgent trip to the GP and speak to your line manager.
You don't need loads of detail, just say that recently your period has caused serious physical side effects that aren't possible to manage in an office environment plus Im not sure driving/travelling is particularly safe with those symptoms? Perhaps you could ask to WFH on those days and catch up days in the office the following week if that's possible?
If you can manage at home, asking for the flexibility to WFH instead of the office should be a reasonable ask. If you can't manage at home either, you need to see your GP ASAP and get to the bottom of it.

I'm 37 so a little young but my mum went through early menopause.

Unfortunately the days I'd be in work are for activities that can't be rescheduled or caught up.

If you're not particularly comfortable talking to your line manager I'd maybe start with "recurrent abdominal pain that I'm seeing the doctor about".
I think that in theory they can request that you give more info to your occupational health dept in confidence.

Thank you @CattingAbout I'm pretty happy to be open and say its period-related troubles. I think that's quite important given I'm saying it's happening regularly (i.e. every month).

I meant more whether my line manager would need more detail about what investigations the doctors are doing, what the outcomes are and what decisions I'm making about treatments etc.

This was an early sign of peri-menopause for me, also in my late 30s. I felt like the very life had literally been sucked out of my body every month for a couple of days. I could not think or do anything except lie down.
I would recommend a visit to your GP but also yes I would discuss it with your manager to make them aware, and that conversation will go better if you say you are under the care of a GP for the problem. If you have a decent employer they should help you around this.

No I don't think they can ask for that kind of detail. If you are wanting time off work for medical appointments, they might ask for proof that the appointments exist (e.g. hospital letters).

Thank you that's really useful to know.

@TaigaSno I'm sorry you had a tough time. It's horrible, isn't it? It's like a cross between car sickness and a hangover. Awful.

Definitely get it investigated.

If there's nothing that can be done to improve it and you're saying this health issue means you cannot fulfil your employment contract, then what's your proposal? Eg a flexible working request to reduce your hours? A change in role or responsibilities?

That's how OH will look at it if there's nothing that can be done to resolve the matter.