Migraine

This may end up being more of a disability discussion so if it needs to get moved please move it.

After spending 7 days in inpatient treatment at MHNI I have been doing much better. My migraines have been reduced to 3-4 times a week which is a huge improvement for me. The migraines I do have are controlled with my abortives Keppra, indocin suppositories, and Skelaxin (when my neck is bad too). When things get really bad I turn to the Migranal and that seems to take care of the really bad ones. I'm still not where I want to be but I'm starting to get my life back little by little. I'm not stuck in bed all day in pain which is another good thing.

Now the bad news. I'm currently on short term disability from my employer due to my migraines. I had used up all my paid leave over 8 months ago and well before I went on disability. I was on intermittent FMLA prior to my disability leave and found out that has been running concurrent to my leave so I have exhausted all of my FMLA time. I received a letter from my employer stating that I no longer have any legal right to my job and in a nutshell that they want to know when and if I'm returning to work so they can do whatever it is that they need to do. They pretty much want me to be 100% or not be there. The funny thing is that while I was on intermittent leave I was producing more stats per month than my co-workers, despite having to take all that time off!

I'm working very hard to try and negotiate my return but so far my requests to meet with them have been met with silence. My neurologist at MHNI supports the short term leave and agrees with me that I'm not 100% able to do a job like mine (law enforcement) but at the same time he also believes my employer is not being reasonable.

Last week the insurance company that pays my short term disablity finally decided (after 3 months) that they wouldn't pay anything more until they have all my medical documents from MHNI. I read on here that is pretty typical but it's still frustrating when you need the money. They also sent me documents indicating that I need to apply for LTD within 45 days of 11/4/09 (end of STD).

Obviously all this stress and problems with my employer has not helped my migraines or my depression. I want to work but I don't really have a job you can do if you can't be there at work. I believe that there could be some accomedations so I could do my job but that will be determined if my employer will ever talk to me about this and try to negotiate this. At 34 I'm not ready to give up the job I love or my career but it seems like it keeps going that direction. My biggest fear is that I lose my job, for whatever reason, and then my migraines get better. That would be a hard thing for me to live with.

I'm sure there are lots of people who have been in my shoes or in similar circumstances. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I can't think of a better place to find support and advice!

Oh, PSK, like you need all this stress on top of being ill too?

So far as I know, Migraines are covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act and your employer is required by law to make reasonable accomidations for you.

What that would be as far as a law enforcement job, I'm not sure. But the fact you were able to maintain your responsiblities while working a reduced schedule may need to be brought up.

I think since your employer has been unwilling to meet with you to even discuss the issues, you might want to look into getting some legal advice on how to proceed.

Just my thought. Let us know how you are doing with this.


Kelly

Yeah the stress in my family right now is at a max. My wife and I try to hide it from our 3 year old but you can imagine how well that is going.

Fortunately I have lots of friends that are attorneys but I don't think any of them specialize in labor law. I've also been very hesitent to initiate getting legal advice since that opens up a new can of worms. I am planning on contacting someone I know just to get some basic legal advice on what I need to do and say from this point on.

I have advised my employer that my condition falls under ADA and have kept all of my correspondence to emails so I have a written copy of the times and dates on when I have sent correspondence. I asked several times to meet in person but so far have been met with silence. I'm going to call them this week and ask again for a meeting.

The worse part about all of this is having to come to terms with the possibility that I may not be able to continue to do the type of job I have chosen as a career choice. Being in my mid 30's makes that a very bitter pill to swallow. That and it's not a very good economy to think about reinventing myself. So I don't get too overwhelmed I just try and stick to the one day at a time attitude.

I wish I had answers for you, but this kind of thing is way out of my league. I've never had to deal with leaves or anything, so I simply don't know the ropes. But I still wanted to post to tell you that I'm rooting for you, and hope with everything I've got that things work out. I can understand why law enforcement is a tough area to provide accommodations in. It's so hands-on, participation, and you're not tied to one place, which can be adapted to you. Sigh.

DD, thanks for the support. I never had to deal with any this stuff until the past year and half. Prior to that I was always the model employee. Yes, I had to take time off for migraines but that happened maybe twice a month at the most. Things just eroded from there.

I've made a lot of progress at MHNI but it seems like it's almost too late to patch things up with my current employer. MHNI has been great but the delays in getting appointments for treatments (epiderals, fascet blocks, etc) has just made things drag on and on. That's a pretty hard sell to tell your employer that I'm getting aggressive treatment for my migraines but it takes over 2 months to get any procedures done (unless you're in inpatient).

I think my employer would be happiest if I just had my doctor put me on long term disability and call things final. My doctors don't really seem to want to do that for many different reasons but the more this goes on the more that's the only option...unless I can convince my employer to make some accomedations for my disability.

quote:

Originally posted by dragondroolHOST:
I wish I had answers for you, but this kind of thing is way out of my league. I've never had to deal with leaves or anything, so I simply don't know the ropes. But I still wanted to post to tell you that I'm rooting for you, and hope with everything I've got that things work out. I can understand why law enforcement is a tough area to provide accommodations in. It's so hands-on, participation, and you're not tied to one place, which can be adapted to you. Sigh.

PSK, I know you're hesitant to contact a lawyer, but something to keep in mind is that just because you consult with one, doesn't mean that you have to involve your employer in any sort of legal action. Your employer doesn't even need to know that you've consulted with a lawyer. And, a lawyer will be able to give you all of your options.

I did also want to give you a link to an attorney's website. She specializes in helping chronically ill patients, and offers a sliding scale with some free services. She may be able to help you out.

Advocacy for Patients with Chronic Illness

I can empathize with you a bit, as I'm facing a similar dilemma. I was laid off from my architecture job last November, and haven't been able to find employment in my field. Now I'm discovering that I'm really still too sick to go back to the type of work I was doing before, and it scares me to have to take so much time away from my field, especially since I'm only 26.

Hang in there, and let us know how else we can help.

MaxJerz, thanks for the support. You always have something positive to say that relates to my life. It sounds like you are going through many of the same feelings, emotions, and everything else that comes with this.

I have close friend that is an attorney and I'm planning on talking to him to see what my next move will be or who I will need to contact on this. My hesitancy isn't in getting a lawyer involved its the fact that I work for Judges and things are liable to get very ugly if the word "attorney" comes up. I'm realistic and know eventually that may happen but I also know it escalates things fast. I've seen it happen with other workers.

I will look into that website link you gave me and after speaking with my friend I will post more.

quote:

Originally posted by MaxJerz:
PSK, I know you're hesitant to contact a lawyer, but something to keep in mind is that just because you consult with one, doesn't mean that you have to involve your employer in any sort of legal action. Your employer doesn't even need to know that you've consulted with a lawyer. And, a lawyer will be able to give you all of your options.

I did also want to give you a link to an attorney's website. She specializes in helping chronically ill patients, and offers a sliding scale with some free services. She may be able to help you out.

Advocacy for Patients with Chronic Illness

I can empathize with you a bit, as I'm facing a similar dilemma. I was laid off from my architecture job last November, and haven't been able to find employment in my field. Now I'm discovering that I'm really still too sick to go back to the type of work I was doing before, and it scares me to have to take so much time away from my field, especially since I'm only 26.

Hang in there, and let us know how else we can help.

UPDATE

Well here is the update on my post. My employer told me I no longer have a full time job due to "reorganization" of my department. I have a part time M-W position available with no benefits of course. I have no time off to accrue until after I have worked a year and my attendance and performance would be reviewed at the end of this year. Oh yeah, and the position has no flexiblity other than I could flex my time of coming in or leaving but I wouldn't get paid for the time I was gone and I could not work any additional days in the week to make up my time.

When I met with my supervisor and the HR person I explained to them that my condition fell under ADA and I had some ideas for flexability to allow me to work. I suggested working after hours, weekends, flexing my time, and working at home to cover the days I was not able to work. They turned down all of those ideas. I won't go into all the details but they said it was a security issue (basically to have me there with no security)...but keep in mind I would be by myself with no one else there while I worked and it's a secure facility. None of my suggestions, besides working at home, would have caused my employer to incur any extra expenses.

My employer did all this under the guise of "reorganization" but keep in mind that they have never done this to anyone else under these circumstances. I believe all this was done to get rid of me since I take sporadic time off and they want someone that can be there all the time, hence the inablity to accrue any time off for 1 year.

So now I'm left with the decision of taking a job I can't work due to my migraines or go on long term disability. I'm going to talk to an attorney about this as soon as I speak with doctor and figure out my next move.

Hopefully things will work out and my doctor will support my decision and I can put this behind me and move on. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers!

Oh, PSK, I am so sorry to hear your employer has put you in this situation. I'm glad that you have decided to talk to an attorney about this - it sounds very shady to me, and it does sound like they're trying to cover their behinds with this "reorganization".

I'll be thinking of you and sending you lots of good luck vibes - do let us know what you find out. When will you have a chance to talk to your doc?

Thanks. I need all the good luck vibes I can get right now.

I meet with my doctor this Thursday so I will know then what I need to do next.

quote:

Originally posted by MaxJerz:
Oh, PSK, I am so sorry to hear your employer has put you in this situation. I'm glad that you have decided to talk to an attorney about this - it sounds very shady to me, and it does sound like they're trying to cover their behinds with this "reorganization".

I'll be thinking of you and sending you lots of good luck vibes - do let us know what you find out. When will you have a chance to talk to your doc?

PSK -

You may know I have done some work and writing in this area - I can't offer you legal advice here on the forum of course, but I want to give you my gut feel on this - I am in midst of a Migraine right now myself so not too clear and will try to come back to it in the morning. But bottom line it sounds to me like you may have good cause for complaint under ADA. Reorganization sounds very suspect!

Will try to check in with you tomorrow.

- Megan

Like Megan I'm wondering if you might have a claim. I'd highly, highly encourage you to consult with an attorney specializing in employment law.

Diana

PSK, I'm sorry your employer has put you in this situation. I'm glad you are planning to speak to an attorney. Sounds like our 'legal' members think that's a good idea too. Good luck with the visit to your doctor and your discussion with the attorney. And please keep us updated.

Good luck!

Meli

PSK -

As Diana said, you need to speak to an employment attorney - if you need to find one, call your local or state bar association. Have them check ADA and FMLA law - I am not entirely sure you can be compelled to use your paid leave concurrently with the FMLA leave. If they could have made reasonable accommodations that would not have harmed the business and would have made it possible for you to stay at work, you may have a discrimination claim under ADA.

Good luck - so sorry you have to go through this!

- Megan

Megan,

Thanks for all your advice. You're always a huge support and source of help around here!

I have contacted an attorney group that specializes in labor law, employment discrimination, and issues with Social Security and disability. I'm working on getting a meeting set up with an associate there.

As far as my doctor goes, that went extreamly well. Both my psychologist and neurologist supported my decision for long term disability and both felt I had attemtped to work with my employer. They were also very disappointed that something could not be worked out when it seemed like there was room there to negotiate something so everyone was happy.

For me what is done is done and it has provided some sense of relief knowing that I can close the chapter with my employer down to some point. I'm just having a really hard time dealing with letting go of a career I have worked so hard to achieve. I have been reminding myself that this is not the end of anything may only be the beginning of something else. As we all know, it still hurts when I think about it, but I don't have time with a family to let this put me down.

I hope everyone accepts my deepest thanks for everything. This site has been helped me so much to work through everything with my Migraines and all the things that come with it! Thank You from me and my family

quote:

Originally posted by nutmegan:
PSK -

As Diana said, you need to speak to an employment attorney - if you need to find one, call your local or state bar association. Have them check ADA and FMLA law - I am not entirely sure you can be compelled to use your paid leave concurrently with the FMLA leave. If they could have made reasonable accommodations that would not have harmed the business and would have made it possible for you to stay at work, you may have a discrimination claim under ADA.

Good luck - so sorry you have to go through this!

- Megan