Tell me your experience

[KBee42]

I have a good job. It's low-key, low-stress, well paid and secure. I try very hard to make all my doctors appointments after work or on weekends. Still, with this new flare-up between my GP, Nutritoinist, Physical therapist and Psychiatrist I feel like I'm always "having a doctor's appointment". I have over a week saved in personal time, so I'm not too worried about the immediate future.

But right now I'm in the middle of an especially bad flare-up. Yesterday I had to leave work early. I'm exhausted all the time.

I am calling my GP and I'm going to try to get into a pain managemetn doctor as well as a urogyny that was recommended to me (if I can get my insurance to cover it). That means more doctors, more visits, including the ones I already have.

I'm debating whether or not to let my boss know what's going on, mostly so he doesn't think that I'm ducking out of work for baseball games... or trying to get pregnant. I don't want him thinking about replacing me, I need this job!

What have been your experiences with this? If your boss is basically a good person, is it worth it to tell him or her?

Thanks.

[ICNDonna]

If you feel your boss is able to tell that you have something wrong, being open about what's going on could be a very good move. It's a decision many of us have had to make at one time or another. Most employers are willing to work with a good employee while they get needed help with a medical condition.

I personally never had to make that decision because I worked at the hospital where I was diagnosed and my immediate supervisor was the administrator in charge of nursing.

Sending an encouraging hug,
Donna

[ryanm]

I've had really great experiences with my boss. I told her right from the beginning what was going on. There's been a few times that she's gotten irritated with me, but for the most part it's been great. I'm able to work from home with my job and when she needs me for a "project" and I'm at home, she tends to get irritated.

In the beginning, I sent her a link to the Patient Handbook on this site. She still can't pronounce my disease <img src="graemlins/lmao.gif" border="0" alt="[lmao]" /> But at least she's a little educated about it!

[Misery]

i am very blessed with the job I have and my co-workers, there all like sisters to me, my Boss is like everyones father and our office-manager is like our mother...they all know that I have IC and they all care about my wellbeing [img]biggrin.gif[/img] .
They have no proplem with me and all of my DR.'s appt. [img]tongue.gif[/img]
Christine <img src="graemlins/grouphug.gif" border="0" alt="[grouphug]" />

[KBee42]

Thanks guys. I've thought about it and decided not to tell my boss. We don't have a very close relationship and even my wedding was something that he purely viewed from a standpoint of how it was going to affect him.

Basically I'm going to keep trying to make docs appts. after work and if it starts to interfere then I'll probably say something on his voicemail like "I have a chronic condition that is going to require me going to some doctor's appointments right after work. I'm not needing any time off, but I may not be available to stay after work to assist. If you want more details I'll be happy to talk to you about it whenever you'd like."

That way I'll give him an official head's up, but he can dictate his own level of involvement.

Thanks for the advice! And I'm so jealous of those of you that have good relationships with your bosses! [img]smile.gif[/img]

[shell]

If you're boss is mainly concerned about how your time off affects him and the workplace, maybe you should be sure to address that if you ever need to tell him you won't be able to stay late because of your chronic condition. Something along the lines of reassuring him your productivy won't suffer, that the work will still get done. Or maybe asking him if there's a way to be flexible with your schedule (come in early and/or short lunch if you have an appointment that afternoon) or if you can do anything at home. That's assuming either possibility is something you could physically do.

My boss knows I have medical conditions that require sometimes frequent doctors appointments, but doesn't know the details. As long as the work is continuing to be done in a timely fashion, I can be as flexible as I need to be. I'm fortunate that he's a great boss, he wants his employees to take care of ourselves physically, so it's a pretty cooperative situation.

I hope you're able to work out something.