New member - JustMandy

[Tina]

Mandy hope you are feeling ok and all went well with OH today?

Take care lovely lady xx

[ClareM]

Hi Mandy

 

Hope you are ok and feeling a bit happier today. I am following your thread with interest as my own back to work journey will be starting soon. I too have started to read the 'Back to work' thread, it certainly is a long one and makes interesting reading.

 

I do hope you start to feel able to cope more with work soon and that the aches and pains subside. I have certainly found that a gradual build up has helped my physical recovery, I just hope the mental one goes as well. Everyone keeps saying ' working is another kettle of fish'.

Keep strong and take things at your own pace, will be thinking of you.

 

Clare xx

[Mandy Wright]

Hi Tina, thanks for asking.

The OH meeting went better than I expected. I don't know why, but I'd worked myself up into thinking it was going to be similar to some old school reports, as in "could do better"! But in fact she was really understanding and supportive of my suggestion of making the three days shifts longer, rather than moving up to a fourth day. She also said that given my issues with sciatica that it would probably be worth working at home for one of the days, most likely the Wednesday.

I was also able to ask my OH for guidance and advice regarding a potential issue next week. My boss was due to go to a conference next week but said he wouldn't if I wasn't able to cover him. I'd said that I should be able to cover him for the two and a half days he would be out of the business, when we first discussed it at the beginning of my phased return, but I've not made the anticipated progress and still haven't done two consecutive days. The OH lady was very firm and basically told me not to be daft. She said I could offer to cover some of the time from home, being on call in the unlikely case of an emergency, but that I should not be doing the hours required in the office.

I'm going to have another review with OH when she's next in..

So I arranged a meeting with my boss to discuss next week and he's said he's not happy leaving the business without onsite cover, so he's not going to go. I feel really guilty about this, but I also know that, if there had been an emergency, that I would not be best placed to deal with it, even if I was in the office! He has kindly said that it wasn't an ideal time for him to be out of the office anyway, so I'm going to hang onto that and not beat myself up about it as I usually would.

Onwards and upwards....

[Mandy Wright]

Hi Clare, sorry, had to leave my post above half written on the page when my neighbours popped round to drag me to the sewing night at the pub! The walk was good for my back, until I couldn't sit anymore.

Thanks for your kind words. I'm sure you'll be fine in the end, when you start your return to work. You just need to remember your words of wisdom!

Hug

Mandy x

[Tina]

Hi Mandy

Very pleased OH meeting went well for you and that she was really understanding and supportive.

The OH lady sounds very sensible regarding your Boss being away and as you say....

"He has kindly said that it wasn't an ideal time for him to be out of the office anyway, so I'm going to hang onto that and not beat myself up about it as I usually would.

Onwards and upwards"....

Never feel guilty Mandy, your health comes first. You are doing very well to be back at work so early.

Hope your next review goes well. Also hope working one day at home will help with your pain from sciatica.

Take care

Love Tina xx

[subzero]

Hello Mandy

How has your week been ?

Has it been easy to balance rest - work - and homelife this week ?

Five months since your SAH - time moves on so quickly -keep strong

Sub

[Mandy Wright]

Evening Sub, and thanks for your interest. This week I ended up working in the office on Tues and Fri, and worked from home on Thursday. I'm doing slightly longer shifts at five hours and this seems okay so far. I'm making headway on a big project which is good for me and for my team. It's been on the back burner for months since I had my SAH and it's good to get things moving again.

Working two days on the trot, even with one of them at home, aggravated my back pain which is a nuisance but couldn't really be helped with the bank holiday messing up my usual Monday, Wednesday and Friday routine, hopefully next week will be better. I had a reminder today that I'm nowhere near the person or at least the brain I was before the SAH.

 

The village has an annual scarecrow day which is great fun and I've been involved where I can be. My neighbour asked if I was up to helping out a bit again this year and I said yes, so long as I could sit down. I got to take the money for tea and cakes for the first hour. Boy that was hard work! I'd taken pen and paper to help me with the adding up and although I managed without any disasters there were a couple of near misses, complicated by another lady reeling me wrong prices and generally adding to the confusion at times. I was completely done after an hour.

We had cheated a bit and resurrected last year's scarecrow to reduce the spoons required for the weekend, I managed a short walk to see some exceptionally loveable alpacas and a sprinkling of the other scarecrows around the village before stumbling home with the other half for a quiet spell on the sofa. It was a good day though, in spite of the reminder to myself to plan my days better, and the sun came out which really lifts the mood.

The celery seeds don't seem to have made much difference to the back pain yet but I will persevere until I've finished the bottle.

MRA scan on Tuesday which will be good to get out of the way. Would like to confirm that nothing nasty is happening in my head and that all is well there.

Hope everyone is having a restful weekend.

Mx

[Mandy Wright]

Ah yes, I almost forgot. Just as my beloved came to collect (rescue) me from taking tea money at the village hall a lady came up to ask if there were any more spoons! We both chuckled.

[ClareM]

Hi Mandy

 

Hope all goes well with MRA on Tuesday. I shall be sunning it in Menorca by then, dreading the journey (6.20am flight!) but looking forward to the lazing in the sun. Have been suffering this weekend with headaches and neck pain so hope it subsides while away.

 

Hopefully work will be better for you this week too. Keep us posted on the MRA, chose London Grammar as your music, if you haven't heard it already it's lovely!

 

Clare

xx

[Mandy Wright]

Hi Clare,

I hope you have a brilliant break in the sunshine! I'm sure the trip will be fine though I don't envy you having to get up early for it.

Thanks for the tip on the music - when I've had an MRI in the past I didn't get offered the luxury of music, and it was done privately too.

Catch up when you get back.

Mandy xx

[Chelle C]

Hi Mandy,

 

Hope all goes well on Tuesday, I know I was glad to get my 6 month scan out of the way in November, 

 

It will be fine I`m sure, I`ll be thinking of you. 

 

Love Michelle x 

[Tina]

Good luck from me too Mandy hope all goes well tomorrow with MRA scan xx

[SarahLou]

Good luck from me too, I hope all goes well. I've never been offered music to listen to either, during my last scan in my head I was singing times tables !!! Very random and odd, I know!

Take care,

SL Xx

[Mandy Wright]

Thanks ladies! I'm not really anxious about the procedure, but I'll be looking forward to the results with fingers crossed.

I managed a six hour shift at work today, when a project didn't quite go to plan. Day off tomorrow, yippee! Hoping to make the Wessex Support meeting on Saturday.

Mx

[SarahLou]

Well done on that 6 hour shift Mandy, I hope you get to rest this evening.

I'm always a bit anxious about the scans, recent one took over an hour, luckily the results didn't take too long, couple weeks.

Take care,

SL Xx

[Macca]

Good luck Mandy!

 

Best wishes,

 

Macca

[Skippy]

Hey, hope everything went well xxx

 

I remember when I had my MRI - the music playing was Gnarls Berkley - I remember, I remember, I remember when I lost my mind......I think i'm craaazzzyyyy"  - enough said 

[Mandy Wright]

Phew home after what turned out to be an MRI and not an MRA. Found the hospital quite easily and, having allowed plenty of extra time just in case, got there almost an hour early. We checked in and they were delighted - apparently everyone had been early today. Filled in the questionnaire on health and metal bits and then I was off.

 

No offer of music at all and frankly the ear plugs did little to muffle the terrific din. It was quite different to the MRI I had on my pelvic area last year, I guess because my ears were closer to the noise. It took about 10 minutes and we were all done before my original appointment time which was great. A bit headachy now but glad it's done.

Now it's just a case of waiting for the result!

[SarahLou]

Hi Mandy,

Bet you're glad that's now over, fingers crossed your results won't take too long.

Those little ear plugs are rubbish aren't they! I actually laughed when I was given them, and they asked would I like to keep them! Errr..... No!

No help whatsoever on all that noise!

Take care,

SL Xx

[Mandy Wright]

SarahLou, you are so generous with your support of people on BTG - thank you so much for your time and efforts!

I had to go for a fasting blood sugar test this morning and the nurse who took the sample commented on how well I looked. I laughed and explained about the SAH and said how lucky I had been. Bless her, she lost her dad aged 38 to a SAH.

My blood pressure was up so she's put a note for the GP to highlight this. I'll get blood test results in 2-4 weeks - I suspect blood sugar side of things will not be as good as it should be as I've really taken my eye off the type 2 diabetes over the last 5 months.

Take care of yourself SarahLou.

Mx

[subzero]

Hi Mandy

 

It`s interesting how emphasis changes after SAH-  and work deadlines are substituted for GP appts for Blood-Scans- Blood Pressure etc, etc -  and then apprehension while results come back-  then more tests-  more results

 

Hope your `family issue`  is still resolved-  so much coming from all directions- and all you want is a chance to get better and get rest-

 

Take care-

 

Subs

[Mandy Wright]

Hi Subs,

It's funny, because although I now have a bit of a concern about increase in blood pressure, I'm actually feeling quite a bit better this week. I went to bed on Sunday evening and for the first time thought there had been an improvement in the sciatica. Usually by bed time I've been barely able to move without making all sorts of noises. Perhaps because that symptom is easing I've been feeling more like moving more, which means I achieve more, and generally eases the other aches and pains?

And today was a milestone. For the first time in about five months I've had a shower!!! I've stuck to baths until now, initially because of the eyesight, balance and stamina issues, and then because of the back pain and perhaps a little worry about occasional dizziness. It as okay! Yippee!!

I know I need to be careful not to overdo things but I'm keen to get on with some decluttering of the house. This will make life easier and helps clear my brain for the important stuff.

Oh, and I think a bit of me is excited to have next week off work, on holiday instead of sickness. It'll be good not to have to think about my part time work schedule. We're not going away, I'm just going to be at home. The other half will take a day off on my birthday and we'll do something nice - maybe visit a garden if the weather is better than today!

Mx

[subzero]

Thanks for that Mandy-

 

It`s good to hear you sound so positive about the way you have dealt with some recent challenges- and your positive attitude to the future- next weeks holiday is certainly a goodly timed `bonus` enjoy it-

[Mandy Wright]

What is it about life that, as soon as you start to feel a little bit smug, you get a reminder that all is not as it could be? On Friday I was at work and not long before I finished, my HR manager asked to have a talk about the most recent OH report she'd received. Basically the OH lady had verbally expressed concerns about some confusion she felt I was exhibiting and they've said that I may need to see the OH doc who may be considering whether I will ever be able to do my job fully in the future. That came as a bit of a blow as I felt like I was doing pretty well. There are also concerns about the fact that I'm not closer to working full time again.

We agreed to review next steps after I'm back at work for a week after my week off. Last week I did three days of five hours, with one of the days at home. I've said I'll do three days of 6 hours when I go back. Potentially then I may shorten the days a bit but do four days the week after. I'm keen on making progress as the six month limit on sick pay comes up next month, but I really wish I hadn't had this dropped on me before my break.

I don't know if it was related but when I went to bed on Friday evening I realised I had a bit of dizziness going on. It was still there on Saturday morning but seemed to develop into a bit of a headache. I almost didn't go to the Wessex Neuro Support meeting. I did go though and was glad to meet the lovely SarahLou (who did a very eloquent talk about her experiences) and Gill. The headache and dizziness have persisted all weekend and I went for a blood pressure check this morning. Last week it was 146/92 and this morning it was 156/93. The nurse said I should see a doctor about it today and I've got an appointment this afternoon.

I'm now a bit frustrated, a bit concerned, and doing my best to reassure my other half, while trying to suppress my own anxiety. At least here I can verbalise it all! Thanks for listening guys.

Mx

[Tina]

Hi Mandy, so sorry you have had this dropped on you just before your break....especially as you have been doing so well

Its not surprising you are feeling dizzy and headachy ! Its bound to make you feel very anxious and make your blood pressure go up.

So pleased you managed to meet up with Sarah Lou and Gill both lovely ladies that I have had the pleasure of meeting too

Good luck with your appointment and hope your blood pressure improves. Hoping all this upset does not ruin your break and your review goes well next week.

Take care and sending you a big hug xx