Migraines and time off work.

[featured_spectre]

Does anyone know if I can get in trouble by having time off due to migraines? I am suffering chronicly with them recently and cannot bare to look at the computer screens when I get an attack. It also makes me feel physically sick aswell, and at the minute, at work when I get an attack, I tidy up the ICT classroom / my office, so as not to feel useless. Thing is I need the time off to recover but each time I leave, I have been told i should notify the headteacher, who each tine has told me off for leaving work with a "headache". What can I do in this sort of situation?

[creese]

I would get your doctor on board. Also occupational health if that is possible.

 

I have more time off than I would like but occupational health and a good doctor means I have no hassle whatsoever.

[featured_spectre]

Well the fact that my doctor is sending me to a neurologist has put the wind up her, but I'll speak to occupational health!

[Guest theeldergeek]

Does anyone know if I can get in trouble by having time off due to migraines? I am suffering chronicly with them recently and cannot bare to look at the computer screens when I get an attack. It also makes me feel physically sick aswell, and at the minute, at work when I get an attack, I tidy up the ICT classroom / my office, so as not to feel useless. Thing is I need the time off to recover but each time I leave, I have been told i should notify the headteacher, who each tine has told me off for leaving work with a "headache". What can I do in this sort of situation?

 

Sympathy to you mate. Migraines are not any fun at all. For about 3 years, I used to wake up every morning with a splitting headache. I used to have to take a high dose of Ibuprofen to take the edge of off it, but it didn't stop it. In the end, I actually started seeing a reflexologist who cured me within about 3 one hour sessions! It was neuralgic migraine, caused by stress and tension in my upper back and shoulders. I had no idea that I was 'suffering' from this until he 'taught' me to relax myself. Not a cure for everyone, but do consider relaxation techniques and perhaps meditation to just let some of the tension in your body go. It has worked wonders for me and I still make sure I 'unwind' on a regular basis. Needless to say, I only get migraines once every few months now, if that.

[mattx]

Unless they have suffered with them then it's quite hard to make people understand. I have mine [ touch wood ] under control and know my triggers - but before they were so bad a few times I ended in hospital as the pain was so bad I would bang my head against a wall or something. The best thing I have now is a drug called Naramig - may be worth mentioning that to your doc. Have you also tried beta blockers ? I've just come off my second 6 year stint on them which helped also.

As for time off it may be worth trying to get your doc to write a letter or you supply some info regarding migrane to the head. Like you said it can take a day or two to recover - trust me I've been there.

Now you don't know me from Adam but if you want to use me for an example then feel free to show this info to your head if it will help - I will even talk to her / him on the phone or contact them direct if you feel it will help.

[tech_guy]

I've suffered migraines all my life, which at times have been quite debilitating. Your school/employer has to recognise migraines as they would any other illness or affliction, so don't worry about having to take time off work. With things like crushing headaches / migraines always see your GP as soon as possible, and as Mattx has advised, try to work out what the possible triggers might be for the attacks. For me the main cause is stress, and some strong chemical smells can be a trigger too, like cleaning fluids / bleach.

 

I typically would get a migraine Friday afternoon or Saturday morning, which would then last for anything up to three days. As well as the headache from hell, I would also have incredible nausea and be photosensitive, as well as even having noise and touch making the attack worse. Thankfully, I never had any visual disturbance. The pain was so bad sometimes that I'd actually punch walls in frustration because nothing would ease the pain. I used to take the off-the-shelf medication, but nothing really helped and it was a case of trying to go to sleep in a darkened room until it passed.

 

After a particularly bad cluster at the start of this year my GP put me on the beta-blocker Propranalol which was brilliant as the migraines ceased completely, but I suffered chronic fatigue with them - a known side-effect - that didn't go even after three months of use. I'm now on Amitriptyline - which still leaves me tired, but no where near the crushing exhaustion I was experiencing before with the other medication. I had a migraine during the week I was switching from the one medication to the other, but since then I've been migraine free.

 

It's very important that you keep going to see your GP & any specialists as there may be an underlying cause for your migraine. And don't be fobbed off by your GP either if you feel it's not being dealt with seriously - I asked to see another GP in my practice because the original one I saw was very dismissive and didn't really understand how bad migraine could actually be and how much it can affect your life.

 

And don't suffer in silence - that's the mistake I made for a long time before I actually did something about it at the start of this year. My quality of life has improved tremendously and people keep telling me how much happier I seem to be now.

Edited May 13, 2010 by tech_guy

[featured_spectre]

I have been on an array of medicines. 3 types of beta blockers but each made me fatigued, weak and dizzy, so they got stopped. I also have had lots of powerful painkillers which barely took an edge of them (dihydrocodiene, tramadole, and a combination of naproxen, codiene phosphate and ibuprofen), various triptans (sumatriptan, amytriptaline etc) but none have worked. My GPs have been fantastic (I see 2 at my surgery) and they have both been consulting each other an working toward helping me, to the point now they reffered me to a neurologist. I am praying he can do something, even if it is give me a medical note as to why I shouldn't work with monitors as much a they agrevate my migraines.

 

On a side note, my longest migraine was 9 days, and I could only drink water in that time as everything else made me violently sick, and they frequently last 4 days or more. :-(

[ICT_GUY]

If you go off after working more than half your shift its not classed as sick.

Since you have a doctors diagnosis and the teaching staff are not medically trained they can go whistle.

[Hightower]

I use to suffer badly from Migraines. One time at work I had such a bad episode that the office manager took me to the doctors who gave me 5 days off to recover. Since then though I've started to suffer less and less. If it happens at work I go to a quiet room and shut my eyes for a while - seems to work.

 

I've used Naramig before, and they did nothing for me personally. Now all my migraines come after exercise on a bright day (that's my sole trigger now it seems) - so I take a new tablet (forgot what they were called) before I exercise, which seems to control it most of the time.

 

Can't beat a dark room with no noise.

[bossman]

@Hightower:

 

I tried to beat a darkroom once but i couldn't find it hehe!!

 

Just a Fridays humour as I too used to suffer very badly with migraines and I too found nothing beats a darkroom with covers over ones head and a good sound sleep session.

 

I fully empathise with anyone who suffers from these most depressing moments, it used to effect me so badly that i used to physically stott my head of the wall to try and take the edge off (never worked but the pain from that sometimes took the pain of the migraine away).

[Rydra]

I started to get them last year, randomly though i'd never really had them before. Like others, drugs did nothing, all I could do was sleep. Sleep usually too the edge off but never quite cleared it.

 

I actually found, and there are some studies on it, the Caffiene alleviates the affects, especially in those people (like most of us) who are avid drinkers of coffee or coke during our daily routines.

 

I now have some of the off-the-shelf painkillers with caffiene built into it, and find that the migranes never went away, but became managable enough to get out of bed. I used to take one of each; aspirin, paracetamol, and ibuprofen with caffiene, and had a can of coke (or coffee on a cold morning!) while sitting in the dark room, then would gradually work myself up and out into daylight and the waking world!

 

I've been quite lucky though, longest i've had one is 2 days, and haven't ventured to the doctors about it yet, as I was getting them every few weeks for a while, and have now had 5-6 months without incident.

[solitaire89]

Has anyone tried/heard about the oxygen therapy trials for migrane and cluster headaches? There has been some research to suggest that raising the oxygen levels in the body can help ease the pain and frequency.

[creese]

A headache/migraine is not like a broken leg or rash, it can't be seen by a third party. Unless someone has suffered themselves it is difficult to appreciate how painful and dibilitating it is. My many symptoms include bad headaches, maybe migraines but worst of all is Trigemnal Neuralgia. Again can't be seen but the pain means you cannot even think straight. I have an ice pack in work as that is all I found that eased the pain. A course of steriods seems to have done the trick, fingers crossed.

[featured_spectre]

Has anyone tried/heard about the oxygen therapy trials for migrane and cluster headaches? There has been some research to suggest that raising the oxygen levels in the body can help ease the pain and frequency.

 

I have a CPAP machine (for my snoring) with an oxygen tank (which was recommended when I got diagnosed with migraines) for use at night when I sleep as I wake up with Migraines, it seems that sleep is my trigger! It doesnt work for me as well as I had hoped.

[djh]

I've had migranes for about 3 years now. USed to get them in clusters and would get one every sunday and monday night, lasting upto 4 days. Absolute agony. I've tried everything, Food, exercise, sleep, stress, eye, MRI scans. The lot you name it i've done it! As a final resort after getting extreme pain in my neck I saw an ostipoath, i've finished a course of 4 sessions with her and now am seeing a sports theropist to relieve the tension in my neck and back. I sit at a PC all day and drive alot so my back is constantly hunched. I always feel guilty taking time off work but everyone seems to be understanding, at the end of the day there nothing they can do about it.

[solitaire89]

It doesnt work for me as well as I had hoped.

 

That's a bugger, it seems to have had good write ups...

[Guest theeldergeek]

Does anyone know if I can get in trouble by having time off due to migraines? I am suffering chronicly with them recently and cannot bare to look at the computer screens when I get an attack. It also makes me feel physically sick aswell, and at the minute, at work when I get an attack, I tidy up the ICT classroom / my office, so as not to feel useless. Thing is I need the time off to recover but each time I leave, I have been told i should notify the headteacher, who each tine has told me off for leaving work with a "headache". What can I do in this sort of situation?

 

I found this site Debating migraine in the workplace, on which it states "Migraine is recognised under the Disability Discriminations Act and as such employers do need to be seen to be making reasonable adjustments to accommodate sufferers in the workplace."

 

Now, I know nothing about this legislation, but I hope that helps in setting you out on the right path to being assured your job is not going to be under threat because you suffer with migraines? I'm sure your GP and/or occupational health can give you a lot more guidance.

 

This site also has some information http://www.hse.gov.uk/disability/law.htm

Edited May 16, 2010 by theeldergeek

[IanT]

I used to get these alot!! used to knock me out for a few days as the pain was so bad!!!...........touch wood I haven't had any for 5 years!!

[mikes]

I too suffer from Migraines, as does my boss the NM. seems to run in the IT profession... I started getting mine suddenly at about 22 years old (I'm 24 now)

 

OTC painkillers (apart from the OTC 50mg sumatriptan of course) do nothing. I hate buying OTC sumatriptan as you have to fill in a form and get quizzed by the Pharmacist for it (and the Pharmacies are always in bright fluorescent light). Sometimes I buy Domperidone (Motillium) to help the nausea/vomiting I get.

 

The boss knows I suffer bad with them as I vomit. I was once in a classroom (a music classroom) and there was pandemonium in there, I ended up being sick in a bin and just went home.

Being in a secondary school isn't very good when you have migraines - I have to go home. The noise of the children is just too much.

 

I ended up seeing the head, I explained I had migraines and she was fine with it. The council made me see Occupational Health who again were fine with it - I explained my treatments and they were cool with it. The doc was really nice and explained the prophylactic treatments to me (she must have been familiar with migraines)

 

I think Perfume might be a trigger, as in the early stages I can always smell a weird strong smell of Perfume (or the body spray that Boys use), which kinda sucks as there's no avoiding that in a secondary school.

I am on Amitryptiline which works alright, I get 2 migraines a month now. Was on propranolol which worked magnificently at first, but it stopped working after ~6 months,

 

I also do something I don't think I'm supposed to do, I soak a tissue with Lidocaine and put it up my nose. It seems to numb my pain. (I always get migraines in the EXACT same spot on the left of my head)

 

Sumatriptan 100mg tablets are the only thing that works for me. I tried Maxalt Melts (rizatriptan) but they didn't seem that effective. The sumatriptan nasal spray also didn't really work for me.

Opiate painkillers such as Codeine work alright in the 30/500 dosage, but a Chemist told me that taking those too often can cause rebound/withdrawal migraines.

 

It does seem a lot of people don't know how migraines can leave you writhing in agony (especially when they tell you to take some paracetamol and it'll be fine)...

If I have a very bad one I take a sedative (usually Diphenhydramine but sometimes Diazepam if I have any) and pray I can fall asleep

[srochford]

I found this site Debating migraine in the workplace, on which it states "Migraine is recognised under the Disability Discriminations Act and as such employers do need to be seen to be making reasonable adjustments to accommodate sufferers in the workplace."

 

Now, I know nothing about this legislation, but I hope that helps in setting you out on the right path to being assured your job is not going to be under threat because you suffer with migraines? I'm sure your GP and/or occupational health can give you a lot more guidance.

 

 

I'm not a lawyer but, sadly, I don't think you can go from "employers do need to make reasonable adjustments" to "your job is not going to be under threat"

 

For example, I think some people's migraine can be triggered by fluorescent lights so it would be reasonable for an employer to change them or fit diffusers etc. If someone has a visual impairment but could work if they had a 32" screen then it would be reasonable to get one.

 

If there's no reasonable adjustment which can be made then it may be that someone can't continue in their job - for example, it's pretty difficult to make reasonable adjustments if you're a window cleaner who becomes a wheelchair user.

 

Let's hope it doesn't come to that - there are still lots of things which can be checked out. @nephilim, you say you're using a CPAP machine but it's not working as well as you'd hoped. Have you had your sleep monitored? Are you now sleeping OK (I'm assuming you have sleep apnoea and if that's still a problem then I suspect that could cause migraines and needs to be addressed)

[teejay]

I have a CPAP machine (for my snoring) with an oxygen tank (which was recommended when I got diagnosed with migraines) for use at night when I sleep as I wake up with Migraines, it seems that sleep is my trigger! It doesnt work for me as well as I had hoped.

 

You need to speak to your sleep clinic if your CPAP isn't working. CPAP isn't for heavy snoring, its for sleep apnoea which means you are stopping breathing during the night which means you blood oxygen level drops significantly and will cause migraines. If its not working, you must not drive as its extremely dangerous. It sounds like they haven't got the pressure set high enough on the CPAP machine and you are still having apnoeas, or they haven't given you an appropriate mask.

Been all through this, come out the other side after a massive battle with the doctors and work 3 years ago. After a lot of fiddling with different pressures and different masks it now works a treat. You could also try seeing if they will either provide you with a newer machine like the ResMed Escape II with EPR which works brilliantly or one of the higher end ones which auto adjust the pressure, but I did find that type would blow the mask off my face in the middle of the night when the pressure ramped up ;-)

[flyinghaggis]

I used to get them quite frequently but haven't been bothered with them for years thankfully. Dont know if it's maybe old age or possibly something that's changed. THey were horrible things too. I'd literally have a pounding headache which would get worse through the day and would eventually end up feeling nauseus then sick. I couldn't even take anything to relieve the pain as I couldn't keep anything down. All I could do was to head off too bed and try and get some sleep after which I'd geneally feel better. Problem is it would wipe me out the next day aswell since it meant going an entire day without food and typically very little sleep.

 

One thing I think that's helped, though it might just be coincidence, is the move away from CRT's to TFT monitors. I personally find them much easier on the eyes. Don't know if it's to do with the way the screen refreshes, or the non-reflective matte finish on most TFT's, but whatever the reason I've certianly found it's helped me a lot and I've not suffered from them at all since changing to TFTs everywhere.

[featured_spectre]

You need to speak to your sleep clinic if your CPAP isn't working. CPAP isn't for heavy snoring, its for sleep apnoea which means you are stopping breathing during the night which means you blood oxygen level drops significantly and will cause migraines. If its not working, you must not drive as its extremely dangerous. It sounds like they haven't got the pressure set high enough on the CPAP machine and you are still having apnoeas, or they haven't given you an appropriate mask.

Been all through this, come out the other side after a massive battle with the doctors and work 3 years ago. After a lot of fiddling with different pressures and different masks it now works a treat. You could also try seeing if they will either provide you with a newer machine like the ResMed Escape II with EPR which works brilliantly or one of the higher end ones which auto adjust the pressure, but I did find that type would blow the mask off my face in the middle of the night when the pressure ramped up ;-)

 

I meant that the oxygen tank didnt work as well as I hoped. the CPAP is fantastic!

[teejay]

I meant that the oxygen tank didnt work as well as I hoped. the CPAP is fantastic!

 

Ooops, must read post properly! So another member of the sleeping Darth Vader club ;-)

How do they hook an oxygen tank into the CPAP?

[featured_spectre]

it is done via a series of interconnecting tubes and stuff...very intricate but i can feel the oxygen coming through, but it did nothing for my migraines.