Hey just signed up to here cos seemed like a positive place to start with advices.
so when I was 20 my arm fell asleep. Catalyst in a chain of events before diagnosis of MS. Luckily most function came back but the numbness stayed coming & going in varying degrees of intensity. 18 years later I am going through another mad spell where I can’t concentrate properly and numbness back with a bang & im on a personal discovery that this time I need some time out to just get my bearings for the next round. Friends/family all urging it too long.
This mad spell was a catalyst in me losing another job. I’m not ready to go back to work. I was off 6 weeks prior to my dismissal. When u can’t use an arm and can’t concentrate properly what can u do but feel totally frustrated.
ive had many jobs in my short life. Dwarf many people for numbers. I’ve forgotten how many
mostly due to absense I leave or am dismissed because of absence. I’ve never really had medical treatment over the years because, well I don’t believe there is any medicines to help or been offered any off GP’s… I could be worse off health wise. Sometimes you just have to soldier on get another job, go through periods of unemployment. I’ve had varying advice of disclose of my condition at interviews & there’s never a right or wrong answer. In my own experience it’s never been good to be upfront but there’s always personal reasons when I choose not to disclose. Mostly due to leaving many interviews feeling embarrassed. Ok so that’s an issue I need to work on but it’s a hard thing overcoming that objection
so into the reason I came here. I’m unemployed now again but I am no way prepared mentally or physically to go through the whole jobseeker process till I feel back to nearly normal. My doctor has given me a unfit for work note, so who do I give that too now and how to get the ball rolling? I’ve never applied for any sickness benefits. Hopefully I can be back to normal soon but I can’t be dealing with going for a fortnightly visit to the jobcentre. I am not eligible for universal credit & based in Scotland
hi john it’s bloody awful that you are made to feel like this. advice - take the doctor’s note to the job centre. try to get advice on benefits. don’t feel embarrassed because you didn’t ask for ms, it just barged in uninvited. take care, have a big hug from me.
When I was on job seekers I had to give in my sick note and when they ran out or before I had to replace it send in a new one. I did this for a number of weeks but I still had to sign on. Now I am on universal credit and since then I haven’t been sick.
Can you just walk into a jobcentre these days? It’s been a while since I was last unemployed
Thanks Carole, appreciate that
I think perhaps your job right now is to get stablised and in a better place. Your post is a bit like a jigsaw puzzle. You have MS right? So why are you not seeing your neurologist and asking for DMD? There are meds out there now which do help people have a better more stabilised life.
If i had the chance i would have definitely taken one but now being diagnosed with PPMS there is nothing i just have to learn to live with it.
Have you spoken to MS Society for advice about where you are right now? I think you need some support to put an action plan into place. Your kind of wandering around like your in a cloud, going from one job to the other which is even more disheartening.
My son in law when he was diagnosed with RA went to job centre for help to get a job as like you he wanted to work. They were actually brilliant with him, and guided him through the process. He is now i think 10 years down the line, and has just been offered a brilliant job as a manager in care. OK RA is not MS but i have seen him crippled in pain his feet are becoming deformed he is on new drugs trying to stay in work. BUT he had to have help and support to do that and i think that is why you need to speak to people who can really advice you.
I admire you that you want to work but you need a more supportive plan in place, and certainly think you have to get into a programme with meds to help your MS your only a young guy at the moment and could still have a productive employment history. You need to go for work you can cope with. I am angry with myself as i gave up to quickly when i got sick. I was a teacher of I.T. in further education when i got sick. By the time i had stabilised even without diagnosis i gave up. I could have really found more work that would have suited me, even typing in an office, but i gave up and i kick myself ever since.
I am afraid though the answer to which you seek is the sick note has to go to job centre. I am sure my SIL contacted
http://fitforwork.org/ who advised him his rights, i remember that when he was too ill to go out they did telephone interviews, but my memory is a bit dodgy and i know things have changed.
when i was sick in 2006 I handed in my sick note and was paid for several months until I left.
I would get advice, even ACAS can help you with this.
Good luck.
hi again John Access to Work may be able to help you. could be worth a try. if i remember correctly, they will discuss your case with your employer and ensure that all reasonable adjustments have been made in your workplace, in some cases they will even provide taxis to and from work.