Fibromyalgia Support Group

I had to leave work early tonight and get a pain shot from the ER because I got a flare up and was in so much pain I could hardly breathe. Before I left my boss wanted to talk to me on the phone. She asked if I could just take a couple of tylenol and make it through the shift. She was also saying that this has become a "wednesday" thing for me. This is the second wednesday that I have been sick in a row. So she thinks we need to talk because now i am unreliable. The other girls that work there are crossed off the schedule all the time for crazy reasons! I havent missed hardly near the days I could but I am making it through the night and going home after work and basically passing out! And my boss is an RN!! Its crazy. She has no idea. As if I would rather be in pain and have to get a shot and suffer than be at work.

PK, that's crazy talk! From an R.N.?! You're getting the note from the er doctor, right? So there should be no problem.

Do you by any chance have a union? If you do, I think you'd better talk to your rep, because it sounds as if your boss is setting you up.

Crazy hugs, Tina

Tell your boss if you COULD pick your flare days it would be Friday's so you can have a three day weekend! Idiot! I hardly think TWO Wednesday's in a row constitutes a problem. I could see it if had been going on MOST Wednesday's for a couple of months!

Contact your labor board if you don't have a union. And see if you have a fibromyalgia support group in your area. They might be able to offer some options as to how you can deal with this problem.

And if the woman fires you, SUE her for discrimination against someone with a handicap!

By the way, make really sure you take in your discharge papers from the ER. Yeah, most people skip work so they can spend a few hours in that exciting place, huh?

I am going to get a note from my boss tomorrow before I go in to work again tomorrow. She is so full of herself and has no compassion or even has an idea that others could have the need for time off. Last week I needed to go home because my temp was 100.5 and she told me to take 2 tylenol and call back in an hour. I was burning up. And working around the elderly with a temp like that! Then she tells me I am unreliable. Whatever!

Pk, do you have a good human resources department? Also, I would keep a journal on all of the times she says things like this. You never know when that will come in handy.

Great idea, Steffanie...documenting anything like that in a situation like this is a very good thing to do!

Oops...I forgot...

Pk...do you work in something like a group home, or a regular business?

If you could get a letter from your regular doctor stating that you have a disability-which fibromyalgia is-and get it to your boss, they'd have to tread lightly for fear of risking a discrimination lawsuit. But that would work better in the more business like setting than in someone's home business.

While keeping track of the threatening kinds of things your boss says to you, also keep very accurate track of YOUR time off as opposed to the time OTHER employees take off.

You mentioned that others take more time off work than you do....that would indicate that the woman just doesn't like you-and it's not her job to like you. It's her job to be your boss. Nothing else.

Post edited by: Kristy424, at: 05/13/2009 08:25 PM

Well said Kristy. Documentation always wins out over a war of the words.

Pk, documentationis the key make sure you write everything. If you are in an environment where you come in contact with the elderly, make sure you put down what she said about the fever. The best thing you can do is to talk to your md about doing an intermittant fmla. With this, you can miss work when you have to because of this situation and they cannot use it against you. They cannot terminate you for missing these days and they cannot tell you that you have to come in or stay. I would check with your md, explain the situation and ask him if he will fill out the paperwork then call your hr department and get the forms. This is a government act and they would have no choice. Good luck, I hate when supervisors act like that, there is not reason to especially when they know that you are really sick. I hope that you feel better soon!

PK the one thing I can tell you is keep good notes and records. Everytime something happens wirte it down the date, time, who was there, and a brief explination of what was happening. Make sure to keep a record of all your doctors and hospital notes that they give you. The more documentation you have the better you are if you where to get fired ot laid off. Good luck!

it was so stupid last night because she was talking to me as I was trying to get out the door. I was stooped over and the residents could see me. She asked if I could stay longer If taking tylenol would get me through it. I have always come in every time she has asked on my days off. Last month I didnt miss one day. This is only the second day this month I have missed. I would much rather be at work feeling ok that going to the ER and getting a pain shot and feeling horrible. She told me we need to talk. She just has it in for me. But there are two others who can call in all the time without any trouble for stupid reasons. Plus there are two others who have so many errors with meds and she over looks it or somehow it comes back on me! Even when i didnt even work that shift. I am moving in July so I only have to put up with it for a month and a half. This is so stressful putting up with a nurse who hasnt a clue about pain and doesnt care!