Work, illness, future

Jenneke87

Hi there,

This will be a long one, so thanks for reading.
I work for a large company and work heavily with computers all day long. I have developed RSI in both my arms, neck and elbows because of this. Treatment has not worked, nor the use of any aids. I've lost functionality in both my arms now and the prognosis is bad; unless I stop working with computers at all for a long period of time I will lose complete functionality of both my arms, this is now the official diagnosis from my gp and neurologist.
I'm at a loss of what to do. I work via a recruitment agency and know that my contract will be terminated because of this. And what other work can I do that involves no work with pc's at all? I don't have any degrees, just work experience. Once I've lost my contract I won't be entitled to any benefits. I don't live in Ireland and in my country the system works differently; you only get benefits if your illness is on an approved list of illnesses that can be "proofed" so to say, so it has to be visible on a scan or a clear underlying medical cause. RSI is listed as " chronic pain without an identifiable cause" so therefore cannot be proofed and therefore, no benefits. I know what awaits me once I'm out of a job: I've been in this situation once before a few years ago and nearly lost my home because of that. I survived by selling almost everything I had and found work again just in time, but in this case, my recovery time will be much longer and I know I won't be so fortunate this time...
I feel utterly desperate. I don't mean to whine but life so far has not been easy and now I stand to lose my health and use of both my arms, with little chance of finding employment again because I cannot use a pc for 40 hours a week. I'm lucky right now if I can use one 30 minutes a day..
At work, there is nothing else I can do, the job is not very diverse. If I lose my house I'll have nowhere to go: family lives abroad, I have no social circle, am introverted by nature and usually don't click with or understand other people very well. So in that sense I have no one to rely on or fall back on.
I don't know what to do or even what I'm asking really. I just feel so very scared and there's nothing I can do to stop the mess that is coming my way..

bottlebrush

hi op. sorry to hear of your situation. when you say you have lost functionality in both your arms, does this mean that in addition to not using computers, all other areas of your day to day life will be affected also such as writing, dressing yourself, feeding yourself, driving a car etc. or is it just you can't use computers due to the need to the necessity to typing, clicking the mouse and so on. I am just trying to get an idea of the limitations on you so I can go about suggesting alternative work.

Jenneke87

Hi Bottlebrush
I had to quit playing the harp as it hurts too much. The pain is so intense it makes me forget things and affects my functioning overall. I sometimes drop things as I don't have enough strength in my arms or wrist. I cannot hold a phone for longer than a minute before my arm starts tingling and I drop it. Heavy lifting is no longer possible as well.

bottlebrush

Jenneke87 wrote: »

Hi Bottlebrush
I had to quit playing the harp as it hurts too much. The pain is so intense it makes me forget things and affects my functioning overall. I sometimes drop things as I don't have enough strength in my arms or wrist. I cannot hold a phone for longer than a minute before my arm starts tingling and I drop it. Heavy lifting is no longer possible as well.

Does your present job involve data entry all day every day? There may be some administration jobs out there which might involve minimal computer work as in there wouldn't be a lot of data entry but you would need to view screens to access information etc. also you could use headphones instead of a telephone handset for telephone calls. are there admin jobs in your current company and if so could you ask for a move?

Teyla Emmagan

Are you Irish? Can you come back here? I suppose you'd qualify for some sort of illness benefit.

FizzleSticks

This post has been deleted.

Jenneke87

bottlebrush wrote: »

Jenneke87 wrote: »

Hi Bottlebrush
I had to quit playing the harp as it hurts too much. The pain is so intense it makes me forget things and affects my functioning overall. I sometimes drop things as I don't have enough strength in my arms or wrist. I cannot hold a phone for longer than a minute before my arm starts tingling and I drop it. Heavy lifting is no longer possible as well.

Does your present job involve data entry all day every day? There may be some administration jobs out there which might involve minimal computer work as in there wouldn't be a lot of data entry but you would need to view screens to access information etc.  also you could use headphones instead of a telephone handset for telephone calls.  are there admin jobs in your current company and if so could you ask for a move?

Does your present job involve data entry all day every day? There may be some administration jobs out there which might involve minimal computer work as in there wouldn't be a lot of data entry but you would need to view screens to access information etc.  also you could use headphones instead of a telephone handset for telephone calls.  are there admin jobs in your current company and if so could you ask for a move?

The latter, no. Oh there are admin jobs but because I work via a recruitment agency I have to apply for them but have never been successful due to my introversie, they never feel " the click". I've had about 8 job interviews within the company but have given up hope of it ever happening.
The work itself is not data entry, but it involves logging all of our conversations in multiple databases with are very user unfriendly with a look of scrolling, clicking and copy/pasting. We need to log at least 90% of all incoming calls, if you don't make that quota they will terminate your contract. I've been asking for aids sinds March 2017 but they wouldn't provide them and said the recruitment agency had to do that and they point right back to the company that I work for now. I can't afford those aids myself.
The pain is so bad that I burst out in tears today and was bordering on a panic attack because of the pain. I lose my focus, I get snappy at collegues and can just about stop myself not to snap at clients, as I can't deal with pain very well. I know that in 4 months time I will no longer have a job and no income, I can't even qualify for illness benefit. I don't know how to recover from this. It will takes months, perhaps even longer, and it's time I don't have..:S

Jenneke87

Sorry, I messed up the quoting but it won't let me edit it...

bottlebrush

Jenneke87 wrote: »

Sorry, I messed up the quoting but it won't let me edit it...

No problem. how do you know that you will be out of a job in four months time. is your contract due to expire or do you feel that's only how long more you can tolerate due to your situation? what do you need to qualify for illness benefit in your country? if your contract expires and you are then unemployed are you entitled to the equivalent of the job seekers benefit in Ireland?

Jenneke87

Thats when my contract expires. In my current state there is no reason for them to prolong it. I do unskilled work, they can let anyone do this work.

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Jenneke87

I'm not Irish, so no point in moving  I'm looking into other work but it's not easy: I fractured my right ankle twice and cannot walk or stand for a long period of time and now my arm is out of use as well. God knows how long it will take to recover, and I feel like I'm heading for financial disaster (again  ) I'm of no value to any employer like this: arm doesn't work, cannot walk or stand for very long. It makes searching for jobs almost impossible. I have four months time to recover/find something else or possibly end up without work and no money to pay rent.

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dellas1979

Youve had a diagnosis. And seem to have been told a prognosis.

Has there been any discussion of a treatment plan?

i.e., exercising, physio, injections, pain killers, surgery. What treatment have you discussed (short term and long term)?

lulu1

Maybe i have it completely wrong here but why would you go to see a neurologist for RSI

TheBoyConor

Are you sure it is RSI?

Sounds like a very grave prognosis from using a computer.

Would you consider going to a different physician to get a second opinion in case something else is the actual problem, like fibromyalgia or something?

Your symtoms sound extreme for RSI.

Ursus Horribilis

I agree with the advice above. Definitely go looking for a second opinion. Doctors don't always get it right. I had an RSI (nothing as severe as yours) and my GP wanted to send me to a surgeon straight away. It turned out to be something a physiotherapist sorted in a few sessions. Some doctors are better than others. Some physios are better than others. If you've not gone looking for second opinions already, go now.

If there is nothing more that can be done for you other than rest, is there no other disorder your doctor could put down on paper to enable you to draw disability allowance? I'm sure they'll be sympathetic to you.

Virgil°

Would second the above OP. I, like you, was dealing with what i thought was really bad RSI in just about every limb i owned. After dealing with many GPs and been told by god knows how many physios that i was a bad case of RSI and just needed rest, a new doctor sent me to a rheumatologist who diagnosed enthesitis brought on by psoriasis.

I'd never even thought about it because i barely suffer from the skin condition and had forgotten i even had it.
Anyway I'm no doctor and medical advise is forbidden here but I'd almost certainly be looking for a second opinion in your case.