going on the sick

catrionanic

Hi all,

Just a question really - I have SPD and it's pretty bad at 26 weeks and getting worse, so am wondering what would happen if I have to finish work early.

I don't get sick pay from an employer, so have been looking at Illness Benefit from the state. My question is, am I able to claim for illness benefit right up until two weeks before my due date, or would I be forced to go on maternity benefit early?

I would like to try to avoid taking the maternity benefit earlier than I have to, as I'm planning to breastfeed exclusively for as long as possible and want to be able to stay off work after the baby is born until maternity benefit runs out (my employer doesn't top up my maternity pay either).

Thanks all.

greenttc

Is it still really bad caitriona? getting worse? I can empathise, Mine feels much worse this week too despite the pain though I dread the thought of sitting at home, its not like I will be in any less pain there. that sounds stupid i know! I am going to try some working from home I think if it keeps on like this.

I am not sure what the answer to your question is but I have just filled out that MB10 form for the maternity benefit and your employer fills in the dates of maternity leave so i suppose if you agree those dates with them that is when it should start (so ideally two weeks before due date which is he latest you can go) and anything before that your GP will fill in an illness benefit form form for you which has to be submitted weekly. I suppose you get what you claim for and that is the way you should do it. who can make you take maternity leave earlier? I dont think the department of social protection can step in and tell you what you should take.... if that was the case loads of people would be starting mat leave earlier as so many people dont make it till the last day and have to go on sick leave anyway.

this is all just guessing from me though I really dont have any experience although I have claimed illness benefit so understand how that works.

catrionanic

greenttc wrote: »

Is it still really bad caitriona? getting worse? I can empathise, Mine feels much worse this week too despite the pain though I dread the thought of sitting at home, its not like I will be in any less pain there. that sounds stupid i know! I am going to try some working from home I think if it keeps on like this.

I am not sure what the answer to your question is but I have just filled out that MB10 form for the maternity benefit and your employer fills in the dates of maternity leave so i suppose if you agree those dates with them that is when it should start (so ideally two weeks before due date which is he latest you can go) and anything before that your GP will fill in an illness benefit form form for you which has to be submitted weekly. I suppose you get what you claim for and that is the way you should do it. who can make you take maternity leave earlier? I dont think the department of social protection can step in and tell you what you should take.... if that was the case loads of people would be starting mat leave earlier as so many people dont make it till the last day and have to go on sick leave anyway.

this is all just guessing from me though I really dont have any experience although I have claimed illness benefit so understand how that works.

Thanks pet. Yeah it's worse this week than last week for sure. Almost every movement is painful. I saw a physio on Monday and she just told me to take it easy, walk as little as possible, avoid stairs unless completely necessary. My job is moderately active, it's not a desk job so I'm constantly up and down and using stairs too, and it's difficult. My husband had to help me up the stairs at 2am when I went downstairs to use the loo (downstairs bathrooms are a pain!). The physio didn't really seem to do much, gave me some exercises and told me to come back if it gets unmanageable... think I might try someone else.

I've a GP appointment in a fortnight or so, so I will take the maternity form to her then to be filled in and I'll ask her about sick leave too I suppose.

I reeeeeeeeally don't want to have to finish work too early - we really can't afford it - so I'm desperately worried about the next few months.

fits

Is there any way you could minimise your movement at work or work from home? It sounds like you need a rest from all that movement so it has a chance to settle down.

catrionanic

fits wrote: »

Is there any way you could minimise your movement at work or work from home? It sounds like you need a rest from all that movement so it has a chance to settle down.

Unfortunately not. I'm an optometrist, and the only one. I have to constantly be up and down and moving around, doing different tests on patients and using various bits of equipment. So working from home definitely isn't an option, and there's nobody to share my workload either.

fits

That sounds like a quandary alright.

My docs have been wanting to sign me off since 24 weeks, but I cant afford it! Self employed.

amdublin

I don't want to pry, everyone's financial situation is different...but isn't an optometrist a really well paid job??!! What hope is there for the rest of us if you can't afford to take time off sick unpaid

I hope you feel better soon/get sorted financially re social welfare etc. Maybe talk to your gp?

greenttc

catrionanic wrote: »

Thanks pet. Yeah it's worse this week than last week for sure. Almost every movement is painful. I saw a physio on Monday and she just told me to take it easy, walk as little as possible, avoid stairs unless completely necessary. My job is moderately active, it's not a desk job so I'm constantly up and down and using stairs too, and it's difficult. My husband had to help me up the stairs at 2am when I went downstairs to use the loo (downstairs bathrooms are a pain!). The physio didn't really seem to do much, gave me some exercises and told me to come back if it gets unmanageable... think I might try someone else.

I've a GP appointment in a fortnight or so, so I will take the maternity form to her then to be filled in and I'll ask her about sick leave too I suppose.

I reeeeeeeeally don't want to have to finish work too early - we really can't afford it - so I'm desperately worried about the next few months.

I am exactly the same any bit of walking or swimming just aggravates it and I am in agony that night. Resting ( not moving around too much) helps. Going to physio tomorrow again so will see what they say.

I suppose in terms of work they have to make your work environment safe for you and clearly all the stairs and moving is having a negative impact. I presume (hope) your work would prefer to adjust your work so that you can continue to work rather than have you go out sick and lose you altogether. You should have a talk with them and see what they say.

I am so lucky that I would get both maternity and sick pay but I am in a situation where there is lots of change in my job and I am in direct competition with others to progress and succeed so I don't want to be out sick and forgo an opportunity to prove myself. So, although from a different perspective I can totally see why you are stressed about going on sick leave. You must be so stressed :-(

Did the physio not do any work on you at all? Tell me they didn't just say rest and do some specific exercises? That's not right at all. If you can definitely see someone better.

catrionanic

amdublin wrote: »

I don't want to pry, everyone's financial situation is different...but isn't an optometrist a really well paid job??!! What hope is there for the rest of us if you can't afford to take time off sick unpaid

I hope you feel better soon/get sorted financially re social welfare etc. Maybe talk to your gp?

Wow that's rude. And also wrong! I'm not going to get bogged down in finances here (it's impolite, after all!), but for a bit of context, the average optometrist earns significantly less than the average teacher. It's not wise to make assumptions about anybody's financial situation. Living in dublin and with a mortgage to pay, I'm not in the luxury to just go off unpaid, just like so many other working mothers.

Greenttc, thanks, I'm sorry you're having such a hard time of it too.... what is it about pregnancy that's natural at all?! The physio gave me some exercises to do, but wasn't able to do any jiggery-pokery to make it better. She seemed to think it's a combination of PGP and also ligaments/muscles tightening to compensate? I think I will try somewhere else to get a second opinion.

Beanybabog

amdublin wrote: »

I don't want to pry, everyone's financial situation is different...but isn't an optometrist a really well paid job??!! What hope is there for the rest of us if you can't afford to take time off sick unpaid

I hope you feel better soon/get sorted financially re social welfare etc. Maybe talk to your gp?

I'm sure that's the point?! You could have the best paid job in the world and not be able to afford to take sick leave because your expenses tend to match your income, and if you have no income....

I would love to go early (not sick just tied) but since I'm not being paid either it will cost me money and I need that money for baby stuff, maternity leave etc

Anne_cordelia

amdublin wrote: »

I don't want to pry, everyone's financial situation is different...but isn't an optometrist a really well paid job??!! What hope is there for the rest of us if you can't afford to take time off sick unpaid

Ok that's a bizarre thing to say!

Anne_cordelia

catrionanic wrote: »

Hi all,

Just a question really - I have SPD and it's pretty bad at 26 weeks and getting worse, so am wondering what would happen if I have to finish work early.

I don't get sick pay from an employer, so have been looking at Illness Benefit from the state. My question is, am I able to claim for illness benefit right up until two weeks before my due date, or would I be forced to go on maternity benefit early?

I would like to try to avoid taking the maternity benefit earlier than I have to, as I'm planning to breastfeed exclusively for as long as possible and want to be able to stay off work after the baby is born until maternity benefit runs out (my employer doesn't top up my maternity pay either).

Thanks all.

How quickly we forget things! I'm pretty sure I got state illness benefit until 38 weeks when I then switched to maternity benefit. But I can't swear to it!! I was signed off work at 30 weeks with a pregnancy related illness.

Big Bag of Chips

Unless things have changed since my day you state the date your maternity leave will start. If you go out in sick leave before that you are on sick leave and unless you inform maternity benefit section that you are starting your maternity leave earlier then they just pay your maternity benefit from the date specified on your form. If your doctor signs you off on sick certs then you will get illness benefit until you stop handing in your certs (the day your maternity benefit starts!)

LegacyUser

catrionanic wrote: »

am I able to claim for illness benefit right up until two weeks before my due date,
.

Yes you can.

Roesy

Did the physio think any kind of support belt would work? Did they do any hands on work on you at all? I've had terrible PGP since about 7 weeks in this pregnancy and have been surviving through a combination of physio(lots of hands on work), Pilates, a support belt and taping. I have a 3 year old with
Whom I never suffered Pelvic pain and a 15 month old that I had it pretty bad with as well. With the 15 month old I got a second spring for a few weeks around 32 weeks and the same happened this time around 3 weeks ago
At about 35 weeks so hopefully you'll get some sort of reprieve at some stage. As for sick leave, you can definitely take this before starting maternity leave. I was on sick leave from 32 weeks this time until last week when my maternity leave started.

catrionanic

Roesy wrote: »

Did the physio think any kind of support belt would work? Did they do any hands on work on you at all? I've had terrible PGP since about 7 weeks in this pregnancy and have been surviving through a combination of physio(lots of hands on work), Pilates, a support belt and taping. I have a 3 year old with
Whom I never suffered Pelvic pain and a 15 month old that I had it pretty bad with as well. With the 15 month old I got a second spring for a few weeks around 32 weeks and the same happened this time around 3 weeks ago
At about 35 weeks so hopefully you'll get some sort of reprieve at some stage. As for sick leave, you can definitely take this before starting maternity leave. I was on sick leave from 32 weeks this time until last week when my maternity leave started.

Thank you so much, that's really helpful. It sounds like you have been through the wars big time - the end is finally in sight! What is taping?

The physio did ask me to do various actions to see what hurt and what didnt, to try to establish exactly where is affected. Annoyingly, the PGP wasn't hurting as much as usual when I was doing what she asked me to, so I felt like we weren't really getting a proper assessment of it. She did push my hips together to see if that lessened the pain, which it didn't really, so she said she didn't think a support belt would help. She gave me a tubular bandage to wear around my bump and hips to see if that helps at all, but I'm not to wear it for more than an hour or two at a time. I think it helps slightly but it's so slight I'm not even sure to be honest!

Thinking of buying a serola belt anyway, but it might be a waste. She did recommend a spiky ball so I must get one of those. And better shoes! I mainly wear ballet pumps which don't give enough support at all.

greenttc

Such an awkward situation to be in. Is there anyway your workplace can be reconfigured so that all your equipment is in one place or something? I am sure you have thought all this through though.

The only thing is, if you are the only one who can do your job your employer must be under more pressure to help you however they can.

Can't believe someone on this thread would question how bad your financial situation is by the way!!!!

You are so right though, who are all these lucky people with glowing pregnancies who have no complaints at all, why can't we be one of them! Stupid pelvis!

My physio also said it is pgp with further strain on connected ligaments and muscles but those are the ones they should be doing the work on.

Roesy

catrionanic wrote: »

Thank you so much, that's really helpful. It sounds like you have been through the wars big time - the end is finally in sight! What is taping?

The physio did ask me to do various actions to see what hurt and what didnt, to try to establish exactly where is affected. Annoyingly, the PGP wasn't hurting as much as usual when I was doing what she asked me to, so I felt like we weren't really getting a proper assessment of it. She did push my hips together to see if that lessened the pain, which it didn't really, so she said she didn't think a support belt would help. She gave me a tubular bandage to wear around my bump and hips to see if that helps at all, but I'm not to wear it for more than an hour or two at a time. I think it helps slightly but it's so slight I'm not even sure to be honest!

Thinking of buying a serola belt anyway, but it might be a waste. She did recommend a spiky ball so I must get one of those. And better shoes! I mainly wear ballet pumps which don't give enough support at all.

Ditch the pumps! I used wear them all the time or converse and they definitely affected me pain wise. My mother gave me an ugly pair of sketchher slip on go walk shoes and I'm mainly wearing them at the moment. Does your physio specialise in pregnancy or is it a hospital physio? I have the tubi grip too. Was told it was fine to wear for a few hours just not in bed or anything. The spiky balls are good but my physio reckoned a tennis ball would work as well. She does release work on sore areas and some deep tissue work. After that then she'd apply sports tape on affected areas.

catrionanic

Also, SPD sufferers, I've ordered this sheet thing called the Snoozle slide sheet which you put under you at night, which apparently makes it easier to turn in bed. I find turning over really painful, and the same for getting in and out of bed to go to the loo etc, so I'm really excited about it arriving! Might be worth trying?

Notsomindful

amdublin wrote: »

I don't want to pry, everyone's financial situation is different...but isn't an optometrist a really well paid job??!! What hope is there for the rest of us if you can't afford to take time off sick unpaid

I hope you feel better soon/get sorted financially re social welfare etc. Maybe talk to your gp?

A bit judgemental. What right do you have to comment on other peoples financial situation

Beanybabog

I don't have any of the same problems but I had to ditch the ballet pumps ages ago my feet were killing me! I live in sketchers go walk shoes. Not
Pretty but comfortable.

Probably a stupid question, but have you actually talked to work about the problems? You might not be able to see a way around it but someone else might have some good ideas- they may well have had to make changes for pregnant women in the past

amdublin

Notsomindful wrote: »

A bit judgemental. What right do you have to comment on other peoples financial situation

And now you're being judgemental no?

Apologies op, my post was intended to be empathetic rather than....rather than...rather than something else that it clearly came across as. I genuinely thought optometrists were like doctors...and I acknowledged that everyone's financial situation is different, completely agree the more money one makes the more outgoings one can have.
Anyhoo you gave context/likened it with a teachers salary.
I'm sorry if you thought it was rude talking about financials too but noting what you were talking about in your op and 2nd post (financial? ) I didn't think it was a bad thing to talk about. Again I stress I thought I was being empathetic with you (and me/others who are in different financial situations). Anyhoo it has caused a hoo ha and I apologise for that.

To offer advice, same as in my op, I have found my gp good in offering advice re going off sick/social welfare etc

catrionanic

That's ok, no worries. Thanks for elaborating.

Anne_cordelia

Definitely ditch the pumps! I bought Clarks shoes for work and they made the world of difference. I've heard Skechers aren't recommended either. When I had SPD I remember turning under when turning in bed rather than over if you get me. For stairs you need to put one foot up and then put the two feet together on the step before taking next step. Takes longer but makes a world of difference pain wise. Basically anything you can do to keep legs together. Bin bag on car seat to help you swing out with legs together.

mrsmags16

amdublin wrote: »

And now you're being judgemental no?

Apologies op, my post was intended to be empathetic rather than....rather than...rather than something else that it clearly came across as. I genuinely thought optometrists were like doctors...and I acknowledged that everyone's financial situation is different, completely agree the more money one makes the more outgoings one can have.
Anyhoo you gave context/likened it with a teachers salary.
I'm sorry if you thought it was rude talking about financials too but noting what you were talking about in your op and 2nd post (financial? ) I didn't think it was a bad thing to talk about. Again I stress I thought I was being empathetic with you (and me/others who are in different financial situations). Anyhoo it has caused a hoo ha and I apologise for that.

To offer advice, same as in my op, I have found my gp good in offering advice re going off sick/social welfare etc

I'm a doctor, I couldn't afford to take a day off unpaid.
Without going off topic, I think people would be surprised to know how much we earn.

greenttc

catrionanic wrote: »

Also, SPD sufferers, I've ordered this sheet thing called the Snoozle slide sheet which you put under you at night, which apparently makes it easier to turn in bed. I find turning over really painful, and the same for getting in and out of bed to go to the loo etc, so I'm really excited about it arriving! Might be worth trying?

Oh my god they look amazing!! turning over is agonising and this looks like it would help so much!

did you get it from the snoozle website or did you find a better price elsewhere?

I am so getting one of these too, thanks Catriona!

catrionanic

greenttc wrote: »

Oh my god they look amazing!! turning over is agonising and this looks like it would help so much!

did you get it from the snoozle website or did you find a better price elsewhere?

I am so getting one of these too, thanks Catriona!

I just ordered it from their website, think it was £24 which isn't bad. I'm expecting to to arrive by this weekend so I'll let you know how it goes if you want!

Roesy

Anne_cordelia wrote: »

Definitely ditch the pumps! I bought Clarks shoes for work and they made the world of difference. I've heard Skechers aren't recommended either. When I had SPD I remember turning under when turning in bed rather than over if you get me. For stairs you need to put one foot up and then put the two feet together on the step before taking next step. Takes longer but makes a world of difference pain wise. Basically anything you can do to keep legs together. Bin bag on car seat to help you swing out with legs together.

I asked the physio about this. She said different shoes will suit different people
But that completely flat was a no no. I have a pair of shoes from Rieker(I think) that look like they should be way more supportive than the sketchers but I get less pain when wearing the sketchers so happy to go with that.

greenttc

catrionanic wrote: »

I just ordered it from their website, think it was £24 which isn't bad. I'm expecting to to arrive by this weekend so I'll let you know how it goes if you want!

how did you get it for 24, its 35 pounds of 39 euro for me :mad: 24 sounds more reasonable for a plastic sheet to me!

although can I relaly put a price on a better sleep for the next while???

do let me know how you get on over the weekend, very interested to hear!

Lucyfur

I begrudgingly bought the serola support belt for €50 plus delivery. Well, now I have it I'd pay twice over for it. It helps my hips SO much. My back is wonky now too and it's not as good for that but it makes such a difference to the hip pain.

catrionanic

greenttc wrote: »

how did you get it for 24, its 35 pounds of 39 euro for me :mad: 24 sounds more reasonable for a plastic sheet to me!

although can I relaly put a price on a better sleep for the next while???

do let me know how you get on over the weekend, very interested to hear!

Actually I think it was 39euro in the end, sorry!!!

I actually ordered it at 3.30am while sitting on the sofa, shattered and delirious from being unable to sleep due to the pelvic pain - probably why I got muddled on the price!