[Ski]

#1072283

As your post clearly points out, the answer may be very different depending on where you work, who you work with, and where you are in your treatment.

In my experience, people have been a little curious about Graves’, and didn’t presume I would be unable to handle things ~ as long as I could handle things. I haven’t really had a period of time where I couldn’t handle things, so that’s perhaps unfair for me to say. I also work in the legal field, so I know the precision required in the business. As long as I wrote myself notes, I kept on top of everything, even while I had issues with my memory.

It is illegal for an employer to make hiring/retention decisions based on illness, but saying it is one thing, and seeing it in practice is quite another. Employers who are motivated to do so may easily have illness at the core of the decision, but they know they can point to something else just as easily, and do what they want. Ethics don’t always play into the choices employers make, in other words.

So this is something that you may want to navigate cautiously at first. Since you’ve already been diagnosed, and you have a handle on your treatment, you may be able to make decisions that impact your work life less ~ for instance, you can have blood drawn at a lab that’s open earlier or later than your work hours. You can speak with your doctor about having consultations over the phone, or ask them to provide an e-mail address to ask the doctor simple questions and get prescriptions adjusted. These small accommodations can minimize the time you need to spend away from the office.

The big "issues" with Graves’ occur when we’re hyperthyroid, not generally once our levels are managed well, so the likelihood is that none of those things will come up in "real time," requiring explanation. Still, each can be explained with an offhand comment referring to something else (hot? must be a flash ~ wait, I’m too young ha ha ha… tremors? oh I really need to eat ha ha ha… emotional? don’t even say it!). ” title=”Very Happy” />

In other words, you can introduce the topic slowly, as it becomes necessary to explain, rather than hitting them all at once. If, as you say, it has no impact on the performance of your job, it should be a complete non-issue.

I’m not exactly sure how it works into the insurance premiums, so I can’t really help with that part of the question. It’ll definitely come up as you pursue treatment under their insurance plan (once you qualify), but chances are that it won’t make THAT big a difference. Maintenance is inexpensive, the disease is not life-threatening as long as it’s treated, and you will bear most of the cost of medication personally, so it shouldn’t have a big impact.

[hwalter]

#1072284

You may find that there are times where it will effect you work and the amount of work you can handle. It would be wise to advise them about it, that way if for some chance something does happen they can be ready to handle it. Employeers are much more grateful and willing to help when they are notified!

[cathycnm]

#1072285

Dear hwalter – I don’t think we drive insurance costs up that much. I have been with two employers who increased premiums due to employee healthcare costs. One was a nursing dept at a major university and it was about 5 people who needed open heart surgery in one year. At another employer – it was ER visits – which are a huge cost. Graves is not that expensive in the course of things. My osteoporosis med is about 10K a year – plus vit D levels a few times a year which are over $250 a pop. The Graves is cheep in comparison – thyroid replacement is inexpensive, TSHs are reasonible and I am not on phone consult status with my endo – my PCP is ordering the tests and FAXing him results (he lives 1.5 hours away). I can see if the Graves is in crisis and folks have to use the ER a lot the cost being high. But I don’t think it is a high end cost disease. We are an aging population so any employer who thinks they are not going to have some rising insurance costs has not looked at demographics.

I told my employer – I don’t know if the result was good or bad. I think you just have to decide what is right for you. C

[lakeview]

#1072286

I recently told my employer and some immediate colleagues that I have Graves disease. Of course they did not understand what it was whatsoever. However, they were very supportive. I mentioned that they may expect me to wear tinted glasses and that if they saw me with tears streaming down my face, it was only because I am light sensitive, nothing that they might have done ” title=”Smile” /> They appreciated that.
I am currently having a lot of doctor appointments so it also explains things to them- I also mentioned that I have been told to avoid stress – and so this allows me a little leeway, which is exactly what I need right now. In the end I feel it is to my advantage for them to have a general understanding that I have some personal things going on.
A family member has rheumatoid arthritis – and she said to me it was very important for her to talk about her situation and be open about it. So, I am trying to do this selectively with people who I am close to or see on a day to day basis. This is helping me… but I have to say, not every workplace is the same and not all workplaces are open to people with disabilities.
Cheers!

[belldandy112]

#1019534

I just started a very challenging position in the legal field. It’s with an organization that I have always wanted to work for … for years, in fact, ever since I started working the legislature.

No one that I work with knows that I have GD, and I don’t see any reason to tell them. It will not affect my work out-put, my ability to go to work, etc., etc., however, as you know, there is a lot of monitoring to be done by specialists. Also, taking time to have blood work done and the like.

When I originally got GD, I had a very understanding office — I had enough comp time to burn off to get back into gear. The manager for my division was a very savvy fellow, and, seeing that GD didn’t affect my job performance after my meds were regulated, he never made a big deal out of it. But this is the first time that I might have to "explain" to people that I have this condition.

I don’t want people treating me differently, or assuming that I cannot do my job. If you look online at the side-effects of GD, there’s some scary stuff out there, such as the emotional outbursts, forgetfulness, tremors, etc. Then there are insurance issues to deal with — my insurance doesn’t kick in until after my probationary status, so I haven’t begun to address that. It’s a small office, so I could send their premiums sky-rocketing. I also want to let them know that I am not doing the RAI, thus keeping things within reason.

I have never had any problem with that aspect of it. So … if ever asked, what do I say? Eventually, this will come out.

How did the rest of you cope?

Melissa
Austin, TX

[Mickey65]

#1072287

I tend to be one of those who feels GD is brought on by stress. Coincidentally my GD happened to have happened all last year – when I bought my first house and was promoted to dispatcher for the trucking company I work for.

It was my co-workers who had noticed my hands shaking all the time when I’d show or pass them paperwork and some even thought I had Parkinson’s and told me to go get checked up!

I only took two days off of work thru my illness – and that was the two days I needed when I did the RAI and wasn’t allowed to be around people while I was "radiating"

One of my co-workers also has GD, so she was helpful to talk to about any questions I had, once I was diagnosed.

My job had no problems whatsoever with my illness and have been very supportive of me, and were relieved when my hands stopped shaking all the time!

[hyperm]

#1072288

Hi,

I am a health professional and hadn’t disclosed anything about my condition until one of my colleagues was complaining of her weight issues due to hypothyroidism. I then said I had GD – at that point I was still very unwell but tried to hide it at work ( my job is supported discharge from hospital so in a way I was in the car most of the time or out at patients houses). As my colleague didn’t have GD or wasn’t symptomatic of hypothyroidism she was unaware of how ill you feel etc… and everyone in the office (shockingly with working with other health professional) except my very experienced boss wasn’t aware of ill it can make you etc… She often thought I looked exhausted but said that my answer when ever asked how I was feeling was "i’m fine!". I am on mat leave at the mo however, my colleague had called not long after I had the thyroid storm and was very " oh dear" about what I was telling her. Anyway a few moments later my boss called and was really concerned and "reassuringly" ( ) told me that she had nursed people with the thyroid storms and they can be fatal! I was like "yeah thanks – I know"

It made no difference that they knew about my condition or even after the thyroid storm etc… Most people don’t appreciate how ill you can feel when symptomatic. So the answer (all be it VERY long) to your question is: do they really need to know and would it may any difference. I am not sure how it works in the states but in the UK you are entitled to time off for appointments etc… so that shouldn’t be an issue.

I suppose it also depends on your colleagues etc… most of mine – worryingly , aren’t very sympathetic and I remember one day saying (out of character) that I was exhausted and one of my assistants who is in her late 50;s was horrible and said "oh you young ones don’t know what tiredness is" It turned out my ferratin had been sitting at 4 for 5 months since my miscarriages and they thought they were going to have to start injecting me with iron if no improvement. I took great pleasure in going into work after those results and rubbing her nose in it! My boss was shocked I was still on my feet! ” title=”Wink” />

If it isn’t impacting upon your work then is it worth the mentioning?

M x

[cathycnm]

#1072289

I think it depends on if your best or good friends are at work. I told folks cause I needed the time off to radiate – and I also needed to cut hours back some, as I was putting in 80 a week when dxed. The co-workers who were also friends have been my biggest support – offering to help however. Those more distant seemed not to want to talk about it – or to have RAI be an instant cure – or to be angry at me for not working as hard. It made me realize that it really, really matters that your coworkers are friends. I have no local family and my job takes a lot of hours – when I am not working, I am studying in school (on-line). I have dropped out of a lot of things so I can do school so my social support is not great. So, having the support of friends at work matters a lot to me.

The distant folks have come around some. I will never forget my boss (on a distant site) being really mad at me in the fall – she came to a meeting with my staff and let me have it like I was lazy or something. I found out the next day my TSH was 18. I almost quit. Overtime, I see her becoming more empathetic – but I am not sure she really understands. We are all highly educated nurses. I don’t know that it has to do with knowledge about Graves as much as knowing people at a deep enough level to feel trust and compassion. C

[lmr1023]

#1072290

I had to tell my employer about having GD – one day while at work I was experiencing bad tremors and feeling overwhelmed, not a major meltdown but enough to have me cry at my desk. my boss pulled me aside to ask what was wrong. So I told her and now she refers to that day often especially if there is something she cannot locate she says ‘it must have happened when you had your complete meltdown" – for me it is a negative effect and I feel like she is watching me closely. I have been working here for 8 years with hardly any sick time and now it is if I am contagious. I hate it and now I just tell everyone I am fine and keep to myself.

[Ski]

#1072291

Oh boy, I understand ~ that’s the real fear, isn’t it? That people will treat us differently even on days when we are well ~ and that they will blame any issues on our disease first. I’m so sorry it’s happened this way for you. I’m not sure people even understand how completely ignorant that sounds, from our perspective. The likelihood is that they THINK they’re acting in a supportive way, but it comes off as completely marginalizing and dismissing us.

I wish I had a good way to resolve it for you, but I really appreciate you sharing your experience.

[belldandy112]

#1072292

I live in total fear of people in my workplace finding out. Namely, because the entire economic climate has changed dramatically. People who do employ want those who will stick around for a long time, not get sick, not pose any problems to them, etc. Anecdotal evidence from friends and acquaintances with health conditions are telling me that it’s tough to get a job now with a pre-existing condition; if you have bad credit, any kind of criminal history, forget about it. Situations are just insane in my city. We’re getting clobbered by the unemployment rate. One really has to take that into consideration, too.

The sad truth is that people are scared stiff when you say "auto-immune" disease — the most obvious association is M.S., of course. I cannot say for a fact that I’ve had employers treat me differently — as though I can’t do my job, but I can say that I strongly suspect that at least one of my bosses was always waiting for me to "screw up" because of GD. Again, there is no proof, but just the feeling I got from some of the personal remarks that she made. It turned into a horrible situation, and I ended up leaving. I really love the place I work for now, and the people.

So yes … I’m really afraid to say anything and probably will not unless a time comes when it’s absolutely necessary. I’m very fortunate in that I didn’t have any extreme emotional reactions and no forgetfulness. I went through a week where I thought, "Wow, bummer," but once I started to feel better — poof! Total attitude change. It’s a lot easier to control one’s reactions when you know exactly what is or could be going on.

M.

[Kimberly]

#1072293

I was going through a hugely stressful time at work when I was diagnosed, and I didn’t give the full details to any of my co-workers…mostly because I was tired, stressed out, and just didn’t feel like explaining myself to anyone.

There are a handful of people who know that I have “thyroid issues” – as I needed to explain all the time off early on for doctor’s appointments. That just seems easier for people to understand than the whole concept of autoimmunity.

My Graves was caught early, which was fortunate. The biggest issues I had were “brain fog” and fatigue, and I was able to hide that pretty well for 9 hours in the office. Then I would go home at 5:00 and put on my pajamas. ” title=”Sad” />

At one point, I was seriously considering asking to cut back to part-time hours (at which point I would have had to “come clean”), but I eventually started feeling better. Now, with unemployment skyrocketing, I’m glad that I managed to hang in there and sock away some extra $$.

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