Critical care nurse with migraines on disabilty

Nurses Disabilities

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Hi everyone. I need some advice regarding returning to work after disability. Long story short: I've had a hell of a time. 9 years ago, I developed a migraine--and it never went away. I graduated from nursing school in 2006, and managed with this migraines until last January, when my boss told me, in careful terms, that I could go out on disability or be fired. So I went out on disability. In May, I had surgery: an occipital nerve stimulator. It all but cured my headaches. I was off all narcotics, ready to go back to work, excited...and then after 7 weeks, my implant developed a massive infection. After two surgeries, it was removed. The headaches returned almost immediately--and now, because of the nerve damage from multiple surgeries and the infection, they're worse.

Because I'd been out so long, exhausted my FMLA and my short term disability, I lost my job. Thank god I paid for long term disability insurance. COBRA ain't cheap.

Good news: the stimulator is going to be replaced in December, and believe me, I am counting down the days. Here's my question: how on earth do I go back to work? I left the unit on decent terms--yes, I'd had a lot of absences, but they were due to headaches--once the new implant is in and the headaches are gone, the reason for my call-ins is gone. Shouldn't have any more sick days than a "normal" nurse. That being said, I don't know if they'll hire me back.

So I developed a new plan: go back to school! Critical care NP, there's a great program here...but I can't get in until May. I'll be long-healed by then...hell, I'll be healed by January...so what do I do for 5 months? See if my old job will hire me back perdiem? Try to get a new job(for 5 months???) Wait around, study, get ready for school? See if I can take classes as a non-matriculated student? Ideas, anyone?

Hi I live in the UK & like you Ive suffered with severe migraine for 30 years im on morphine transdermal patches 140mgs which are changed every 72 hours plus a bucket load of meds but my Occupational Health Dr has told me that mine come under our disability discrimination act so they would have a job to fire me, plus they knew I suffered with them when they employed me 12 years ago! Ive had 1 formal sick review where I took my union rep in with me, & as luck had it I was only off once in 10 months so I was ok. But recently my migraines have changed from having the pain on alternate sides of my head(plus vomiting & diarrhoea, photophobia, aurophobia) to only above my rt eyebrow, but my rt eye swells up & closes up every time now which its never done before, so I am now on the waiting list to have Botox injections. When I do get a migraine I have to phone my Dr who comes to the house & has to give me an Intramuscular injection of Diamorphine plus an anti emetic, so I am disabled for up to 4 days at a time as the morphine IM gives me severe muscle spasms in my back & I have to have diazepam injections IM for those with my Dr. I am under the top migraine specialist in the UK & he cannot do any more for me there is no trigger factor they come on out of the blue, but I have had good support from my ward Sister whose changed my shifts to suit as much as she can & if I phone in to say Im ill she knows I am really ill. So I hope you can sort things out with your work & your migraines stop because anyone who doesnt have them doesnt understand

Need to know that morphine may help migraines but they often cause headaches. It can be a double edged sword. I am sure you have seen a neurologist. I find the problem often with pain specialists is that they continue to add more and more meds. I myself had a chronic pain condition which was the worst few years of my life. They added more and more meds and all it did was start to depress me. All these meds cause personality changes. I decided that I had had enough and weaned myself off very slowly of ALL meds. It was interesting as I started with weaning nortripytline and when finished, I was in exactly the same pain. Then I started weaning the neurontin (was on very high dose) and exactly the same, no change in pain. I went down the list until I came to the narcotics which I did carefully with MD and that was the hardest. But guess what? I felt 100% better mentally. Then by luck, the pain went away.

Is the NP program full-time? I know most of the NP programs around here are part-time. I've got lots of coworkers going through NP programs and all except for a couple (that both have jobs at the school as well) are working full-time.

Would that be an option, at least working part-time while you're in school? I think it would give your old job or a new one more incentive to hire you if they could hire you part-time rather than full-time for a few months.

I believe the program is full time. I could potentially work weekends/PT/PD during school, starting in January(once I'm healed), especially since once I'm healed, disability payments stop. If I do have to work during school,(which does have benefits--I worked during nursing school and think it was one of the best things I could have done), I'd want to work only maybe one day a week. I have 3 year old twins, study time will be minimal.

Are you really ready to go back to work?How are your migraines controlled@this point?Staying busy and making money @ the same time is good for the person in so many ways,yet you hav'nt had the new implant so whats to make your job think youll be any better than when you left?Im with others who say go back to your old place and request part time or per deim, but wont that screw up your income stream from your disbility?Anyway ,go back and work pt/pd and when your new implant is in and your ready you can slip right back into fulltime or work registry.Good luck to you.

I am nowhere near ready to go back to work now--the migraines are horrendous, plus the pain from the scar tissue post-op(the back of my head just burns). I would love to have all of this over with--going crazy sitting at home! All of these are questions for after my next surgery, when the headaches will be gone and complicatiosn(hopefully) over with.

Thanks!

I would work Per Diem or PRN, even part time. If you have UI utilize it and simply prepare for school. If you have no UI and Disability is running out, returning to work may be the only feasible option. But, since you threw in the other possibilities you can possibly start taking some of the basic study courses towards your degree until the program begins. Also try a couple of CCRN courses( if you are not already credentialed), refresher courses, or become certified in all of the fields you are qualified for. No better form of proactive preparation than making yourself enviable to a company.

First, what is UI?

Good idea on the extra classes, certifications, etc. I have been studying for CCRN, so that's a start.

Good luck to you. As for those stimulators.......I am not a fan of them. I worked with the implantation of them for many years and it seemed most, not all, but most implanted patients had issues. I will say that I only had to deal with one infection out of hundreds of implants. The others always needed too much care. Either lead replacements, battery replacements, and the list goes on. We even had one patient go to Germany (implants to head were not legal at that time) and of course he ended up going twice due to complications and now it is out for good. So, be careful.

Definitely there are risks. But the first implant...well, it worked amazingly until it got infected. Right now, I'm not living. I'm sitting on my couch. Can't not try, you know?

For the past 10yrs I've had massive headaches but they slowly got worse then September this year I had a VP shunt placed so I understand what it's like to barely be able to do things and then have it all fixed (cross my fingers I don't get a shunt obstruction)

I guess if you can prove to them that you are at full speed again they may reconsider putting you back in your old job

Once January starts, you can apply for FASFA and get some financial aid. Then is when I would start with some online general ed stuff that you would need to do for your masters. That way, you could do classes at your own pace. I would not overwhelm myself with full time school, work, and the like. For now, take care of you. And in January, perhaps a per diem postion would be good--perhaps in an ED if you are looking for critical care.....

Good luck!!

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