Hi everyone! I was just diagnosed with Fibro about 2 weeks ago but have had the symptoms for months now. I work a 12 hour job while constantly standing, walking, and basically running around. Its very stressful. But I’m training for a higher position with shorter hours but there’s not a time frame on when that will happen. At some points I have to sit down because the pain gets too bad.
When I was going to the doctor for testing (ruling out other things) I kept my bosses in the loop of what was going. So when my rheumatologist figured it was fibromyalgia and a bit of joint hypermobility syndrome I let them know the next time I had a chance to sit down with them. They weren’t happy. In some words they basically told me the job wasnt going to work out because of my Fibro and they couldn’t risk a fall happening. Has anyone experienced getting let go over this? Thanks in advance! I’m so glad to be here and have people I can talk to about this.
Hi. I have not experienced being let go because of fibro. Is that even legal? I was diagnosed about 7 years ago. At the time I was missing lots of work because of it and CFS. I ended up going through some short term disability and then quit. It was the best for me at the time. I’m sorry your employer is not being supportive in this. Good luck to you. 
My husband, who’s a nurse, says it’s not legal. And personally I don’t think so either. But I just don’t know if I can even do the 12 hour shifts much longer. I wake up in pain some mornings. And if I don’t get any sleep the night before then I’m SOL. I’m still weighing my options on it all but everyday I push myself past my limits. It’s tough.
I can’t imagine working 12 hours a day. You are so strong to keep going. I ended up getting SSDI which made quitting all that much easier. Lack of sleep plays such an important part in symptoms. Good luck to you in your decisions.
It is definitely very illegal to let you go because of fibro. They are trying to cover themselves in case of a fall. Having fibromyalgia doesn’t mean you’re a fall risk either. You should look up FMLA (Federal Medical Leave Act) Keeping your bosses in the loop of what your going on medically can have a negative result has you are currently witnessing. I’ve learned to only put information out there when necessary. Usually people with fibro are dealing with a stressful situation usually their job where the fibro comes out in full force. 12 hour shifts on your feet can be really difficult. I don’t know how good your shoes but that might help a little if you haven’t tried that already. You’re going to know what your limits are and one thing with fibro is if you push those limits you will be in a lot of pain. Like @Msbigbear says “Lack of sleep plays such an important part in symptoms”. That’s so true. It’s time you took care of you. I am so sorry your going through this. We all have been there so we know the mental battle that goes with it. Keep us updated ok? I hope your able to reduce hours or work for a better company.
David
That’s exactly what I told them. Yeah sadly I’ve learned to only tell them very, very small details if anything at all. I have pretty good shoes at work but I still have the same pains without those shoes on. Yes it’s extremely stressful and painful. Just a glimpse into a day at work: today I lugged two full containers of ice, lifted them above my ahead and poured them into the ice machine, carried well over a gallon of sweet tea in one of those large metal dispensers about 15-20 feet. So much pain. I take medicine for it but after all of that, it breaks right through that medicine. I know I push past my limits everyday. But they tell me it’s my job. I will definitely keep y’all posted! I’m just so glad to find others to talk to about this. Everyone in my family just tells me to either suck it up, find some medicine, or it’s in my head.
Thats terrible I would check this out to see if this like the other member said illegal?
I also sympathize with you, as many know standing for long lengths of time does make fibro worse. I work, however I am in a position to keep going which makes things a bit better.
I think people tend to be uninterested as they do not understand this illness. It is an invisible illness to others. I even had to change doctors, because my previous doctor was not really bothered.
I am not sure if your medical centre has given you any helplines? As there was site I came accross working with fibro.
However, I would definitely challenge this
Take care K
Oh yes, it’s definitely illegal. I’m just unsure of what to do from here. We had another meeting about it on Tuesday and they stated their gut was telling them that they weren’t sure about making accommodations for me now that this has come up. So now I feel like I have to push all of my pain and my health aside just for this stressful job. I have problems when I keep going and keep pushing that’s when I have a flare up.
No, my doctor hasn’t done any of that. I wish he had! He believes it’s a real thing but hasn’t offered anything but pain meds.
You may need to do some self-reflection but if this is your passion in life, and you clearly excel in it if they’re training you for a higher position, you can challenge them. First I’d show them the government document in the link below and the other gives some suggestions for accommodations. If they still don’t want to budge I’d lawyer up (or at least let them know you’re willing to go that far). However, if this isn’t something you find you want to persue after giving it thought and reflecting there are still so many other options out there for people like us! Treatment options and additions as well! Good luck and you’re so strong for going through all this.
https://www.ada.gov/cguide.htm
https://askjan.org/media/Fibro.html
Hey I’m in a similar position as your self. My aim is to get off my meds and get back to work but my current role doesn’t seem suitable anymore.
I am lost with regards to my next step? I want to work as it’s a good distraction, I’m not sure what type of employment I should be looking for.
I hope you are having better days now. Any advice you could give would be deeply appreciated
I wouldn’t recommend getting off any medication that helps your pain. I tried that and was laid up in the bed the next day. I also don’t want to stop working but it’s becoming harder and more and more stressful to keep working. I find my days are getting worse. And my job getting more unsuitable as well.
Pastrychef: I’m a newbie to this support group but I just wanted to offer a word of warning. If you prove to them that they can’t fire you for health reasons(which they can’t) what they may try to do is find other reasons to get rid of you. Just be aware. So far I’m lucky at work and they seem pretty accommodating… to a point. I work in lending with lots of numbers and documents. My fibro fog makes it really tough some days to be as accurate as I used to be. And that’s a real blow to me. Very hard to accept. But the other thing I worry about is that they could use a simple clerical error or transposition as a reason to fire me.
I’m thinking that’s what they will do as well. Because they know I can come back and sue them.
I feel your pain. Work is stressful on a good day never mind when the fog takes over.
I worry about my job because currently they could fire me because of compliance. Currently they are supportive but I know they could flip on me at any time.
I hope you have a good couple of days
@MimiKat is right. It happen to both my parents at the same company. My stepdad was injured on the job. They had to find another position for him but the company just let him go and he sued. They can’t force you out but they can change your position. If they say they didn’t pick you for the position because of the fibro then I also believe there is some legal issue on that. I know you want this position and I commend you for sticking it out. Your body is trying to tell you something and you do have to listen to it. Yes the more active you are the better you will be. Just be careful and take your time.
David
It ended up getting worse. Employees were cussing me out and flipping me off for no reason. It only made my stress worse therefore my pain worse. When it did happen on two different occasions, I told them what happened and they tried to blame it on me so I filed harassment against one employee. Then the next day they wrote me up from something my director did. I asked them about the position they were moving me into and they acted like they didn’t know what I was talking about and like they never said that to me. Needless to say I didn’t go back after that and my pain level has gone down tremendously.
Oh noooooo. I’m so very sorry. That is beyond horrible. It is NOT your fault. I don’t know how someone could cuss at you at your job. I wish you got a lawyer. I’m so disgusted and even more I’m so sad for how you must have felt. You didn’t deserve that and my heart goes out to you. 
How are you feeling ?
The best part was when I talked to my superiors about it all, they told me they couldn’t go around firing people for doing those things. Thank you. I wish so as well but I don’t think it would have done any good. Oh I felt horrible then. On top of all of that happening, my pain was beyond horrible. I was having spasms in my legs and even my chest. But now that I’m not dealing with that I feel a lot better. It was a hard but great decision.
From now on, I would take someone you can trust in with you any time your employers want to talk to you or you want to talk to them. You need to CYA. You also need to tell your doctor and keep all the notes, dates, times you can. You could get a doctors note stating that you have Fibro and that you will need to be accommodated at work if that is what you need. I used to work 12 hour shifts and it was terrible and it used to be very physical labour. Like all of us, you didn’t ask for this to happen. I started missing work because I was either to sick or going to doctors to see what I could do to fix it. It got to the point where I couldn’t do my job to full potential. I was terrible for me and everyone else involved. I went on sick leave, then STD, then LTD. It just gets worse. I wish you the best.
I worked weekends, about 24 hrs per Fri, Sat and Sun, every week. Lots of running around on concrete floors, very detailed Customer Service, being happy, cheerful. Getting up Sat and Sun were torture. After a full 3 day weekend, I’d be in such pain, feet throbbing, hardly able to walk to the bathroom at night, in bed all Monday. And I have a reduced immunity due to Remicade infusions every 6 weeks for my PsA. So I caught every cold and flu bug. I tried a full-time position at the same place, but was sick, in pain or too exhausted too often. So I did the part-time thing. It worked for about 4 years, even though my back would give out, as I have chronic back pain and my hips hurt badly as well. I missed a few too many days and they always would call me into the office to warn me they would fire me if I missed another day, Such stress! Eventually my back went bad again and it never got back to normal, even though I tried to go back to work. So, since then, over 2.5 years, I have been trying to figure out what is going on with my lower lumbar spine and my hips. Everyone, even a spinal surgeon said there was nothing they can do. And eventually, after 2 years of trying useless pain meds, nothing works for me, even weed tincture does nothing, they agree to give me two 5 mg Vicodins every 24 hrs. I am unable to work. The Vicodins take the edge off the pain only. I can work about the house for a few hrs a day on good days. But it is like this… I start sweeping or vacuuming a floor, about 5 minutes of moving, and then I have to rest and sit down for 30 min. All day is like that, until I hit a wall, and need to sleep. I kept at my docs, telling them what I want to do, how I used to be super active, goal driven, motivated, and finally… they agreed to three 5mg Vicodins every 24 hrs. And I know I never will be able to go back to real work due to the progression of my pain. This is my life now and I take it day by day. The company took about 2 years of me not working before they let me go.