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Type 1 employment

Scouse77

Member
Messages
8
Location
Merseyside
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Everton fc , corrieander , holding raw meat ie chicken beef
I'm after some advice.

do i have to get a doctor to supply and explane why I need breaks to take my insulin .and check my bms. for my employer I have had over the stated amount of sick days because of low blood sugars . I have been missing injections so I don't get any hassle .now my bloods levels aren't very good now .I'm worried I'm getting bullied by them ..
 
Hi iansmith07 you didn't say if you've told your employer that your diabetic if you haven't then you should just in case you need medical attention so they know what to do then just explain that you need to take your insulin to stay well and go from there please don't miss your injections otherwise you will get in all sorts of problems with your diabetes let us know?
 
No, I've never needed a doctor's letter. I've spoken to HR and my manager and explained about blood tests, etc, and they've been fine.

But I've never gone over my sick days. Have you tried talking to your employer first?
 
Hi iansmith07 you didn't say if you've told your employer that your diabetic if you haven't then you should just in case you need medical attention so they know what to do then just explain that you need to take your insulin to stay well and go from there please don't miss your injections otherwise you will get in all sorts of problems with your diabetes let us know?
yes I told them when I got interviewed. and told the nurse .now they want my gp to give them a letter explaining why I need to have a set time give or take a hour to have my insulin and time to check my bloods I work in a very hard job very strenuous I'm on 4 injection 3 fast 1 slow relase
 
Generally I find occupational health the best people to speak to RE: workplace adaptions. Do your employers have an OH dept? Or is this where the nurse is from? GP may want to charge your employer for their letter if there's no OH. It wouldn't be for you to pay.
 
Generally I find occupational health the best people to speak to RE: workplace adaptions. Do your employers have an OH dept? Or is this where the nurse is from? GP may want to charge your employer for their letter if there's no OH. It wouldn't be for you to pay.


Hi katmcd
Generally I find occupational health the best people to speak to RE: workplace adaptions. Do your employers have an OH dept? Or is this where the nurse is from? GP may want to charge your employer for their letter if there's no OH. It wouldn't be for you to pay.

Hi katmcd
they don't have OH .and the nurse is just there when new starter's join the docks .to over see the achol and drug's test and check your vision. I feel they are pushing me into a corner and making my diabetes harder and that's why I'm missing my dinner time injection .now I'm having a bad time with my bms and high and lows sugars .I don't know what's best for me only being with the company 14 months
 
Hi again iansmith07 if you're employer says all they need is a doctors letter then I would make an appointment with doctors just explain what you need it for and see what he says don't know but you may get charged by surgery for letter keep in touch.
 
Hi Ian, it sounds to me as if you need to shown how to use your insulin correctly. You are using MDI (multi dose injections) so you should not need a set time for meals. Start with getting your back ground insulin correct so you can work safely through out the day and eat when you need or want.
 
think ill seek advice from OH and hopefully my employer can give me some reasonable adjustments . I can get my bm back to noraml..and yeah I'll keep in touch..
 
Hi Ian, it sounds to me as if you need to shown how to use your insulin correctly. You are using MDI (multi dose injections) so you should not need a set time for meals. Start with getting your back ground insulin correct so you can work safely through out the day and eat when you need or want.
I'm a mdi but I work as a stevedore it's a hard physical demading job. not every day is the same .I can be quayside for up 6 hours with a break them the next day spend a hour in the cannteen a hour quayside so put yourself in my shoes .. not the employer.. who is pushing other diabetics around
 
@iansmith07 Hi Ian and welcome.. I would ask your employer for some time to talk it through.. It is important for both you and your fellow workers that you have time and space to medicate. They should also understand what to do if you become unwell due to a hypo.
I found it useful to inform my boss about my condition and mentioned that I would need somewhere suitable to test blood and inject prior to eating my lunch. We decided on a place away from co workers (they can sometimes be a little unhappy if you inject in the canteen) that was clean and suitable.
I should add that though there is some leeway in the timing of your meals, it is unwise to skip a meal because your long acting insulin is still lowering your glucose levels. I snack on a raw carrot if I feel weak before lunch break.
Hope you find a resolution soon.. take care!
 
I find it incredible in this day and age that people with your type of diabetes are treated this way. It's totally unacceptable to me that a person has to resort to not taking life needing medication in order to make it easier for themselves at work, employers should be more accommodating. Thankfully most are but where they are not then we should stand firm and help them see the error of their ways. I think it's unreasonable to expect you to provide them with a note from your G.P, can't they see what you are doing when taking insulin or testing your blood sugar? Do they think you stick needles in your stomach for the fun of it?

Diabetes has been around for a long time and anybody and everybody should know that if you are T1 then you need to take insulin, certainly most professional managers anyway and they ought be more understanding. Still in the interest of playing the game and re-educating these morons then i'd try and get them some form of written evidence from the G.P. if that's what they've asked for. Also do have a trade union and are you a member? You could ask them for help in this area and in meeting with the company HR dept to try and sort this out. But for goodness sake start taking you medication as you should, because if not then in the long run buddy you are likely to make matters worse and possibly resulting in even more sickness time, and then my friend they really will be on your case.

I think it would have been prudent to have had some sort of discussion prior to this with your employer and come to some sort of arrangement on how best to manage your condition at work without it affecting your ability to do the job instead of waiting until you fell foul of the company sickness policy, unless ofcourse they do not have anything in place for staff with such conditions? Or they have ignored your plight which is another matter altogether that needs looking at. Good luck and I hope you get it sorted quickly
 
I'm a mdi but I work as a stevedore it's a hard physical demading job. not every day is the same .I can be quayside for up 6 hours with a break them the next day spend a hour in the cannteen a hour quayside so put yourself in my shoes .. not the employer.. who is pushing other diabetics around
Hi Ian,
I worked in farming for almost 30 years so know all to well what physical work is and no day was the same either. I can assure you that if you were shown how to adjust your insulin correctly then you wouldn't have a problem. Yes your employer needs to give you a little slack at times I quite agree
 
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