Advice Regarding Long Term Sick Needed

[fletchmonkey]

Hi,

I'll try not to waffle on for too long but....

I am 30 and have been a postie for 4.5 years and have been off work with bad hips and back for nearly the last 6 months. I have had MRI scans which have come back inconclusive at this stage (awaiting another MRI in a few months). I am yet to be really diognosed with anything but am awaiting results of bloods tests. The experts think it may be Ankylosing spondylitis (fusion of spine/artharitis). Most of my time is spent lying in bed in pain (which is really getting me down) but I have three children all under 5, so I try and work through the pain to be as active a Dad as I can possibly be (I don't want my kids growing up with memories of their dad lying in bed miserable all of the time!)

I am dealing with Atos and have been booked in to see "Rehab Works" for an assessment in a weeks time. I wanted to ask if anyone has been in a similar position or know of someone who has been or going through what I am going? And what I should expect and the process after my initial meeting.

My manager has asked that I call in weekly to update him on my progress, every time I phone in I feel they are taking the p1ss out of my sniggering in the background and making sarcastic remarks like "who are you sorry? I don't know anyone of your name". This really angers me, at work I put myself out to cover overtime when nobody else would do it and generally keep my head down, I feel they don't care about what I am going through and all they think about is having to pay for someone who is not in work.

The long term prognosis for my back and hips doesn't look too good if I do have Ankylosing spondylitis. I know my pay will shortly be halved but luckily I have a chunk of savings to see us through the near future. I was wondering if my health doesn't improve whether they would offer IHR? and how this is processed? It's not a route that I really want to go down, because pain or no pain I am going to have to do something to pay the mortgage and there are not many jobs out there for uneducated, semi disabled blokes that are going to pay as well as the post.


Thank you for taking time to read this. I would really appreciate any help or advice.

Cheers

[flaminmoses]

the atos assesment will be them seeing how much you can bend etc which will then let them set a target/plan for you when you go there from then on.

[fletchmonkey]

I thought as much. Can anyone give me any further indepth experiences or procedures of the "Rehab Works" and whether they might be the ones to advise if IHR should be considered?

[flaminmoses]

rehab works do the assesment and the "physio".
theu wont recomend you for ihr.

you have to be refered to a face to face to see if they recomend that.....thats not the face to face you have at rehab works.