I don't know what to tell you on this one, I was a paralegal and had a rediiculous stress load from work, finally managed my first vacation in five years returned and was laid off shortly three after. I have since relocated to Montana and am taking a psychological hiatus from all things work related....actually the market sucks, but between MS and all that comes with and the crazy economy....I don't need the added stress right now. When I am rested and full of the necessary energy to compete, then I will do just that....guess I just wanted to wish you good luck. MS may not "kill" you but the job market sure might! :o)

Hi Tom,

I was diagnosed in September '08. I am a nurse, a student and was teaching at a community college at the time. I have lightened my own load by resigning from the teaching job, but still work as a nurse and go to school. I have learned not to tell many about my dx because they make so many asinine assumptions. You would think other people in the medical field would get it and have compassion, NOT! Some imagine me in a wheelchair within the week, before I even get finished with the explanation. Exasperating, at best.

I dont know what the legalities of all of this are for employment purposes, specifically yours. I have siblings that are attorneys and one is a former judge, so I wont worry too much until it makes a difference. Do you have access to legal advice that is specific to your line of work? Since they are bound by confidentiality, they could not legally out you as it relates to your MS. If you have been diagnosed with relapsing remitting MS, your chances of being able to continue with your work are fairly decent. It depends on what your specific symptoms are, how they come at you and what that may or may not mean to your job performance. Dont give up, give in or panic because of others! The uncertainty and unpredictability of MS are bad enough; dont add unnecessary stuff to it if you can avoid it.

Send me a message if you want to discuss any of this in detail that you dont want to post for every one. You dont have to muddle through, looking over your shoulder. Ill help anyway I can.
Rebecca

You hit the nail on the head when you mentioned assumptions. Back in Feb. I went to the Hosp for 1 day surgery, for carpel tunnel. 4 hosp. medical staff were in and out of my pre-op room. They asked if I took any meds. When I told them Betaseron. No one knew what it was or what for. When I told them they started to look around the room. They were looking for my wheel chair. Then said, You walked in here on your own. I'm on an armed escort team and we transport prisoners to the local hosp of treatment. I took one of a MRI and the MRI staff start saying, "Hey, weren't you in here last month as a patient." In front of a co-worker and a prisoner. I was so pissed off. Then I couldn't tell them to keep it quiet. They walked into the MRI room and I can't go in with my weapon.

I think I should have set that as a message.

I did not have nearly the added aspects of your position, but here is what I can tell you. I was working as a GM in a restaurant when I was dxd in 2005. I took off 3 days when I lost the sight in my right eye. I came back and never really discussed it much again. Two of my employees knew because I thought there should be someone around who had a list of allergies and meds in case of an emergency. These were people I had known for some time and I really trusted. The GM of another unit had MS and the company knew about. They made some concessions that were good, but also he would never have gotten the opportunity to work at a high volume, high money store. Also, he ended up stealing from the company and there was alot of discussion about the depression and medications that go with MS. So I never disclosed there, although I believe that he suspected and might have said something about my loss of sight.
Fast forward...Last year in June I took a job that I could walk to, had no ovens at the unit, was fast food cold. Not really what I love, but really much easier and less hours and stress. I was told that although there would be meetings etc, it would be five days a week. That turned into alternating work five days a week and six days a week. At that time I told them I had MS and requested that they stick to the five days. I was told that I could work the schedule or leave. I worked the schedule. I fell at work about three weeks after the schedule change, said the floor was slippery, which it was, but I was also exausted and couldn't get my balance. They increased the physical demands, and finally in December told me that my schedule had been changed to seven days a week. I worked ten more days and quit for medical reasons, not to mention that no day of rest in seven is against the law.
I filed for unemployment and they made a very weak attempt to argue. I requested the forms for the COBRA subsidy and they said no as I had left voluntarily. I will be able to appeal that on May 18th. I filed with IDOL, Dept of Human Rights. I am not interested in a long drawn out lawsuit or anything else. Sometimes things can settle quickly through these agencies, but at least mmaybe they will think twice before treating someone like this.
I am now in the process of applying for SSDI. Not the best outcome, but I look at it as a thing I have to do. I would say to make a list of the things you would want to have happen as a result of disclosing your MS. Then realize that although there are laws to protect us, you really have to fight for your rights at times. Also realize that it is not hard to get around things if you are a large employer and have enough money. So make a list of what could be the worst that could happen. And then decide what you feel is best. Do not risk your health or safety, that is a bad choice. You might also want to look into whether there are guidelines about what you have to tell your employer about being off of work. I know that some places it is okay to not tell, but not okay to tell them something that is untrue.
One last thing, I know that there was a big change in attitude after I fell. I think that although it was perfecctly reasonable that someone slip on a floor full of flour, that was a sign to them that I was not a good risk and they really started trying to get rid of me. So I would say that it might be best, if this is what you are considering, to do it before they can claim that you have anything on your history that suggests you can't stay in your position.

I was diagnosed in 2006. I work in the medical field. At the time, I had to take 6 weeks off because I was unable to perform my job duties. So it was hard to keep a secret why I was off work, so my emplyer is aware of my dx. When I returned to work, I had to go to the night shift because I was physically unable to work day shift anymore. My job requires alot of patient care. So they have made some concessions for me. But whenever I get sick, they do not honor my doctor's notes to release me from work or my script's for job restrictions. I had a 8 hour shift time minimum. Which prompted my employer to schedule me for 12 hour shifts. So I would check to see what your State laws are before saying anything about your dx.

American with Disability Act. They can fire you if you can do your job. I was a chef by profession went to the to culinary school in the us. I was diagnosed in 2006. When I went back to work I had nothing but the full supoort of my supervisor and my staff. there are days that the heat in the kitchen would get to me and my staff would step up and help me. If they had a bad day I would help them. Unfortunately in June 07 things turned worse. I was out of work and they held my job for 6 months to see if I could get back. However I was never able to return to work and am fully disabloed due to the MS. I would contact a union rep or ADA or even an attorney on how to habdke this situation so u are protected.

wow tom

I was dx in dec 07. with ppms. i told my hr person and superviser. There kinda supportive. my doc. gave me some resriction like i need a chair to sit down. use my cane. My job is not hard but the people i work with dont understand about ms. i work in a factory. when i miss a day or two. I think they understand I had no problem as of yet. Cuz one day i fell at work. They were concernd. Im under fmla [ family medical leave of abseced act] I do a lot of talking to my lawyer. they give me good advice on alot of things.hope it might help

I was dx in 2001. Started my current job as a receptionist at a law firm almost 2 yrs ago and told them in the interview that I have MS and husband and I have our own business. Told them I may need to be late, time off, etc.. they said no problem. Yesterday I was told that my job performance has decreased and they would re-look in 1 month. I'm not going to let them get the better of me.....but it's hard, plus finances suck too. Good luck to you

I'm lucky. I sit at a desk, I'm an accountant. I've worked with the current group of people on/off at a couple of different places since the early 90's so I don't worry, I am very matter-of-fact & upfront about my MS and treat it like no big deal.

I use a cane 95% of the time but can go without it on my strong days. I once had us all looking for my cane because I left it somewhere in the office and couldn't remember where I left it...kind of like an Easter Egg hunt only the prize was not edible.

I have to work, for the insurance and of course, the money. But it keeps me connected to the world, minimizes the importance of my MS in my life, and keeps me "normal" too. So it's critical for me to work as long as I can.

Did I say I'm lucky? Yeh.

Well my story is short and not so sweet. I was dx'd in April of 1995 and dumped by my job in July of 1995.

I tried fighting with them (union job mind you) and ended up going blind from all of the stress.

I was disability retired with ~$50.00 a month but I managed to get medical benefits out of it luckily.

I didn't stand a chance of hiding it. I was informed over the phone at work that I have something called "multiple sclerosis". :(

I wish you the best of luck. Hopefully, things have changed since 1995.

Hey Tom,
This is where I guess my expertise can come in handy. I am a legal buff, and have had over 15 years experience in the legal field and business law.
They can not fire you or put you on any type of probation or anything like that because of your illness. I have worked in Law Enforcement a long time ago, way before I found out I was sick, but the bottom line here is that they cant fire you or force you into early retirement. If they do you can go to the EEOP and file a claim. Then you will also want to retain an attorney. This is if you want to keep your position. They would have to prove that your illness is effecting your job preformance and they have no other ways of accomadating you, and we know that they cant because they could always put you behind a desk.
If you need any legal help, I do probono work so dont be afriad to ask.

Sherry

I have a friend who is a police officer who has MS. He has had to take a couple of short leaves and they have made a couple of accommodations for him when he was having a hard time. Mostly it has been fine. Unless the accomodations they have to make for you cause a hardship for the business, they HAVE to provide them. You are covered by ADA. Sounds like your friend's leave was just too long and they were able to show that she was no longer able to do the job... at least not in a timeframe that met their needs.

I happen to work for the State as a social worker and disclosed the first day to my boss... she needed to know why I was going to be out for so many appointments. I have been blessed with a very supportive staff and am able to flex time to make it work. I am however concerned about what would happen if I have a different supervisor for a while or if another co worker were to notice my different schedule. I am thinking about asking HR for a written accomodation plan (the same as I have had informally) in order to document my ADA covered disability to cover my butt!

Good luck to you Tom.

Been busy all weekend. No work for me or my wife, Jen. I read the replies. I think I'll keep it out of the work place. It seems like work and MS starts out friendly and ends up ugly. I'm 44 now, with 20 years in the Justice Dept at the end of this year and 5 years in the Marine Corps for 25 years of government service.
I spent the weekend falling asleep with my wife on the couch, while we watched tv Fri. Sat with my son playing 18 holes of golf w/ the Faternal Order of Police. No one knew the wiser of my state. It was a nice cool day. Sunday was a day at the ballet, to watch my little one in her BEE costume. 3 hours long to she her 5 minutes of glory, it was all worth it.
I find the bussier I am. The less it bothers me. The less I think about it. This way I don't miss out on the good times.
Work will have wait it's turn and MS will have to take a # and wait in line. Like I said, I will keep it out of work, I just hope it stays out of my way. Hope you all had a good weekend and the rest of the week goes event free. I hate that other word the nero's use. Back to work, talk to you later.