I had to tell them....... i didn't steal anything, I didn't do anything wrong, I am sick and so are you!!! Your doctor sucks, he clearly doesn't understand that we don't FEEL sleep coming........ it just comes, all night, all day and ALL THE TIME. But ultimately its your choice..... WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO???

Sleepless- This thread has provided most insightful, and I thank you all for the advice! I have a question: those of you who have interviewed for new positions after being diagnosed, *when* do you mention N?

That is probably the hardest thing I had to deal with while interviewing for my job last year. I debated for days before the interview whether to tell them or not.

Considering what I was applying for I decided to hold off. The other reason I didn't tell them was because I had started a new med, Ritalin LA, a couple weeks before the interview and it seemed to be working, I thought I was in the clear. HA, just like everything I have taken so far it quit being effective after 2 weeks.

At that point I had already gotten the job and just went with the flow. It was horrible. I had two coworkers from a previous job start at the same time I did and they knew about the N, so they watched me. I had lots of paper balls thrown at me to wake me back up.

It was so stressful though, going into work everyday fearing that I would get busted for sleeping. After struggling through it for 4 months and no meds yet were working I had no choice but to tell them. I asked for a couple accommodations and was told they couldn't because it would cause hardship on my coworkers. I was a hr rep in a call center, so if I was off taking a 20 minute nap they would have to take whatever calls I wasn't available to take. The best they did was allow me to get up and walk around the floor for no more than 5 minutes at a time.

They weren't very accommodating and unfortunately there are so many loopholes in the ADA laws, such as, they don't have to if they can say it will cause some kind of hardship for the business or others. Something like that anyways.

So, best I can say for an interview is that use your judgement. Is it a job that you are going to need accommodations, like a desk job, or is it one where you will be up on your feet most of the day and maybe don't have as many sleep attacks while on your feet? (Seems to be pretty common from the discussion going on in the "Does your EDS happen..." thread.)

I have never told an employer during an interview, unless there really was a need for them to know, like you were applying for a forklift job.

Kimmers

I think kimmers is right. I wouldn't mention N during the interview or when offered the job unless it would be some type of work that would include operating heavy equipment, air traffic controller, or something of that sort.

After you are hired, if the N starts to become a problem, then decide what and how much to tell them. If you are a union member, get advice from your union rep before you discuss N. And like so many others here have mentioned DOCUMENT EVERYTHING!

Thanks Kimmers and Marcia :)