Employers

[Chris515]

Hey everyone..

I was wondering, how eveyone's employers handle your epilepsy.

I've had good bosses, and bad. My current one is very understanding. But I still feel bad when I have to leave early, like I will today. Having tons of auras and I'd rather have a full on seizure in my bed then at my desk.

How does everyone deal with sick days? I don't really have a set amount at my job, my boss lets me go home when needed.

My last boss was a jerk though and was not understanding at all.

People don't understand that auras and sp's make it hard to concentrate..

 

[Krista2882]

My employer doesn't know, and I don't plan on telling them.
My simple partials are motor, so before they were controlled with meds, it made typing, writing, or even sitting in a chair difficult, but I usually suffered through them. Now, thankfully, my seizures are almost completely under control with meds, so when I get simple partials, it's usually just my leg shaking so it doesn't take a huge effort to do work.

 

[pita300]

My employer doesn't know, and I don't plan on telling them.

I did'nt tell me employer either untill last year when the generic form of Tegretol xr came out and I had an Aura. Now i've been having auras again and the doctor took my car away from for 6 months. My last seizure was in 1997. Fortunatly my job made accomadations for me to work from home. If I had'nt been up front with them I don't think they would have been obligated to do any thing for me. I don't think it hurts to let them know your situation just in case, They have also been great about all the doctor appointments I've had the last 2 weeks.

 

[Krista2882]

My employer doesn't know, and I don't plan on telling them.

I did'nt tell me employer either untill last year when the generic form of Tegretol xr came out and I had an Aura. Now i've been having auras again and the doctor took my car away from for 6 months.

When I took Dilantin, the Pharmacy gave me the generic and my body wouldn't absorb it, so it didn't work. My doctor wrote on the script "no generic" so they had to give me the brand name one.
Some insurances don't cover that, though. Mine does, it's just more expensive ($20 a month instead of $5). But I was with an HMO for a while who only covered generics. At the time there was no generic for Tegretol so they had to cover it. But they weren't happy about it. lol.

 

[Endless]

Time off? As for time off, there are laws. There is FMLA (family and medical leave act) which ensures 12 weeks of leave for eligable employees. It applies if you have worked for a private sector company that has over 50 employees, and you have worked there for at least a year with 1250 hours in the last 12 months. It also requires that you are taking leave for a covered reason (birth, adoption, serious illness, caring for a family member, etc.) You can take it intermittantly (a day here and there) or consecutively (3 months off). They have to give you your old job or an equivalent job back when you return. They also have to keep giving you your benefits, like health insurance, while you are gone.

http://www.dol.gov/compliance/laws/comp-fmla.htm

http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs28.htm

 

[petero]

my employer found out I have TC seizures when I did because the first one I had was at work
I have an accommodating employer

 

[Krista2882]

my employer found out I have TC seizures when I did because the first one I had was at work
I have an accommodating employer

That's really good then that they're so accommodating, especially since you had your first TC while at work. Or maybe that's what makes them more accomodating since they saw firsthand how bad it is and so they don't just think you're just giving an excuse when you need time off because of E.
I don't know if you've ever seen the movie "Garden State", but Natalie Portman's character has Epilepsy, and her employer makes her wear a helmet to work because she had a seizure at the office one day and now they're afraid of being liable for her being injured at work because of her seizures. lol.

 

[knothing]

My employer does okay. If I have a day full of deja vu's they do all they can to help me get home so I can get some much needed sleep. The work I do makes that difficult so it requires both sides to compromise. I would use FMLA if they were hard to deal with. My wife signs up for FMLA every year to make sure she can take time if I do have a tonic clonic seizure. If you have FMLA be warned that many bosses have no clue what that means and HR will have to explain. I had a boss think it meant at the moment I used it that I was off the job for 6 months and he could prevent me from working in his department no matter what. He really enjoyed the talk with HR...

 

[Crash]

Really cool,if we talk about it its always a laugh,like if i do something stupid,he,ll say"thats all that f%*$!*g pills your taking for your head,no malice what so ever.Ive had one seizure told me to take the week of and paid me for it.So i cant fault him what so ever.

 

[petero]

That's really good then that they're so accommodating, especially since you had your first TC while at work. Or maybe that's what makes them more accomodating since they saw firsthand how bad it is and so they don't just think you're just giving an excuse when you need time off because of E.
I don't know if you've ever seen the movie "Garden State", but Natalie Portman's character has Epilepsy, and her employer makes her wear a helmet to work because she had a seizure at the office one day and now they're afraid of being liable for her being injured at work because of her seizures. lol.

I have seen it and vaguely remember it - I remember it's the guy from "Scrubs" right? and there was some house they visited on the edge of that giant hole ~? Zero7 soundtrack also...
many moons ago

 

[Krista2882]

I have seen it and vaguely remember it - I remember it's the guy from "Scrubs" right? and there was some house they visited on the edge of that giant hole ~? Zero7 soundtrack also...
many moons ago

Hehe yeah, that's the one.

 

[LJ-Bain]

I have a GREAT boss, or bosses since there are 3 vets who own the practice I work at.
I went back to work for the first time after my mat leave this week and I've had about 2 partial seizures per shift.
They've all decided to treat it as normally as possible. They walk by and see me lying on the floor in the isolation room (animal hospital) and then walk by a few minutes later to see if I'm recovering okay. They keep it really low key. Which is what I need. So I feel extraordinarily lucky.
I don't know what all my co-workers think though! I hate having to have "the talk" with new coworkers. So, have you ever known anyone who had seizures? Now you do!