Health issues that may or may not be related to work, need advice.

I've been a full-time MT for nearly 15 years. All of those years have been straight typing, no editing. I have been suffering with worsening hand/finger/knuckle pain for the past 5 years but have kept it managable with OTC meds and Kinesis keyboard.

Within the past 3 months it has become unbearable and I finally have made an appointment with my PCP to see if she can help me. I used to type 250-300 LPH and now I'm lucky if I can get out 100 LPH due to frequent breaks, massaging my fingers, popping more and more Tylenol Arthritis, and coating my hands with pain relieving cream. Those things aren't helping at all now...not even touching the pain.

My typos are becoming more frequent, which causes me to make more corrections and subsequently causing more pain.

My question is, do I even mention this to my employer or keep quiet until I talk to my doctor? How do I know if this is work related or just old age--or is it even my job to determine that?

All I know is that when I had my baby and my line counts dropped due to needing recovery time, I was threatened with being fired if I didn't bring production back up, so this is the mentality I'm up against. Yes, it may be illegal, but I'm also teetering on the edge financially and could never afford to hire a lawyer.

I'm not looking for disability, as I need to keep working for the money and benefits for my family, but I'm also concerned regular health insurance may not cover my issue because someone would deem it work related. These reasons are what has kept me from seeking help for this pain all these years. Totally stupid, isn't it? :(

Use Rich Text Editor with Full Options CLOSE

Health issues that may or may not be related to work, need advice. - Creaky

Post A Reply

Reply By Email