Strategies to Keep Your Job When You Have Ulcerative Colitis

I found ulcerative colitis affected my work performance in several ways. Doctor's appointments and scheduled procedures drained my vacation and sick leave resources and could be life sapping if I didn't manage them well. Nighttime bouts with diarrhea and nausea often left me tired from lack of sleep. Holiday potluck parties were a nightmare. Stress, a major contributor to ulcerative colitis effects, grew when I ignored my difficulties. Corporate business ethics can be cold, restrictive, and unbending if you don't work for the right company or boss.

An understanding employer can save many hassles. At one point in my career, I overheard managers in one of the organization's I worked with discussing layoffs. Managers don't like to lay people off, but if the budget cuts need to be made, they have to have some criteria for choosing who goes. One of criteria used was the amount of time off taken by an employee to deal with health problems and the cost to the overall health insurance plan. Some of the more saving graces the correct employer can provide include:

Flexible Work Hours

I typically worked a 9:30 or 10:00 a.m. to 6 or 7 p.m. work day. This was really important to me because it meant that if I was having diarrhea, I could show up without anyone taking notice. It also helped on those nights when I was awake several hours. It reduced my stress threshold because it eliminated the "you are a bad person if you don't show up at 6 a.m." work ethic. It also reduced my sick leave requirements because I could schedule early morning doctor's appointments and procedures without missing any work.

Short Commute

In planning where to live, I found having a short commute saved my sanity, innards and my time. When my job moved away from where all my doctors were located, it caused a lot of stress in trying to have the time to be in many places at the same time.

Create Your Own Potluck's and Event Meals

Dietary restrictions can play havoc with your social and business life. When group events rely on pizza and beer parties, it makes it very difficult for someone with ulcerative colitis. Every item on a pizza is on my "hit list" for what causes stomach upsets including tomato, onion, sausage, salami, pepperoni, cheese, and peppers. Not to mention the sugar content of beer. Or worse, when potlucks are held, everyone is competing to make the richest, most lavish dish that no one can resist, except those that suffer from ulcerative colitis.

My solution was to always bring chicken and thereby guarantee that I could eat something preferably with protein content. But it didn't help the embarrassment factor. Potlucks are all about the age-old breaking bread together tradition. Sharing food is an act of trust that establishes good will. It does not make any friends to not eat other's food. Luckily, the invention of salad and sandwich bars helped overcome this difficulty.

Good friends are those that are willing to put foods that people with dietary restrictions have trouble with in separate dishes that people can add on at their choice. When planning to bring a dish to a potluck, consider putting nuts, salad dressings, onions, peppers, cheese, eggs, wheat products, and meats in separate dishes. That way, people attending potlucks don't need to suffer embarrassment, allergic attacks, and stomach and intestinal havoc.

Planning sessions for events should allow new employees or new members to explain food restrictions. It is not enough to cater one day out of five to the "picky eater" as concession. Food is not optional; it is a daily requirement.

Managing Your Doctor

I quickly learned that scheduling appointments before work, after work, or during lunch saved me a lot of bad vibes with employers. I prefer doctors that have amenable work hours. Also, any time I have an "flare up" or other trouble caused by ulcerative colitis, I tell the doctor how long I'm willing to wait for a solution. If I don't demand a solution, I find they can spread their diagnosis out for months at a time. My first polyp diagnosis took three months while I went through tests and appointments at two-week intervals. I ended up having an upper GI, lower GI, colonoscopy, ultrasound, CAT scan, during that time, many of which other doctors have scheduled for the same day.

I found ulcerative colitis problems could be reduced by having an understanding and supportive environment that allowed me to succeed. The world is a tough place so doing some extra investigation to find a good job, doctor and friends can make the difference.