How do you find your job was affected by diagnosis of diabetes???

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mikep1979

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Relationship to Diabetes
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bit of a naff subject i know but its something i wanted to find out about. a mate of mine has just been diagnosed type 2 and as i already knew he has had to give up his taxi license. so have you had to change jobs due to being a diabetic??
 
mikep1979 said:
bit of a naff subject i know but its something i wanted to find out about. a mate of mine has just been diagnosed type 2 and as i already knew he has had to give up his taxi license. so have you had to change jobs due to being a diabetic??
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Mike he doesn't have to give up his taxi license if he diet and exercise controlled. Or on medication for his diabetes.
I think you will find it is only insulin controlled diabetics who are barred from taxi work.

In answer to you question I can't answer it as I was diagnosed at the age of 4 1/2. I remember being most upset that it didn't get me out of going to school.
Diabetes has never effected my working life though.
 
The only difference it has nmade to me is the time I spend working totally alone. I normally start work at 7am and go to the stoargae areas for stocktaking because it is quite until about 8.30. My boss has asked me to do desk work until I've had my 9am break and the go to the storage areas when more people are about. She is worried about my having a hypo and no one finding me for ages. Otherwise my work is not affected.

At the moment I am on desk duites as I've had a series of ear infections which have affected my sense of balance. My GP says it is OK for me to work even after I told him I work from ladders, so my boss has given me lots to do in the office!
 
hi sue,

i didnt think would have affected his taxi license, but he told me when he contacted his employer and also the council they told him any type of diabetes excluded him from working as a taxi driver. also they told him he cant work as a bus driver.

hi caroline,

its good your employer is taking their responsibilities so seriously as i have known employers to just say to staff to get on with it and stop complaining.

i had a bad experience when i got diagnosed and wondered if i was alone in this matter.
 
When I was diagnosed, it was touch-and-go as to whether I'd live. My boss was told that I was in a coma in intensive care, he said in all seriousness "does that mean he won't be coming to the conference?" - I'd been told that we were all 'family' but never once did he 'phone to see how I was or if there was any he could do to help my wife. Long story short they are my ex-employers. My new bosses and colleagues are aware of my diabetes and are fine with it. They understand my need to attend hospital appointments etc and it has not been an issue. My staff always keep an eye out to make sure my sugars are 'normal'. So in that respect I'm lucky.
 
wow alan he really asked if you were going to be going on the conference!!! even when you had just been in a coma!!! that is really horrid. glad your new employer is very understanding.
 
I'm type2 now on insluin and I still have my taxi license. When I first went on to insluin I lost it for six months to see how i would cope with it. It's up to each local council that decides if it going allow insluin users to drive. Also when i'm driving I check my bloods very 2-3 hours and follow the DVLA rules. And Insurance companys are fine with me to drive.
 
I was diagnosed while at uni and had a part time job, a year later I graduated and went on to the job I do now. On both instances I don't think my diabetes has had any real impact on working. My employers ask if I need anything to help me do my job, in most cases no, just the opportunity to test my blood when I need to which has never been an issue. They're also happy for me to take time for hospital appointments whenever I need to, I think i'm pretty lucky!
In answer to the taxi question, I think it's up to each local authority to determine their own rules.
 
mikep1979 said:
hi sue,

i didnt think would have affected his taxi license, but he told me when he contacted his employer and also the council they told him any type of diabetes excluded him from working as a taxi driver. also they told him he cant work as a bus driver.
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This is not correct Mike. He needs to look into this a bit further. 1st port of call is the DVLA regarding his driving license. Which has no restrictions on it what so ever for being a diet controlled or tablet controlled diabetic.
Using insulin is a different kettle of fish though.
 
My work have been great since I started back a couple of weeks ago (I was diagnosed in Dec 08). My boss has got a couple of friends who are diabetic as well so he's quite knowleagble (sp?) and he HR manager is diabetic herself so she's very understanding. When I went back to work they were concerned I was coming back too soon - I was off for 5 weeks in total, a week in hospital and then I couldn't see properly for 3 weeks coz sight was all blurred.

I think I'm lucky they've been so good.
 
I f I dont eat regular I find it diificult to concnetrate properly. I have to try and remeber to have snacks in case i cant have a break at my proper times.
 
my mate has found he is only allowed to drive a taxi if he can come off insulin and go onto diet exercise alone and also prove he has not had a hypo for 6 months. this is what his local council has told him. also the dvla has told him he cant drive a bus etc due to the fact he may have a hypo while driving and cant get public liability insurance. also hgv and the likes are out to.
 
Your mate should appeal under the disability act as each council area appears to have a different policy. There are councils who allow insulin users to be taxi drivers based on independant medical assessments, and then there are those that don't. Operating a blanket ban in this way when other areas don't is discrimination. Get your mate to research it on the internet and if he can demonstrate the inconsistancy in approach across the UK that is discrimination.
 
thanks emma i will tell him to.
 
this is an interesting topic. most of the jobs ive done involve manual working- lifting, moving, always on the move. most of the time my control was pretty good, with the odd hypo that i would feel coming on, correct it and carry on with what i was doing.

But with my current job I suffer from bad control! most of the time im in the office and my glucose is fairly stable, but then i could be in the factory moving about etc for a couple of days and everything goes wrong! this happens regulary and i find i cant predict the situation to try and help me out.

But on the whole my work is pretty good, they dont mind me going for checkups and appointments and dont make me make up the lost time, but i do feel guilty for sodding off for a couple of hours while i go to the hospital.

i think the biggest problem at work for me is when the sugars are misbehaving and i feel tired, or energyless or angry etc etc and people dont seem to realise its down to the sugars, i get the feeling most of them just think i stayed up too late the night before or something. it doesnt help when people ask me how does it feel when your high or low, i can never describe it! i just know im high or low 🙄
 
Anthony Neve said:
this is an interesting topic. most of the jobs ive done involve manual working- lifting, moving, always on the move. most of the time my control was pretty good, with the odd hypo that i would feel coming on, correct it and carry on with what i was doing.

But with my current job I suffer from bad control! most of the time im in the office and my glucose is fairly stable, but then i could be in the factory moving about etc for a couple of days and everything goes wrong! this happens regulary and i find i cant predict the situation to try and help me out.

But on the whole my work is pretty good, they dont mind me going for checkups and appointments and dont make me make up the lost time, but i do feel guilty for sodding off for a couple of hours while i go to the hospital.

i think the biggest problem at work for me is when the sugars are misbehaving and i feel tired, or energyless or angry etc etc and people dont seem to realise its down to the sugars, i get the feeling most of them just think i stayed up too late the night before or something. it doesnt help when people ask me how does it feel when your high or low, i can never describe it! i just know im high or low 🙄
Click to expand...

Anthony, have you thought about asking for a pump?
 
anthony i have found myself gettin increasingly irritated very easily since my control went up the wall (sorry to anyone who has to stand for my givin a verbal bashing to) and also i am more forgetful nowadays too. my dn say's it is due to my body trying to use sugars that aint there and not to worry about it to much as once we sort my levels out it will settle down.
 
Hasn't really affected my work in a negative way.
I quite enjoyed my shelf stacking job in Tesco when I was a student, it kept my blood sugars down and my weight too. I chose to work on the shop floor so that I could be more flexible with ym breaks, on the tills would have had to wait for someone to take over from me there.
My current job I don't always get my morning tea break, which don't have too bad an affect, except me getting irritable because I am hungry. Usually my colleagues on a busy late shift will send me to first break so that i defniatly get a break, which is very considerate of them, but not something I ask for.
If I need to go to the staff room for a few minutes to treat a hypo they are very understanding.
 
I have at times found it difficult to be honest. I can do the work but find the ignorance to be the most frustrating.

when diagnosed I did a fairly sedentary job and my sugars were quite stable. however one morning I was due at a meeting but sugars kept crashing. I phoned my manager to say I would be a little late as I was still too low to drive, I asked if this was ok? the reply was "well it will have to be wont it", I wasnt late and she never even asked if I was ok.... dont work for them anymore.

I took a job in a really busy cafe, but had to leave as could not control my sugars at all and was always out the back eating ruddy bananas all day!! lol, they were very understanding but I just couldnt do it!

I now work shifts and although they all know im diabetic, they dont want to know what it involves. Never ask which break I would prefer etc. I just tell them I need to go off and eat, check sugar, be back in 5 mins etc. its what I have to do and I always make up my time if I have taken extra 5 mins etc. it can be frustrating but its just the way it has to be now. Sorry for essay!:D
 
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