Hi all,
Well the stress of it all has finally got to me. After Andrew seeing an endocronologist and a nephrologist we thought we'd be home and dry. That was until the medical doctor thought he could see some spots in Andrew's eyes. Early retinopathy he said.... so he faxed chief medical officer in Oz to see what they wanted us to do. We now have to see an opthalmologist and get his eyes photographed and still get meds to Oz by 18.12.04. On top of this school is absolutely hell at the moment. 6 kids with extremely disturbing behaviour problems as well as my SEN kids on top of trying to teach my 'normal' (I use that term loosely) kids. 28 in all, plus trying to deal with a new member of staff who is dead set on making my life a misery. I'm not sure how much more I can cope with. I left school early yesterday with a really bad headache (had it for almost a week) and dizzy spells. Have decided, even though we are very busy that I'm not going in today, will go to the doc and see what he suggests. If you can give me any ideas on how to deal with all this I would be very grateful. I never take time off work and feel like a big failure at the moment. Sorry for the moan so early in the morning but I needed to get things off my chest.
Love and hugs
Sarah

aw poor you....
its a difficult time for you, esp with chrimbo coming up too
no advice for reducing stress other than taking time for yourself....warm bubble bath etc....

hope you feel better soon

It wont help your situation at work.. but all I can recommend is,

pop down to HMV, purchase Phoenix Nights Vol 1 and 2, Little Britain on DVD..

lie on the couch watch Trisha (trailer trash misery is always good for a laugh), Lunch time crack open bottle of wine and wack on the new DVDs.

works for me everytime...

Honestley though... hope everything sorts itself out for you...

Awh Sarah,

Sorry to hear your having a time of it at the moment eh,so much going on,you need to try & relax (easier said than done i know!) your gony get there hunny, all this medical stuff will take a bit of time to sort out but please keep looking forward, it all does come good eventually believe me!
Take some time out for yourself & your family.
The headache is probably a build up of all the stressfull situations piled on top of you.
To hell with work & dont feel guilty about taking time off,just get yourself sorted out.

Sore head or not,mega big glass of wine tonight,lovely warm bath & snuggle up in bed,relax & watch the tv.(sex is supposed to be a good way of releasing built up tension & headache !!! so my hubby says..)

For this weekend atleast, just say to hell with everything & do something fun.

Thinking of you x

Luv Donna x

Go get yourself a full body massage and request extra work around neck and shoulders. If there is anyone good who is mobile, even better cos you won't have to leave home.

Have you tried Cranial Osteopathy - that is brilliant. Doesn't feel like they are doing anything, but god you sleep well after and it's like you are floating.

Keep warm, and watch Life of Brian

Aww Sarah,

Sorry to hear you are having a tough time...

Its a good idea to take some time out for yourself.
Having a giggle releases happy hormones which is def good and a massage will help relax you.

I agree with Donna, pamper yourself tonight and snuggle up to your hubby! (And there is no harm in trying Mr Madsads advice either! )

Take care,
Cheeky
xx

Sarah,

I'm sorry but there is no easy answer.
Some days are tolerable, some are not.....some weeks are good, some are crap.

You are having more than your fair share of the shite ones - for now.

Life is a balancing act...a yin yan....so try to take each day as it comes with the knowledge that sometime in the future your scale is due to tip the other way for an extended period.

It won't seem visible to you right now but things happen for a reason .....what will be, will be.

Sometimes we worry too much about too much so as I said try to take it a stage at a time.

It starts here, today is yours....so sit back and relax.

Stay positive. You owe it to yourself.

My best wishes Sarah.

Hi Sarah
Sorry to hear about all the medical problems and your stress at work; takes me back - I haven't taught for 2 1/2 years but I remember the stress like it was yesterday! Try getting the doctor to write a sicky if at all possible. If not, really just try and wing it at work until the end of term. You're going anyway, so no need to impress anyone... plus the kids won't need so much input as it's near the enfd of term. Get the kids marking their own work if possible (not sure what age you teach), lots of bribes (oop, I meant rewards!). When I was pregnant and suffering from exhaution I awarded a raffle ticket for the best behaved child at the end of the day... worked a treat, especially if the naughtier ones think they are in with a chance. This may seem totally unscrupulous, but I was so knackered and feeling $hite.
Take care
Big hugs
Larissa

Hello

Sorry to hear about your problems. Have you tried Shiatsu as it is supposed to help with stress. Also smiling alot even when you don't want to fools your brain in to releasing feel good endorphins

http://www.shiatsu.org/

Hi Guys,
Thanks for all your replies. I will definitely try one or two. One in particular a few times, . Off to the quack at 4.15 to see if there is anything he can suggest. Amazingly I haven't felt at all guilty about leaving all my little angels, lol, with a supply teacher. Feeling much better already. 10 days to go then it's half term. We have already booked our chrimbo hols to try and make the waiting less stressfull. Thanks again.
Sarah

Hi Sarah,

Just read your thread and I'm gonna give you a ring later.
You really sound like you do need some time off and you are right not to feel guilty at all!!! All this visa/house selling/teaching crazy kids etc is enough to make anyone totally stressed out. If I were you I'd stay off until after Christmas. A supply teacher for the next 10 days isn't gonna effect the kids - so don't worry about it!!!
I'm waiting for a phone call this afternoon coz my mother is seriously ill in hospital with a burst blood artery in her brain and she having an operation today which she may not survive coz she's got heart, lung & asthma problems - so my sister has been told she may not make it through the anaesthetic.
So I feel a trip to the GP for some medication coming on too!!
Oh and thanks for the anniversary card - it is lovely
Once I've heard from my sister about my mum- I'll give you a ring.

Love
Shelley

OMG Shell, what a thing to come home to. I bet you had a great time in Paris too before you got that news. Fingers crossed Shell, chat to you later.
Love
Sarah

One less thing to worry about... Andrew's eyes are fine. He has one or two burst blood vesels in his eyes but apparently they can happen to anyone at anytime, absolutely nothing to do with diabetes.
Doctor wanted to sign me off for 2 weeks but I declined, accepted 1 week instead, also gave me some pills which I'm not going to take. Phoned the head this evening to tell him not to expect me for at least 2 more days, he didn't seem impressed in fact he gave a little giggle when I said that it was work related stress. Told him I want a meeting when I get back to discuss how we can avoid this happening again. I'm sure he thinks I'm kidding. Thanks again for your support.
Sarah

Hi Sarah, only just seen this post. Glad to hear everything with Andrew went okay, sounds like it was a piece of stress you could do without. A friend of mine had similar problems she was suffering with stress, that was until she broke down in the office, he changed his attitude after that. Hope you don't have to do this, but dont let him bully you into thinking its in your head - after all that you've been putting up with recently it'd be hard for anyone not to be feeling stressed by now! Good Luck xx

Shell - Sorry to hear your news, I've sent you a PM

Sorry to hear about your HT's reaction. Not suprised though, this is how they tend to react to stress - as it is basically their responsibility! Hope things go better for you and speak to your union if he continues to react like that, insensitive ******!
Take care
Larissa