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How do you tell a new employer that you have chronic migraines

I've been suffering since I was 10. Some years have been better than others. I'm leaving a job after 7 years. I've accrued lots of leaves with this job so it's ok that I take the time off and my supervisor is understanding. How do I break the news to my new employer? What has been your experience

  1. This issue is being discussed more frequently now than ever. I'm glad to hear you had a good relationship at your last job. What has caused you to leave after investing seven years? Far too often, employers are not educated on working with individuals with invisible conditions or are not interested in investing any time to be educated. Do you feel using the same approach with your new employer would be as effective as it was with your previous one? I understand that making the decision to disclose your illness to an employer is a personal one. Is your migraine disease well-documented by your doctor or specialist? Documentation can be a great tool in helping you to be taken seriously, as well as opening the door to programs that can protect your job and illness-related absences, such as FMLA leave if you are in the US. Here is a link to a forum thread that covers this topic.
    https://migraine.com/forums/do-you-work-with-migraines-share-your-experience-here
    I hope this helps you. Please let me know how things are going moving forward. Never forget you are stronger than you know and deserve to be seen, heard, respected, and loved! Warmly, Cheryl migraine.com team

    1. This is a great question, . I remember doing this with my employer years ago before migraine sidelined me from my career. After talking with my doctor about how difficult it was getting to make it through a day at work consistently without vomiting, he encouraged me to pursue disability. I made an appointment with my supervisor and was as honest as I could be. She of course was aware that I had been missing work and had even seen me having to leave the office to be taken to the ER. It was no shock to her that I was telling her this had become an issue that I couldn't surmount. I think I had told her much earlier and within a month of my starting that job that I had chronic migraine when I was needing to leave early - that part came up naturally. Telling her I needed to start the process of FMLA was more formal and I couldn't help but get emotional it was such a hard time and so much was at stake - I was heartbroken to be considering leaving. I think when you approach your supervisor as a human and be as honest as possible, it can help. To let them know you've been trying to manage this condition quietly and on your own but things are escalating to a point that you need to bring it up. If you are starting a new job, I'm sure some people would encourage you to wait and approach it until it actually is an issue and you are needing to leave early or it is impacting your position. Others might say it's best to be upfront from the start and let them know that you are living with this condition and working with a doctor to do your best to manage it but you wanted to be as responsible and forthright as possible to let them know at the outset. You might want to get a sense of the environment of a new workplace before deciding how to broach this as every workplace and supervisor are different. Hope this is somewhat helpful in giving you some ideas. Please let us know if you have further questions or need for support. We are here for you. Warmly- Holly -migraine.com team.

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