Interview B2 Margaret
R This is the second in a series of follow up interviews and again I’ve got some sections that I want to go through with you today. So can I just ask how things have been with you since we last met?
P Not too bad at all. Erm I feel it a bit today as if, I’ve been on my feet all day. [R right] and I’m absolutely shattered. erm I really could do with a hot bath and straight to bed you’re so tired that you don’t even want to have your dinner when you come home. [r right] erm and my job used to be standing all day lucky it isn’t now and its quite funny I laughingly say I couldn’t go back to this now I really couldn’t go back to this standing all day.
R So was that when you first had the accident that you were standing all day?
P No in years gone by my previous [p] before the position I’m doing now. Previously I used to be to do quality inspection which means I would stand all day looking at things and writing notes er I might sit down at the computer for a few minutes but I would say 80% of my day was stood up. Er Now that was the type of job I was doing when I had my first accident. But luckily I’ve moved on since and I now sit. [R right] Which I think has helped a lot this time. And I try to move and to break up my day. Because erm they do try to encourage us at work if you work at a computer to break your pattern of work all day so you don’t get fatigue and obviously you don’t get repetitive strain . So I do try to sort of be quite aware of breaking my day up, not sitting in the same position for too long. This is the first time in quite some time I’ve had to stand all day. The only time I’ve sat today was when I had half an hour for lunch.
R Right. So it’s a bit of a shock to the system then.
P Oh it’s a real shock I couldn’t do that sort of work again I really couldn’t. And I started off sort of quite upright you know thinking [lightens voice ] yeh lets get on with this and my head was nearly touching the table at 4 o’clock. I don’t know how to cope with this please [high pitch voice] please let me finish so I can go home.
R That’s ok. Has there been any change in your condition since we last met?
P er No.
R So it’s the same?
P Yeh. erm I’m no I no I find that I’m quite stiff or I do get in some pain if I’m stood watching, my son plays football, If I’m watching him after quite some time I’ll notice that I’m feeling a bit stiff and I try to walk about a little. erm And he doesn’t really play for that long I can’t remember probably 40 minutes at their age I’m really ready for a sit down at the end of it.
R So there’s been no problems at all then?
P No. No but not a deterioration either which is quite a good thing.
R Can you tell me are you seeing anyone at present regarding your injury?
P No
R Are you having any treatment at the moment?
P No if it if it started up like now I’m quite stiff because I’ve been stood up all day I just take a few pain killers and have a nice warm bath, get an early night and rest.
R And that [P interrupts and continues
P It usually is enough that I can continue. It doesn’t make it go away completely [R no] but it’s enough that I don’t have to take time off work and that’s the main thing really. You don’t want to sort of lose your job. As long as you can get to work and can physically manage the whole day then I think that’s a good thing.
R How do you feel about your experience of healthcare with the doctors and everything this time?
P I Think I don’t think it’s improved. Well you can put it two ways. One is I’m fortunate because it’s the third time so I can compare and you could say I was unfortunate because it was the third time. But I don’t think it’s moved on. [p] I really don’t think that you get any better assistance now than you did do then. ERm you know they they’ll sort of the first thing your doctor wants to give you is drugs anti inflammatory normally combined with a pain killer and they usually dependent on your level of pain they can be quite strong. Er And then they’ll tell you to come back if it persists or the drugs don’t agree with you. And [p] possibly you might require physiotherapy but past experience has told me you can wait quite a long time to see a physio and when you see them I think the time they can actually spend with you is limited because there is a waiting list. So it’s a bit like a conveyor belt you know, you don’t really get an awful lot of information and a lot of assistance and what you are given is quite limited.
R So how long is it since your first accident, Can you remember
P Alex is 11 it was roughly about 9 years ago. He was just under 2. He was at that age when he wanted picking up all the time but he was pretty weighty.
R So what you are saying is in the last nine years the situation has not really changed. [P talking over
P No. mm I think it would really benefit people. Erm I’ve found through experience that not all methods of pain relief suit all people[R mm] and it would be nice if they offered a little bit of a wider variety. [R right] Perhaps you know I had electric shock treatment which did nothing for me what so ever but then acupuncture did.
R So[p] it’s trial and error is what you are saying.
P It is and it was my physiotherapist who helped me with that bit she did acupuncture because we were getting no where she suggested and I think in her own words you’ll either really take to it or you won’t, there’s no between. It either works or it doesn’t. [R yeh] and I was very fortunate that it did work. I did get a lot of relief so I knew that was something that I couldn’t get it on the NHS but if I wanted to pay privately for it because I would be seen quicker and obviously it was an option.
R When we spoke last time your concentration was poor is it still effected in any way at all.
P erm I think I find that my concentration drifts a little when I’m tired.
R When you’re tired?
P And I tend to be tired if I’ve had to do something quite physical like stairs. You know er I can think of an instance when the manager wanted to talk to me and he’s chatting away and I’m just thinking shut up [P starts laughing] and I had to say look I’ll talk to you in the morning, I’m really tired and I’ll have to get off I’m really sorry but I’m not paying attention that I should. Can I leave it while the morning.
R So what was happening then that affected you in that way with your concentration?
P [quietly] erm Something concentration I think it’s like doing something really really physical and you’re absolutely drained and somebody’s trying to tell you something and you go a bit woolly.
R You’ve just switched off really
P Yeh
R What about your sleeping pattern has that changed in any way?
P er I think my sleeping patterns not bad at the moment. er I’m still tired when I go to bed I think that [P laughs] I fall asleep when my head hits the pillow. I might wake up once or twice in the night erm but I can normally get off pretty quickly so I’m fortunate my sleeping pattern seems at the moment to be quite reasonable and I think the warmer weather helps. [R yeh] Because I don’t usually it’s because there’s a draught and I’d wake up and feel stiff [R yeh] The weathers a lot milder in the evenings and I am getting quite good sleep.
R That’s good then that so you’re feeling good.
P yeh, yeh.
R Right. So how do you feel about your accident now?
P Erm I don’t really give it much thought to be truthful because there’s nothing I can do about it. It happened it’s just one of those things and erm [p] ye know I was there and I can’t really say who is to blame. I can’t say whether it was me it was him.[R right] You know you just have to think er one of those things and let it go.
R Ok ehm Are you still having pain from your injury?
P Erm No I think it has subsided now it’s there I can feel tightening but no I feel quite stiff because I’ve been stood up all day you know between my shoulders.
R When you say you’re stiff do you get any pain with your stiffness?
P erm A little but moderate.
R Moderate nothing.
P Nothing that I would reach for drugs for no. You know if you’ve dug the garden all day and you sort of think ow I shouldn’t have done all that it’s that type of pain.
R So it’s an awareness.
P Yeh.
R An awareness.
P A tightness and then you think oh I’d better you know have a nice warm bath in the hope that you’ll be alright.
R Ok. So as you are feeling at the moment then if I was to say describe that pain on a scale of 1 – 10 were would you put that pain.
P I’d probably put it on its quite er as I think the weather helps. It’s warm and I’ve been warm all day at work and its not been cold and draughty so I’d say 2 to 3 . Its quite manageable.
R It’s manageable quite manageable. So are you taking anything for your pain relief?
P I tend not to take so much when the weather is milder I do think if you’ve had erm a sort of back injury you tend to feel it more acutely when the weather is cold for some reason. I think it must be because you tense up when you’re cold and then you sort of feel it and if there’s any ware, where were it’s a bit damaged you feel it that bit more intensely. When you are warm and relaxed it will ache but you tend to you can ignore it.
R So it’s much easier to kind of switch off from
P yeh
R The kind of discomfort that it produces then. You mentioned the acupuncture earlier on did you have any this time.
P I didn’t no I was considering going back to my osteopath. erm I didn’t go for the acupuncture because I knew that I would have to get on a waiting list to see my physio and my physio I think she’s in her fifties and I don’t know if she’s still there and it’s another physio. It was only by luck that my physio offered acupuncture you know so I thought mm it’s a case of going private and I couldn’t afford it. [R right] It can be very expensive Er my last osteopath was £25 –[ P mumbles]
R So have you been to your osteopath this time?
P I haven’t no. I’m really trying not to [R right] erm because when you tend to go it really means it tends not to be one they usually want to see you a couple of times. Its usually slow like unknotting like whatever the injury is and erm you’re probably looking at anything from £100 – 200 and so it’s a case of can I manage that [P laughs] I’ll really see if I can manage.
R Ok erm
P It’s quite expensive
R Yeh I guess there is that side to it as well.
P Which you know you tend to sort of put it off as long as you can until you know and it it you hope to goodness it will go away and when you think you really can’t cope you just give up and pay the money.
R What do you feel is the best method for managing your pain then?
P Er Trying to be sensible about the sort of weights that I lift. Maybe the time I stand. Er I’m quite fortunate there’s a lot of men who work in the same office as I do and if I’ve got heavy boxes they’ll gladly move them into the car for me and I’ll get them to take them out at the other end. So I am using the I’m a lady and ladies don’t lift.
R [Pstarts laughing] Right that sounds like a get out clause rather than the real reason.
P I do try to get out of anything like that if I can and people at work, I’ve worked there for a long time and they’ll never ask me to carry heavy boxes. They’ll just do it without any help from me and they’ve actually bought a trolley where you can pile boxes on to like a porters and you can pull them along. So [inaudible] Not just for me but I actually put the order in.
R Right so in a roundabout way that feels like quite useful thing to do.
P It is and I’m quite fortunate that I can ask people for assistance and genuinely they will help me. So I’m quite lucky.
R How do you feel about asking people to help?
P It’s alright
R You don’t mind.
P If they were gentlemen they’d offer to lift things for me anyway. [P laughs and R joins in]
R Ok if you say so.
P No I don’t mind at all. Sometimes I’ll repay the favour in other ways. I’ll make a cup of tea things like that.
R Ok you’ve mentioned a little bit about how you’ve managed at work. erm Can you tell me how the injury’s affecting your life at present?
P erm things like gardening we’ve got quite a substantial back garden and I do it all apart from mowing the lawn I tend to do everything. erm sort of pruning the trees if you noticed the hedge hasn’t been cut because I can’t lift the trimming fork at the moment.
R I hadn’t noticed but now that you’ve pointed it out to me I can see what you mean.
P Normally it’s one of my jobs. I enjoy the garden because I’m in an office all day, I find it really therapeutic. [R yeh] But there’s quite a few jobs which need doing that I’m looking at now that I should have really done at the end of the year. And erm they weren’t done so there’s quite a bit to do now like tidying up. There’s quite a bit to do now and I’m gonna have to ask my other half to give me a hand because I’m going to have to dig out quite a large plant and I know I’m going to struggle. You know with it being a its one with quite long roots [R right] and I know I’m going to have trouble where you know before I would have just have had a go.
R You would have done it yourself but you need a bit of assistance with that
P Yeh.
R Anything else any other way.
P I don’t really do any heavy lifting at home that’s what I’ve got a partner for [ we both laugh] I think the heaviest thing I lift is the hoover up the stairs. erm obviously the spring cleaning I’ll ask my partner to move the bed and things like that. Move the furniture but I would probably have asked him to do that anyway. [R yeh] Injured or not. I don’t think its had a huge affect. It did for a time I couldn’t walk the dog because we have quite a large dog. He’s a Rhodesian ridgeback and he’s 7stone and he pulls on the lead he pulls and for a little while I had trouble walking him because I had to be quite careful.