I havent blogged since my shoulder packed up.

A repetitive movement at work, that I have been doing for 11 years now finally caught up with me. It caused a burning pain that just got worse and worse. Constant stabbing and burning, no position would relieve it, many sleepless nights were had.

Through the Occupational Health dept  I was able to get a couple months respite from doing the movement and treatment to heal the injury. I busied myself with doing all the other tasks there are at my job. I was not sitting around with my finger up my bum.

I have now reached a place where I can live with the pain. Its pretty good, with the right drugs. Some days its not even there at all. Sure there's a few side effects but its a small price to pay.

Now that the two months is up I want to slowly ease back into this motion. I used to do it for 5 hours a day. I suspect if I went back to it at that level the nerve would flare up again and I would be back where I started.

So I suggest to my boss that I start off slow, maybe just do it for an hour a day, building it up over several weeks. But that went down like a lead balloon. Its all or nothing apparently (yay cliches!) Well one day of doing this task from 7am till 12:30pm (with a break for a cuppa!) has flared it up. Its okay for now, but a couple weeks of this and I might go back to where I was. I have to hope like hell I'm healed and my body adapts to this movement.

Its been made clear to me by my boss that there is no place for me in the lab if I can't do this one task. I am devastated. I am dedicated to my job, but totally unsupported by my boss and have been thrown on the scrap heap already. I know that legally I can't be fired for getting a work place injury. But I love working where I do. I am really worried about what's going to happen. Maybe I'll be shuffled off to file medical records in the basement.

Its a stressful time.

The months and month of chronic pain had taken their toll on my emotional state and now this. I got to say my emotions are very close to the surface these days.

Probably start crying at NZ post ads now.