u/BleedingRaindrops

I was never sure what people meant before but Holy mother of HELL that went from a 1 to an 8 in SECONDS!

only lasted about 10 minutes too. That was nuts! Knocked me right over.

EDIT: just spoke to a nurse. A friend who doesn't work right now is coming to take me to the ER

Mostly just venting here. My coworker complains about me a lot and her words hurt me today, even though she didn't say them to me.

I'm actually quite lucky. I have probably the most agreeable boss I could have found. He is aware of my migraines because I brought it up during my initial interview, and he has been more than accommodating as I've navigated several different treatment plans.

Our current arrangement is that I can show up when I need to, and leave when I need to. The tradeoff is that I am employed part time without benefits and I don't earn PTO. Which is fine by me as long as I can earn a paycheck for the hours I am capable of working.

But every now and then I hear one of my coworkers talking about me and not in a kind tone. This morning as I passed by the coffee station I overheard her muttering to another coworker.

"... Show up when he wants. Leave when he wants. We have a set schedule!" *Loudly scoffs*

I don't need to speculate on what wasn't said. She thinks I'm lazy. She has made no secret in the past that she dislikes me, though I think my occasional forgetfulness is what bothers her the most, since her job is Quality Control so she's the first person to see all of my finished work. She always has a reproachful, seething tone when she returns mistakes to my desk, almost as though she thinks I do it on purpose, or that it should have been obvious and that I just didn't try. "Did you even read the notes?" Is a common line.

Most days everything is fine. I do my work to the best of my ability and I'm grateful to be allowed so much freedom in my schedule because I do actually need it. And I know my manager knows that. He makes it a point to remind me periodically how valued I am, and often says he doesn't have the skill for some of the units I work on. (I'm a micro soldering technician)

To put this in perspective, last year when my migraines were about 2-3 a month I got an offer from a much bigger company for a three dollar raise. I went to my manager about it and he said "wait, let me talk to Mike." (Mike is the owner of the company) Two days later they matched the other offer, and reflected it on that week's payroll submission, effectively backdating my raise by 2 weeks!

This is why I don't leave, but on the days like today, where I have to hear a fully abled person complain indiscreetly about me, it hurts. It hurts more than I let them see. I am doing my best. Some days that means I come in bright and early and work a full 8 hours. Some days I show up at 1pm and leave at 3pm. That's what I am capable of on those days, and the people who matter understand and are okay with that. It just hurts sometimes, and I wanted to tell someone who understands.

Thanks for reading.