PATIENT CASE STUDY: SUSAN DIXON

NRAS SURVEY 2010: ‘Employment and Rheumatoid Arthritis in Scotland: a national picture’

Former primary school teacher, Susan Dixon was forced to take medical retirement from work last year following her diagnosis with RA in 2005 that left her so fatigued and in pain that she no longer had the energy for the job she loved.

Susan Dixon from Edinburgh was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in 2005 at the age of 44. Unfortunately, Susan did not react to the initial medication she was put on well and continued to suffer badly with severe pain and fatigue that are the main symptoms of RA.

As a primary school teacher, Susan had been employed by the Council in Edinburgh for 12 years but she had to be signed off sick by her doctor at three monthly intervals because of her RA. Between 2006 and 2008 was seen by two different occupational health therapists and then finally in 2009, the decision was taken that Susan was not well enough to continue teaching as her health, energy and mobility had deteriorated so much. Although her school were very understanding of her situation, it took three years before Susan was finally able to take medical retirement, following numerous meetings and assessments that only added to the emotional and physical stress of living with the disease.

Now that Susan is retired, she is able to focus on staying well and managing the symptoms of her disease. The overriding barrier to Susan continuing teaching was the draining fatigue that is often associated with RA that unlike pain, cannot be managed through medication alone. Susan firmly believes that employers such as Councils should have more information about the specific challenges of living and working with RA to enable them to support patients through their diagnosis and treatment. A better understanding of the disease, its symptoms and the limitations it puts on patients would have been very beneficial to people like her.