Rebecca’s Case Story
Payments Team Manager, 36, Fibromyalgia
Situation at assessment
Rebecca was experiencing a range of symptoms including extreme fatigue, widespread pain and muscle stiffness, and brain fog. She was also struggling to sleep because of pain, and finding daily living activities like showering, housework and cooking were too tiring. She spent a lot of her time lying down on the bed and didn’t feel she had the energy for much else. Having experienced symptoms for over a month she was referred to a Rheumatologist and Endocrinologist who, after undertaking a range of tests, diagnosed Fibromyalgia in March 2023.
At the time of referral in July 2023 her fatigue was worsening, and she was experiencing significant ups and downs in her pain and fatigue. She was also being supported by a Clinical Psychologist who she was seeing privately through her personal medical insurance.
Rebecca had been off work just over three months. Her role as Payments Team Manager was a cognitively challenging one in a fast-paced environment. Although she was highly motivated and her employer was very supportive, she was struggling to see how returning to work was realistic. This added to the decline in her functioning and mood.
Summary of intervention
“It has changed my life and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. ”
Rebecca completed all eight sessions of the programme with our clinicians. Her first two appointments were with one of Vitality360’s Specialist Occupational Therapists, Beverly Knops. Although Rebecca was keen to start back at work as soon as possible, Beverly encouraged her to take a further four weeks off to help her establish her routine and pacing strategies and to stabilise her symptoms.
In addition to helping Rebecca identify her baseline of activity, sessions included a discussion about sleep routines and strategies such as switching activities and taking breaks through the day. Beverly also had a clinical review with her in the middle of the remaining sessions to check her progress and discuss setback planning.
Her sessions with the Vitality360 Career & Employment Consultant, Amanda Mason, focused on identifying what challenges she might face in the workplace and possible solutions. Amanda provided her with a framework to help her communicate her needs, explored managing boundaries, and provided a written Return to Work Plan. We supported her in this process by using a couple of the four sessions with Amanda for coaching once she had returned to work.
Outcome
Clinical outcome measures used before and after the programme illustrated improvements in pain, fatigue, anxiety, depression, functioning, general wellness, and self-efficacy.
She has returned to work with adjustments in place that have included a long-term temporary change to her job role, a graded phased return, initially working from home with adjusted start and finish times. Her employers and manager have been exceptionally supportive and enabled her to maintain condition management strategies in the workplace (e.g. breaks), as well as supporting her to reintegrate and to adapt to the changes to her role having been off for 6 months.
Clinical Outcomes
Clinical outcome measures used before and after the programme illustrated improvements in pain, fatigue, anxiety, depression, functioning, general wellness, and self-efficacy. The programme involved 8 telerehabilitation sessions with integral assessment.
Here are some comments from Rebecca herself about her experience and the benefits of the rehabilitation programme.
“The whole team have been fantastic and I wish everyone with this condition had the opportunity to work with you guys and get the benefits I have.”
How much would you agree that Vitality360 has supported you to produce unexpected vitality in your life and give you confidence that you will have a healthy future?
The advice that Bev and Amanda have given me has changed my life for the better and has enabled me to really look at my day and structure it to help support my condition.
Please tell us 3 things that have changed the most since working with us:
I am able to be honest with myself and accept my health condition and limitations
My ability to structure my day in work and to look at triggers for stress has improved massively
I am less hard on myself and this has improved my overall wellbeing and mental health
Please tell us 3 things that we have done that have helped you the most
Be honest with me that I was doing too much
Give me the tools to go forward with confidence
Help me understand that if I relapse there is a plan to follow to get back to myself again
Please tell us 3 things that we could do better or differently
Space out the sessions more so that the last one is not so soon after return to work. It would have been super helpful to have a session when I was back to full time hours and then a review about 6-8 weeks later.
“So rewarding working with this client who quickly took our advice on board and made really positive adjustments to her ‘toolbox’ of condition management strategies. Great to hear how much difference our help has made to her and that she is successfully managing back at work.”