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Title: Night shift - Need some tips and help! Post by Lizzie2 on Sep 28th, 2005, 12:16pm So - I need to gather some advice from those of you who work the graveyard shift at your jobs! Granted, my situation might be a bit different. One of the Bobs has the ability to sit on CH.com at night at work! (Sorry - I forget which Bob works at night! Is it BobG? LOL) Not only is our internet access restricted to the Jefferson sites and my juno email plus a few other things, most of my night shifts are actually pretty busy anyways! Most of the infants require care on a 3,6,9,12 schedule...so if I have 2 babies and even if one of them needs a fair amount of stuff done, it isn't much time that I can sit down before needing to start all over! Plus there's charting, consulting with the docs and respiratory, taking time to learn new things I haven't seen yet, making sure all things are documented in the computer charting system, giving meds, hanging feeds, gathering supplies (our rooms are never stocked by the time I get there at night!), and on and on. Can be quite busy!! Although on the whole, it's much quieter at night and less chaotic, which I really like. I have a bunch of night shifts in my next schedule (2 weeks from Saturday), so I need practice and some tips on how to get used to a couple of things! For one, I've had to flip my meds so that I'm taking morning meds at night, noon and evening meds during the night, and night meds in the morning. I don't mind that, but it is a pain when switching from day to night shift - even with a couple days off in between. I was hired for day/night, so they can basically put me wherever they want! (Especially since I'm new) So - I'm still having some trouble sleeping during the day! Yesterday I managed to sleep from 10:30 to 3:30 and then from 5 to 8 or so - which was pretty good! Today I slept from about 9 to 10:30, and then I haven't been able to get back to sleep since. I have about 2hrs and 45 minutes left before I have to get up and get ready for the 7p-7a shift. Any advice on this? I do take ativan as a normal night med for me (although I may be tolerant to my low dose in that it doesn't make me fall asleep as easily as it would most people) I also just started the Lyrica which makes me tired. I can't take Benadryl to help sleep since I'm anaphylactically allergic to it! Need some big time suggestions! :) Also there's the food issue. When the hell do you eat breakfast, lunch and dinner? Last night I made a spaghetti dinner at 9pm before I left my apt at 10pm to work 11-7. I ate a lunchable at around 3am, and this morning when I got home, I had skittles in the car on the drive! LOL As much as I may be able to flip my days for this, I can't fathom eating dinner food when I get home at 7am when I normally would do that on day shift! What do you night shifters do? And the last thing I just noticed this morning (well I've only done 2 night shifts so far!) - I was driving home in traffic out of Philly, and all the sudden I feel like...I'm leaving work at just after 7am on September 28, and I will be back at work at 7pm - still on September 28. Makes me feel like I work twice in one day and somehow my schedule seems tighter when I finish and start in the same day! When I work days, I often leave at 7pm and come back at 7am the next morning - but that's entirely different! It's the next day when I go back! So how do you deal with this one?? I'm all thrown off. haha Any advice on all these night shift things - and any other things I didn't write about - would be very helpful! This is definitely not an easy adjustment. I do have day shift stuff thrown in here and there, but I'm really going to mainly get adjusted to the fact that I was hired for day/night, so I can't just keep a regular night shift schedule all the time - I'll be constantly adjusting and readjusting for one or the other! The next two weeks after this week, I work all day shift - then I'll work night shift the Saturday after - with one day off in between. Hectic! I work 7p-7a tonight and then 11p-7a on Thursday night and then I'm off until Monday. But I have to switch myself back to day schedule, which also seems rather nuts. Do I just go to bed until noon and then make myself get up on Friday so that I'm forcing myself to switch on very little sleep? Wacky!!! Sorry this is long - but I need help! Carrie :) |
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Title: Re: Night shift - Need some tips and help! Post by Lizzie2 on Sep 28th, 2005, 12:30pm P.S. before you start Jonathan (LOL luv ya), I know melatonin is not produced in daylight and that everyone will tell me to take it when trying to sleep. But melatonin doesn't work for me - even at fairly high doses. I've tried it through several periods of time! Just had to add that tidbit! hehe Carrie :) |
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Title: Re: Night shift - Need some tips and help! Post by Jonny on Sep 28th, 2005, 1:00pm It is Boob G, he should be able to give you some tips.....Hes been doing wierd shifts for close to 173 years ;;D Wierd shifts were invented in Vegas (by Boob G) ;) |
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Title: Re: Night shift - Need some tips and help! Post by Lizzie2 on Sep 28th, 2005, 1:06pm LMMFAO Bro, Well at least ya made me smile. My eyes are that bleary red colour, and I haven't even gotten hit today! I take my abortives before going to work at n ight, and most of my beast visits are during the night. The beast hasn't caught on to my schedule change and has thus far left me alone during the day with the abortives beating him back at night except one or two. Fingers crossed the beast ain't smart enough to switch shifts! LOL Carrie :) |
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Title: Re: Night shift - Need some tips and help! Post by ozzy on Sep 28th, 2005, 2:04pm Even if melatatonin doesn't make you "sleepy" I would take it anyway as it may do all the other work without the sleep side effect (meaning it signals your body that it is nightime). You could try valerian with passion flower as it is an excellent relaxant and might help you sleep soundly. Theanine also helps with the relaxation and sleep. I take theanine with the melatonin. As far as the food issue goes. Forget about what is "supposed" to be breakfast/lunch/dinner foods. Divide your food intake into 6 small meals or 5 or 4 or 3, but aim for 6 then make sure you get 40/40/20 (protein/carbs/fats) try to eat some of those carbs as complex cabs (oatmeal), and the fats, make them good fats, flax, fish, olive, avocados) It doesn't matter what you eat when, its the quality that matters and if you feel like eating cereal for meal #1 or 3 or 6, well that is up to you. All in all, it's not so bad. Ozzy |
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Title: Re: Night shift - Need some tips and help! Post by Jeepgun on Sep 28th, 2005, 2:52pm Food: Make your own and take it in in tupperware plastic thingies. Don't get the lab fridge mixed up with the staff fridge. Man, they HATE that!! [smiley=laugh.gif] As for sleep, do your best not to get ANY sunlight during daylight hours, and when you wake up at night, preparing to go to work, turn on ALL the lights and soak up as much light as you can. Eat a BIG breakfast before going to work. If you do take melatonin, take it in the morning, when you get home. When you get home, if you must have light, keep it dim. Turn off the computer and television a half hour before laying down to sleep. With all of these things, you are regulating the natural melatonin/seratonin levels in your brain and giving it artificial jet-lag so that you are wide awake at night and you are able to sleep normally during daylight hours. Good luck. |
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Title: Re: Night shift - Need some tips and help! Post by Lizzie2 on Sep 28th, 2005, 3:21pm Thanks you guys...all good tips and I'm sure I'll give most of them a try over the next few weeks as I'm adjusting to night shifts here and there. All together, I slept 3.5 hours today. I guess that's better than 0 or 1. LOL Ozzy, Do you know anything about the interactions of those herbs with medications? I take quite a few - let me just list them because if you see one that pops out at you, then you could just tell me that one. They are: Nexium, Concerta, Verapamil, Lyrica, Lamictal, Arthrotec, Petadolex, Zyrtec, Flonase, Ativan. And then prn are O2, amerge, frova, and ultracet. On occasion zofran for nausea, but that's rare that I take that. I'm also taking an antibiotic right now called Avelox - just started it for the pulmonary and laryngitis crud. I have a script for some other antihistamine nasal spray, but haven't filled it yet. (Fun, eh? I'm my own walking pharmacy - thing is, most of them actually do help at least make life slightly tolerable LOL) You know my fear about herbs and interactions - so I can look them all up myself, but I wanted to see if you knew of any or had any good resources where I could check them. Petadolex has no known drug interactions, but they aren't sure - so my doc, when I started the petadolex, told me that if I have any funky side effects, it is most likely due to a med I'm taking interacting with petadolex but not from the petadolex specifically. Interesting. As far as melatonin, I only said what I said because at the conference for the American Headache Society they said it's not produced during the daylight. I guess they made it sound like even supplementing in the daytime wasn't going to be useful - but, I may have either heard that wrong, or else it may have been a comment on the fly and not entirely accurate. Good advice about the meals - I have to eat every 2-4 hours or I'll pass out. Just have to figure out what. I know I don't eat healthy stuff because I have to buy food out all the time. And Frank, I do have the blinds shut during the day, but you know...light still gets in. I really am usually pretty good at sleeping during the day - much better than most people. I think I've developed it because of the nighttime insomnia, CH, and all the hospital stays and wacky schedules from the NDPH. Who knows. I have to go to bed when it's light since I can't get home when it's dark out - but I did notice on my day off when I went to bed at 6:30, I slept solid until 4 or so in the afternoon - I'm convinced that's because it was dark out still when I fell asleep. So are ya saying I shouldn't eat my spaghetti dinner before work? hehe I wasn't sure if the spaghetti was gonna help me get through the night with the complex carbs or if I was going to seriously crash when the sugars metabolized quickly, which I often do. And your comment about the lab fridge - that cracked me up! We don't have a lab fridge but we do have one drug fridge that is locked and also a fridge for breast milk! Now that would be a gross thing to mix up. LOL However, we only have one fridge in our lounge and it is obviously for food. :) OK well I'm up now and have to go eat something and start getting all organized and such. I leave here at 5:45 to catch the 6:03 train. Thanks again you guys for the advice! I'm sure I'll ask even more questions as time goes by. Carrie :) |
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Title: Re: Night shift - Need some tips and help! Post by rextangle on Sep 28th, 2005, 3:54pm Red Bull might be a good help to get rid of shadows during the night shifts... unless you have a bad ticker... |
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Title: Re: Night shift - Need some tips and help! Post by E-Double on Sep 28th, 2005, 6:37pm Amphetamines and Whiskey to come down ;;D Seriously, good luck!! When I was supervising at a group home yrs ago. I did my share of overnights. You will get used to doing whatever you need to because you are you ;) |
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Title: Re: Night shift - Need some tips and help! Post by Kris_in_SJ on Sep 28th, 2005, 8:04pm Lizzie - I feel for you deeply! When I was still nursing, I did a number of things. When I was on full time night shift, I lived my life as if night were day. In other words, have a BIG breakfast at 7 PM, watch a little TV and go to work. Always took a "lunch" to eat around 3 AM and a snack for 6 AM. Home and in bed by 10 AM. (Of course this was before clusters.) Even on my days off, I tried to stick to a similar schedule. I was also able to take Benedryl and/or other sleep aids to help. I can't imagine doing what I did then today. Of course, now I'm old as dirt and now I have clusters. I haven't a clue how to advise you about your meds. Hell .... I'm not any help at all! Keep the blinds drawn and the room as dark as possible during the day when you're trying to sleep. That's the best I can offer. Sorry. Kris |
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Title: Re: Night shift - Need some tips and help! Post by Gator on Sep 28th, 2005, 9:52pm Can't help ya with the meds, but like Kris said, you just have to forget about what is supposed to be and live with what is. I worked the graveyard shift for 15 years. (1983 - 1998) I just treated my day according to my work schedule. I got up at 8pm, ate breakfast, went to work, ate luch at work, got off duty about 8am, went to the gym and worked out or went to the bowling alley with the guys and bowled a few games and had a few beers, went home, ate supper, got my stuff ready for the next shift, watched a little boob tube and went to bed. When we went to the bowling alley, people would ask us "How can you drink at 9 o'clock in the morning?" We would tell them that to us it wasn't 9am, it was 9 pm. They just looked at us like some alcoholic mental cases, which truth be known, we probably were. We had fun, though and we didn't crack up like the people who tried to hold onto the "normal" day/night concept. Those guys were always tired, fell asleep on their posts, got in trouble a lot and one or two actually did end up wearing the white dinner jacket that ties in the back. You'll get it figured out. |
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Title: Re: Night shift - Need some tips and help! Post by Opus on Sep 28th, 2005, 11:07pm Carrie, I can't add to much accept that you are right to be careful with herbs and such. For me valerian, St. Johns wort, and melatonin are CH triggers. As for sleeping you can try visualization, think of your body relaxing and as it does imagine yourself sinking into the bed. I used to do it before I had to sleep sitting up. Opus/Paul |
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Title: Re: Night shift - Need some tips and help! Post by juvy on Sep 29th, 2005, 2:07am LOL Carrie, I use to do shift work and found that you sleep when you can and eat what you want when you want. Sorry but that's all the advice I have :) Juvy |
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Title: Re: Night shift - Need some tips and help! Post by BobG on Sep 29th, 2005, 4:25am Yep, I’m at work right now, it’s 2:25am. I work 7 graveyard shifts, 2 days off, then 5 day shifts, 4 days off, then 7 swing shifts, 2 days off, then 6 day shifts, 2 days off, then repeat. Been doing it for 35 years. I like it. Most of my days off are during the week. I can get things, appointments and stuff done. No crowds, everyone else is at work. I don’t like Saturday and Sundays off. Everyone has those days off and makes for lines and crowds. I only work 8 hour shifts, not 12 like you do. I just figure there are 24 hours in a day. Doesn’t matter when you start counting, it always comes out the same. I have to give 8 hours to the job, actually 9 with travel time. “Normal” working stiffs will go to bed about 4 to 5 hours after getting off work. Then sleep their “normal” 7-8 hours. I try to stick to that schedule on each shift. After swingshift, I get off at midnight, I will be up for about 4 more hours, go to bed at about 4am and sleep until I naturally wake up, usually around 11am. Then I’m free until leaving for work at 3pm. This week I’m on graveyard, midnight to 8am (I don’t have a lunch hour or coffee breaks. I eat my meals on the job “as operating conditions permit”. That’s in my contract). When I get off I’ll be free to do what I need to do for the next 4 hours or so. Then to bed from about 1pm to 9pm. Get up and start over. Meals? I don’t have any set schedule. I do always have a lunch on the job. Lunch can be at 4pm, 8pm or 4am. Or whenever I’m hungry. Food is not a big thing to me. I eat what I want, when I want. Some people eat to live, others live to eat. I’m in the former. Sleep during the day? We have miniblinds and a pull-down blackout shade so it is dark in the bedroom. One thing I must do is stop doing what I’m doing about a hour before bedtime. Read, watch TV, relax and clear the mind. I do have to be sure to stick with my sleep/wake plan on the first day of a shift change. Otherwise I’m screwed up for the rest of the week. I’ve had a lot of screwed up weeks over the years. One of the drawbacks about shift work is a family life. My wife works 7am to 4pm. There are times when we hardly see each other. I’m going to bed when she’s just got up and she’s going to bed when I get up. By then, maybe it’s a good thing. Your 12 hour shifts may not work like my 8 hour schedule. It’s something you’ll just have to figure out for yourself. Sorry to be so long winded and not giving any helpful advice at all. (Retirement is next June. YeeHaa! Then 30 years to sleep or not sleep whenever I want) |
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Title: Re: Night shift - Need some tips and help! Post by ozzy on Sep 29th, 2005, 8:25am Carrie, I really don't know about herb/drug interactions , but PDRHEalth www.pdrhealth.com has very good info on herbs and their interactions. As far as melatonin, not working during the day. My experience is that it does. I have, by mistake when on travel for work, I have a couple of times taken Melatonin by mistake at noon. Let me tell you, it was almost impossible to stay awake. In both cases I didn't realize what was going on, until later (so it wasn't placebo, at all). As far as the food. Instead of eating out, save some money, cook it yourself. Get some chicken breasts and prepare them (boil, broil, bake, grill, whatever, it's all in the spices), same with potatoes. Now freeze them in meal portions, add salad to that or other veggies and you have meals to go. No more BK or MCD and cheaper. You prepare them all after work, along with "dinner" . Hope you get used to this shift. Ozzy |
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Title: Re: Night shift - Need some tips and help! Post by Lizzie2 on Sep 29th, 2005, 2:32pm Well I certainly had no problem falling asleep when I got home today! My typical thing on day shift is that if I'm working a 12, I get home at around 8:15pm, and I'm lucky if I make it to 9 before crashing at least the first time! So after the 12's on night shift, I still try to go to bed ASAP. Finally found that the cure for being tired on night shift and then being able to sleep like a rock after it - is simply to pick VERY busy kids who need some kind of care every single hour - both of em. LOL I got everything done that needed to be done (well...except for getting the doc to listen to me, but I guess you can't have it all...LOL) - but I really only sat down the last 45 minutes to write my notes! Right around midnight I started getting overwhelmed and very stressed out, but it worked out okay! Ozzy, are you suggesting I cook? hehehehe Making spaghetti (that is, thawing the sauce my mom made and boiling the noodles) is about the extent of my cooking skills. (My future husband better have some sort of domestic instinct - because I certainly don't LOL) If it requires more than 5 minutes of my attention, I just don't cook it. LOL But then, a good bit of my problem is that back when I took topamax (which wouldn't have been my choice, trust me), my taste for food got thrown horribly out of whack, and it's never been the same since. I was never a picky eater and now I'm hard-pressed to find anything I like to eat at all! I take a PB&J sandwich to work once in a blue moon. ;;D Thanks for the link to the info on meds and herbs. :) I like this night shift stuff frankly. As busy as I was last night, if I'd had the same stuff to do during day shift, it would have been a billion times worse because there's all the docs running around all over the place trying to change one thing or another and tests and procedures being done - all our management is there on day shift. Frankly, night shift is just much much quieter, despite the fact that it's still quite busy. I wish I didn't have to flip back and forth with days and nights, but in the next schedule, I work more nights than days, so at least that's something. :) Carrie :) |
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Title: Re: Night shift - Need some tips and help! Post by yikes-another-one on Sep 29th, 2005, 7:32pm Do not cop out on good food.... even the dollarmenu at wendy's or McD lists salads and fruit options now... you've had pizza for brekfast before, so eat whateveryou can whenever you want to. eggs are not just served between 6 and 9 am... best of luck, maybe the nght shift will keep you soooobusy you will skip the beast visits alltogether. that's what happened to me at the daycare (but it keeps me fromdaytimehits,notthe evening ones.) anyway, Eat healthy to STAY healthy. (I know, easier said than done...believe me, I kno) |
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Title: Re: Night shift - Need some tips and help! Post by Lizzie2 on Sep 29th, 2005, 8:30pm LOL a cynical line from one of my favourite books: "Eat right. Exercise hard. Die anyway." [smiley=laugh.gif] |
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Title: Re: Night shift - Need some tips and help! Post by TerryS on Sep 30th, 2005, 2:41am Hi Lizzie2, I'm TerryS old timer and not as active as I use to be. I been working the night shift for 18 years 9:30 PM to 6 AM. Clusterhead for 34 years. #1 thing is make your bedroom as dark as you can. No ringing telephone in you bedroom. I use melatonin 3mg. and a CVS drug store brand sleeping jel pill and 1/3 Ambien. For the Ambien you need a subscription for. Eating breakfast is when I get up. Your mind my say it's dinner time but your stomach will feel better eating breakfast. I work a 10 nights in a row and 4 days off, every other weekend. Sunday night my stomach doesn't like anything so I eat light like fruit. I don't know if I have helped you or not but if there is anything you want to ask me, please do. Working nights and turning you life upside down is very hard on you system. It's not for everyone. Like meds. they don't work for us all the same. God bless and good luck, TerryS |
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Title: Re: Night shift - Need some tips and help! Post by Jimmy B. on Sep 30th, 2005, 7:20am They're all great tips!!!...I worked the night shift (11pm to 7am)...when I was a rookie at my job & the only tips I can give you is resist the urge to sleep when you get home...you'll spend al day getting to sleep. My normal routine was ...work 11pm to 7am, eat dinner/breakfast when I got home...horsed around...i.e. errands, watch TV, play on the computer until about 1pm...eat lunch...and sleep from 1pm or 2pm to 10pm...eat Breakfast/Dinner and get ready for work. I found if I went to sleep, as soon as I got home...my sleep was real restless. Just remember you still need your normal amount of sleep. 4 or 5 hours ain't gonna cut it. Also (if you use caffeine) stay away from it after 5am. Oh yeah...if you got the time...buy a telescope...I used to love checking out the stars on my breaks ;) Jimmy :) |
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