[zoeboboey]

Originally Posted by angelchick

I am so tried of being labelled and judged and FIGHTING that label to prove my capabilities. We as nurses, of ALL professions should have the MOST understanding and compassion for those with mental illnesses!

You're awesome, I am so glad you pushed and got what you needed! Now make sure you document any aside comments or evaluations you get, should anything come up in the future, so you are not "mysteriously" flunked out. I've seen people kicked out of school for having their hair parted on the wrong side - so CYA - and I applaud your willingness to help other students in the same boat!

[angelchick]

Thanks ZoeBoboey!

Your words of encouragement are greatly appreciated! I just adore this wonderful site, all the fantastic support and geniune people!

Cheers Hon.

[Transplant Nurse]

Wow,

I have been a nurse for 6 years, travelled for the transplant team a couple of those and ICU also. I have Generalized Anxiety Disorder, diagnosed after a death in my immediate family. Effexor has been a God-send and has stabilized it the last 10 years. Most recent I had some major stress (financial and marital), and physical symptoms, it ends up I have Lupus, and am being treated with immunosuppresants. My mind became REALLY disorganized at this time (typical of lupus), and I had struggled with depression. I had to be off for a surgery related to recurrent infection (first medical absence. My boss fired me, as she figured I would be missing work a lot. I assumed it was best to leave ICU anyway with all the stress and my disorganization. Time to find a new area to nurse in. Well, in Indiana if you are fired you have to report it to the State Nursing Board with detailed explaination every two years when you renew. If I say I was sick with lupus they can request medical reports and lists of medications; all of this is public record. If they are concerned about my use of xanax (I take it at night to sleep) or use of vicodin (I use less than 10 a month for my joint pain), this is all public record. In fact if you search online you can see details of anyone who appeared before the board and it has even stated that the board required a consult and recommendation from Pain Management before renewal was granted and even then it is with probationary status so they can re-evaluate in a year.

H-E-L-L-O-???? Anyone here see discrimination? Oh, and HIPAA is does not apply to health profession boards. ***** I am afraid to tell anyone my condition, for fear I will be labeled, and further discriminated against.

I just want to do my job in an area I can handle (insurance maybe), and not have the board meddle in my personal life. I have never broken the law and deserve some health privacy. Anyone have any ideas on how I could go about establishing some protection for nurses with illnesses mental or not?

[zoeboboey]

Originally Posted by Transplant Nurse

... I just want to do my job in an area I can handle (insurance maybe), and not have the board meddle in my personal life. I have never broken the law and deserve some health privacy. Anyone have any ideas on how I could go about establishing some protection for nurses with illnesses mental or not?

I really hate this about licensing boards. I don't know if Maine (where I am) does this.

My license is on inactive status (my choice) and I am curious, if I re-activate, if I will have to deal with this also.

I guess if you contact an ADA lawyer (NO idea how to find one) you could get this info. I hope it works out very well for you!!

[TerpGal02]

whew this thread really makes me feel a whole lot better. I have JUST started taking my prereq's to make it into an accelerated BSN program and I have been having some apprehensions about this because of my mental illness. I just wondered if there were other nurses suffering from MI or wether I would be able to "hack it" as a nurse with my own MI. I was FINALLY correctly dx with Bipolar Disorder and GAD at the beginning of this year. Before it was always MDD and I even had one pdoc tell me that I was borderline personality, which I never agreed with. I didnt really meet ANY of the DSM criterea for it other than hx of abuse as a child and self injury. I think they confused my BP symptoms for personality disorder. My manias are not the fun type................I get very angry and irritable. But I digress. The reason I decided to become a nurse is due to the excellent care that I have recieved in the past AS A PATIENT. Ive been hospitalized 2x and I really feel like the excellent care I got from nursing staff those 2 times were really what helped me on the road to recovery. But I always wonder if I will be able to handle it. I think now with the right dx and right meds (I finally feel like a NORMAL person for the first time in my life on the meds I take right now-trileptal and paxil) and good therapy that I should be able to handle anything.

[zoeboboey]

Originally Posted by TerpGal02

I think now with the right dx and right meds (I finally feel like a NORMAL person for the first time in my life on the meds I take right now-trileptal and paxil) and good therapy that I should be able to handle anything.

Good for you

As long as you know how to spot early warning signs and how to take care of them right away, you should be fine! For example, if you start sleep depriving yourself, you know you are setting yourself up for mania, and you know what your sx might start to be, etc...

I wish you good luck and good health!

[HearingImpaired]

i know there are quite a few nurses with bipolar illness, but are there many with schizophrenia? my schizoaffective friend wants to be a nurse. she does well on meds, and i think she can do well in nursing school. but i'm not so sure that she can handle the stress of nursing. luckily for her, the application for a nurses license in her state does not ask about mental health. her mother was a mentally ill nurse, but she lost her nurse's license unfortunately, after she gave a patient the wrong medication (she was in no shape to work).

so do you think it is realistic for my friend to pursue nursing?

[zoeboboey]

Originally Posted by HearingImpaired

i know there are quite a few nurses with bipolar illness, but are there many with schizophrenia? my schizoaffective friend wants to be a nurse. she does well on meds, and i think she can do well in nursing school. but i'm not so sure that she can handle the stress of nursing. luckily for her, the application for a nurses license in her state does not ask about mental health. her mother was a mentally ill nurse, but she lost her nurse's license unfortunately, after she gave a patient the wrong medication (she was in no shape to work).

so do you think it is realistic for my friend to pursue nursing?

I have NO idea.

What do you mean about the mother, did she have schizoaffective disorder too?

The biggest danger lies in someone thinking they are ok, and they are not.

Not much of an answer is it? I guess her doctor would be best able to say. And nursing regs in her state.

[ccmommy]

Hello everyone!

I have been reading this thread and trying to gain some insight of what to expect because I am hoping to start school to become a nurse. I have been so excited about this endeavor because I believe I am finally at a place mentally where I can accomplish schooling.

I am BiPolar, I have essentially known this for the last 20 yrs. and I was formally diagnosed many times and refused to accept the reality of the diagnosis because I would have long stretches of what I thought was normal behavior and I just figured that when life got messy so did my moods. I thought this was normal for everyone so, I figured the doctors were wrong and became defiant at their diagnosis because I knew better. I had complete control or so I thought.

Well, things got really ugly for me and I went thru a few years with numerous triggers and was all over the place. I knew in the back of my mind that there was a real issue at hand, but I chose to drink it away. As I learn now, this is very typical BiPolar behavior. I was only prolonging the madness.

I eventually went to AA and became sober which I have almost 1 yr. now. Big deal for me because it is the longest stretch of any sobriety I have ever had. I am really grateful for the program because I finally got the courage to address my MI and in a sense embrace it as a part of me. I started therapy and meds just shortly after getting sober. It has not been fun as I have suffered some serious side effects and significant over-medication at the hands of a really careless doctor. I went off all my meds in December and crashed pretty hard. I slowly started getting meds back on board after I made it clear to my doctor that I was going to be a participant in my care and was not going to accept medications that I felt uncomfortable on. ( I have since changed doctors and reported my previous doctor's negligence in treating me )

So, anyway with my head clear, I started believing I could finally pursue my dream of becoming a nurse. ( I have started this process 3 times and dropped out of school before making any significant headway in my education ) I started to get my ducks in a row, researching schools, getting FA, etc. Everything seemed to be going well and my moods are stable for the most part so I started to gain confidence.

The other night I decided to research my schools of choice and make sure I understood fully the pre-reqs req. so I could plan accordingly. Well, low and behold I read that if I have been treated for a MI in the last 5 yrs, I must be reviewed by the BON before even starting the program. To be honest, my heart sunk when reading that. I spent so many years hiding in the shadows from my MI for this very reason alone, to not be scrutinized. I am finally willing and commited to my treatment and now I have to be put on display to be judged. Very heart-breaking and humiliating. I don't know what to do.

All I can think about is whether to hide my MI or be strong and take whatever I have to take to accomplish my dreams. Right now, I am a little on the manic side as I am adjusting to new meds and so all I can do is obsess over this.

I know I am rather long-winded but, I guess I just wanted to vent my frustrations and reading this thread has been very encouraging. Although, I am still unsure whether to disclose or not.

Thanks for reading, hopefully I will find the right solution for me. I really want to be a nurse, I have wanted it all my life. I don't want to see this crumble before it starts. Guess I just need some encouragement.

[zoeboboey]

Originally Posted by ccmommy

Right now, I am a little on the manic side as I am adjusting to new meds and so all I can do is obsess over this.
... I know I am rather long-winded but, I guess I just wanted to vent my frustrations and reading this thread has been very encouraging. Although, I am still unsure whether to disclose or not....Thanks for reading, hopefully I will find the right solution for me. I really want to be a nurse, I have wanted it all my life. I don't want to see this crumble before it starts. Guess I just need some encouragement.

I think that if I was going to go BACK into nursing I would have to have been stable for at least a couple years w/ both manic and depressive symptoms, just for safety's sake. I'm talking pretty much NO manic symptoms ... because once I get manic/hypomanic, I can't seem to judge "how" I am. I underestimate whether I am safe or not.

However, there is nothing that says you can't do some pre-requisites ANYway - you would be studying in a non-clinical setting - and if you found before it was time to apply for nursing school that it was something you couldn't do - you would be on your way to a degree of SOME kind anyway... which is a good thing. College is a great experience IMHO and you learn as much about yourself as you do any subject matter.

Meanwhile I wish you a lot of luck, and prayers sent your way for healing of your condition and a happy life I am so glad you are well on your way to health and have found a better doctor - gee we are so vulnerable when we have mental illness and some Dr starts throwing meds at us - we need them but we need the RIGHT ones in the right dosages! take care!