Night Shift And Cancer

oraibi · Jun 6, 2003

NightMoonRN wrote:

As you can tell, I've melded the night life into my lifestyle and will remain there until I retire. These studies are a pain in my butt and I have a tendency to give them no credability. You can make them say anything you want them to.

Bottom line is that you all have to find your own balance and stick to it in spite of what the "studies find".

hi Moon!

after reading through all the varied responses to working

the night shift i am reminded of the danger of generalizing

in general

although it may not be the secret of the universe there

is this thing called a bell curve that looks like like a bell

sitting on its wide end _/\_

the essense or meaning is if you apply one formula

(or circumstance) to a cross section of people, for a few

people it will be the best thing that ever happened to them,

for a few people it will be the worst thing, and everyone

else will fall somewhere in between.

i see this in shift work and i also witnessed it in nursing school.

i saw people who i thought would make fine, compassionate

nurses flunk out becasue of the curriculum . . . and i saw

cold-hearted people *suceed* who i wouldn't want as my

nurse if they were the last nurse on earth!

i think the same goes for studies . . . it makes about as much

sense to dismiss them out of hand as it does to freak out

about them . . . the truth most likely lies in the middle somewhere.

one of our night nurses recently got in a car crash and the

forensic crash expert said she was probably going 120 mph

when she flipped her convertible . . . generally these kind

of accidents occur when a person falls asleep at the wheel

and their weight goes forward and they lean on the gas pedal

she was in the ICU for a week and has multiple serious

trauma injuries and will be out of work for (months?)

(i feel sorry for her but now i have to pick up some of her

nights and am not too happy about that)

so, cancer and heart disease aren't the only risks of sleep

deprivation . . . they don't call it the *graveyard* shift for

nothing . . .

ps . . . im glad there are people who like nights and i hope

they apply soon so i can give them mine!

[yawn] |:-O

~oraibi

oraibi · Jun 6, 2003

Originally posted by angelbear:

In answer to the sleep aid question, Yes I have taken ambien for over a yr but now d/t change in rx insurance plan it is not an approved drug. So my dr changed me to temazepam It is not working for me. With my fibro, RLS and PLMD it is hard to get my meds regulated therefore it is hard for me to get sleep. For the record my room is completely blacked out I have a fan and I stay on noc's even on my noc's off.

dear angelbear (and others with F-myalgia)

i am responding to your situation on list re: fibromyalgia and sleep as i bet there are many more like you out there

i have a very dear friend who has a serious case of fibromyalgia and know of several people at work who suffer from fibro

the statistics of the number of people with fibromyalgia are really staggering and i suspect one of the reasons for the sluggish recognition of this disease has to do with the potential healtch costs and disability claims loomng in the numbers

fibromyalgia groups are becoming more active on the web and if anyone wants to PM me i could try to gather a few web connections to get you started

best wishes

~oraibi

nightnurse49 · Jun 6, 2003

I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to find the higher incidence of colon and rectal cancer is linked to the fact that working night shift messes up your internal body clock and irregularity becomes a factor

EmeraldNYL, BSN, RN · Jun 6, 2003

I am so glad to hear that there are some people who love night shift! I plan on working nights when I graduate because I definitely do not function well early in the AM. It seems like night shift one of those things that people absolutely LOVE or HATE.

MandyInMS · Jun 6, 2003

To each his/her own I say...I've worked both and prefer nights..there was a big layoff some 7-8 years ago and I was moved to day shift for like 6 months...the stress of all the BS from the 9000000000000 people looking over your shoulder, the MD's, and all the nit-picking about drove me batty...give me the night shift ANY time over days...if one thing doesn't kill ya another will..yeah, I'm tired..but hell ..what nurse,wife and mother isn't???..lol...so do what you like and what agrees with you personally :)

New CCU RN · Jun 6, 2003

I think the key is listening to your body. If you are tired, sleep. If you are hungry, eat. etc, etc. It seems like simple stuff, but often people (nurses included) ignore what their bodies are telling them. If you can't work 60 hrs a week, then don't.

I work with many people that do too much overtime, are sleep deprived, and are putting their bodies at risk for developing problems. They tell the public to see a doc when something doesnt seem right, yet they don't for themselves. They don't eat right, they don't exercise.

Not listening to what your body tells you, not giving yourself a means to relieve stress, not working it out, not getting sleep..... these are the things that cause ailments.

New CCU RN · Jun 6, 2003

PS These are the words that my ninety one year old grandma taught me....... she is still caring for herself with very little medical history. She worked in the telephone company for many, many years, raised four children having her last one at 42 years old, dealt with an alcholic husband.

mattsmom81 · Jun 7, 2003

Great points CCU RN! :)

It's easy for us to get like litle lab rats running on a wheel...LOL!

And many of us become driven to do good, work extra, help out, etc... and tend to become 'human doings', forgetting to really listen to our bodies.

I honestly would not be able to tolerate nursing anymore if I worked days...too much BS in our healthcare system (and it's MUCH heavier concentrated on days!!! LOL!

HoJo · Jun 8, 2003

Man what will they pull out of their &*^es next? No matter what we are ALL going to die of some type of cancer. Choose your fate, (insert Pinhead here from HellRaiser).

A. sunlight= skin cancer.

B. no light= colon/rectal cancer.

Boy people aren't going to know what to do if they listen to the media, lol. They'll probably be living in plastic bubbles. :eek:

Tweety, BSN, RN · Jun 8, 2003

Originally posted by New CCU RN
I think the key is listening to your body. If you are tired, sleep. If you are hungry, eat. etc, etc. It seems like simple stuff, but often people (nurses included) ignore what their bodies are telling them. If you can't work 60 hrs a week, then don't.

I work with many people that do too much overtime, are sleep deprived, and are putting their bodies at risk for developing problems. They tell the public to see a doc when something doesnt seem right, yet they don't for themselves. They don't eat right, they don't exercise.

Not listening to what your body tells you, not giving yourself a means to relieve stress, not working it out, not getting sleep..... these are the things that cause ailments.

Can I quote you next time I'm sleepy before my shift ends?? LOL

Excellent points. I said that just today on my day off. "I'm tired, I'm listening to my body and taking a nap. Screw cleaning this house." :chuckle

It's amazing how many people abuse themselves and then run to the doctor later saying "I'm sick, fix me. But I want a pill, I don't want to change."

allnurses Guide · Jun 8, 2003

Tweety . . . . I did the same thing today. Took a three hour nap with my toddler. Heaven . . . .

I've spent the last two weeks getting ready for my 18 y.o. to graduate last night . . . . kinda burnt myself out.

. . . . and I'm sitting here enjoying a glass of wine waiting for a breeze to come up and blow through the window . . . hot here. And our cooler isn't in yet . .. just a month ago it snowed here.

:) steph

angelbear · Jun 8, 2003

Do any of you 3rd shifters suffer from guilt for sleeping so much through the day. I swear I only sleep 7 to 9 hrs but I feel like I could sleep a heck of alot more. But it makes me feel like a lazy person. I dont know why. Other people sleep that many hours but somehow I still feel guilty. My sleep doesnt seem as restful as it should and I have been doing this for 5yrs. Just wondering if anyone else has the guilt thing.