Becomming a new nurse make you literally sick?

UM Review RN, ASN, RN · May 12, 2008

Yes. It's my theory that I can keep pushing through a stressful period of time, but when it goes on for years at a stretch (as it did throughout nursing school), I'll break down after the stressor is off and I can relax.

In Suzanne Gordon's book, Nursing Against the Odds, she discusses the effect of a high-stress job and high cortisol levels on the overall health of the nurse.

It's so important to work out different coping strategies to keep yourself healthy.

racing-mom4, BSN, RN · May 12, 2008

We were just talking about this same topic the other day at work. Some new nurses do get physically sick when they start, could be their immune system is down due to stress, then factor in they are around all these new germs each day----yet in our little bubble of a hospital we also realized that new nurses who were also mothers did not have as many call ins for being sick. Our logic is mothers have already been exposed to a wide variety of germs from kids being at school/daycare and our stress threshold is most likely higher than non mothers.

SoundofMusic · May 13, 2008

I have had several weird symptoms since starting -- terrible headaches, vague abdominal aches, sadness, anxiety, etc. I've had to get meds to help me sleep definitely at times.

I've just joined a gym to work off the really toxic stress, because I think I was under it during the first half of orientation. Lately it's not so bad, but it can get bad quickly. The gym and working out more has helped a lot, as does yoga and a small glass of wine after my shift.

I also have some tranquilizer type meds to take when it's seriously bad, at night after I get home. It sounds bad, but they calm me down fast and I can actually get a good rest and feel rested the next day.

NurseLyla · May 13, 2008

When I was a brand new nurse I felt that I stayed sick both physically and mentally. Normally I would get a cold once a year but as a new nurse I had sneezing and sore throats every couple of months. I started out working nights and my sleep became so messed up and I was so tired all the time my eating and exercise habits that I had kept up so well before I was a nurse went down the toilet and I gained 30 pounds in a year! I had to relearn when to eat and how to squeeze in activity and I have after 3 years of it finally begun losing the weight I gained. I have lost 10 pounds of it so far. I remember dreaming about work a lot then too. I once dreamed that I had gone to work and by the end of my 12 hours I still hadn't so much as assessed a single patient or done a bit of my paperwork. I became a grouch with friends and family and I became a pessimist about life. I went through a depression because I hated the stress of my career. I felt that I had made a huge mistake by becoming a nurse. It was such a letdown from what I had hoped it would be while I was in nursing school. I completely changed as a person and didn't recognize myself. Being a brand new nurse was one of the hardest things I have ever gone through but it has gotten somewhat better with time. I have no doubt that it can make you sick. :crying2:

imanedrn · May 13, 2008

I have had several weird symptoms since starting -- terrible headaches, vague abdominal aches, sadness, anxiety, etc. I've had to get meds to help me sleep definitely at times.
I've just joined a gym to work off the really toxic stress, because I think I was under it during the first half of orientation. Lately it's not so bad, but it can get bad quickly. The gym and working out more has helped a lot, as does yoga and a small glass of wine after my shift.
I also have some tranquilizer type meds to take when it's seriously bad, at night after I get home. It sounds bad, but they calm me down fast and I can actually get a good rest and feel rested the next day.

I'm in the same boat. I was already suffering from GAD. The pressures of nursing made it worse. If it weren't for my meds, I'm convinced I would not be able to work as a nurse -- period.

ekanderson80 · May 14, 2008

I have had alot of changes in my life since graduating in December. I moved from the large city that I lived in my entire life, to a much smaller community two hours away to be with my fiancee. Past boards, started a new job and career, built a house, and got a new puppy. With all that being said, I can say that I have had more than my fair share of abdominal pain and gi upset "episodes" (you fill in the blank). :bugeyes:

SoundofMusic · May 14, 2008

Stress will do weird things to your body -- like the exzema, or rashes, or hives, or depression -- you name it.

I have both had this job and have had three babies. I will go out on a limb and liken starting into this career like having a baby -- it's a HUGE stressor and something that you have to adjust your life to. It's a major life change. I feel almost as altered by it as I did when I gave birth and was adjusting to a newborn -- seriously!

I am also now squeezing in exercise, REALLY trying to enjoy my days off now -- and I DO so enjoy them and all the little things I used to take for granted. I'm surviving ok six months into it, but some nights I still come home feeling like I have scrambled eggs for brains and just an incredible heightened stress level that takes HOURS to come down. It's bad.

*ac* · May 14, 2008

Yes. Me, too to most of the above.

bisgirlRN · May 19, 2008

I wouldn't say literally sick, but yeah, i can remember those first few weeks of starting out my new position as an RN and feeling a funny feeling in my stomach each time i drove to work, but the feeling has passed now that i've been a nurse for 8 months.

all_dressed_in_white · May 19, 2008

This thread has been a great comfort to me, knowing that im not alone, so thankyou everyone who has contributed.

I havent even finished uni yet, but already having physical and mental health problems, they flare up and seem to make study/work placement and casual home care work almost impossible. Im terrified of not being able to cope in my first year out. But knowing that it seems pretty common does offer some strange ironic kind of comfort.

By the way, the Mum thing. I totally agree. I havent had children yet and constantly feel less capable because of it. Mothers have already had to master extreem stress, multitasking, time management, liability and care. I almost wonder wether i should take time off and have kids before entering the workforce, because i truely do believe it makes nurses just so much stronger and resilient.

Morettia2, BSN, RN · May 19, 2008

I noticed that my IBS has been at an all time high, GERD too, I have constant stomach aches, acid reflux to the point where I wake up and my mouth is black from back flow of acid in my stomach during the night(happened to me as a kid so it didn't sacre me), vomiting, constantly in the bathroom after I eat the smallest thing..and well somethings that my GI doc. would kill me if he knew. I have put my self on a bland diet, but I have been dealing with this IBS for almost 19 years. And I made the mistake of confiding in a co-worker..then everyone asked me if I was pregnant I SAID NO, they persued the face and I had to announce to the entir staff that I had my PERIOD..that shut them up.. I am almost 11 months into my first year. I was first Dx as a kid at 9 y.o., I am 27 now..it acted up in college a bit probably from the drinking I did.hehe..but I noticed the last month or so, it's awful. I have been at my job like I said for about 10 months. It was fine up untill a few weeks ago, no big event triggered it, BUT I think that the fact that my family is in another state andI have't seen them in 2 months, b/c of my schedule and I just found out my best friend at work got another job at another hosp. in another state and is moving, maybe is what triggred it....