Bipolar-Needs your advice

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Hi,

I am new to this forum and was relieved to see that there are other nurses out there suffering from bipolar disorder. Prior to my diagnosis I was a med/surg nurse. I was skilled and had all the compassion necessary that made me a great nurse, though internally I was not handling it well at all. I worked off and on for 8 yrs. The illness made it difficult to stay with any position for more than 2 years. I was finally diagnosed 4 years ago, but the nightmare was not over. I found a Dr. who ended up having me on a handful of pills which made my illness worse. I literally spent 2 years in bed and much of that time I was suicidal. Last February I had to admit myself for 4 days in order to see a new Dr. immediately. I am stable now and have a great Dr. In June I had "awaken" to find my life in a shambles. I had to claim bankruptcy, my house was a wreck and I had gained 35 lbs. In Sept. I enrolled in an RN refresher course to boost my confidence. I have done well in the classroom, but still suffered from panic attacks before clinicals. I did so well my clinical instructor wrote up a recommendation that I would do well on a med/surg unit or ICU. Due to financial situation I need to start working soon. I don't know if I can handle the high aquity level of the pts considering the high pt. load. I need your advice what should I do?

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Specializes in Neuro/Med-Surg/Oncology.

I just wanted to say welcome to the board! :icon_hug: Good for you to have to guts to take the step and do the refresher course! It seems like there is a fine line with you between knowing your limitations (good thing to know) and negative self-talk. Dont forget, you're STILL a nurse (not were a nurse). Your diagnosis of bipolar disorder doesn't change that fact in the least. Is it possible to start out part-time to get your feet wet? At this point, you would be starting from ground zero financially so any $$ would probably be an improvement. I think it would be harder to go full-time and have to cut back once you're used to the full time paycheck. Just my .02.

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Hi,

I am new to this forum and was relieved to see that there are other nurses out there suffering from bipolar disorder. Prior to my diagnosis I was a med/surg nurse. I was skilled and had all the compassion necessary that made me a great nurse, though internally I was not handling it well at all. I worked off and on for 8 yrs. The illness made it difficult to stay with any position for more than 2 years. I was finally diagnosed 4 years ago, but the nightmare was not over. I found a Dr. who ended up having me on a handful of pills which made my illness worse. I literally spent 2 years in bed and much of that time I was suicidal. Last February I had to admit myself for 4 days in order to see a new Dr. immediately. I am stable now and have a great Dr. In June I had "awaken" to find my life in a shambles. I had to claim bankruptcy, my house was a wreck and I had gained 35 lbs. In Sept. I enrolled in an RN refresher course to boost my confidence. I have done well in the classroom, but still suffered from panic attacks before clinicals. I did so well my clinical instructor wrote up a recommendation that I would do well on a med/surg unit or ICU. Due to financial situation I need to start working soon. I don't know if I can handle the high aquity level of the pts considering the high pt. load. I need your advice what should I do?

I too suffer from Bipolar Disorder and have since my early twenties. Your panic attacks or what you are describing are related to your anxiety of returning to the working world. You should discuss these feeling with your physician. Your anxiety is not that unusal and should not stop you from returning to work.

Grannynurse:balloons:

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Thanks so much for your support

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I too am bipolar, and the only problem I have had is working nights. It really exacerbates my symptoms. Plus, it messes up the times I take my meds (one makes me sleepy, one makes me wakeful) so when i rotate day/night, I take the meds at different times, which really makes a difference. You might want to consider working day/evening rotation if you are required to rotate (which if you get a hospital job, you most likely will).

Also, as someone else already mentioned, if you can financially manage to work part time, that might help. It would give you a chance to see how well you handle getting back into nursing, and if all goes well, you could consider increasing your hours.

Also, do what you love......some people might think critical care is too stressful for someone who is bipolar, but I have been doing it a year, and I really enjoy it, and is one of the lower stress jobs I've had in a while. It's not been until I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis that I've had problems, but that is a different animal altogether.

Good luck to you!

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Please dont let the illness define you!

Good luck!

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