Do nurses make bad patients?

[zacsmimi]

Ive been a RN for 14 years, and am 43. My background in nursing varies - child/maternal, L & D, psych, education, corrections... no med-surg. I am day 5 post op from a bilateral reduction mammoplasty.

I guess my question is that I feel so damn lousy. Everyone seems to think I look great, it will be so much better in time, etc etc and I feel overwhelmed most of the time. I dont feel good, I dont feel in control... people joke and say "oh, you're a nurse... thats why". I dont get it.

Im on Percoset which Im down to only at HS. I get the sweats, I get dizzy, I feel nausea sometimes. I feel like a HUGE pain in the a**. My pain is consistanly at a 3 or so but I cant stand the side effects of the meds so I take Ibuprofen. Which Im not sure does anything.

I hate the way I look. I look like a victim of violent crime. I have cried a few times and feel foolish. I regret this whole thing. I was a 38 DDD with lots of back problems and I had all the right reasons but I feel like this has gone on forever already. And people tell me it will be months more before I feel differently...

[Jamesdotter]

>>I wish nurses would just treat me like everybody else and assume I haven't got a clue about looking after myself...

I've always tried to do that with my MD & RN patients on OB. Other than feeling free to use technical language (read "jargon") I'd go through all the same information that I would use with any first-time mom. It usually works well, for the most part.

I'm happy to hear that you're feeling better. It's always good, I think, to hear from someone who's been there, done that, etc.

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

Breast reduction is a very emotional situation. Never be afraid to talk and ask people for help, be it physically, emotionally, and mentally.

[sharann, BSN, RN]

5 days post-op is nothing. This is so normal no matter what the surgery, so don't feel like a wuss. YES, I have noticed in my practice that nurses indeed ARE the worst patients (I include myself in this lot). We know too much and we do like to delegate!!!

Pamper yourself as much as possible and feel better soon. (Give it a week or two)

Hugs(((((((((((((()))))))))))))