Ugh the last two weeks have been CRAP!!! But, some good has come of it. I'll share some good, bad, and ugly.
This week, I have learned:
1. Lexapro is a hell of a drug.
2. My body will crash my brain after 7 days of insomnia, and I will hallucinate by day 10.
3. My spouse has the patience of a saint.
4. The kickback of a gun is nowhere near as forceful as it looks.
5. I'm good at shooting!
6. I may or may not have a job right now.
7. I never expected to feel so indifferent regarding my employment status. It feels revealing to me to realize how unattached I feel to it. Maybe my dislike for it has really grown that much.
8. I feel like the Boy Child has suddenly grown more mature and its freaking me out a little. I know he's in the pre-teen zone, but I'm not ready for this. I find myself checking in on him often and smothering him with mama love just to make sure my boy is still my boy. *sigh* This poor child is stuck with me.
9. If you tell them to stop building....
They will.
(I find this hilarious to an inappropriate degree.)
10. The A-Hole Dog only likes the dog park if she's on her leash. She also acts like she feels incredibly violated when another dog sniffs her butt.
11. Go to the following thread. Go to top comments, find on page, type "Robb Stark". Only do this if you are caught up on GOT. Also, only do this if you are not offended by politics, and if you do not plan in any way to come back here and blast me for sharing a comment that compares Trump to Joffrey and Balon Greyjoy.
12. I like my ellipses with 4 dots, just like I like my lights (THERE ARE FOUR LIGHTS!!!!). Farawyn, we can take this outside if you want....
13. The spouse and I owe so much money in taxes that I can't even. We changed exemptions when we got blasted by state last year. Didn't matter. We owe thousands to federal and the state we live in. As in, we owe thousands to federal and thousands more to state. Can't wait to see how much the state I work in swindled. I swear to the Bearded Commander Riker that we had more money on one crappy income than we have now, with me working, too. Maybe I need to not work during grad school. :\
14. I am so excited for grad school!!!
I know I'm forgetting stuff. Boo! I'll remember right after the edit window closes, I'm sure!
I've learned I'm intimidated by wound vacs. So, I'm going to ask for as many as possible in my HH job until I get over it.
Yeah, me too. Just figuring out which way to cut the drape and then remove the backing and placing it around/over those gaping huge abd wounds. . . scary! And each nurse-mentor has their own special way of doing it and I get "no, not that way" all the time.
I've learned that I love being a grandma but having a 3 year old for 5 days is exhausting.
Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
De-lurking for a moment ... to yell out in agreement: don't do it!
I had a former employer find out I was bipolar when I was going through a tough depressive episode. She asked how I was out of sympathy, or so I thought. Stupid me, I was honest and told her I was bipolar. I went from stellar reviews (was even 'Employee of the Year' the year prior) to being forced out the door. It was awful. Nothing like making a depressive episode so much worse.
It was so long ago, thankfully I've made my peace with it now.
Sorry you're going through hard times (((hugs))).
I can't tell my husband no enough & this is exactly why. I'm so sorry that happened to you. *hugs*
Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
(((OC and Ixchel)))-I hope things get better for you both. I am also on the Lexapro bandwagon. I take it for mild depression and it also helps my IBS symptoms. I've had severe depression a couple of times in my life and my heart goes out to anyone with MI.
"Palliative care" has a such a negative image - in quite some cases when I introduce the palliative care program, patients or family ask "Am I dying?".
We have the most soothing NP as the head of palliative care. Her first conversations with patients and families often include goals and realities of prognoses. It often makes them incredibly angry, because they've never thought of the end before that point. Doctors sure aren't good at mentioning it.
I usually think she's good at distinguishing what palliative vs. hospice is, but I'm not sure, reading your post, patients are ready to hear or understand it at the time they're told. I wonder if there is a disconnect? Or, maybe they're seeking validation at the time they meet you. I'm sorry you get that question, though. It sucks to answer.
I got the zaps when I accidentally forgot my celexa while moving. I learned that celexa works better for me than Zoloft. I learned that you can quick cross-taper from one to the other in about 12 days so that you go from 125 Zoloft to 0 and 0 celexa to 40. I learned that mental hospitals don't have fun padded walls or jackets that let you hug yourself. I learned that apparently a full water bottle can be a weapon but a guitar supposedly can't. And I figured out two new coping skills...mandala coloring books and loom knitting!
Ahhhhh coloring!!! I have been doing this since my last day at work and the hubs has actually joined me in this effort. He's all embarrassed to know I'm on to his enjoyment of coloring, so he won't color without me. He asks, "are you coloring tonight?"
I also learned this week that I can taper off my Zyprexa...even after I have tapered myself completely off of it since define Thanksgiving and lost 16 lbs from it.
The weather changes have made it a necessity to at least get on it again; I know I very sensitive to atypical antipsychotics (seroquel made me have psuedosiezures) but they only make my PTSD and mood disorder trait symptoms subside and things are "clear"; the only downside is eat excessively on Zyprexa, hence the massive weight gain of 30 lbs in the first place-after losing 20 before.
Now I know what I know, I'm still going to give Zyprexa a chance while trying to curb my past aspirations of being a competing eater-wish me luck!
I learned that yurt camping is "the whitest camping ever." Which means it's not cool. But I'm doing it anyway (yurt is in the woods just off a beach, which is all I need to hear).
Admittedly, only white people will go broke paying to vacation like a homeless person lives every day, but still... . (Space provided for emphasis.)
Any "tent" providing plumbing is not camping. I stand firmly by my "whitest" POV.
Disclaimer: I enjoy camping. Pooping in the woods, cooking over a fire camping.
I'm wondering the same. I'd heard there were no companies wanting to continue to produce it. I can't remember the last time I saw it. Used to use it before flights. More recently turned to benzos, but now I'm too anxious about benzos to turn to benzos for anxiety.
The SSRI thing... depressed people are the people I feel sorriest for in my unit. They really do go bat guano crazy after being NPO for a while. None of that stuff comes IV, so if they're NPO, there's no taper, and the level of crazy and discomfort I get to see can be pretty intense. Someone has got to find a way to give SSRIs IV.
AGREED!!! I had a great conversation with a hospitalist about psych meds inpatient. We don't have a psych consult, so we end up with psych meds stopped all the time. Internal med MDs aren't qualified to handle psych, which is exactly what a judge will say if they're taken to court. Knowing now that I develop insomnia and hallucinate with abrupt discontinuation, holy crap. What are we doing to these patients?!
I've learned that ixchel is correct...grad school is hell and I am not even there yet. I am in the god forsaken statistics class that precedes my "hopeful, please, please, please, I'll sacrifice to any deity i can find that will let me pull this off" admission to a really awesome program.
I've learned that a graphing calculator will put a nice chink in my wall and still work afterward (see opinion on statistics above.)
I also need to put in a chime on a few things raised by others here...
Yes, bipolar is hell
Yes, Lexapro is nasty
and yes, the IRS is (insert several naughty words here). I fear with the grad school endeavor, it will get worse.
Le sigh......
I'm right!!!! Yay!!!!! (Can you send that to my hubs? lol)
Spidey's mom, ADN, BSN, RN
11,305 Posts
Yeah, me too. Just figuring out which way to cut the drape and then remove the backing and placing it around/over those gaping huge abd wounds. . . scary! And each nurse-mentor has their own special way of doing it and I get "no, not that way" all the time.
I've learned that I love being a grandma but having a 3 year old for 5 days is exhausting.
That's about it :)