New job on 3rd shift. Struggling. Need tips

[TigerGalLE, BSN, RN]

I took a new job in a specialty I've always wanted. I've been working day shift in Adult ICU for years and just switched to NICU. I love the babies and am exciting to be there but 3rd shift is kicking my tail. I have a toddler who I feel like I never see when I work multiple days in a row. We have to work every other weekend which consists of Friday, Sat, Sun night. Those weekends I never see him. I just cried and cried when I woke up this afternoon because he was at his Papas and I know I won't see him until tomorrow.

I have a 45 minute commute and the drive home is soo hard. I try to sing, roll my windows down, chew gum, dance. It is brutal. I take 5mg ambien to sleep but still wake up every hour or so until about 1:30. I have black out curtains and a fan.

I have been on 3rd a month. Does it get easier? I have a constant headache. I have got to pull myself together here. Ugh talk about a whine fest

[ChipNurse]

Hi! I feel your pain, I work rotating days/nights every 2 weeks. I too was having trouble with the night shifts. I find that if I go to bed at midnight/1am and wake up at a reasonable hour and then take a nap for atleast 2 hours before work I do much better. I just can't seem to sleep through the day like others can. I also try to schedule my days in a row, since if I work the night before, I am usually so tired that I can sleep until 2 or 3pm. I have also found that drinking coffee all night makes me MORE tired, and have found that staying hydrated with water all night seems to help me from nodding off at the wheel. I also take my lunch later (3am) which seems to give me more of a boost towards the end of my shift and give me more energy. I snack on granola bars until my lunch to keep me energized during my shift. Once I get home I take a 25mg dose of Unisom and can sleep for atleast 6 hours. Night shift is hard, I respect those who do it full time and plan of doing it for many more years. Hang in there and get yourself on the list to be on straight days. Good Luck!

[Biffbradford]

Eight hour shifts are much more bearable than 12 hour marathons. I did 12 years of 8 hour night shifts (15 minute commute), but only lasted a year doing 12s (1 hour commute). I had no problem doing the job, but I kept falling asleep at the wheel (not recommended), and could not recuperate from the effort of being off schedule. Personally, I'd stay off the Ambien. It's never worked for any of the patients I've ever given it to, and now the company just cut the recommended dosage in half. There's no secret recipe. Some make it, others don't.

[Twinmom06, ASN, APN]

are you doing 12's or 8's...I do 8's and on the nights I work I come home by 8 and generally go to bed by 9 and sleep till 2:45. Get up, get the kids off the bus and do homework, dinner, baseball etc till about 6:30 ish and then lay down again until about 9. if I'm off the night before I get a good night sleep and then lay down around 5 pm and sleep 4 hours.

its hard with the kids but once you find a groove it will get easier. I also recommend Benadryl rather than Ambien

[BSNbeauty, BSN, RN]

Night shift isn't for everyone and that is OKAY. I don't have any advice except for you to really self evaluate to see if this shift is really for you.

[TigerGalLE, BSN, RN]

Thanks everyone. Doing 3 12 hr shifts a week. The weekends are the toughest because I feel so separated from my son. I think the headache is stemming from dehydration. Going to work on that. I am still breastfeeding so I want to avoid Benadryl as it will decrease my already dwindling supply. It is a small level 2 nursery and the waiting list for days isn't too long. I love the pace of nights but that drive home is killer.

[kool-aide, RN]

I chew gum and keep a rubber band on my wrist and snap myself with it if I'm getting tired while I'm driving home. My commute home during rush hour is 45 minutes.

[rnme2013]

I eat breakfast during the drive home to stay awake during the 1 hr commute. Take a shower when I get home then 5 mg of melatonin (phone ringers turned down). That will keep me asleep until about 2 or 3 pm. I also incorporate a quick workout (30 mins) and that keeps me energized.

[sistrmoon, BSN, RN]

Another vote for 8s here. 12s kill me. I have a 35 minute commute. I've been doing nights for 7 years. Only about a year of that was full time though. I stay home with my kids all week then do 3 8s Thursday, Friday, Saturday. I feel like it's a good balance. I do have to take unisom or Benadryl to sleep but I've always had insomnia even on a day schedule.

[sistrmoon, BSN, RN]

P.S. I'm a breastfeeding mom too. I take Benadryl without effect on my supply. This is from kellymom:

"Milk supply: A common concern is that the sedating antihistamines might lower milk supply but, per Dr. Thomas Hale, there is no current research supporting this belief - only some anecdotal reports. If you feel that your supply has decreased, it could simply be a byproduct of decreased nursing frequency or dehydration due to your illness.

If you feel that a medication is the cause of a sudden drop in milk supply, then stop taking (or decrease your use of) the medication - if the med is indeed the cause, then supply should increase again soon after you stop taking it. When using an antihistamine, it can be helpful to step up your fluid intake quite a bit. As with any medication, take it only as needed, and discontinue use as soon as you can."

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

There have been plenty of threads on surviving and thriving on night shift -- it can be done.

Take your sleep seriously -- retrain friends, family and neighbors who cannot respect your sleep time. Take Ambien if it helps. Or whatever works for you. Personally, I use Ambien. I have the landline silenced, put my iPhone on "Do Not Disturb" and have an industrial fan on the medium setting both for air movement and white noise. The salesman laughed at me when I said I wanted to buy the noisiest fan they had, but it works! (I've had an ex-boyfriend move into and out of my house while I was sleeping with that fan going, and I didn't hear a thing!)

Hydrate -- but do not caffienate. (I get a latte from the Starbucks on my way to work, and that's the only caffiene I drink.)

Treat your meal break as a meal time -- I've seen dozens of new nurses just snack all night instead of eating a meal, and they run out of steam. Bring salads or the leftover potroast from Sunday's dinner or whatever you would normally take for lunch. I also have to eat "breakfast" at 8 AM, just before I go to bed or I wake up starving around noon. Cereal with milk or granola with yogurt works for this.

There are more tips here:

https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/night-shift-newbies-531465.html

[TigerGalLE, BSN, RN]

So I found out today that I may be able to go back to my ICU dayshift position. I don’t want to be that flake that only lasts a few months at the new job. But I don’t know if 3rd shift is going to work for me either. Apparently my hospital has a policy that says if you transfer and it doesn’t work out you can go back to your old position as long as it has been less than 6 months. Man what do I do?