Night Shift might be killing me

Nurses Stress 101

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Any night shifters here? I'm only 30 (soon to be 31) and I feel like my body is falling apart. I've been working night shift since college (about 10 years give or take). I've gained weight, can't sleep, my joints ache - i feel like a 90 year old!!! Advice?

Welcome back. I don't know if we can help, but we are here LOL.

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Specializes in ICU, Psych.

GLDLPN, for what it's worth, I love Provigil. I don't take it very often at all, not even once a month, but for those days when I'm stupid and schedule a night shift right before a class or have something important to do the day after a night shift, that stuff is awesome. It's not an amphetamine so there's no "high" or no jitters with it. I never have any trouble going to sleep at night and there's not a crash a few hours after taking it. I'm awake when I want to be awake, and when I want to sleep...I just go to sleep.

Personally, I say try it.

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Specializes in Home Health, Nursing Home.

It's one of my biggest worries post-nursing school.

NIGHT SHIFTS. Haha.

I'm so particular about my schedule and I realize it's shunned.

But, I go to bed usually the same time every night. And my life, currently, is structured around a pretty detailed routine.

However, I did start out as a CNA doing 11PM - 7AM and basically (after hating it) tried to just rework my stuff. It was really hard and eventually my school suffered the most as a result. At that time, I was going MWF's to school starting at 10 am. So, I would basically nap after working 11-7. This was the period I weighed most (223 lbs).

I'm basically willing to move, wait, and anything else to get a shift that best suits my life how it is now.

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Specializes in ACNP-BC.
I am on nights...12hr shifts...I hate it! The 12's I like but I just cannot sleep more than a few hrs during the day....I feel horrible. Since going on noc's I am sick all the time (never was before) I could cry at the drop of a hat (not a cryer either). I now hate to go to work ( I loved it on days). I have had what I thought was a tooth ache since Thanksgiving....turns out its TMD caused from gritting my teeth & clenching my jaw while I am asleep!!! Geezh :uhoh21: I have missed 3 days of work since August & feel terrible about it, but I could not help it. In my previous job I worked over 3 years & never missed a day....so yes I would say nights are killing me!

I know this person posted this so long ago, but I could have just written the exact same thing! I am working 12 hour night shifts and hate it so much. I have such a hard time sleeping more than 4 hours during the daytime at home...and then end up so tired at work and constantly have an icky headache all the time. Ugh. I asked my supervisor to switch to days (which I truly loved at this job), but in case that doesn't happen, I am already looking elsewhere for other positions. My work hours are causing way too much stress for me all the time. I don't want to stay miserable.

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