Nursing school does some crazy things to my body....

FLmomof5 · Feb 19, 2009

Calm life through chemicals! :lol2:

OK. I am not in NS yet...But, my recommendation would to seek out your PCP and determine if he/she has any recommendation. I don't have acne issues (never have). I do have the same nervous requirement to urinate, but that only happens on test day - so I know how you feel.

YEARS ago when dealing with working FT, 5 kids - 2 of which are ADD/ADHD, and an alcoholic/addict husband out to destroy us all.....I sat at my desk staring at my computer and just couldn't put my hands on the keyboard. I was self aware enough to realize that I just wasn't functioning. I went to HR. My HR lady was great! She was a BTDT....and gave me the name of her PCP (I was not only fairly new to the company, we relocated for this job.) I took Celexa and WOW! what a difference! I hadn't even realized how bad I let it get!

I took those for a time...and realized after the divorce that I didn't need them anymore. That was 6 yrs ago. However, the combo of FT employment - with a bad economy that ultimately cost me my job....having my kids laid off as well....one moving home....pre-reqs and a son almost as bad as the man I divorced.... I went to the PCP 2 months ago. Taking the same med at a lower dose. I am functioning well right now.....only time will tell the effect of REAL nursing school.

Call a therapist or a PCP. It can't hurt!

goodstudentnowRN · Feb 19, 2009

Ever since I began nursing school 6 weeks ago, it has thrown me into a nervous/anxious wreck full of acne, diarrhea, heart palpitations, frequent urination (I get that when I am nervous/stressed)....It's driving me crazy. I know I am normally an anxious person, but even in my teenage years I must have gotten only a few pimples. Now I am getting them like crazy. New ones erupting everyday. I swear I "go" 4-5x/day and have an urge to urinate every 1.5 hours on the dot!
I am doing pretty well in NS, I just wish I could calm the heck down! How do you handle the stress effectively? :icon_roll

Please try to calm down. You will be okay. It is too early for you to feel so stressed. I have three courses left to complete and I am feeling a bit tired now but I must go on. This is my dream :icon_roll

fiveofpeep · Feb 19, 2009

right now, I am a zombie. I have a sleep deficit of 10 hrs in the past 2 days and have clinical until 11pm tonight. The world goes black and I have to grab something everytime I get up. im probably hallucinating...who knows. But after I finish this assignment, I am looking forward to glorious sleep before clinical, even if it's 30 minutes!!! :hngon:

NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN · Feb 19, 2009

I just get these crazy knots in my neck, I crave carbonated drinks like crazy ( calorie free of course), and always feel so darn tired. Well it comes with the territory.... gotta love yourself some nursing school.

brynprough · Feb 19, 2009

I am so glad to hear it's not just me! I have the worst acne since beginning the program. I can't wait until I graduate this May, maybe my skin will look normal again!

shrimpchips, LPN · Feb 19, 2009

ugh, I feel you! But I think my excessive urination is d/t increased coffee intake But I really hate being so stressed out...I'm constantly breaking out, I'm sleep deprived, I've been eating more (but I'm trying to make healthy choices!)...I feel like I'm always on the edge! I'm also getting one of my gen eds out of the way - Effective Oral Communication - and I HATE HATE HATE giving speeches. I'm not good at them and I get a slight panic attack while doing them. We have our second group presentation tomorrow (which is fine...) but in two weeks we start doing individual speeches and I'm freaking out! I have to do four of them, too. To be honest, I think this class is bothering me more than my nursing classes

Things that help me relieve stress:

1. Aromatherapy. I have been buying these little roll-on vials from Bath & Body Works - they were originally $10 but last time I was there they are now $5. I have five of them But I swear they work! The ones that I like for "calming down" are the "Instant Comfort" (vanilla & chamomile), "Stress Relief" (eucalyptus & spearmint essential oils) and when I'm really stressed out and can't sleep, "Sound Sleep" (lavender & chamomile). Just rub on your wrists and breathe deeply. I will also sometimes use pillow mist from Bath & Body Works - one that is made to relax you. I use the lavender vanilla scent. It does not KNOCK YOU OUT but it really does help to relax you, which is nice if you're having troubles sleeping because of a test, or clinical, or a presentation that you're deathly afraid of...:chuckle

2. I demand back massages from my boyfriend.

3. Knowing that your fellow classmates and friends in nursing school are going through the same thing also really helps. I seriously don't know what I would do without some of my fellow nursing buddies :redbeathe

4. drink some hot chamomile tea.

5. yoga! I just got into it this semester. I absolutely love it! It can energize you or relax you depending on what you do and while I am practicing I think of nothing BUT my current yoga practice. I go to classes offered through my school (for free! :yeah: ) and the instructor always guides us through some meditation at the beginning of class. She tells us to ground ourselves and to let all of our worries and troublesome thoughts for that day just "melt away into the earth." I am a huge worrywort and I'm always thinking about something, but it's really amazing when I can actually put those thoughts aside for once.

Hang in there! :icon_hug: :nurse: :redbeathe

HyperSaurus, RN, BSN · Feb 19, 2009

I have acid reflux disease, so all stress is felt in my stomach and esophagus. Lucky me :nuke:

MedicalNerd · Feb 23, 2009

I would have to say that I have been in your shoes. My 1st semester I was 110% focused on school and only thought about schoolwork and clinical work leading to anxiety attacks in the middle of the night.

Towards the end of the semester I had to wear a Heart Monitor because my heart rate was out of whack.( going from 40 to 140's) Most of the semester I never felt hungry so I wouldn't eat. I was only getting like 600 cal a day and I knew that it was not enough to be able to exercise. I wanted to badly but I felt that I would make myself sick if I over did it and I did not want to set myself up for failure.

After the semester was over I was able to reflect on how I handled the 1st semester and I have made some changes to how I am living as a nursing student. I still get anxious from time to time but it is much better because I talk myself out of getting all wound up in the first place. I am eating better and was able to start exercising again which for the last new months now I am working out consistently 4 days a week. I Think of it as "me time" and so I treat it will the respect that it is "needed mental time" and it makes me feel so much better. So far my heart is doing great, I am feeling much less stressed and I am still focused but I am more balanced than last semester.

Think about your lifestyle and how you cope with your stress. Make time for "YOU" and you will appreciate that time spent; looking forward to it more and more.

Good Luck and if it still seems to persist, let you doc know. He/She will give you more guidance.

littley · Feb 23, 2009

I feel your pain. I get like that at the beginnig of every semester. My first semester was the worst. Its only natural to feel so stressed but you have to calm down because that stress will not only interfere with you body physically, it will also affect your mind and you need that to be 100% to learn. I work full time and am in nursing school and the one thing that helps me control my stress is a schedule. I have a schedule to study, where unless necessary, nothing can interrupt it. Whatever else i have to do or need to do has to be done at another time. Focus on one thing at time...nurses have to learn to prioritize so start practicing Tackle what's important first, read what's important first...if you have a test or assignment that's your priority. When you feel stressed practice deep breathing. Breathe from your belly and diaphragm, not your chest. When you breathe shallow you're off-setting the natural balance of O2 and CO2 in your blood and that isn't going to help. That's a sign to your body to be alarmed due to a stressor. Deep, slow breathing brings a balance back and allows you to re-focus. Remember, the way you see a problem is the problem so stay positive. Everything seems it can't be done until its done. Its not a lot but hope these pointers along with everyone else's suggestions help out. :nmbrn:

Blueorchid, ASN, RN · Feb 23, 2009

Like many people seem to be saying, exercise is your friend. We just had our first wave of exams (I'm a first semester newbie myself) and the hours after the test all I could think about was wanting to get to the gym and take some of the stress away.

Planning things like getaways (yeah I know its rare) or times when you know you can take a break seem to help too. I'm really looking forward to heading out to the barn two weeks from now with my best friend, and its keeping me going.

You sound like you have a lot of symptoms but sometimes I can catch myself before something happens and it seems to bring me back to normal. My first test (the dreaded med calc) I think I ended up hyperventilating because all of a sudden I felt like I was getting palpitations and my vision started to dark around the edges. And I knew it was silly! Somehow reminding myself that this was abnormal brought me back down to earth and I finished the test. Oh and of course the all important thing to remember is that there's plenty of people going through the same stress but we seem to be getting it done this far, who says we can't go the rest of the way? :)

coolpeach · Feb 23, 2009

I alway feel sleep deprieved. On Sunday morrning I pick my patient, and I stay up all night doing care plans etc. I literally go to clinical at 6:45 Monday morning having been up all night. By the time I go back to sleep I have been up 40 hours. It screws me up the rest of the week. I also wake up in the middle of the night with those horrilble stressed out "OMG what if" moments, usually covered in sweat. I finally went to the Dr. last week, and he put me on Zoloft which will help with anxiety. Hope it helps.