VivaLasViejas ASN, RN

LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych

Once a nurse, always a nurse!

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide

All Content by VivaLasViejas

  1. VivaLasViejas

    I Hate Being Bipolar. It's AWESOME!

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    Well, now that wasn't embarrassing or anything .....I've been dealing with the Employment Division most of this afternoon, and as much as I didn't want to, I laid it all out on the line about why I...
  2. VivaLasViejas

    Why are people uncomfortable talking about mental health?

    VivaLasViejas replied to wish_me_luck's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    Ah, Leslie, I'd forgotten you were one of the ones who mentioned it. That's one of the most frustrating things about this illness and the meds I have to take to control it---all of this has turned my...
  3. VivaLasViejas

    I Hate Being Bipolar. It's AWESOME!

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    Been much better the past 2-3 days......at least the crying jags have stopped! LOL I'm regaining a sense of control now. I've begun my job search in earnest, done everything the Employment...
  4. VivaLasViejas

    Why are people uncomfortable talking about mental health?

    VivaLasViejas replied to wish_me_luck's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    I have had several well-meaning folks suggest applying for SSDI after my recent job loss, which was directly a result of a mixed bipolar episode coupled with severe anxiety, but I refuse to do so and...
  5. VivaLasViejas

    Why are people uncomfortable talking about mental health?

    VivaLasViejas replied to wish_me_luck's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    I wish I could afford to work PRN/casual. Unfortunately, I need health insurance, and could never afford it on my own even if I were insurable.....which I'm not. The other day I was researching...
  6. VivaLasViejas

    Why are people uncomfortable talking about mental health?

    VivaLasViejas replied to wish_me_luck's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    What a fascinating question........and how few real answers! Personally, I think a lot of the stigma surrounding mental illness stems from the way-back days, when demonic possession was pretty much...
  7. VivaLasViejas

    What Should We Call Nursing?

    VivaLasViejas replied to Tait's topic in Nursing Humor

    Hilarious!!!!
  8. VivaLasViejas

    Florence Nightingale's Birthday: World's Most Famous Nurse

    VivaLasViejas replied to tnbutterfly - Mary's topic in Nurses Rock

    I've always found it fascinating that Florence Nightingale suffered from manic depression, yet accomplished so many great deeds during the course of her career. She didn't have an easy life, nor a...
  9. VivaLasViejas

    Traffic tickets, lvn app

    VivaLasViejas replied to Rinasoso's topic in Licensure: Criminal History

    It depends on your state, and whether your unpaid tickets rise to the level of a misdemeanor. Years ago in California, I had two unpaid tickets that resulted in warrants being issued for my arrest,...
  10. VivaLasViejas

    My heartache and hiatus...

    VivaLasViejas replied to CheesePotato's topic in General Nursing

    (((((CP))))) You are such a dear friend to me, and I wish I had some words of wisdom to give you that would make the pain go away. Alas, words fail me (which, as you know, is a rarity) and all I can...
  11. VivaLasViejas

    I have bipolar, should I be a nurse?

    VivaLasViejas replied to JerseyPersian's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    You've come to the right place to discuss this! There are a number of nurses with bipolar disorder right here at AN who are willing to talk about it (myself included) so the short answer is YES, you...
  12. VivaLasViejas

    I Hate Being Bipolar. It's AWESOME!

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    I am still thinking about it, but I do a lot of waffling these days. I'm not sure which way to go. It doesn't help that I'm smack in the middle of a horrible mixed mood episode......I don't feel...
  13. VivaLasViejas

    How to overcome being "terminated" from previous job

    VivaLasViejas replied to comrlg's topic in Job Search, Interview, Resume

    I'm going to have to remember some of this creative terminology. Thanks to all for sharing, because I'm fresh out of ideas and I've only been job-hunting for a
  14. VivaLasViejas

    Nurses' perceptions of patients with borderline personality disorder - lit review

    VivaLasViejas replied to pinkiepieRN's topic in Psychiatric

    Excellent article,
  15. VivaLasViejas

    Reported to BON because of eating disorder!?!?

    VivaLasViejas replied to RoamFreeRN's topic in Nurses Recovery

    I've never understood how programs intended for healthcare workers with substance-abuse issues are supposed to 'help' those who do not have such impairments. Having to do routine drug testing, attend...
  16. VivaLasViejas

    I Hate Being Bipolar. It's AWESOME!

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    Welcome aboard the (Bi)Polar Express, Munchkin! It's wonderful to hear from a pre-nursing student who's newly diagnosed and yet so enthusiastic about the future, not to mention accepting of the...
  17. VivaLasViejas

    Schizophrenia

    VivaLasViejas replied to NursingIsfun03's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    Welcome to Allnurses, and thank you for posting! If I may make a suggestion......would you mind telling us your own story, if it wouldn't be too uncomfortable for you? If you can share some about...
  18. VivaLasViejas

    I Hate Being Bipolar. It's AWESOME!

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    Funny you should mention that. My own psychiatrist suggested mental health as something to look into as far as my next job is concerned, and at first I was kind of "really?" The idea of taking care of...
  19. VivaLasViejas

    I Ask For "Nothing".

    VivaLasViejas replied to CheesePotato's topic in General Nursing

    Another spectacular---and spot on---article by an author who gets right down to where the cheese binds (sorry, couldn't help it ) and tells it like it is. This is the unvarnished truth, and I salute...
  20. VivaLasViejas

    I Hate Being Bipolar. It's AWESOME!

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    I really wish I hadn't had to disclose my illness to my employer. It cost me my job. But when a person gets to a certain level of mania, there's no hiding it, and I had to come clean because NOBODY...
  21. VivaLasViejas

    I Hate Being Bipolar. It's AWESOME!

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    Here's where I got it from.
  22. VivaLasViejas

    Physical for new job

    VivaLasViejas replied to Julius Seizure's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    Meriwhen is right about the meds. If everyone who takes Prozac or Ativan were to be excluded from nursing, there wouldn't be any nurses! It's when a candidate takes a batch of psych meds that...
  23. VivaLasViejas

    What to do after a rough shift?

    VivaLasViejas replied to Brian's topic in Nurses Rock

    I do (did) a lot of cussing and screaming at the traffic......with the windows rolled up of course. No desire to twerk off some bonehead who's got a weapon and a lack of social skills. I also do a lot...
  24. VivaLasViejas

    Physical for new job

    VivaLasViejas replied to Julius Seizure's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    Well, it's not like perjury, where you are punished if you don't tell the truth, the whole truth, and so on. People omit things on their health histories all the time. And the way people with mental...
  25. VivaLasViejas

    I Hate Being Bipolar. It's AWESOME!

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    That is an excellent site. The psychiatrist who runs it is a nationally known expert on bipolar II, and he just happens to work in the same office as MY pdoc. In fact, he recommended the 'dark...