KrissyPRN

I suffer from migraines. I usually get them right before my period and they will last 2-3 days. Occassionally I will get one in between. They are absolutely horrible!!!!! At times I can't even get out of bed. We have gone as far as to put black fabric over the windows in our bedroom so that when I have one come on I can be in complete darkness. I also have sensitivity to noise, become nauseated, have difficulty concentrating, vision disturbance, and sometimes my speech is affected. I have tried everything under the sun. I recently also started having seizures. They put me on Keppra and at first my migraines decreased but after being on it almost a year at the max dose for the seizures it doesn't seem to be helping with the migraines. I tried Topamax but it made me extremely confused and I couldn't continue on the med. Maxalt will sometimes stop the migraine but for the most part just takes the edge off. I have gone to the ER for a migraine before. I had worked 3 nights in a row and had a migraine 3 nights in a row. By the end of the 3rd night I couldn't take it anymore. I went to the ER before I went home. The doctor came in and before she said anything else she said I am not going to give you narcotics. I told her that was fine and I didn't ask for narcotics to begin with. She gave me Imitrex which I had a reaction to. The Toradol and Zofran did help. IMO rest and sleep along with Maxalt at this point works best for me.

My prayers are with you and your daughter.:prdnrs:

:yeahthat: I agree with atomic1976. I hope all is going well with you. Let us know how you are doing.

Congratulations!!!!!!!!:anpom::chrs::ancong!::urck::prdnrs:

We use ativan alot prn for agitation usually along with haldol and benadryl. Klonopin is used sometimes for anxiety but more commonly we try to use vistaril first. There is a physician on our unit who uses a valium taper for his alcohol detox pt's. The rest of our physcians use the CIWA protocol with Ativan. I actually think the valium detox works better.

I would also get familiar with: ativan, valium, benadryl, clonidine, invega, vistaril, librium, anafranil, wellbutrin, effexor, paxil, prozac, lexapro, celexa, ambien, lunesta, trazadone, ritalin, concerta, strattera, neurontin, remeron, and restoril . If this is also a substance abuse/detox unit I would look up suboxone and campral. For dementia I would know aricept and namenda.

I suppose any patient could stalk there nurse not just a pysch pt. But to answer your question I have never been stalked by a pt nor have I heard of anyone on our unit being stalked. I have seen patients in public that have recognized me.

Hospital wide where I work RN's have to wear all black, all white, or black and white mixed. In my opinion I think it's ridiculous but it's policy. I think we should be able to wear different colored scrubs or street clothes on the mental health & addictions unit where I work.

First thing I would do is yell STAFF so that the staff I work with come to my aide immediately although I've not been attacked thus far I have seen pt's escalate to the point of being aggressive. The next thing we would do is call a Code so that security can come down and assist us.

harley007 it sounds like the same situation I deal with at work. There is alot of back stabbing, jealousy, and inappropriate behavior. Like you I am also a perfectionist and I am very hard on myself. I have decided that I basically will go to work to do just that......work. I know without a doubt that I provide the best patient care possible to my patients. I have decided I will not let their comments bother me and in turn I try not to get caught up in the back stabbing and gossiping. I do make my thoughts on the inappropriate behavior known to the proper people. Sometimes it is very difficult to work in a toxic environment. I wish you the best!

I have to say I like working mental health & addictions. I feel respected by the doctors and the other staff. I work on the obs unit in our dept and I am responsible for most of the admissions to our unit as well as the transfer of patients to other facilities. I work directly with the screener who does the psychosocial assessment and handles the insurance precerts. We have 5 psychiatrists that take call and see our patients. They are all very nice and respectful. I work 7P-7A 3 nights a week. We are very busy at night as far as admissions go so I have to contact the on call psychiatrist on a nightly basis a few times a night. They are always very nice and I have yet to experience them get irritated because it's 3 am and I'm calling for the fifth time to admit yet another pt.

I have never heard of using or seen the use of Adderall for Bipolar D/O. Was this a patient? If it was a patient what other meds were they on and are you sure they gave the complete history with an accurate diagnosis?

Congratulations! You are right as time goes by it will get better and you will become more comfortable. Keep us updated on how everything is going.

I work 12 hour shifts 3 nights a week. We also have 8 hour shifts.

I work mental health & addictions. We hear alot of I've been "vapor acted" instead of I've been baker acted.