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.

I am sorry this happened but as the above poster said don't beat yourself up. Mistakes do happen. At least you have taken the proper steps in filling out the incident report and having the labs drawn. My thoughts are with you as I'm sure this is a scary experience.

1. I am the RN with no tech and up to 8 patients. 2. Mental Health & Addictions 23 hour observation unit 3. Most of the time I feel it is unsafe for both the patient and myself. I wouldn't say I don't feel my care is effective. Most of the time I feel I don't have enough time to spend with my patients. 4. I would say more often than not I feel it is an unsafe working environment due to staffing.

I am so sorry to hear this happened. I work mental health & addictions. I have yet to be attacked by a pt but I know the chance is always there. I am sometimes the only nurse on the unit with up to 8 adult patients and at times they can be very unstable. Sometimes it can be a little disturbing to me that they overlook the fact that this is very unsafe for both the patients and me. I have voiced my opinion to management about this many times. Unfortunately staffing is always an issue on our unit so I know this will continue to happen until a situation like yours arises. My prayers are with you.

NO! Some people just aren't meant to be nurses!

I know you are going through a difficult time. I have never had to deal with WC but last year I had a seizure while I was driving lost control of my car and hit a tree. I broke my ankle and had to go on short term disability for two months. It was a mess and stressful just having to deal with short term disability. My prayers are with you.

Xanax is probably not the best thing to use for this type of behavior. I would talk to the doctor and let him know that the pt is still having the same type of behavior despite the xanax. I would consider that he could possibly be a sundowner. I highly doubt it is alcohol related or the lack thereof if he has been there for 3 months. Has he been evaluated for possible dementia?

I worked for almost a year as an RN on med/surg tele prior to transferring to the Mental Health and Addictions floor at our hospital. We do dual diagnosis on our unit. We also have an adolescent unit and Dementia unit. I love what I do. It is very challenging but very rewarding.:w00t:

I have been working mental health and addictions now for over 2 years and I love it. Piper12 is right you have to really care about your patients. It can be a difficult area to work but it is very rewarding. Of course pt's can be verbally, emotionally, and physically aggressive towards you. We are TEAM trained where I work to learn proper ways of dealing with aggressive patients. Remember your co-workers are there to assist you when patients become aggressive. Where I work we can also call security or a code if need be if there is an aggressive pt. The role of the PCA and tech is basically the same as other departments in the hospital. There is more of an emphasis on safety in psych. Safety rounds are done anywhere from Q 15 minutes, Q 30 minutes, to Q hour. Sometimes you have to place a pt on a 1:1 or they have to be in direct eyesight of the staff at all times if they will not contract for safety. You also have to remember that these patients can be very creative if they really want to hurt themselves. Safety of the patients, yourself, and your co-workers is top priority.

If you have never worked mental health before it wil take a while just like any other area of nursing to feel comfortable in. I have worked mental heath and addictions for over 2 years now and I love it. Yes there are aggressive and sometimes violent patients but remember you are never alone. Your co-workers are there to assist you. I know if I yell STAFF people come running. I can also call security if needed. You will learn to recognize when a pt is escalating. It is important that if you see a pt start to become agitated or escalate that you call the doctor then and get medication as this will probably prevent the situation from escalating to violence. I can honestly say that I really never feel scared or nervous. I am very aware and vigilant of what is going on with my patients. In most cases pt's can be verbally redirected but of course sometimes you will have to place a patient in seclusion or restraints. Like I said though remember you are never alone and your co-workers are there to help you. Good Luck and keep us up to date on how things are going!

I like the smell of liquid amoxicillin. When I was little they would give me the pink kind that tasted sort of like bubble gum. I would almost fake being sick so I could have some pink liquid amoxicillin.