1st Day Off exhaustion

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I'm wondering how other 12 hour nurses manage the exhaustion on your first day off after two or three 12 hour shifts? I can't seem to function much for most of the day. Is it just me? :yawn:

Geeze, hope you can do that in your 50's.

Specializes in LTC, OB, Mother Baby.

I am coming off 4 night shifts in a row. I probably won't make it out of my jammies tomorrow!

Why, why do you young gals do this? Money? Money the government will take most of? Please consider the tax implications. After earning so much a week, the gov may get up to 50% of it.

Specializes in Geriatric Nursing.

I understand how it feels, I slept the whole day during day off.

Why, why do you young gals do this? Money? Money the government will take most of? Please consider the tax implications. After earning so much a week, the gov may get up to 50% of it.

As much as I like to believe myself a young gal, I'm a 45-year-old new grad. That 60-hour stint nearly killed me; my feet are still complaining. I would never, ever have done that voluntarily. I'm still on orientation and am working my preceptor's schedule. I have another stretch like that scheduled for the end of the month and then I am going to make it known that I won't be doing that again. I don't know how that will be received, but I also don't care. Maybe ridiculous scheduling is one reason nurses flee the bedside...

Those of you who go running or workout after your 12-hr shifts, I envy you. I thought I'd go straight to the hospital's gym and do the same after I clocked out. Now I walk (limp) by it and snicker.:mad:

I have just finished 6 nights and will probably have to work tonight. This isn't by choice, but I want to keep my job. Normally in a 2 week period I work 6 straight nights and have 24-36 mandatory on-call hours. My job is sucking the life out of me.

On my first day off I sleep until the evening, get up and eat, whine, complain, watch tv while dozing, and then I go to bed and sleep all night long. The fatigue can be overwhelming at times :zzzzz:zzzzz

Specializes in NICU.

We are in the process of remodeling our house. We are doing all of the work ourselves... Everyday that I get home from a 12 hr shift my husband is like... Good, I'm glad your home.. you can help me ________ . Fill in the blank with some type of manual labor. I just laugh and tell him things I can't repeat on this forum... People that don't work 12 hour shifts just don't understand what it is like. Yesterday my husband worked an 11 hour day (bless his heart). 6 of those hours he rode in a car (3 hours 1 way, 3 hours back). He complained all evening about how tired he was... gmafb

Anyway... On my days off I sleep and then drink a lot of coffee. I usually don't start cleaning or laundry until after 2pm on that first day.

1st day off exhaustion. I know what you mean!!! Nobody gets it. My friends who don't work used to call me at 8 or 9 am to "see what I'm doing" and ask if I want to go to lunch. They have no clue what a 12 hour shift is like and had their feelings hurt when I said "DON'T CALL me on my first day off.

Has anyone weighed themselves over these shifts, I loose about 3 lbs then put it back on my day off, something physiologic is happening. It's not just fat. I miss meals and get dehydrtated when it's busy but I think it is also fluid shifts from stress induced cortisol level changes.

Hummy RN

Specializes in ED.

I work 6 day stretches (12 hrs) and then get 8 days off. However, it doesn't take me a day to get over it...it takes 2!!!! Love my days off though!

Specializes in Tele.

Its tough but ya know, i wouldn't trade back to 8hrs for anything...right now anyway. I love working my sunday/monday nights and then have the rest of the week off! It drives my husband nuts that I have so much time off and make the same as him :)

My 8yr old told me the other day that 'its not fair that daddy has to go to work everyday!'

I work every Sat and Sun night. I also go out every Friday night to "unwind" and get back on a night schedule so I can sleep all day on Saturday.

I do go to the gym every Sun and Mon morning when I get off. It helps wind me down. I usually stay up until about noon on Monday and then sleep until about 9pm. I'll get up cook, do house chores, and then back in bed by midnight. Then I get ready for my 8 hour day shift in the clinic on Tues. I normally work Tues and Thurs 8 hour day shift in the clinic.

I am seriously looking for a phone triage position where I can work from home during the week. My girlfriend does this and she is a nurse and do triage nursing from home. It's a great set up.

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