What's going on and shift work?

[NikkiNicole]

The left side of my nose feels like it's on fire. Like, the tissue on the septum side. It's worse when the air comes in. I keep getting sharp weird pains in my torso (stomach, left rib cage area, right rib cage area) my eyes are on fire (but I didn't sleep very much at all last night), I'm EXHAUSTED but again, I didn't sleep much.
I have a long break at work today and was hoping to get another two miles in, but right now all I want to do is curl into a ball and sleep.

Also ...

My doctor and I have decided that dayshift would be best for me and she is drafting up a letter for me. Honestly, I'm a little worried what my boss is going to say. Has anyone else had to give up working nights?
I honestly sleep horribly on my night shifts, I feel physically better on a regular sleep schedule.

UGH!!! I hate my life.

[Dirty Don]

You seem to be in an ongoing flare, drugs aren't doing what they need to do for you evidently. No reason to hate one's life, it's all we got...but I understand the frustration...keep at it kiddo. A routine works very well for me and when it's upset I don't react well at first...going to days would help your life immensely...don't worry about boss, she/he should try to understand. You'll find out how valuable you are to them depending on how boss reacts...best to you.

[windchime]

Nikki how did your last doc appt go? Did they change/up your meds? When is your next appt? Hope you get the day shift it will help a lot.

[NikkiNicole]

I am doing a week of prednisone starting today to see if it helps me feel any better. If it does ... then my rheumy knows that I need a change of medications. She describes my situation as "smoldering". So ... we'll see what happens. I feel awful but I can't tell if it's Weg's or the constant germs swirling around me from all the sickies at work.
I will get the dayshift ... because she's ordering it. However ... it may be because they have me out on leave, or because work cooperates.

[brettgrant99]

... Honestly, I'm a little worried what my boss is going to say. Has anyone else had to give up working nights?
I honestly sleep horribly on my night shifts, I feel physically better on a regular sleep schedule.
...

My wife used to work nights and loved it. However, she changed because she changed jobs, so I am not sure how applicable it is to your situation. She is a social worker. I think that read somewhere that you were a police dispatcher, maybe? My father was a firefighter, worked 24 hour shifts for 18 years, 3 on, 4 off. He loved it if he didn't get a call back. It was the regular schedule. He didn't like it when he had to go in off schedule. Actually, my mom loved the schedule, too. After 18 years he finally worked his way up to Battalion Chief, which was 9-5 weekdays. He hated that schedule. I don't know how much say he had in it, but it wasn't too long (maybe a year), and they changed how that chief's schedule to be the same as the firefighters, so he was happy for a number of years. Now he is retired (must be nice to retire at 56. I can't believe I said that, I'm 42 and 65 seems a long ways away, but 56 doesn't) and it took a while for Mom and Dad to re-sync with his schedules.

Anyway, that is a long, probably not relevant story, to say that I think that having a regular schedule is very important. For a while, my wife did PRN, which is coming in for people that either take vacation or call in sick. For that, her schedule was very irregular and it really wore her out. Both were night shifts. I think that night shift or day shift doesn't matter, it is the regularity. I know that one of the things that she liked night shift is that the comrade was better and they were a little more lax about the "silly" rules. That may or may not be true for your job. I know switching jobs can be really hard, but maybe another department does things differently. I used to live down in Sunnyvale, I'm sure that there are lots of opportunities down there, but I know its different north of the Bay.

I can understand the sentiment about hating your life. I hate your life too. Not all of it. Just the parts where you feel sick, can't get enough sleep, etc. I actually really enjoy your posts. I think this may be the first one that I commented on. I enjoy so many posts here, but the reason that we are all here I hate.

I think that last night I got 1.5 hours of sleep. I am currently in the hospital fighting pneumonia and yesterday they "gave" me a new roommate. My old one wasn't a peach, but this one is really sick. I have to remember that he hates being here as much as I do. Anyway, one of his machines was going off about ever 2 minutes all night long. Techs coming in all the time, they think they got the thing fixed, and then it would start to go off again and the whole process repeats. I hope that they get a handle on it today. He gets a lot of doctor visits, so hopefully they will figure it out for both of our sakes.

I would work really hard at getting a regular schedule even if it means switching jobs. One of the reasons we left the bay area was that it was so expensive to live there. It is a beautiful place, though.

I hope things will look better for you after you get some sleep.

Brett

[pberggren1]

Nikkie, your nose problem could be sinusitis. But overall it sounds like a flare.

I hated working nights. I don't think man was meant to work shift work.

[NikkiNicole]

I've been on nights for 12 years now, and I maintained a night time schedule even on my days off for a very long time. NOT anymore. I collapse into bed at 9pm on my days off and am out like a light. When I do sleep through the night and operate on normal hours, I am fantastic. Not 100% but able to function more, I can think clearer, and I don't feel so down on myself about everything.

Brett, I am so sorry that you are currently posting from the hospital!!! I am doing everything I can to stay out of there. I think I am worry TOO much about the H1N1 bug but, with people so nonchalant about coming to work brimming with germs, I get a little uneasy. OK ... I get a LOT uneasy. I just don't want to be a statistic of a flu death. Not that being a statistic Weg's death would be any better but at least it would be because I fought a valiant battle or whatever ... not because I got the flu from a inconsiderate co-worker!

Yes, I do work for the Sheriff, I am in dispatch. A room closed up and filled with recycled air just going around and around and around. Using community desks, keyboards, phones, chairs, mice ... everything!!! AHHHH! I'm gonna wear a can of Lysol in a holster around my waist.

I have been ready to work days for awhile. I am next in line for dayshift should we hire enough people to offer up the 3 dayshifts that sit open and unoccupied. The supervisors don't want a night shift to be vacant because they said the hours are "harder to cover" which translates to "they will have to help cover them". So ... it's to their benefit that they don't offer dayshift, while I continue to suffer away.

Well not anymore. My doctor is willing to give them any documentation they need to make this happen.

I hope you are able to get some rest even with such roommates. I have only been blessed with spending the night in the hospital once. The nurses were rather giggly in the nighttime and I didn't mind so much because I understood the night shift scenario, you laugh and have fun to stay awake! As for me with rules, I'm at a point in my career where I want to be around the people who do this job right and take it seriously. The night shift crew is a bunch of people who either don't want to be around supervisors or are brand new and don't give a crap. I take my job seriously. I am responsible for a team of deputies going home every night.

Anyway, I am really hoping the rest of this shift goes fast so I can go home, put on my sweats and flop into bed. I don't care if I sleep the rest of the day.

[brettgrant99]

Awesome post. Hopefully with ammo from the doctor you can make the shift. I've been stuck in a number of jobs because I do them "too" well. So I get that. I hadn't considered a Lysol holster, but not a bad idea. I work in a restricted environment. Everyone has to swipe and pin into the closed area cubical area. We aren't allowed to let people tailgate, so everyone touches the door. And so many people come to work sick to save they vacation, because we don't get sick time, we get an extra week of vacation. I hate that policy. Another company that I worked for had the same exact rules, but instituted sick time, made it unlimited, and you only got called on it if you were abusing it. Such a better way to implement it. People actually stayed home when they were sick.

Right now where I am, I don't warrant a desk, so I have to use the community area. I will probably be able to finagle a desk out this disease, so that is a good thing. I have been considering changing careers to one where I can limit my interactions with others. I don't mind others, but to be honest I am a little freaked out by getting pneumonia so easily.

Is is amazing how much sleep helps. Hopefully you can get a good bunch of it soon.

[NikkiNicole]

My throat pain is intensifying, my eyes are on fire, my voice is fading away. What the hell ...

[mishb]

I think it's time to get home Nikki.

Finish work for the night and go get into a nice warm bed.

I hope you get to work on the day shifts, very soon. I also hope the pred increase starts working, however, I'm thinking that you probably need something more