Official Nightshift thread!!!

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Replies

  • angdan31
    angdan31 Posts: 95 Member
    Hi Guys,
    Has anyone ever taken Melatonin to sleep? I looked up Night Eating Disorder ( in my case...morning) and I definatly show signs of it. I cant go to sleep without eating carbs, then I wake up, eat more carbs and go back to sleep. It's an awful, awful habit. I'm always half asleep when I do it, so I don't really use my brain. This is what I read about Melatonin:

    Your body has its own internal clock that controls your natural cycle of sleeping and waking hours. In part, your body clock controls how much melatonin your body makes. Normally, melatonin levels begin to rise in the mid- to late evening, remain high for most of the night, and then drop in the early morning hours.

    I'm thinking because of working this shift, my melatonin may be low. It's natural, and worth a try. What do you guys think?

    Melatonin is what the docs order for our patients if they are having trouble sleeping. It gives them a gentle nudge in the right direction but doesn't knock them out. There's no "drowsy" feeling the morning after either. I've worked nights so long that I rarely have trouble sleeping (my husband says I've perfected the art of sleeping standing up:laugh: ) so I can't speak from personal experience. It really seems to help our patients nod off though.
  • angdan31
    angdan31 Posts: 95 Member
    I am from the UK , I'm a nurse and work 2 - 3 night a weeks. I have just come off a 5 night stretch and should reallly go for a sleep but having discovered this thread I have spent ages just reading everyones posts, I work 9.30pm - 7.30 am. The shift completely wrecks your system, I have been doing it for 9 years as it suits family life I have 2 kids 8 & 6 so perfect for them but not me. It's very tiring and takes a lot of will power to avoid the temptation of all the bad food that is around. I have been doing really well since joining MFP, it's great for keeping the motivation going.

    I agree. I've never been one to diet and I've packed on the pounds since my youngest was born (he's 7yo) This is the first time I've tried to log my calories and it's done wonders. MFP makes it so easy! I'm down 36 pounds and if I keep at it I'll make my goal of 50 pounds in a couple of months. Who knows I may be motivated to keep going. I haven't been below 150 since before I had my oldest child (22 years ago!)
    Night shift messes with your system-no doubt about it. I haven't been perfect through this but MFP has helped considerably.
  • angdan31
    angdan31 Posts: 95 Member
    Lee, hubby drives me crazy with that crap too! I only got good post-nights sleep today because he's out of town. At least I'm only on real overnights 1/3rd of the time. Don't know how you do it.


    My husband wasn't very understanding at first either. He worked a job where he got off at 2pm and expected me to be up and ready to go for the day after only 4-5 hours of sleep. Silly me- I did it. We had only been married a couple of years so I was still trying to make him happy at my expense. Then we met some friends where the wife worked part night/part day schedule. She was militant about her sleep schedule. She would tear your head off if the neighbors talked too loud in the next house! And the boys hung out there every weekend. After he saw how she acted he realized how "nice" I was being. Now he's more protective of my sleep schedule than I am. He gets aggravated if I pick up extra shifts because it'll take too much of a toll on me. He's such a sweetie! (now :wink: )
  • angdan31
    angdan31 Posts: 95 Member
    So I guess you can see I've had a quite night...lol. I just realized I've taken up a whole page with my replies. Well, my shift is at an end so I'm heading home and off to bed. See ya'll tonight. I'm so excited about finding some night shift friends!
  • robynrae_1
    robynrae_1 Posts: 712 Member
    Well its a Full moon tonight. It could turn out to be an intresting night. Hooowwwww (thats me howling at the moon) :glasses:
  • Lynz888
    Lynz888 Posts: 17 Member
    Well its a Full moon tonight. It could turn out to be an intresting night. Hooowwwww (thats me howling at the moon) :glasses:

    I KNOW! I keep waiting for it to get crazy, but nothing! I'm shocked, a calm night on a psych unit? I'll keep double checking my pt's to make sure they're still breathing :p
  • robynrae_1
    robynrae_1 Posts: 712 Member
    Lucky for me all the "weird" stuff has happened during the day. :drinker:
  • ketagirl
    ketagirl Posts: 42 Member
    I agreed overnights is awesome but losing weight is hard especially days that you are off
  • hi everyone...hope yall are doing good...finally got the computer and internet running again...i hate the days where i cant sleep and at the same time im not hungry.....grrr....everyone have a great morning
  • lee112780
    lee112780 Posts: 419 Member
    :smile: hey everyone! I have been on weight watchers for a wk and lost a lb and a half...not bad. Anyways, Im not on as much I used to be, but still here! I like this online community better

    Anyways...Im sooo sick of overnights!! This time of yr I begin to dread going to work, and I sleep alllll day! Maybe cause the days are shorter...I dunno. I just want a normal life again. I have worked this shift through out my whole relationship with my boyfriend, and we get 2 hrs together a day! I moved us down here for this job, and I they knew I worked overnights at my old job. I think I may have gotten hired based on the fact that I worked this shift before. Im also a contractor, and not even hired yet. I get no sick time, OT, vacation time, insurance, NOTHING!!! The only good thing is the pay...its really good...20,000 more a yr than what I made in NY. I like VA too. So what do I do? Should I wait until they hire me before I say I dont want to work this shift anymore, or do I tell them now? I wouldnt even mind the shift once in awhile, but I dont want to be the overnight person anymore!
  • you know every night it gets harder and harder to want to go to work...im in the same boat....i see my boyfriend from 10:10 pm assuming he gets off on time and does not have anything to do right after work till 11:45 pm and then i crawl into bed with him around 8 am and i dont know when he leaves to go home....its sorta getting old....but with me its the money that keeps me on this shift...sometimes i would love to just work 9-5 for like 3 months then come back but i know that wont happen...this shift can put a real strain on your body and a relationship...all i know is i would love just a break from it...get my body on a normal cycle again and see what happens...but that wont happen im sorta stuck .... good luck with your job....i hope they let you change.... really i think that my wooist me syndrome is seasonal... i get like this during fall (my fav time of year), and then again during summer (all the bbq's pool parties and summer fun) .... it sucks having to decided social life or sleep ... but it is what it is....sorry for the ramble...im hyped up on coffee and sleep dep is kicking in....what a night!!!!!!
  • allie7383
    allie7383 Posts: 865 Member
    i'm right there with u guys!! a day shift position recently opened up, and everyone thought i was gonna take it, but i said i couldn't b/c of the money. losing the differential would be such a loss, on top of dealing with the huge amount of BS that goes on during the day. i know i'd end up dreading coming to work.. so while the night hours suck, i like the people i'm with now, so i'll be sticking around for a bit.
  • lee112780
    lee112780 Posts: 419 Member
    I dont even get a differential...which pisses me off the most. Not fair that no one else can work this shift. Im one of the newest people here...but still, I have been here over a yr! Sux being a contract to hire, because Im on thin ice, and I m afraid if I say something...they wont hire me ; (
  • that does suck...the extra pay is what keeps me here on this shift...plus more money less bs then the day...it sucks sometimes but i like the people i work with ... have a great boss...just no social life.... i hope it works out for you lee
  • kmc3986
    kmc3986 Posts: 18
    I use Melatonin or Benedryl 50 mg. if I need to sleep 6 or more hrs. If I need a nap before work, I use 25 mg. of Benedryl. I don't like doing this, but I have to be awake and responsible throughout the night for my patients With that, I also use a sleep mask and ear plugs.....quite a sight.
  • allie7383
    allie7383 Posts: 865 Member
    hey everyone! anyone working this festive weekend? we had a little party last night which was fun.. everything was pretty quiet til we got in a bad trauma so the blood bank was hectic for a while. fortunately the person made it. so everyone be safe out there!
  • happy holidays to who ever celebrates this week!!!
  • MegJo
    MegJo Posts: 398 Member
    OoooOOOoo Pick me!!! I'm working this halloween. Both cabbage night and halloween night. Phew. It wasn't super busy to start, just lots of noise complaints... then it got busy haha. Lots of fights! I didn't even notice it was snowing out. Hopefully tomorrow will be a bit slower since it'll be Sunday. One can hope!
  • cutmd
    cutmd Posts: 1,168 Member
    Hi all, sorry I have been absent. Had a few days off but will be back into it on Thursday with 12hr overnights. I feel bad for those of you who are always on overnights, how do you do it?

    Lee, maybe you should look around for another job while trying to figure out how to word things with your current employer. Especially with no pay differential, it's totally reasonable to politely request some variation in your schedule. If not, it may be time to move on :flowerforyou:
  • allie7383
    allie7383 Posts: 865 Member
    hey cutmd, firstly, let me just say i'm very jealous of your midsection lol. hopefully one day mine will be like that without me sucking it in with all my might haha. as far as being constantly on nights... while i don't think you ever 100% get used to it, i feel like i'd be a lot more out of whack if i had to rotate. i've been on nights for 3 years now, and at first it was def hard to get a pattern going, but now i have a routine and i guess treat it the same way i would if i were working a day shift. honestly for me the worst part is missing out on the social life on the weekends. i don't have kids or a husband or anything, so i just have me to worry about.. i go right to bed when i get home, get up in the afternoon, then i like to try for a nap before work... however i'm planning on going back to school next fall so that will obviously change things!
  • robynrae_1
    robynrae_1 Posts: 712 Member
    Wow I am tired tonight. Most of the time I do ok because I stay on my schedual even on my nights off, but not this last week.
    So now I am feeling it. It would help if I had more going on.

    Hope everyone has a good weekend
  • Help !! I've been going back and forth on the same 4 lbs. for the past 2 weeks. I seem to be staying within my calorie goals, however, I tend to "eyeball" the amounts instead of measure. Does everyone measure exactly? I'm walking about 10 miles a week. Sometimes I feel guilty about having a couple of beers or glasses of wine when I want to relax, but I count them in my diary. Can that be what I'm doing wrong? I thought I was doing well for the first month, but I have reached a big plateau...and to say the least, it is becoming discouraging. Any suggestions?
  • leanmass24
    leanmass24 Posts: 304 Member
    I had/have a plateau too. For the last 3-4 weeks... I measure and add everything to my diary. It has been fluctuating the same 5lbs over and over again. I changed my exercise routine and everything.... I did drop 4 lbs one of those weeks, but it jumped back up again and is comming down again too, so I have no idea what to think... I am just gonna keep at it and hopfeully I will start losing normally again. Out of the four pounds I lost last week. It came back and now today I am 2 lbs down from where I started 4 weeks ago. It has just been a wild rollercoaster ride for the last month. I think It might have something to do with the time of year, cause this is the time of year your body is supposed to conserve fat for winter. Even though we are trying to lose our bodies are still hardwired to conseved this time of year from thousands of years ago... that is the only explaination I have. Just keep at it you will eventually start losing again... I know it is frustrating, but I am sure that the end result will be worth it.
  • Thank you.....that's what's great about this site...you're not alone.
  • Hello, all you fellow sleep deprived night shifters! It has been a while since I have been on here, so thought I would add my two cents. I had hit a plateau, my weight didnt move down for over three weeks, just climbed about 7 pounds even though I was eating within my allowed calories. I have started on a diet plan through a nutritionist, and I have lost over 8 pounds in the six days I have been following it. Phew, thank goodness the scales are going down again. I am sure all of this has something to do with the way I live, being on steady nights all the time, but I sure wish it was easier! Anyway, good luck everyone, and get some sleep! HaHa!
  • schpanks
    schpanks Posts: 468 Member
    Hello, all! I'm new to MFP as of 3 weeks ago, and just found the thread tonight. (Having an EXCEPTIONALLY good night tonight.) I just wanted to say hi and it's good to see everyone struggling with the same things I do. My wife does not get the night shift thing much of the time. :)
  • allie7383
    allie7383 Posts: 865 Member
    Hey all! glad to see postings on here again! I switched weekends with this lady, and i swear I'm never doing it again! last night and tonight have just been so crappy!! Not overwhelming busy per se, but just BS problems!!

    welcome schpanks, and you're def not alone in the neverending struggle of night shifters vs. everyone else lol. i've been on nights for 3 years and still will have people call/text me mid-morning, when they should WELL be aware that's my sleeping time. honestly people will never really understand unless they do it themselves. i'll say to someone, man i have to work 5 nights in a row.. and they'll say, well i always work 5 days in a row... yeah exactly..5 DAYS! def a different story when you're going out the door while everyone else is in their pj's lol.
    hope everyone had a great weekend!!
  • robynrae_1
    robynrae_1 Posts: 712 Member
    I have learned to turn my phone completely off, only problem is if someone has an emergency I will not know about it till I get up. I have thought about a pager for emergency only stuff. Being on nights is a fight against nature, well I never like being normal anyway :drinker:
    Anyone else have to work an extra hour last night?
  • cutmd
    cutmd Posts: 1,168 Member
    I have learned to turn my phone completely off, only problem is if someone has an emergency I will not know about it till I get up. I have thought about a pager for emergency only stuff. Being on nights is a fight against nature, well I never like being normal anyway :drinker:
    Anyone else have to work an extra hour last night?

    I had to do the extra hour :grumble:, so it was a 13hr shift. I had to run errands afterwards so I only slept for 5 hours before heading to this one. I am done in 2.5hrs, but then I actually have so much to do I may not get to sleep all day. :frown:

    And when I'm sleepy all I do is snack :noway:
  • Trachnurse....what did your nutritionist do differently for you to jog the weight loss?
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