Are there any nurses/midwives/care assistants with Arthritis

ritwren

Glad to hear you got on well Opal. Hope things work out for you with those extra breaks, certainly was worth asking for. It is a long shift that you do, I used to do them too but had to stop a few years ago.You certainly have scope for cutting your hours if you need too.
Hope to hear from you soon.
rita

opal1266

Three weeks on Butrans patches and the pain was no different, so I decided to stop them and see what happened. Not good. It seems that I was in more pain than I remebered as both hips now hurt, knees and ankles swell quite badly at the end of a shift and I hurt a lot, I'm also getting cranky at the end of shifts and less tolerant of idiots.

Physio has morphed into hydro and I get a small amount of relief from it, I 'm having 6 sessions to start, then acupuncture for 6 weeks, then back to hydro.

I've moved jobs from CCU to RCU, and then onto respiratory medicine for 6 months, partly for more experience but hopefully as a stepping dtone to a desk job next Christmas.

How's everyone else doing?
Cara

polly1985

hi there, i am a nurse and jus joined this site. i have arthritis in my spine and waitin on rheumatologist appointment as gp thinks i have RA in knees feet and poss hands. Ive struggled on 4 years at work as i was told many times my pain was in my head. (from my old gp practice). Im 25 sometimes felt so frustrated that i ended up in pain from doin extra shifts etc. Anyway now i have this diagnosis an my boss is bein really good bout it all. I work in a care home an at present im on light duties so i only do paperwork and medication rounds. When im feelin ok i help on the floor where i can. Im the only nurse in my unit with 4 carers, the majority of them all understand and tell me not 2 push my self if they c me doin things they think its 2 much which is sweet. Im slowly realisin that i have 2 know my own capabilities an how far i can push myself. before diagnosis i used 2 do crazy hours and end up cryin in pain, but now i make sure i have adequate time off. i have spoke a lot 2 my boss 2 which has helped. I hope that by tellin u wat i have done 2 make it easier in my life may help u some. obviously it depends on wat type of settin u r in. As this was posted originally a wee bit back im sure u have found ways 2 cope. xxx

speedalong

Hi Polly,
sounds like you have a very understanding boss and great team around you. Also sounds like you have taken stock and have found a way to balance the need to work with the needs of arther.
Hope you get the right treatment for you sorted and soon. It must be a relief to finally have a diagnosis and not to be told that your very real pain is in your head!!

Speedalong

polly1985

yeah i have a great manager and deputy manager. my manager frequently tells me 2 go sit down or have a break etc. and i think that makes all the difference. as i say im waitin 4 rheummy apt an in a lot of pain but cos my boss is supportive i feel i can go 2 work an do the things i can manage. Mornings r a nite mare 4 me but if im a bit late my boss is ok as ive never made a habit of it and she will take the keys till i arrive. im able 2 sit an chat 2 her bout how i feel 2. obv there r a few at work who dont understand an often speak bout me behind my back an that really does hurt, as i dont want people thinkin im not pullin my weight, or off work cos cant b bothered comin in. but my boss knows if im off then im really sufferin. and there r always people there 2 stick up 4 me. actually since diagnosis of spine an possible diagnosis of other joints folk ave been more understandin.

ritwren

Hi Opal Polly and Speedalong, sorry I've not been around much.
I know it's difficult to pace yourself sometimes is'nt it. I'm delighted to hear your boss is being really supportive. Opal I've been having acupuncture and find it a good help, hope it works for you too. I've heard that hydrotherapy can be really good too so hopefully between the 2 of them yuo will be able to get your pain under control.
Things with me are going quite well. My manager has been really great and I'm not now thinking I'm not contributing enough to the unit. The tiredness is overwhelming a lot of the time 'tho but there is'nt much can be done about that I don't think. I'm taking OH's advice and cutting back on my hours and although it will be tough to managed on reduced funds I think it's my only option. Am off now but hopefully catch you all again soon.
take really good care, rita

happy_feet

Sorry to jump in here (well I was a carer once )
Could anyone tell me what theses sentences mean please?

"Registered Nurse - Adult"
"Registered Nurse - Adult (Level 2)"

"No Recordable Qualifications found"



Thanks in advance for any help.

polly1985

hey happy feet, registered nurse adult means that u went down route of adult nursing. i am a registered nurse - child branch, it just means i spent last 18 month specialising in kids nursing but i now work with elderly as kids were too sore on back etc. the levels mean basically how much experience u have and promotion ect it was the old grades like when u qualified you were d grade nurse. does that make any sense im no good at explaining haha

caravancollie

Hi happy feet. Level one adult relates to a registered nurse undertaking training under the project 2000 system specialising in adult nursing and all those pre 2000 SRN's who did 3 years training but across adult and children's nursing.
Level 2 relates to the old type SEN 2 year training which is not available now.
These relate to recorded qualifications on NMC site.
No recordable qualification means no evidence of nurse training recorded by NMC
other qualifications eg NVQ not recordable as yet by NMC

to explain - my recorded qualifications are level 1 nurse (1974) Registered health visitor (1984) community practice teacher 1996
non medical presciber.
Other qualification eg degree and diploma sexual health are non recordable
hope this helps
elaine

ailsamary

ach just found this thread, i'm an a+e nurse, and have had ongoing battles with management/HR, (occy health were supportive) fortunatly i found all out myself and stood up to them though it does get wearing, now i dont have to work in the worst areas which are majors and resus, and do a lot of traige which i find exceptionally monotonous at times but feel i cant complain

does anyone though ever feel they arent pulling their weight, i get very guilty over this at times especially when the department is heaving and the girls are short staffed and i'm sitting down

ritwren

Sounds to me like you've been having a hard time of it. Glad to hear you've been able to work something out which although may not be what you want at least it suits your health needs.
When I went back to work after being off for months I did feel as 'tho I was'nt contributing as much as I used to and would have wanted to. It would get me down at times. My manager was very supportive and helped me to see that what I do now is just as important as some of the more dynamic procedures which are carried out. The thing for me to remember is that it's doing these other duties that helps keep me at work. There is no point trying to do something I'm not able to and ending up being off work again with a big flare up because I've exhausted myself trying. I've had to cut my hours and believe me I could ill afford to but had no choice.
I do hope you can find a happy balance.
rita