Work All Night, Sleep All Day

Night shift nurse on a Progressive Care Unit in a small community hospital

[lifeafterpsychiatry]

It's a lot healthier to go for a daily walk than to sign up for a gym membership you won't be using because you hate that kind of exercise. It's a lot healthier to eat a frozen meal than to skip a meal because you were too tired to cook something healthy. It's a lot healthier to take a quick shower than to procrastinate an elaborate routine for days. Don't aim so high that you won't be hitting anything!

[creamypancakebatter]

this is actually really helpful and affirming thanks

[breelandwalker]

[ardentmystacina]

A tiny amount of Productive Thing is better than none at all, but the kitty says it way better!

[gallicinvasion]

Another woman utterly failed by our society’s devaluation of women’s reproductive health. We can’t wait around for male doctors to decide what we need to know. This is why we need to take control and educate ourselves about our own bodies.

[gallicinvasion]

and here’s some comments i saw under the post. why is this a pattern?? why is this a recurring theme?? why is this information not common knowledge? what the fuck are doctors doing??

[sora2522]

This is news to me so let’s share it so people will know!

[halfhardtorock]

Gross tmi: but i passed a pretty big clot after having my daughter. It was about the size of a baseball. It actually hurt worse because while 15 hours of labor opened my cervix, i passed the clot in 30 minutes. I knew it was a possibility because of my midwife and reading, but everyone Ive told after this (mostly other pregnant women) were shocked that this could happen.

In our culture, it’s much more common to do deep research about what family cars we want to buy than we do about childbirth when we ’re pregnant.

[skeleton-warrior-deactivated201]

Tmi: I passed a huge clot after birth in the bathroom of my hospital room and called the nurse sobbing because I didn’t know it was normal. She treated me like an idiot, but NO ONE told me it was a possibility. And the pain associated with healing for the first couple of weeks after birth was worse than the labor imo. Again, I had no idea. They didn’t tell me a thing besides “sitz bath regularly and change your pads.” Before discharging me from the hospital.

[evashandor]

I was most definitely told about this in school. Fucking hell, 4-6 weeks of bleeding? My periods were/are bad enough, why the hell don’t we get told this?

[love-pro-choice]

I didn’t know it could last so long, wtf? Is the bleeding inevitable after birth? 

[rosietwiggs]

Bleeding is inevitable after birth - your uterine wall is shedding a fuck ton of lining. It can last from three to six weeks (possible longer) and it tapers off.

More TMI - I passed a MASSIVE clot after my fourth birth. At this point I already knew this could happen - it’s normal. What I DIDN’T know, was that I had caused it.

My post birth contractions were so bad after the birth that it felt like full transition labor. And they don’t give you anything for the pain. So I used a hot water bottle, without the nurses knowing, and it caused me to bleed even more. I lost so much blood that by the first time they sat me up to go to the bathroom, I fainted. It took three more tries until I could sit up.

Anyway, that’s not the point. The point is, the next morning I passed a clot the SIZE OF ANOTHER PLACENTA I KID YOU NOT, and I know what is and is not normal. So I called for the nurse and through the door told her I had passed a huge clot, and her response was - “It’s not big. I know what big is.” She hadn’t even looked. So I rolled my eyes and said, “Yeah, no. It’s big, I’m telling you.”

So, sounding extremely put upon, she asked me to open the door. I did, and after a long pause she goes, “Okay, yeah, that’s a little big.”

YOU DON’T SAY.

The point I’m trying to get across is that this shit is so common - women not knowing this stuff is so expected, and it keeps getting reinforced. People don’t expect you to know anything, don’t teach you anything, and then make you feel like you’re totally ignorant and a burden for your lack of knowledge when THEY WON’T SHARE.

Fucking learn EVERYTHING you can when it comes to childbirth, girls. It is the single most empowering thing you can do for yourself. And if you missed something, that’s okay. But the more knowledge you arm yourself with, the more in control of your situation you’ll be.

A few post partum tips:

DON’T use a hot water bottle - lol.

ONLY pads - NO tampons. Tampons can cause severe infection, not to mention, you probably don’t want to be shoving anything up there any time soon.

If you’ve had stitches, sitz baths DO help relieve the pain. Another great pain reliever? Dampen some pads and freeze them. Let one thaw slightly and use it on top of another pad. This will help with the pain as well as reduce swelling. Change the pad out as soon as it’s thawed completely. This REALLY helps on the first couple days after giving birth.

If you pass a clot, don’t sweat it. Even the one I passed, which was fucking massive, just required that we keep an eye out to make sure it didn’t happen again. If it does, talk to your doctor.

Take a pain killer half an hour before nursing. Because YES - your uterus is contracting after you give birth, to get back to its original size, and nursing causes much stronger contractions. Taking nursing-safe painkillers won’t prevent the pain, but it will reduce it. 

Buy disposable underwear for the first few days after birth. They will get VERY dirty. Or use your ratty old pairs that you’re ready to get rid of. Double up on pads - line them all the way up your ass-crack. I am so serious. And wear dark pants.

Pee in the shower. You do NOT want to wipe down there right after birth because ow. Peeing in the shower lets you just rinse afterwards. Especially if you’ve had stitches, peeing in the shower, with the shower-head rinsing AS you go, keeps stinging to a minimum. And fuck everyone else - keep on peeing in the shower until you feel ready to move back to toilet paper. Middle of the night and need to pee? Get your pants off - get in the shower and just go.

This is just a few things, but PLEASE feel free to send me an ask if you have any questions about ANYTHING childbirth/pregnancy/nursing related. I have four incredible kids. I’ve done it all - c-section, vacuume birth, episiotimy, stitches, with an epidural, without an epidural. I’m here.

[thehangryslush]

….I know I keep reblogging this but people keep adding super important information.

[typingsdrawings]

I feel like no one tells women this stuff because if a woman was even a little on the fence about having a baby before this would kinda make them run for the damn hills.

[kaxen]

…..you are correct, typing.

300% EXTRA SURE I’M NOT HAVING BABIES. 

[petitedeath]

peri bottles, witch hazel or anti-pain anticeptic spray are your friends. Also passing large clots after birth is a WARNING SIGN. Bigger than a half dollar is a sign that you have not passed your entire placenta (this is most common in hospital vaginal births where the mother is not allowed to naturally birth the placenta and instead has it ripped out by the doctor) if there is any placenta left in your uterus you can get extremely ill. This happened to both myself and my mother in law

[un-ptit-spleen]

WOW I didn’t know any of this and I’m terrified of what more I’m unaware of about my own body :( Honestly when will we fucking abolish this taboo about the female body…

[artsortment]

I had pretty great sex ed in school (lots of contraceptive information, and totally acknowledged that teenagers might have sex) and all of this is news to me.

And, as a 28-year-old person with a uterus, I’m extremely appalled I’m just learning this.

[deanplease]

Long, but very important information, even for those who don’t plan to have children, because you will almost certainly know someone who will, and you might be able to to help them. Or at least increase your level of empathy for them.

[astrodidact]

[intheheartofman]

[wonderwanda]

I reblogged this yesterday, but I want to reblog it again. Diabetic ketoacidosis turns your blood acidic and will essentially burn you from the inside out.

The stories you hear of people dying from rationing, this is what happens to their body.

Affordable insulin isn’t just a right, it’s a necessity.

No one should have to die like that when it’s preventable with access to proper medication.

[politijohn]

Source

Source

[posttexasstressdisorder]

That last fucking sentence.

[nurseorvampire]

The PTSD means it’s hard to sleep because thats when all the dead patients come back to haunt me.

[nurseorvampire]

I had to go to the ER recently because I couldn’t hold down fluids. Got meds, felt better, went home. Then I got hit with a $1000 bill. I work for the hospital system. I use their insurance. I had to cancel a trip so that I can pick up extra shifts at the hospital to pay for the ER visit. I have been anxious since I got the bill. I have spent a week wanting to throw up because the US healthcare system is horribly broken.

[what-is-love-babey-dont-hurt-me]

You guys ever see a DNI that makes you break out into laughter and almost cry

[what-is-love-babey-dont-hurt-me]

If graphic design is your passion then !!! GET OUT !!! 🚫🚫👎‼️🥶🥶🚫

[nurseorvampire]

As a nurse I read DNI as “Do Not Intubate” which makes it seem like someone has a much more aggressive stance on graphic designers 😂

[nurseorvampire]

Whatever your take on COVID and medications, I think we can all agree that the taste that Paxlovid causes is absolutely horrific. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t wanna die (thus the Paxlovid). But damn, that “metallic” taste they tell you about is no picnic. My mouth tastes like a metal in the way that dumpsters full of steaming garbage are made out of metal. I literally thought I was going to throw up because of the incessant taste in my mouth. I just have to keep reminding myself that bad taste won’t kill me, but COVID has tried to before.

[liberalsarecool]

Abolish for-profit health care insurance.

[goawfma]

this ^^^^

[strengthins0lidarity]

Medical diversity is key.

[the-spoonie-life]

This is so important in all fields but especially the medical profession. Being able to connect with patients and identify that they aren’t engaging with information is vital to patient care

[viking369]

If you have no clue about where your patient/client is coming from, you’re not helping. Go check Dr. Glaucomflecken’s pieces on rural medicine.

[marlenawatches-deactivated20250]

Seriously, medical professionals NEED to understand the communities they are providing care to; language, culture, education, etc, are all VITAL components to keep in mind, and not enough medical workers seem to get that.

[disableddyke]

onion not even doing satire at this point

[animentality]

[animentality]

[theconcealedweapon]

[generalissimo-kneedeepincynide]

As a construction worker, i almost died on the job because of an unsecured ladder,my dad in 30 years of prison guard duty wasn't involved in a single dangerous situation

[lifehacksthatwork]

Signs of a heart attack are different for each gender yet we only really teach the male warning signs. Make sure you’re aware of both and spread it to as many other women as possible!

[branwyn-says]

EVERY SINGLE TIME I HAVE TAKEN A CPR CLASS I have had to be that person who points out that the training videos ALWAYS frame the “male” symptoms as the default universal heart attack experience, while the “female” symptoms are framed as though they’re a deviation from the norm, rather than the primary symptom set that cis women experience. 

ALSO: I just showed this post to my roommate, who is an MD at a clinic that specializes in care for the LGBT community in the Baltimore area. I asked her  whether hormones were responsible for the difference in the “male/female” symptom arrays. I asked how that would apply to her trans patients (which, she treats a LOT of trans patients). She said, basically, that the longer you’ve taken testosterone the more likely you are to get the intense chest pressure and the arm pain, versus the upper back pressure and shortness of breath.

Obviously I am not a doctor myself, consult your own health care provider, etc.

[sanscarte]

Reblogging this comment because this is the FIRST TIME I’ve ever seen someone address what XYZ medical condition would look like in trans patients. Also this is partly why my great-grandma died: the (male) doctor dismissed her heart attack as basically indigestion, because she didn’t have the typical male symptoms.

[solarpunkarchivist-deactivated2]

Oh my God someone was able to answer the trans patient question!

[nurseorvampire]

I’ve been out of nursing for over a year and I’m trying to get back into it. I’m terrified that I can’t get a job. What if I wasn’t actually good at it? What if I can’t do it anymore?

[nurseorvampire]

I’m going in to shadow in the ER today. It will be my first time back to the bedside after almost a year and a half away.

[nurseorvampire]

I left the ICU because I had developed PTSD from watching covid patients waste away while they slowly suffocated, from losing a 35 year old cousin, from my own experience with having covid. I pushed myself into having a panic attack in a patients room. I have spent the last year in therapy trying to heal. I’ve been doing so much better. I found out today, Christmas, that my 86 year old grandfather has covid. He’s okay for now and he got on antivirals, but I am terrified of what tomorrow will bring. I’ve only really seen the worst cases so my mind keeps going to the worst cases. To the intubated, paralysed, proned patients. To the patient with so much subcutaneous emphysema that he looked like the Michelin Man. To the code who we thought was worsening covid all night until he was intubated during the code and more blood than I ever imagined burst from his haemorrhaging lungs. I’m scared for him. I’m scared for me. I’m scared for my dad and my sisters and my uncles. I’m scared.