Nurses

[~*~Rachel~*~ 2]

Is anyone else absolutely surprised at how many nurses are getting band? I am a critical care nurse and on here find just about 1 out of 3 people I talk to are in the medical field. Do we as a profession just live unhealthy lifestyles of tending to others and not our selves? Or is it our knowledge base of the procedure that leads us to the surgery? Just a thought in my head this morning...

[cheryl2586 3,053]

As caregivers we only think of others. My weight was surely affecting my ability to do my job especially standing on my feet for 12 hours and working in rehab, then surgery. I think knowledge plays a big part of it as well because we know all the risk associated with the surgeries but yes we for the most part eat unhealthy because there is barely time in a 12hour shift to sit for 30 minutes and eat healthy food. Its easier to grab Cookies that patients brought to you or candy or all the crap that is always sitting at the nurses station then to pack lunch or eat horrid hospital food. I would say that over the years the sweets took a toll on me for the most part because it was just easier to grab then actually sit down and eat when there wasnt enough time to eat. A doughnut was better than having nothing I thought at that time.

[mattie7632 24]

The reality is that "healthcare workers" really are "sickcare workers". Healthcare is fixing symptoms of sickness, not teaching one to be healthy. So no, this is no surprise to me!

[dcowens 2]

I have always been in the medical field up until lately. I personally don't feel that it affected my ability to care for myself I think that I just made bad choices when it came to food and I was lazy exercise wise. lol. I guess that all depends though. I did have to stand on my feet 12 hours a day and tend to others...You'd think I'd have lost weight by running around all day, but I guess I outweighed the exercise with bad food choices.

[mattie7632 24]

It doesn't help matters that so many foods (processed) are filled with additives that actually cause physical addiction! Having all that in your diet makes it 100 times harder to make healthy choices!

[debdab 0]

Debdab--I too am a critical nurse--I would agree that care givers put others needs first--but am now thinking I need to be a good example for others too.

I work night shift which isn't good for metabolism anyway. I have little time for eating breaks so tend to inhale food. Since my surgery is soon-- will have to

change that!! Anyone have any pointers?

[ChopswyfT 1]

I'm a nurse too ( x 15 yrs) and I just had the band placed on Jan 4th. It's funny you brought up this subject, my hubby & I were just discussing this- this morning.

I told him it made no sense to me either why so many of us nurses often promote health i.e d/c instructions and other discussions we have with our patients. Yet, many of us do the exact opposite of what we encourange our patients to do.

Regardless, I am glad I am finally getting it right. I don't plan to ever have to wear a 2x scrubs ever, ever again

[thsisme 14]

I have to agree with everyone. We run, we take care of and we tend to place everyone and everything before us and then there is the point that as nurses we learn how to inhale our food as well as grab whatever sweet items that are in our path to give us that extra burst of energy. At the end of a 12 hour shift I went home to my family and dealt with what needed to be dealt with there never made time for myself or disciplined myself to exercise, eat right. I just ate, went to bed and got up to do it all over again.

Years down the road here I am looking at myself wondering what the hell I'm going to do with retirement around the corner and looking at a secondary career and whatever else may come down the road with the kids grown and mostly out on their own and I realized that if I am going to do the things that I want to do...then I had better start taking care of myself and so here I am learning new habits and gladly banded developing a new me ...physically that is...

[~*~Rachel~*~ 2]

I also work night shift and my shifts go 7 on 7 off 12 hour shifts so for an entire week I sleep eat and nurse. On my off week I have followed in my mothers footsteps and filling that to be social I have to feed the entire neighborhood. My husband and I are young and sociable and often have friends over and I feed them to death we eat drink grill have a ball. It has been a struggle to divide my eating with my preop diet on my night shift but I have managed pretty well I think. I have three herniated disc in my back and 2 in my neck not to mention my knees hurt and I have sciatic pain running down my lower legs. I was told have lap band or back surgery at 27 years old. Lap band here I come... I would like to blame my weight on my job but I have been over weight my entire life. I think it is in my personality. I have always been comfortable with my weight until the pain started. I never had problems thinking I was ugly or too fat. I always thought I was the pretty fat girl and happy to be the "Fat friend." I am not comfortable with the thought of being thin just because I don't know what it will be like. I pray I will learn to love myself and tend to myself as I tend to others!

[mattie7632 24]

You are going to succeed and you will feel great!

I also work night shift and my shifts go 7 on 7 off 12 hour shifts so for an entire week I sleep eat and nurse. On my off week I have followed in my mothers footsteps and filling that to be social I have to feed the entire neighborhood. My husband and I are young and sociable and often have friends over and I feed them to death we eat drink grill have a ball. It has been a struggle to divide my eating with my preop diet on my night shift but I have managed pretty well I think. I have three herniated disc in my back and 2 in my neck not to mention my knees hurt and I have sciatic pain running down my lower legs. I was told have lap band or back surgery at 27 years old. Lap band here I come... I would like to blame my weight on my job but I have been over weight my entire life. I think it is in my personality. I have always been comfortable with my weight until the pain started. I never had problems thinking I was ugly or too fat. I always thought I was the pretty fat girl and happy to be the "Fat friend." I am not comfortable with the thought of being thin just because I don't know what it will be like. I pray I will learn to love myself and tend to myself as I tend to others!

[ansoninc 16]

About 15 years ago I worked in the mental health field with a lot of nurses. i was surprised to see that most of them were smokers. Their end of the building was always filled with smoke. That was until laws came into effect and they had to smoke outside and then 20 feet away from the buildings. We all do things we know better not to.

[Bryn 3]

I'm not a nurse but i work in physical medicine/healthcare and i'm surprised at how many of us are overweight in the field. i am doing this surgery for me, but i also feel a bit of myself wanting to do it for my patients. if they look at me and see i'm not healthy, how can they ever trust in me to guide them in a healthier lifestyle? so i hope that after my surgery i can be an inspiration to my patient and others.

[ansoninc 16]

I'm not a nurse but i work in physical medicine/healthcare and i'm surprised at how many of us are overweight in the field. i am doing this surgery for me, but i also feel a bit of myself wanting to do it for my patients. if they look at me and see i'm not healthy, how can they ever trust in me to guide them in a healthier lifestyle? so i hope that after my surgery i can be an inspiration to my patient and others.

I am a mental health professional. A while back i ran into a former patient I had not seen in quiet a while. i had gained weight since he had seen me last. I could tell he wasn't quite sure what to say so he said. "Well, you look well and larger." I could not argue with him.

[mattie7632 24]

OMG that is so rude! How can somebody say that? That just makes me mad!

I am a mental health professional. A while back i ran into a former patient I had not seen in quiet a while. i had gained weight since he had seen me last. I could tell he wasn't quite sure what to say so he said. "Well, you look well and larger." I could not argue with him.

[ansoninc 16]

OMG that is so rude! How can somebody say that? That just makes me mad!

He had mild mental retardation and they say it like it is.