sleepy head

[basiccat]

I work in healthcare and take 24/7 on-call every three weeks its really reeking havoc on my sleep and my ADHD. and I've gotten in trouble at work like eh 3-4 times in the 6 mo I've been there and it's always been when I'm on call. (the call is brutal) I've even gotten in trouble for sleeping through my pager on call too. I miss doses of my medication when I'm on call due to the randomness of my life on call, as if I didn't have enough trouble being organized. I am hoping to talk to my employer about the effects of sleep deprivation on my ADHD but frankly I've only seen supporting information for sleep disorders and ADHD, not the impact of sleep loss on ADHD. when I can get a regular sleep schedule and take my meds I function quite well and never anticipated how hellish my life was about to be come now that I have all of this on call.

[Faithfull]

I can't get reg sleep no matter what I take I'm living on the edge as usual and have insomnia driving me insane .

[basiccat in reply to Faithfull]

Get some early am exercise (not too close to bedtime though), go for a walk see nature or something

later relaxation and be good to yourself. I take Ashwagandha and melatonin at least when I remember

I turn on some apocalyptica radio or play those weird charka youtubes to drown out the noise of the neighbors

[khoepker]

I'm in a very similar situation dude. I've been a nurse for 7years now and have done tons of call. The only thing that has worked well for me is to take my vyvanse at the same time every morning whether I've slept or not. Can't leave your body guessing if the stimulant is coming or not. Ill still sleep on my meds if tired enough, but also a benadryl helps. Let me know if you try it and it works.

[basiccat]

you know you have a point there I really should just go ahead and take my medication like clock work. its just that I worry about the effect of the medication when I haven't had sleep

[Lizard3547]

Unfortunately I don’t have much advice for you, but I relate 100%. I am a newish nurse who works night shift and then I try to get get to a normal schedule on my regular days. My inattentive ADHD is especially troublesome during the days I work because of the weird hours. I talked to my psychiatrist about this and she prescriped additional IR medication (I take extended relief) to give me an attentional boost when I’m struggling during work days. However, I really think sleep and a normal schedule is the best solution to our minds, but I’m not sure if employers would accommodate.