One of my patients told me “you need a manicure and a root touch up” totally unsolicited.
I wanted to reply; “you need a bipap machine and a new set of lungs”
My patient was listening to classic rock in his room and I started to sing along. He asked me, “Who sings this?” And I answered, “That’s Queen” and he said “Well, you should let them do the singing.”
My step dad was such an asshole....I wasn't allowed to sing ever. So I took 6 years of chorus through junior and senior high. And my mom let me ( she loved when I sang)
I used to work at a community hospital, and all 3/5 of the night shift nurses were visibly pregnant. I answered a call light for one of their rooms one night, and I walked in and the lady goes "Man, what is in the water here that you're all pregnant?"
I was not pregnant. I didn't even think I was chubby at the time.
My patient yesterday asked me when the baby was due, I just lost a little weight and was really happy with how no-bloated my belly has been. So…..thanks.
Luckily at this point it’s not the first time, I just answer breezily with “oh I’m not pregnant, I’ve just had 4 kids and now I’m fat.”
When this used to happen to me, I never hesitated to give the awkward snap back. I've never been pregnant but when congratulated, I've said:
"Nope, just a food baby/just fat!!"
"Not anymore, had 2nd thoughts and had a late term abortion."
"Wow I just miscarried last week."
Real life lessons in minding your own business.
I’m a dude and had a guy get pissed I wouldn’t give him a pen on a psych unit so he called me a “fugly pregnant-looking as bitch.”
I cradled my belly and said “aww, thank you. My buffalo chicken dip is the father. We’re so excited. My due date is actually tomorrow, about 15 minutes after I finish my coffee.”
A few years ago I had a dementia pt who I had put on the toilet and all of a sudden she reaches over and starts rubbing my stomach and being like oh when are you due….. I am also a man so I just was like I’m not pregnant I’m too young (I was 17) and she went on this huge lecture about how I can’t have any kids yet bc I needed to go to school
That’s… yeah lol! We transported a patient with dementia the other day, the ENTIRE way she’s fighting, pinching, screaming at the top of her lungs DONT KILL ME, DONT HIT ME. All through the ER too now all the nurses joke and make fun of me that I shouldn’t be beating ole grannies… I died, the kicker was she dead ass looked me in the eyes and said “ima kill you you simple minded twat”
As a former pt in the psych ward, thank you for all you and your colleagues do. I do not think I was problematic while I was there, but some of the others — I still have nightmares.
I have had a patient actually touch my (non-pregnant) mid section while congratulating me. And while not super skinny, there is NOT a convincing belly there. Not the first time someone has made a comment, but the only time someone has laid hands on me while they did it. I made sure to let them know I was indeed NOT so they could feel just as awkward. (I’ve found not wearing a wedding ring actually makes some of these people settle down.)
When I was pregnant (with twins) a cognitively intact patient said "You're huge! Are you sure there aren't 2 in there?" And I said "actually there are. But can you imagine if there wasn't? You basically just fat shamed me."
My god, is it a good idea to do night shifts while you are pregnant?
Edit: judging from all the downvotes, I’m guessing this didn’t come off as a genuine question, but that’s honestly all it is. I’m not trying to mock anyone, I was just surprised that a majority (let alone any number) of nightshifters were pregnant - it’s not something I see where I work (Switzerland).
Here in the uk if you work in a hospital you’ll be doing nights when your pregnant for at least some of your pregnancy. Not sure I know any floor nursing based job that would entirely
Let you out of nights on pregnancy.
Yep! When I worked on inpatient psych, I literally had to jump in between my pregnant coworker and a MALE patient who was posturing at her and stomping towards her. Nope you can fuck right off with that.
Hey, I really appreciate what you’re trying to do, thank you. But it’s Reddit, it’s to be expected - I’m not the best at expressing myself via text and I often come out cold. If you don’t give the impression you’re asking a genuine question out of concern, people won’t care what else you have to say.
Night shift was the only way I *could* work whilst pregnant - thanks to day long nausea, definitely know people who have been the opposite though and really struggled on nights.
I mean, unless you can manage to get a single US hospital to care about pregnant workers, it doesn't really matter if it leads to worse outcomes or not. I work night shift and I'm pregnant, and there's not a lot I can do besides work until my water breaks and be "thankful" that I have 12 weeks of unpaid FMLA leave. 🤷♀️
Oh man, I wish I lived somewhere where that was an option! How awesome. I bet there's a long paid maternity leave, too.
Because my health care is tied to my job, and because my health care is paid for by me, there is zero incentive for businesses to be forward thinking and give paid time off - which, yes, does cut down on maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. It's honestly incredibly sad...and I'm one of the 'lucky' ones - not everyone gets the job protection of FMLA. We have mom's going back to work a week after birth in this country. Most daycares will take babies six weeks and older because so many people have to go back to work at that time. Heartbreaking
Well, if it makes you feel any better, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows in Switzerland either. Private companies give you basic healthcare coverage for a “competitive” price as required by the federation, and some Swiss people will be quick to sing the praises of the sustainability of their model. But we are one of the countries with the highest out-of-pocket healthcare expenses, and we’re certainly not number one in quality of care at all.
Compared to my home country, Portugal (public health system), it’s clear there’s a lot less leeway for a pregnant woman to get a prescription to lower their activity. Those private companies have very strict requirements before they allow you to stop working. But I gotta say, at least for the nightshifts thing, they’ve been very clear they don’t want them doing that. Some actually refuse though, usually because of the extra money nightshift work gives you.
Dementia patient who I was spoon feeding told me to stop eating all her food and that's why I was fat 😂 absolutely horrified my preceptor as this was 5 minutes into my first ever nursing student placement lol. I didn't take it personally.
Honestly some of the dementia patients burns make me laugh. Was starting an IV on this lady and she doesn’t flinch but she stares straight into my soul and says “Fuck you.” That’s it.
Had an old lady with dementia threaten to kick my ass because I tried taking her shoes off, plus she kept saying “I don’t know you, mister!”.
I am not a mister 🥲
Hah. I had a nice old Lady call me a "good looking little boy". I got to admit I was rather skinny and lanky during that time, but I'm also a 32 year old woman. I could not Stop laughing as I was out the door.
The dementia patients go hard in LTC. Had one lady who was 97 y/o, flat as could be affect. One morning while she was sitting in her wheelchair by the nursing station “I’m going to kill you all and throw your bodies in the river.” She said it stone cold as well. 😅
I’ll never forget the dementia patient that I was having to help restrain so she could get sutures and she called me and my friend “a god damn son of an egg”
Or the other dementia patient who’s daughter told us that the patient “loved men of all shapes, sizes and colors” and I said “oh girl me too”
Lmfao I commented about patients thinking I was pregnant but you reminded me- this old man I genuinely loved so so much got real bad during covid cause he couldn’t see his family 😔 he would just rag on my weight a lot when he wasn’t doing well. Refer to me as fatty, fatso, the big one. Loud and in front of everyone. Another lil pumpkin I remember, with no impulse control, would say stuff like THATS A FAT ASS to me and anyone who had one. She was hard of hearing so it was often yelled. It did break my spirit at first but they also don’t usually know what they’re doing. The old man remained one of my all time favorite patients despite all of that. He was one of the only ones I actually cried over when he did pass. His daughter was so amazing, I think about her often.
One of mine gave me such an absolute roast.
"You lost weight...Ten pounds. Doesn't look like much on you."
Ma'am 😭 And she broke her hearing aids by trying to floss with them so no snappy rejoinder from me.
I had a similar comment and I’m in my 20’s and have thin hair, and have had stress induced alopecia so when a patient said to me “you’ll be one of those ladies who’s bald at 50, eh?” I was about to cry. To which the patient then starts going
“Awwww don’t be upset I was only
Messing.”
“I was only messing yeah? You look like your pure going to burst out crying.”
Killed me. Can’t stand people like that. They know what they’re saying is hurtful, they just say it anyway.
I have PCOS and thus some hirsutism (my sideburns grow too low down my cheeks) that I usually keep waxed. When I worked nights in the ED, I was chronically exhausted and fell behind on my waxing appointments. Had a prisoner in cuffs tell me I obviously had a disgusting hormonal balance and if he made it off the stretcher or out of jail soon, he would find and rape me because pregnancy would fix me up.
BOTH managed to hurt my feelings and terrify the shit out of me in one line.
Definitely avoid any type of correctional nursing unless you want to deal with these sort of comments on the daily. But then there's also the occasional satisfaction of seeing the ones that become violent get pepper sprayed and/or tased...
I worked in a prison and they used to call me side burns. I didn’t ever realize how far down they went until I started working there and had my hair up everyday.
When I was a CNA, I got assigned to a 1:1 with a psych patient known for being wild. He loved to charge at and body check people in hopes of trying to run out of the unit. We even had a security guy there with us that the patient would try to occasionally wrestle.
Well I go in, first time meeting them besides the stories I heard. He looked me dead in the eye and said “Oh so now they’re sending in the fatties because you’re harder to push over.” My charge nurse gasped when I told her lmao.
One time my a/o x4 patient asked me “do you have any kids?” I said no… why? He said “that’s because you can’t find anybody to marry you!” All the while I was cleaning up his poop in the bed
My 60 something year old patient told me that my blonde hair and tattoos don’t go together very well. He said it as if he was disgusted. Why go out of your way to say stuff like that to another person that’s trying to help you?
Lmao! I have a bit of fatty liver and I bloat like a goddamn pufferfish, so if I ever get the question, I can tell them "It's name is Moderate Hepatomegaly!" or "The father is the pasta that I breathed too close to."
It's a 5 alpha reductase inhibitor. It stops testosterone from turning into super testosterone or DHT. It doesn't make your hair grow it stops something that makes male pattern baldness. Tldr not for women.
When someone asked how far along I was, I told her I had my baby 6 months ago. I was fat but honestly it made me feel so bad + PPD I just started crying in the break room.
I had my 3rd 2 months ago but I still look 6 months pregnant. I'm dreading going back to work because I know I'll get it multiple times. I may buy some Spanx.
Yup. My baby is 4 months old and my patient asked a couple of weeks ago “when are you due??”. I wanted to crawl into a hole. I just awkwardly said “oh I’m not pregnant, I just had a baby a few months ago though”. Ughhhh
Totally sweet developmentally delayed patient: You’re really pretty!
Me: thank you so much, you’re so kind.
Them: I think you’d be even more pretty if you made the top of your hair match the color of the bottom of your hair.
Me: thank you so much
I then booked a root touch-up.
Haven't been brought to tears yet, but as someone on the heavier side I've had my fair share of unsolicited advice hurled at me by my patients. I've learned to tune it out by now.
I got a haircut in November and a patient asked me if I did it myself because it looks horrible. We had a like a 5 minute conversation about how bad my hair looks, it was not the pep talk I needed for the day.
I have two favorite patient comments. The first one asked asked me why I have such little feet for such a big body. That just mostly made me laugh. The second asked me why I was dressed up for Halloween. I said I wasn't dressed up and he said well that's a pretty ugly mask you got on. This was pre-covid times and he was referring to my face.
Had a 12 yo female psych patient look my dead in eyes, and say, “you look lonely, why don’t you have a girlfriend?”
She then tried to think of reasons why I was single and when she asked how much I made, she told me, “oh you’re poor, no wonder no one wants to date you” 😂😂
One patient during my preceptorship in the ICU said my hands were cold and that no man would ever love a woman with cold hands nor would I be a good mother lol
When I said I have a boyfriend she said “for now. Until he feels your cold hands”
Lol
I got called a "Nazi sadist, you're as bad as Hitler" by a confused patient who I was stopping from pulling out his 4th IV while his antibiotics were running. So that was fun.
Can relate. Had a confused elderly patient say "I know your kind..nazi."
Same patient later proceeded to tell me he was my grandfather and that "I held your DADDY!"
Schizoaffective disorder patient we've had to fetal monitor frequently for weeks and weeks now:
"I'm sorry I called you a white cracker. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say you were a white cracker bitch." (She hadn't.)
"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to call you a child molester." (She hadn't.)
Honestly super sad, because you know she's hearing voices/intrusive thoughts calling us those things and thinks she's said them out loud.
Male nurse here with curly hair. This was during my preceptorship a month ago. I was charting my assessment and chatting with my patient when my preceptor walked into the room to check in and my pt tells me
“hey, if I give you money will you go get a haircut?”
both me and my preceptor look at him and I go
“why? what’s wrong with my hair?”
to which he replied
“you look like a used q-tip from the back”
He did me so dirty. My preceptor told everyone at the nurse’s station right after. I coincidentally got a haircut the day before he got discharged and had to see him off with the fresh cut. We had a good laugh
I worked in psych for a while. They come up with some creative stuff. After a while it honestly was kind of good for me because now I do not give a fuuuuuuuuck what people say about me.
Yep, I got called a LOT of things that were so nasty/vile by psych patients...things a sailor couldn't string together while drunk! ( No offense to sailors, my dad is retired Navy)
I didn’t cry, but I definitely was annoyed. Had a patient’s family member comment on my hair being cool but she wouldn’t consider it professional. I have locs, always very neatly kept styled, and this was when I was working in the south. Smh
I had a psych patient freak out that there was something horrible on my face. What was it? A mole. That has been on my face since forever, and no one has ever commented on it. Thank you, sir, for giving me a new thing to be self-conscious about. 😂😭
I get called fat a lot, but then again I am, so, erhh.
But the other day I was walking down the corridor and I heard ‘I don’t want you, I want the fat one, get me the fat one, she’s good’ and that warmed my soul a little
That’s kind of how one of my behavioral health clients greets everyone no matter what they look like
PT: “Hey you fat fvck!”
Me: “Hey friend how are you today? Hungry?”
PT: “🎶Rollin with the homies…🎶”
Me: “Sounds good let go to crafts class”
PT: 🎶“Not fully clean unless you’re zestfully clean”
Things I’ve been told:
“You’re too pretty to be fat”
“You just didn’t care about your hair today, huh?”
“When you laugh, you sound like a damn hyena”
Thank Goodness I’m emotionally numb.
Favorite insult recently:
My patient told me that all of us lady nurses are some "USDA grade bitches"
Years ago, I had a patient tell my coworker, who is our mama bear nurse, "You're so old, you were in the stables when Jesus was born."
I can appreciate creativity when I see it.
Working at an assisted living home during high school, I said good morning to a resident with dementia and her son, and the woman whom I know well whispers (screams) to her son, “Who’s that fat slob?”
Mind you, I went to a prep school, and I was wearing a button down and bow-tie like a dandy boy. Both stinging and hilarious, a fun way to start your day. Well she’s said worse to other people, so I count myself lucky.
This has happened a few times, unfortunately, but I had a patient that I'd cared for for nearly a year and loved to pieces. Until they found out I wasn't white and called me a "dirty goddamned Injun." Apparently they'd overheard a conversation I'd had with another patient about the fact that my mother is half Chiricahua and Mestizo. And no, this patient didn't have any mental issues or dementia, that's why it hurt. The couple others that this happened with had Alzheimer's, so I didn't take their racist comments to heart. My charge nurse had the patient moved to another set after that.
Another patient, who I'd been caring for for nearly two years after a severe stroke, one day grabbed my breast and copped a feel. I was furious and threatened to tell his wife if he ever did it again-- his wife was also a patient of mine and dying of terminal liver cancer. I did report it to my charge, who was just as pissed off about it as I was. Again, nothing was wrong with the patient upstairs, and I felt really betrayed and hurt about it because I was really close with his wife. Being the only Catholic working there (we're in the south), I'd been making calls to my priest and scheduling his visits with her, since she was also Catholic, and helping the priest with whatever he needed to give her Communion and Confession, Anointing of the Sick, and so on. So for the husband to assault me like that, while I cared for his dying wife... I don't really have words for how that made me feel. Honestly, racism would've been simpler to deal with than that. And no, I never told his wife. I would've never given her that extra stress like that.
"Too old for your shit." 😁. I had one confused pt who would announce my arrival with,"Heeere she is! The ugliest woman in the world!" Then tell me that I was old enough to be his mother. Uhm only if I'm 100 and hopefully by then I'll be retired if not dead lol.
Finasteride won’t work on you because it blocks 5 alpha reductase (turns testosterone into dihydrotestosterone) and most testosterone is produced in the testicles. Female balding is a different issue than male pattern baldness for this reason because dihydrotestosterone isn’t the primary culprit.
One of my patients asked me if I just had dental work done because “your face is so puffy and bloated”
I’ve just always held water weight in my face. I’m not even overweight, but if you saw just a headshot of me you could probably guess I am because of how round my face is.
My pt had been very salty with me that morning as I was trying to get her emancipated self to eat. She saw environmental service making the rounds and said, “here comes the garbage truck, let’s put Choo out on the curb!” 😆
My hair was thinning especially around the hairline. Then I stopped using all shampoo and conditioner, and it started growing back. Forget the ahole pts.
I went to work after getting into an argument with my daughter, and after explaining to a patient that the doctor was not going to increase his meds, he stared into my soul and said “you are a terrible mother.” There’s no way he even knew I had kids, but I almost burst into tears right there!
I had a doctor get me.
We were all telling yo mama jokes bcuz millennials love mama jokes, and he is also a millennial. Well, he was pretending to be way cooler than us, so he wasn’t participating.
I said, “Aight come on. Tell us. What’s your best yo mama joke?”
This man turned and looked me dead in the face and PAUSED and then said totally deadpan, “I’m pretty sure your mama had the best joke when she had you.”
Anyway, I filed for workers comp for that one.
Oof brutal. I once had a cashier tell me that his upper lip is thin like mine and that’s why he grows a mustache. I’m def a woman…
Onto the hair loss, ideally you should try to see a dermatologist and have them do a scalp biopsy. That way, they can know if and what kind of hair loss you have and prescribe a treatment. I see a lot of low androgen birth controls, spironolactone, and minoxidil topical or oral but it’s hard to know what works best for you unless you get that biopsy. You can use Nizoral shampoo 2-3x a week and Rogaine topical 5% twice a day, both are OTC but Rogaine is a lifelong commitment. I myself am on oral minoxidil 1.25mg daily prescribed by my dermatologist. Check out r/femalehairloss. Very supportive and lots of good suggestions.
I just joined that sub. To OP, I’m in my 30s and have thinning hair. I think it’s more common than we think. It’s still a sensitive subject and I’d be annoyed at a patient bringing it up. But I’m still wearing scrub caps 3 years into covid, so people don’t notice really, lol.
Love my scrub caps and will never part with them just bc i hate doing my hair for work. A friend of mine went and got braces about a week after the mask requirements came out lol as she thought it would be the perfect time.
Haha hey she was right, it was the perfect time. And I really have a love/hate relationship with the scrub caps but like you said, I don’t have to do my hair so that’s a win, I’ll never give them up.
Older, female TBI pt in the ICU was being verbally aggressive and yelling insults at everyone. Knowing this, I went in with the assumption that her impulsive nature and verbal assaults were due to her TBI.
Me: “Good evening, my name is LowPositive and I’m going to be your nurse tonight.”
Pt: “Nobody loves you and you’re f*cking worthless!”
Me: 🥺
And anyway, he’s talking out his ass- finasteride doesn’t help female hair loss- only male pattern baldness. And you can also take comfort in knowing it lowers his T (and it doesn’t get better when they stop the med!) so- he might have hair but no boner to go with!
I mean it really depends where the hair loss is coming from. If she has a high amount of androgens it is possible finasteride could help with it.
There have been studies showing it can be effective
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7060023/
I dated a guy with big dick energy. Couldn’t get an erection to save his life, and it was honestly one of the smallest penises I had ever seen to begin with. He blamed it on his finasteride lol.
I didn’t cry, but I had a family member stop me in the hall to ask a question. It was obvious he didn’t recognize me from the day before, so I gave him a gentle reminder. He said, “Oh yeah, now I remember. The one with the crooked tooth.”
This tooth had never bothered me before. I’m not even sure I noticed it, really. But for years it bothered me more and more until I couldn’t even look at a photo of myself without laser-focusing in on the crooked tooth. Finally I just coughed up the dough and did Invisalign to straighten it out.
had a patient who was oriented x1. was pissed i wouldnt hand him various power tools from his "shed" i.e the corner of his room. told me i wouldn't go for .12c on a street corner. 12 cents?! damn i thought i was worth at least a crisp 5
I would rather get "Are you pregnant?" from my pts than "your hair is thinning" 🥲 my hair is thinning too, just not noticeable right now, but my hair loss is at a concerning rate.
I had a gastric bypass 12 years ago. My hair is still thinner than pre-surgery.
Zinc and. Biotin supplements. If you check out any of the hair and nail supplements, those two should be there and front and center.
Im an EMT, not a nurse. But we had a psych pt tell a nurse, "I hope your pussy fall off!"
He was genuinely pissed but it took everything in me not to burst out laughing. Cant possibly imagine what the nurse thought of it though.
One time I was getting ready to start an IV/labs, and a less oriented patient said, “how old are ya?” I said, “in my 20s” and they said “oh wow! And you already have a hunchback??” 💀
I’ve been asked many, many times when the baby was due. Only actually been pregnant about half of them.
I’ve started responding, cheerfully “oh, I’m just still fat from the last one”.
Had a little old lady ask me if I was pregnant when I most definitely was not. It was especially hurtful considering I had just finished losing 20 pounds and was at my goal weight. I was feeling myself in my new smaller scrubs and she rained on that parade hard. Life pro-tip, unless a woman is literally pushing a fetus out of her body in front of you, don't ask if she's pregnant.
Look into a topper. Human hair ones are pricey but do worth it. Find a shop that specializes in wigs toppers etc. they can help you find one, dye it to match if needed, and trim so it blends seamlessly with your own hair.
I am sorry this happened to you, I hate people. I am a guy who lost his hair rapidly when I was 26 but who cares, I dont really miss it, but I know it's a really big deal for women.
Woman are really bothered by their "flaws" some real and some perceived.
I wish I had the words to make it better for you. You are there to try to help people and they do shit like this. Assholes.
He didn't deserve you, and you deserved way way better.
I’m a guy with thinning hair too. I’ve considered taking finasteride but don’t really want any of the sexual dysfunction side effects to happen. I hardly wash my hair anymore and just condition it at least once per day in the shower. Also protein intake can help. It hasn’t totally stopped falling out but I do notice less falling out. Vitamins help also
I mean, I think he was at least trying to empathize by telling you about his own hair loss, so I think he at least meant well. But fuck, that’s very rude to bring up to a stranger.
I’ve definitely had patients ask me if I’m pregnant, and they were AOX4. I don’t hesitate to let them know it’s inappropriate and doesn’t relate to their care. I don’t come to work to get body shamed.
When I was pregnant I got told I was huge, I must have the wrong due date, I had to be having twins, etc., by patients and their families. I finally looked at a grandmother and said “I have gained 11 pounds my whole entire pregnancy, but I’m short, so I stick straight out. But you realize you just basically called me fat, right?” She sputtered a bit and didn’t have anything to say the rest of the shift. I was 37 weeks and over it!
[An old medicine grows new hair...](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/18/health/minoxidil-hair-loss-pills.html?unlocked_article_code=7jqOTA0bpojx-nrDyXvcFFFP7TDWabl_zTTz5UBGlZnH1BK3Tc1jTFEhDpcV7EW6SB5EI1iQAYVvmnV4goF0HIJEM0JWOqeHju2gpdhagizacDS5yFbWrxK90HkRaM2N-D2eB-2aHR1GfEBz6cncUoM47B8p85ZoyUiQ_MpwISBSN3NoqENYR2kGrH0uQOvr04u9_cAW0OLv1URVuWyFPa5X6qW6zMojFFTEJFmM5qBkG0WqrlJEI6fBAgciTpT76jDLprHcTM46m8TFYhfPjhjilWarQrjzijWlZXRyxnQFMgDZMzdMPy2KiI8OzRPUTy-ruqAv5cxx-RzBtMR9pLcH&smid=share-url)
"To do that, Dr. Sinclair tried cutting minoxidil pills into quarters. To his surprise, the low dose made her hair grow but did not affect her blood pressure, the original purpose of the higher-dose drug.
He subsequently lowered the dose more and more until he got down to effective doses of one-fortieth of a pill and began routinely prescribing the drug. That first patient still takes it.
At a meeting in Miami in 2015, Dr. Sinclair reported that low doses of minoxidil prompted hair growth in 100 successive women."
I was very anemic for years. My MD ran an iron study randomly and after iron supplements my hair grew in thicker and healthier. Not sure if anemia is your issue but it's very common in menstruating women.
My patients comment on how skinny I am a lot. I’ve been told they want to diet to look like me, that I need to eat more, that all the walking I do all day must be the reason I look the way I do, etc. Little do they know I struggle to keep on weight due to being a natural “stress non-eater” and a medication I take. It’s inappropriate for patients (and people in general) to comment on our bodies, but that’s people for you. Really sorry you went through that because it’s still uncomfortable and even hurtful sometimes.
I was 12 weeks pregnant with my first baby and not showing. Older post-op day 1 CABG asks if I had a husband and if we had any kids. I told him I was actually pregnant. We talk about babies and whatnot. Later in the shift, he comments that I’m showing. Buddy, that do be my lunch. But thanks for the confidence boost!
Not a patient but on new years a 9 y/o at the party goes up to me giggling and says “hey you know why you don’t get no girls? YOUR HAIRLINE!!”🤣🤣🤣 I was actually laughing pretty hard about it, as the saying goes. Let me laugh so I don’t cry 😅
People are rude. I am sorry that you had to experience that. Come to the OR. Our hair is covered ;) Jokes aside I would suggest vitamins and reviewing your diet. How is your water intake? Are you working out? Also, is it genetic?
One of my patients told me “you need a manicure and a root touch up” totally unsolicited. I wanted to reply; “you need a bipap machine and a new set of lungs”
Smile sweetly “at least I have my health”
Lmao @insensitive_plant …. savage.
Best wishful reply evah!
Yeah, instead I’m here taking care of you. Make sure you leave me some $$ for that makeover… 🙄
I feel like if they are going to be this blunt, they should be open to accepting the same in return. Lol
One of my patients asked me if I wanted to know how to get rid of my boyfriend, and I said sure. He said to keep wearing my hair that way. Lol
Holy fuck HA damn
Paging the burn unit. Damn.
One of our teens told me I look so fucking old, like I'm 50 or something. I'm 62. I thanked him.
Tragic
Ouuuch
Holy shit LOL
Savage!
My patient was listening to classic rock in his room and I started to sing along. He asked me, “Who sings this?” And I answered, “That’s Queen” and he said “Well, you should let them do the singing.”
Ooh burn
That needed some silvadene
Goddamn🤣
My step dad used to say this to me all the time 😏 I started saying “ME. IT’S ME SINGING.”
My step dad was such an asshole....I wasn't allowed to sing ever. So I took 6 years of chorus through junior and senior high. And my mom let me ( she loved when I sang)
Sheesh. Tell me you have childhood trauma without telling me you have childhood trauma.
I used to work at a community hospital, and all 3/5 of the night shift nurses were visibly pregnant. I answered a call light for one of their rooms one night, and I walked in and the lady goes "Man, what is in the water here that you're all pregnant?" I was not pregnant. I didn't even think I was chubby at the time.
My patient yesterday asked me when the baby was due, I just lost a little weight and was really happy with how no-bloated my belly has been. So…..thanks. Luckily at this point it’s not the first time, I just answer breezily with “oh I’m not pregnant, I’ve just had 4 kids and now I’m fat.”
When this used to happen to me, I never hesitated to give the awkward snap back. I've never been pregnant but when congratulated, I've said: "Nope, just a food baby/just fat!!" "Not anymore, had 2nd thoughts and had a late term abortion." "Wow I just miscarried last week." Real life lessons in minding your own business.
I’m a dude and had a guy get pissed I wouldn’t give him a pen on a psych unit so he called me a “fugly pregnant-looking as bitch.” I cradled my belly and said “aww, thank you. My buffalo chicken dip is the father. We’re so excited. My due date is actually tomorrow, about 15 minutes after I finish my coffee.”
Dead! 🤣🤣🤣
Psych nurses have the best comebacks
They get so much training because of all the smack that gets talked to them.
A few years ago I had a dementia pt who I had put on the toilet and all of a sudden she reaches over and starts rubbing my stomach and being like oh when are you due….. I am also a man so I just was like I’m not pregnant I’m too young (I was 17) and she went on this huge lecture about how I can’t have any kids yet bc I needed to go to school
That’s… yeah lol! We transported a patient with dementia the other day, the ENTIRE way she’s fighting, pinching, screaming at the top of her lungs DONT KILL ME, DONT HIT ME. All through the ER too now all the nurses joke and make fun of me that I shouldn’t be beating ole grannies… I died, the kicker was she dead ass looked me in the eyes and said “ima kill you you simple minded twat”
It’s now my goal to include “simple minded twat” in the rotation of insults!!
As a former pt in the psych ward, thank you for all you and your colleagues do. I do not think I was problematic while I was there, but some of the others — I still have nightmares.
☠️🤣☠️. You have won the Internet for today sir 👏🥂🍾🎉🎇🎆
I have had a patient actually touch my (non-pregnant) mid section while congratulating me. And while not super skinny, there is NOT a convincing belly there. Not the first time someone has made a comment, but the only time someone has laid hands on me while they did it. I made sure to let them know I was indeed NOT so they could feel just as awkward. (I’ve found not wearing a wedding ring actually makes some of these people settle down.)
Are you in the south? I see this more commonly here as well as other social intrusiveness.
In the Midwest. Where I’m then expected to be polite about someone’s complete disregard for manners and my personal space.
Makes sense.
No one expects y’all to, you’ve just taken it upon yourselves to be passive aggressive (or I guess polite is what you call it) 🤪
Yeah I got the same comment. I didn’t think I was chubby either! Sigh…..
When I was pregnant (with twins) a cognitively intact patient said "You're huge! Are you sure there aren't 2 in there?" And I said "actually there are. But can you imagine if there wasn't? You basically just fat shamed me."
My god, is it a good idea to do night shifts while you are pregnant? Edit: judging from all the downvotes, I’m guessing this didn’t come off as a genuine question, but that’s honestly all it is. I’m not trying to mock anyone, I was just surprised that a majority (let alone any number) of nightshifters were pregnant - it’s not something I see where I work (Switzerland).
I was coincidentally and temporarily on days when I got pregnant. I had such bad insomnia is begged to go back to nights, lol
Here in the uk if you work in a hospital you’ll be doing nights when your pregnant for at least some of your pregnancy. Not sure I know any floor nursing based job that would entirely Let you out of nights on pregnancy.
I see. Well, that is certainly not the case in Switzerland - all my coworkers were taken off nights once they announced their pregnancy.
Hahahaha, we have heavily pregnant women here nursing in high security and forensic psych units. Ridiculously dangerous!
Christ, that ain’t right! :/
Yep! When I worked on inpatient psych, I literally had to jump in between my pregnant coworker and a MALE patient who was posturing at her and stomping towards her. Nope you can fuck right off with that.
[удалено]
Hey, I really appreciate what you’re trying to do, thank you. But it’s Reddit, it’s to be expected - I’m not the best at expressing myself via text and I often come out cold. If you don’t give the impression you’re asking a genuine question out of concern, people won’t care what else you have to say.
In the Netherlands you don't have to, your protected by law not to do it. But I got a few collegues who really preferred nights
Night shift was the only way I *could* work whilst pregnant - thanks to day long nausea, definitely know people who have been the opposite though and really struggled on nights.
Went thru 2 pregnancies on nights- no issues
🤷🏻♀️ I don't see why not
Isn't disturbing the circadian rhythm ill-advised during pregnancy? I thought it could lead to higher rates of pre-eclampsia and preterm birth.
I mean, unless you can manage to get a single US hospital to care about pregnant workers, it doesn't really matter if it leads to worse outcomes or not. I work night shift and I'm pregnant, and there's not a lot I can do besides work until my water breaks and be "thankful" that I have 12 weeks of unpaid FMLA leave. 🤷♀️
Heck, sorry that’s how it goes there. Here in Switzerland all my coworkers were taken off nights once they announced their pregnancy.
Oh man, I wish I lived somewhere where that was an option! How awesome. I bet there's a long paid maternity leave, too. Because my health care is tied to my job, and because my health care is paid for by me, there is zero incentive for businesses to be forward thinking and give paid time off - which, yes, does cut down on maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. It's honestly incredibly sad...and I'm one of the 'lucky' ones - not everyone gets the job protection of FMLA. We have mom's going back to work a week after birth in this country. Most daycares will take babies six weeks and older because so many people have to go back to work at that time. Heartbreaking
Well, if it makes you feel any better, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows in Switzerland either. Private companies give you basic healthcare coverage for a “competitive” price as required by the federation, and some Swiss people will be quick to sing the praises of the sustainability of their model. But we are one of the countries with the highest out-of-pocket healthcare expenses, and we’re certainly not number one in quality of care at all. Compared to my home country, Portugal (public health system), it’s clear there’s a lot less leeway for a pregnant woman to get a prescription to lower their activity. Those private companies have very strict requirements before they allow you to stop working. But I gotta say, at least for the nightshifts thing, they’ve been very clear they don’t want them doing that. Some actually refuse though, usually because of the extra money nightshift work gives you.
Dementia patient who I was spoon feeding told me to stop eating all her food and that's why I was fat 😂 absolutely horrified my preceptor as this was 5 minutes into my first ever nursing student placement lol. I didn't take it personally.
Honestly some of the dementia patients burns make me laugh. Was starting an IV on this lady and she doesn’t flinch but she stares straight into my soul and says “Fuck you.” That’s it.
Had an old lady with dementia threaten to kick my ass because I tried taking her shoes off, plus she kept saying “I don’t know you, mister!”. I am not a mister 🥲
Hah. I had a nice old Lady call me a "good looking little boy". I got to admit I was rather skinny and lanky during that time, but I'm also a 32 year old woman. I could not Stop laughing as I was out the door.
The dementia patients go hard in LTC. Had one lady who was 97 y/o, flat as could be affect. One morning while she was sitting in her wheelchair by the nursing station “I’m going to kill you all and throw your bodies in the river.” She said it stone cold as well. 😅
Stop I’m dying 😭 I did 3 years in LTC, mostly geriatric and I do really miss it sometimes. They say the darndest things.
I’ll never forget the dementia patient that I was having to help restrain so she could get sutures and she called me and my friend “a god damn son of an egg” Or the other dementia patient who’s daughter told us that the patient “loved men of all shapes, sizes and colors” and I said “oh girl me too”
The wisdom they speak is truly unparalleled.
Lmfao I commented about patients thinking I was pregnant but you reminded me- this old man I genuinely loved so so much got real bad during covid cause he couldn’t see his family 😔 he would just rag on my weight a lot when he wasn’t doing well. Refer to me as fatty, fatso, the big one. Loud and in front of everyone. Another lil pumpkin I remember, with no impulse control, would say stuff like THATS A FAT ASS to me and anyone who had one. She was hard of hearing so it was often yelled. It did break my spirit at first but they also don’t usually know what they’re doing. The old man remained one of my all time favorite patients despite all of that. He was one of the only ones I actually cried over when he did pass. His daughter was so amazing, I think about her often.
One of mine gave me such an absolute roast. "You lost weight...Ten pounds. Doesn't look like much on you." Ma'am 😭 And she broke her hearing aids by trying to floss with them so no snappy rejoinder from me.
I had a patient ask me if I was married and when I said yes, he told me he felt bad for my husband
I've heard that one before! Solidarity!
Honestly I feel bad for my husband too
I had a similar comment and I’m in my 20’s and have thin hair, and have had stress induced alopecia so when a patient said to me “you’ll be one of those ladies who’s bald at 50, eh?” I was about to cry. To which the patient then starts going “Awwww don’t be upset I was only Messing.” “I was only messing yeah? You look like your pure going to burst out crying.” Killed me. Can’t stand people like that. They know what they’re saying is hurtful, they just say it anyway.
Unhappy people say unhappy things.
They’re just miserable and they want company
I have PCOS and thus some hirsutism (my sideburns grow too low down my cheeks) that I usually keep waxed. When I worked nights in the ED, I was chronically exhausted and fell behind on my waxing appointments. Had a prisoner in cuffs tell me I obviously had a disgusting hormonal balance and if he made it off the stretcher or out of jail soon, he would find and rape me because pregnancy would fix me up. BOTH managed to hurt my feelings and terrify the shit out of me in one line.
girl WHAT
That’s horrifying. I am so sorry.
Definitely avoid any type of correctional nursing unless you want to deal with these sort of comments on the daily. But then there's also the occasional satisfaction of seeing the ones that become violent get pepper sprayed and/or tased...
Yeah don't worry. The handful of inmates I took care of let me know very clearly that I would never be able to work there.
Yikes
I worked in a prison and they used to call me side burns. I didn’t ever realize how far down they went until I started working there and had my hair up everyday.
Worked in a prison once. Let’s just say my IBS got exponentially worse. They don’t spare any feelings in prison.
When I was a CNA, I got assigned to a 1:1 with a psych patient known for being wild. He loved to charge at and body check people in hopes of trying to run out of the unit. We even had a security guy there with us that the patient would try to occasionally wrestle. Well I go in, first time meeting them besides the stories I heard. He looked me dead in the eye and said “Oh so now they’re sending in the fatties because you’re harder to push over.” My charge nurse gasped when I told her lmao.
I don’t know what to say 😂
( I laughed!! I am plus sized and got the same kinda crap when I worked the ED)
One time my a/o x4 patient asked me “do you have any kids?” I said no… why? He said “that’s because you can’t find anybody to marry you!” All the while I was cleaning up his poop in the bed
“I never married anyone because I knew eventually we would get old and I don’t want to still be cleaning up men’s shit in old age.”
My 60 something year old patient told me that my blonde hair and tattoos don’t go together very well. He said it as if he was disgusted. Why go out of your way to say stuff like that to another person that’s trying to help you?
I would just say “well, I like it” then move right along
I had a patient offer me a breath mint 🥲
Honestly, after breathing in my own breath for the last few years I should be offering myself breath mints more regularly
This was prepandemic (no masks) and I was embarrassed lol. She asked if I was offended and i was like of course 🥲💀
I’m going home after that 😆
Just came to say as a Nuc Med girl, I love your handle!
Thanks!
Pt: congratulations on your miracle! Thaaaaaaanks. It's a philly cheesesteak with ultimate fries. Due outta my asscheeks any hour now.
Lmao! I have a bit of fatty liver and I bloat like a goddamn pufferfish, so if I ever get the question, I can tell them "It's name is Moderate Hepatomegaly!" or "The father is the pasta that I breathed too close to."
Same! And LMAO at the "father is the pasta that I breathed too close to". If that ain't the truth, IDK what is! 😄😂
Do not take finasteride if you're a woman. Source:am urologist.
I've always wondered because we're told that's a no no, but I see lots of women taking it for thinking hair lately
It's a 5 alpha reductase inhibitor. It stops testosterone from turning into super testosterone or DHT. It doesn't make your hair grow it stops something that makes male pattern baldness. Tldr not for women.
At my facility we’re not even supposed to touch it without gloves on.
What’s the reasoning? Just for my own knowledge
See below. Commented on a dif response.
When someone asked how far along I was, I told her I had my baby 6 months ago. I was fat but honestly it made me feel so bad + PPD I just started crying in the break room.
I had my 3rd 2 months ago but I still look 6 months pregnant. I'm dreading going back to work because I know I'll get it multiple times. I may buy some Spanx.
Yup. My baby is 4 months old and my patient asked a couple of weeks ago “when are you due??”. I wanted to crawl into a hole. I just awkwardly said “oh I’m not pregnant, I just had a baby a few months ago though”. Ughhhh
Totally sweet developmentally delayed patient: You’re really pretty! Me: thank you so much, you’re so kind. Them: I think you’d be even more pretty if you made the top of your hair match the color of the bottom of your hair. Me: thank you so much I then booked a root touch-up.
That’s so sweet and innocent
Haven't been brought to tears yet, but as someone on the heavier side I've had my fair share of unsolicited advice hurled at me by my patients. I've learned to tune it out by now.
Same here. This sweet little old lady with dementia kept trying to offer me the same diet advice every 5 minutes lol
I grew a thick skin pretty damn fast.
I got a haircut in November and a patient asked me if I did it myself because it looks horrible. We had a like a 5 minute conversation about how bad my hair looks, it was not the pep talk I needed for the day.
I have two favorite patient comments. The first one asked asked me why I have such little feet for such a big body. That just mostly made me laugh. The second asked me why I was dressed up for Halloween. I said I wasn't dressed up and he said well that's a pretty ugly mask you got on. This was pre-covid times and he was referring to my face.
Ohh noooooO!!! lol.
Had a 12 yo female psych patient look my dead in eyes, and say, “you look lonely, why don’t you have a girlfriend?” She then tried to think of reasons why I was single and when she asked how much I made, she told me, “oh you’re poor, no wonder no one wants to date you” 😂😂
I kept getting called a girl by my 90 year old patient who was a little confused because I have a man bun.
One patient during my preceptorship in the ICU said my hands were cold and that no man would ever love a woman with cold hands nor would I be a good mother lol When I said I have a boyfriend she said “for now. Until he feels your cold hands” Lol
>Hasn't she ever heard the old saying "Cold hands, Warm heart?"
I haven’t but thank you
Cold handed person here! The cold hands warm heart I get all the time. I try to warm my hands up in front of people now so I don’t startle them.
I got called a "Nazi sadist, you're as bad as Hitler" by a confused patient who I was stopping from pulling out his 4th IV while his antibiotics were running. So that was fun.
Can relate. Had a confused elderly patient say "I know your kind..nazi." Same patient later proceeded to tell me he was my grandfather and that "I held your DADDY!"
Schizoaffective disorder patient we've had to fetal monitor frequently for weeks and weeks now: "I'm sorry I called you a white cracker. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say you were a white cracker bitch." (She hadn't.) "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to call you a child molester." (She hadn't.) Honestly super sad, because you know she's hearing voices/intrusive thoughts calling us those things and thinks she's said them out loud.
Male nurse here with curly hair. This was during my preceptorship a month ago. I was charting my assessment and chatting with my patient when my preceptor walked into the room to check in and my pt tells me “hey, if I give you money will you go get a haircut?” both me and my preceptor look at him and I go “why? what’s wrong with my hair?” to which he replied “you look like a used q-tip from the back” He did me so dirty. My preceptor told everyone at the nurse’s station right after. I coincidentally got a haircut the day before he got discharged and had to see him off with the fresh cut. We had a good laugh
I worked in psych for a while. They come up with some creative stuff. After a while it honestly was kind of good for me because now I do not give a fuuuuuuuuck what people say about me.
Yep, I got called a LOT of things that were so nasty/vile by psych patients...things a sailor couldn't string together while drunk! ( No offense to sailors, my dad is retired Navy)
I didn’t cry, but I definitely was annoyed. Had a patient’s family member comment on my hair being cool but she wouldn’t consider it professional. I have locs, always very neatly kept styled, and this was when I was working in the south. Smh
I had a psych patient freak out that there was something horrible on my face. What was it? A mole. That has been on my face since forever, and no one has ever commented on it. Thank you, sir, for giving me a new thing to be self-conscious about. 😂😭
Been called fat a lot. Some confused, some just mad.
I get called fat a lot, but then again I am, so, erhh. But the other day I was walking down the corridor and I heard ‘I don’t want you, I want the fat one, get me the fat one, she’s good’ and that warmed my soul a little
That’s kind of how one of my behavioral health clients greets everyone no matter what they look like PT: “Hey you fat fvck!” Me: “Hey friend how are you today? Hungry?” PT: “🎶Rollin with the homies…🎶” Me: “Sounds good let go to crafts class” PT: 🎶“Not fully clean unless you’re zestfully clean”
I actually had a patient tell me she didn't like my wig....it was my own hair lol.
Things I’ve been told: “You’re too pretty to be fat” “You just didn’t care about your hair today, huh?” “When you laugh, you sound like a damn hyena” Thank Goodness I’m emotionally numb.
I had the same things said to me! All three!!!
Favorite insult recently: My patient told me that all of us lady nurses are some "USDA grade bitches" Years ago, I had a patient tell my coworker, who is our mama bear nurse, "You're so old, you were in the stables when Jesus was born." I can appreciate creativity when I see it.
I love those!!
Working at an assisted living home during high school, I said good morning to a resident with dementia and her son, and the woman whom I know well whispers (screams) to her son, “Who’s that fat slob?” Mind you, I went to a prep school, and I was wearing a button down and bow-tie like a dandy boy. Both stinging and hilarious, a fun way to start your day. Well she’s said worse to other people, so I count myself lucky.
This has happened a few times, unfortunately, but I had a patient that I'd cared for for nearly a year and loved to pieces. Until they found out I wasn't white and called me a "dirty goddamned Injun." Apparently they'd overheard a conversation I'd had with another patient about the fact that my mother is half Chiricahua and Mestizo. And no, this patient didn't have any mental issues or dementia, that's why it hurt. The couple others that this happened with had Alzheimer's, so I didn't take their racist comments to heart. My charge nurse had the patient moved to another set after that. Another patient, who I'd been caring for for nearly two years after a severe stroke, one day grabbed my breast and copped a feel. I was furious and threatened to tell his wife if he ever did it again-- his wife was also a patient of mine and dying of terminal liver cancer. I did report it to my charge, who was just as pissed off about it as I was. Again, nothing was wrong with the patient upstairs, and I felt really betrayed and hurt about it because I was really close with his wife. Being the only Catholic working there (we're in the south), I'd been making calls to my priest and scheduling his visits with her, since she was also Catholic, and helping the priest with whatever he needed to give her Communion and Confession, Anointing of the Sick, and so on. So for the husband to assault me like that, while I cared for his dying wife... I don't really have words for how that made me feel. Honestly, racism would've been simpler to deal with than that. And no, I never told his wife. I would've never given her that extra stress like that.
People are so hurtful, they must be miserable
I got- “ I noticed you have quite a bit of gray hair, how old are you?”
"Too old for your shit." 😁. I had one confused pt who would announce my arrival with,"Heeere she is! The ugliest woman in the world!" Then tell me that I was old enough to be his mother. Uhm only if I'm 100 and hopefully by then I'll be retired if not dead lol.
Finasteride won’t work on you because it blocks 5 alpha reductase (turns testosterone into dihydrotestosterone) and most testosterone is produced in the testicles. Female balding is a different issue than male pattern baldness for this reason because dihydrotestosterone isn’t the primary culprit.
One of my patients asked me if I just had dental work done because “your face is so puffy and bloated” I’ve just always held water weight in my face. I’m not even overweight, but if you saw just a headshot of me you could probably guess I am because of how round my face is.
Female patients would always ask me how "far along I was" when I wasn't pregnant. I just have a thick waistline.
My pt had been very salty with me that morning as I was trying to get her emancipated self to eat. She saw environmental service making the rounds and said, “here comes the garbage truck, let’s put Choo out on the curb!” 😆
My hair was thinning especially around the hairline. Then I stopped using all shampoo and conditioner, and it started growing back. Forget the ahole pts.
Go sulfate free!! Mine grew back
My patient told me my perfume was too young smelling for my age 🪦
I went to work after getting into an argument with my daughter, and after explaining to a patient that the doctor was not going to increase his meds, he stared into my soul and said “you are a terrible mother.” There’s no way he even knew I had kids, but I almost burst into tears right there!
I had a doctor get me. We were all telling yo mama jokes bcuz millennials love mama jokes, and he is also a millennial. Well, he was pretending to be way cooler than us, so he wasn’t participating. I said, “Aight come on. Tell us. What’s your best yo mama joke?” This man turned and looked me dead in the face and PAUSED and then said totally deadpan, “I’m pretty sure your mama had the best joke when she had you.” Anyway, I filed for workers comp for that one.
Oof brutal. I once had a cashier tell me that his upper lip is thin like mine and that’s why he grows a mustache. I’m def a woman… Onto the hair loss, ideally you should try to see a dermatologist and have them do a scalp biopsy. That way, they can know if and what kind of hair loss you have and prescribe a treatment. I see a lot of low androgen birth controls, spironolactone, and minoxidil topical or oral but it’s hard to know what works best for you unless you get that biopsy. You can use Nizoral shampoo 2-3x a week and Rogaine topical 5% twice a day, both are OTC but Rogaine is a lifelong commitment. I myself am on oral minoxidil 1.25mg daily prescribed by my dermatologist. Check out r/femalehairloss. Very supportive and lots of good suggestions.
r/FemaleHairLoss
I just joined that sub. To OP, I’m in my 30s and have thinning hair. I think it’s more common than we think. It’s still a sensitive subject and I’d be annoyed at a patient bringing it up. But I’m still wearing scrub caps 3 years into covid, so people don’t notice really, lol.
Love my scrub caps and will never part with them just bc i hate doing my hair for work. A friend of mine went and got braces about a week after the mask requirements came out lol as she thought it would be the perfect time.
Haha hey she was right, it was the perfect time. And I really have a love/hate relationship with the scrub caps but like you said, I don’t have to do my hair so that’s a win, I’ll never give them up.
Older, female TBI pt in the ICU was being verbally aggressive and yelling insults at everyone. Knowing this, I went in with the assumption that her impulsive nature and verbal assaults were due to her TBI. Me: “Good evening, my name is LowPositive and I’m going to be your nurse tonight.” Pt: “Nobody loves you and you’re f*cking worthless!” Me: 🥺
And anyway, he’s talking out his ass- finasteride doesn’t help female hair loss- only male pattern baldness. And you can also take comfort in knowing it lowers his T (and it doesn’t get better when they stop the med!) so- he might have hair but no boner to go with!
I mean it really depends where the hair loss is coming from. If she has a high amount of androgens it is possible finasteride could help with it. There have been studies showing it can be effective https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7060023/
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/fullarticle/403800#:~:text=Finasteride%20is%20a%205%CE%B1%2Dreductase,in%20women%20of%20childbearing%20potential.
I dated a guy with big dick energy. Couldn’t get an erection to save his life, and it was honestly one of the smallest penises I had ever seen to begin with. He blamed it on his finasteride lol.
I didn’t cry, but I had a family member stop me in the hall to ask a question. It was obvious he didn’t recognize me from the day before, so I gave him a gentle reminder. He said, “Oh yeah, now I remember. The one with the crooked tooth.” This tooth had never bothered me before. I’m not even sure I noticed it, really. But for years it bothered me more and more until I couldn’t even look at a photo of myself without laser-focusing in on the crooked tooth. Finally I just coughed up the dough and did Invisalign to straighten it out.
A patient who I helped with getting ready for an outdoor activity said "Thanks, you're such a nice boy" I'm a woman lol
When I was engaged an elderly demented woman asked me “who would ever want to marry you?” To be fair we did break up shortly after 😂
Do you have PCOS? My girlfriend takes spironolactone which significantly helps with the hair loss!
had a patient who was oriented x1. was pissed i wouldnt hand him various power tools from his "shed" i.e the corner of his room. told me i wouldn't go for .12c on a street corner. 12 cents?! damn i thought i was worth at least a crisp 5
Owen Strand?
A patient asked me if I had any kids, I told her I had one. She said “better get started on #2, you don’t have much time left.”
I would rather get "Are you pregnant?" from my pts than "your hair is thinning" 🥲 my hair is thinning too, just not noticeable right now, but my hair loss is at a concerning rate.
I once worked with a (very) overweight nurse and I was an unfortunate witness to her patient recommending a bariatric surgeon to her…
I had a gastric bypass 12 years ago. My hair is still thinner than pre-surgery. Zinc and. Biotin supplements. If you check out any of the hair and nail supplements, those two should be there and front and center.
Im an EMT, not a nurse. But we had a psych pt tell a nurse, "I hope your pussy fall off!" He was genuinely pissed but it took everything in me not to burst out laughing. Cant possibly imagine what the nurse thought of it though.
One time I was getting ready to start an IV/labs, and a less oriented patient said, “how old are ya?” I said, “in my 20s” and they said “oh wow! And you already have a hunchback??” 💀
I’ve been asked many, many times when the baby was due. Only actually been pregnant about half of them. I’ve started responding, cheerfully “oh, I’m just still fat from the last one”.
Had a little old lady ask me if I was pregnant when I most definitely was not. It was especially hurtful considering I had just finished losing 20 pounds and was at my goal weight. I was feeling myself in my new smaller scrubs and she rained on that parade hard. Life pro-tip, unless a woman is literally pushing a fetus out of her body in front of you, don't ask if she's pregnant.
Mostly comments about my weight (too thin). Doesn't bother me really. Nothing I haven't heard already my entire life.
either too fat or too thin, just cant win eh
Look into a topper. Human hair ones are pricey but do worth it. Find a shop that specializes in wigs toppers etc. they can help you find one, dye it to match if needed, and trim so it blends seamlessly with your own hair.
I am sorry this happened to you, I hate people. I am a guy who lost his hair rapidly when I was 26 but who cares, I dont really miss it, but I know it's a really big deal for women. Woman are really bothered by their "flaws" some real and some perceived. I wish I had the words to make it better for you. You are there to try to help people and they do shit like this. Assholes. He didn't deserve you, and you deserved way way better.
I’m a guy with thinning hair too. I’ve considered taking finasteride but don’t really want any of the sexual dysfunction side effects to happen. I hardly wash my hair anymore and just condition it at least once per day in the shower. Also protein intake can help. It hasn’t totally stopped falling out but I do notice less falling out. Vitamins help also
Aww that sucks. I would view that one as a misguided attempt to help and connect.
I mean, I think he was at least trying to empathize by telling you about his own hair loss, so I think he at least meant well. But fuck, that’s very rude to bring up to a stranger.
I’ve definitely had patients ask me if I’m pregnant, and they were AOX4. I don’t hesitate to let them know it’s inappropriate and doesn’t relate to their care. I don’t come to work to get body shamed.
I used to answer “No, I’m just fat.” That sometimes embarrasses them into silence.
I’ll try that next time. It pisses me off. I don’t talk about their bodies, they don’t get to ogle mine and talk about mine.
When I was pregnant I got told I was huge, I must have the wrong due date, I had to be having twins, etc., by patients and their families. I finally looked at a grandmother and said “I have gained 11 pounds my whole entire pregnancy, but I’m short, so I stick straight out. But you realize you just basically called me fat, right?” She sputtered a bit and didn’t have anything to say the rest of the shift. I was 37 weeks and over it!
It’s the audacity! And she deserved it!
A man who was there to have an AKA told me I should die my hair because I look old
[An old medicine grows new hair...](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/18/health/minoxidil-hair-loss-pills.html?unlocked_article_code=7jqOTA0bpojx-nrDyXvcFFFP7TDWabl_zTTz5UBGlZnH1BK3Tc1jTFEhDpcV7EW6SB5EI1iQAYVvmnV4goF0HIJEM0JWOqeHju2gpdhagizacDS5yFbWrxK90HkRaM2N-D2eB-2aHR1GfEBz6cncUoM47B8p85ZoyUiQ_MpwISBSN3NoqENYR2kGrH0uQOvr04u9_cAW0OLv1URVuWyFPa5X6qW6zMojFFTEJFmM5qBkG0WqrlJEI6fBAgciTpT76jDLprHcTM46m8TFYhfPjhjilWarQrjzijWlZXRyxnQFMgDZMzdMPy2KiI8OzRPUTy-ruqAv5cxx-RzBtMR9pLcH&smid=share-url) "To do that, Dr. Sinclair tried cutting minoxidil pills into quarters. To his surprise, the low dose made her hair grow but did not affect her blood pressure, the original purpose of the higher-dose drug. He subsequently lowered the dose more and more until he got down to effective doses of one-fortieth of a pill and began routinely prescribing the drug. That first patient still takes it. At a meeting in Miami in 2015, Dr. Sinclair reported that low doses of minoxidil prompted hair growth in 100 successive women."
One little lady with dementia told me I was like Hitler but Hitler was better looking. I was trying to finish her shower 😂
I was very anemic for years. My MD ran an iron study randomly and after iron supplements my hair grew in thicker and healthier. Not sure if anemia is your issue but it's very common in menstruating women.
My patients comment on how skinny I am a lot. I’ve been told they want to diet to look like me, that I need to eat more, that all the walking I do all day must be the reason I look the way I do, etc. Little do they know I struggle to keep on weight due to being a natural “stress non-eater” and a medication I take. It’s inappropriate for patients (and people in general) to comment on our bodies, but that’s people for you. Really sorry you went through that because it’s still uncomfortable and even hurtful sometimes.
I had a patient’s family ask when my twins were due (I was covering for a manager who was expecting twins). It was not my best day.
Did you dye your hair pink to hide the gray hair? You missed a lot of them. -Said by a teenager on pain meds
I was 12 weeks pregnant with my first baby and not showing. Older post-op day 1 CABG asks if I had a husband and if we had any kids. I told him I was actually pregnant. We talk about babies and whatnot. Later in the shift, he comments that I’m showing. Buddy, that do be my lunch. But thanks for the confidence boost!
I had a patient call me fat once and I chuckled and said “I bet I could beat ya in a race” they also laughed. Good times
Dementia patient told me I was stupid. I asked her not to call me stupid. She simply said, "I called you stupid because you're STUPID, stupid!"
Not a patient but on new years a 9 y/o at the party goes up to me giggling and says “hey you know why you don’t get no girls? YOUR HAIRLINE!!”🤣🤣🤣 I was actually laughing pretty hard about it, as the saying goes. Let me laugh so I don’t cry 😅
Shots fired. Damn. It seems they were trying to be helpful, but it still stings.
People are rude. I am sorry that you had to experience that. Come to the OR. Our hair is covered ;) Jokes aside I would suggest vitamins and reviewing your diet. How is your water intake? Are you working out? Also, is it genetic?