taking leave from residency??help!

[Rpre19]

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Hi guys,

You've been an invaluable source of info & I am really stuck here...
I am in my first trimester, only my program directors know, will plan on telling the faculty & fellow residents soon...
Anyhoo, I am drop-dead sick morning till night. with few moments here & there of relief. & Yes I am already on meds to relieve the symptoms 🙁 I am having such a hard time getting in everyday & then my ultimate goal is to get home so I can rest. Cant eat, cant drink & I am bordering on dehydration. lol even standing is becoming difficult d/t to the dizziness as well. I am trying to stick it out but I dont know what my other options are. Has anyone taken leave? How might that work? Should I talk to the program director but then I'd be on the radar, i guess. I am seriously considering leaving for a year at this point. Whats worse is my work is suffering bc I just dont care that much bc the sick feeling is just overwhelming. I've never had a bad work ethic before, but I'm so apathetic right now...& I should mention I get no sympthay from my female attending who has seen me vomiting in the hallway she just thinks I've been sick for a long while.

any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[atsai3]

Hi guys,

You've been an invaluable source of info & I am really stuck here...
I am in my first trimester, only my program directors know, will plan on telling the faculty & fellow residents soon...
Anyhoo, I am drop-dead sick morning till night. with few moments here & there of relief. & Yes I am already on meds to relieve the symptoms 🙁 I am having such a hard time getting in everyday & then my ultimate goal is to get home so I can rest. Cant eat, cant drink & I am bordering on dehydration. lol even standing is becoming difficult d/t to the dizziness as well. I am trying to stick it out but I dont know what my other options are. Has anyone taken leave? How might that work? Should I talk to the program director but then I'd be on the radar, i guess. I am seriously considering leaving for a year at this point. Whats worse is my work is suffering bc I just dont care that much bc the sick feeling is just overwhelming. I've never had a bad work ethic before, but I'm so apathetic right now...& I should mention I get no sympthay from my female attending who has seen me vomiting in the hallway she just thinks I've been sick for a long while.

any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Some people get the morning sickness bad, and it sounds like you've got it bad. Definitely talk to your program director about this. Don't know what the situation is like at your program, but based on what I have seen and heard at three psych programs (two west coast, one east coast) you would be surprised at how sympathetic folks can be. I have known people to take 10 days of leave for a major depressive episode, or 5 months to recover from drug relapse. The amount of sympathy may vary from rotation to rotation, of course (e.g., consults: no sympathy, much wailing in anguish and gnashing of teeth if you tell them you are thinking of taking leave; inpatient/outpatient: more sympathy), but your morning sickness sounds bad and you need to give yourself permission to take care of yourself.

Best,
-AT.

 

[kcrd]

I'm currently finishing up a 1 year maternity leave of absence from my program. I agree with the previous poster - talk to your program director. I was worried about taking leave, but was surprised at how supportive everyone at my program was. Your morning sickness will likely subside after your 1st trimester, though, and many women have tons of energy during their second trimester. You might be pulling out your hair if you aren't working. Maybe ask for 1-2 mos of leave, or even a research month from home? Mine wouldn't grant a research month to me, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

Good luck!

 

[Doc Samson]

First... congratulations.

Second, I echo the above responses - talk to your PD but bear in mind that your morning sickness will likely improve as your pregnancy progresses. Have had some luck with this as a resource in the past also:

http://www.morningsickness.org/

 

[michaelrack]

This month's issue of current psychiatry has an article on morning sickness. It's now thought to have a biological basis, rather than the old, discredited theories:

Higgins12 in 1887 proposed that the cause of NVP “is sexual intercourse, the husband too eager for it and the wife too adverse.” Additionally, NVP and HG have been associated with infantile, childish, immature, and hysterical personalities.12-14


according to current psychiatry, the new thinking is:

Stress, anxiety, and depression in women with NVP are thought to result from—rather than cause—its physical symptoms

There are some treatment algorithms included in the article.

http://www.currentpsychiatry.com/article_pages.asp?AID=6344

good luck.

 

[OldPsychDoc]

This month's issue of current psychiatry has an article on morning sickness. It's now thought to have a biological basis, rather than the old, discredited theories:
...the cause of NVP “is sexual intercourse... "

.

I wouldn't be too quick to discredit the theory that NVP is caused by sexual intercourse, unless there is evidence that the pregnancy was started in vitro.

To the OP, on a serious note, as everyone has said, don't be quite so hesitant to be up front with your program about what's really going on.
It's FAR better that they know the real reasons that your "work is suffering", rather than think that you have some characterological issue going on. If you miss time related to pregnancy and/or maternity, it can be made up later on. I had numerous colleagues go on "5-year plans" (and longer) and it turned out fine.

 

[MBK2003]

Agree with all the excellent suggestions above, with the addition that sometimes an understanding program director will allow you to swap 1-2 months of your PGY-4 electives into another part of your schedule, so you can continue being paid and getting your health insurance. Someone I know did 2 months of "literature review and review article writing" while her son was undergoing chemo induction for leukemia.

 

[Rpre19]

Thanks so much for all of your suggestions and for the links, will definitely be checking them out.
I feel better about addressing this with the program & think its my best option at this point.

& thanks for the congrats 🙂