I actually work nights! 12 hour nights as a nurse assistant. It was a lifesaver in the summertime, because I got to sleep during the heat when my symptoms make me pretty useless and miserable. However, a few things have happened since being on nights for 7 months, which made me concerned enough to go back to the neurologist and get another cardiac workup... One day, I was about to go to sleep, and felt some palpitations. I took my heart rate and it was 42. I couldn't believe it and I started to panic, because my heartrate has never been below 65 even with beta blockers (when I took them, currently I am on nothing so we can see a true baseline). I started monitoring my BP and HR more religiously, and discovered when I wake up my HR is usually in the 50's. I still have my POTS-y thing going on, but it is pretty extreme since standing I am still running 120-140. My neurologist said working nights was okay, because it is good that I am functioning and doing something with my life (was a problem before). However, she strongly urged that I don't flip-flop my hours during my days off. Because that is what ends up messing my circadian rhythm. I got my labs done and even though I am out in the sun for a little bit at sunrise/sunset, and I drink my milk and eat my ice cream and have my Vit-D added ovaltine..... I am pretty deficient in Vitamin-D, with 13iu/d ("normal" is 30-100iud). I also found my RBC is slightly low, my hemoglobin and hematocrit are right on the very edge of low-normal. My lymphocytes are high and my neutrophils are low.. but everything else is all normal (if not on the low-side). I eat well, I eat a good amount of red meat too (which was my childhood anemia issue). Not sure what is going on exactly, but I have my follow-up cardio appointment on Monday-- to get answers on my labs, my repeat holter monitor, and my agitated-saline bubble echo . (Had to find a good cardiologist who would listen to me about my dysautonomia, so it has taken me a while to get all this stuff done. ) I'm not sure if it is night-shift related, but if it turns out that I am falling apart because of that... I'll post here! I also wanted to point out, that if you read the actual studies that point to nightshift workers being obese and cancer-filled (lol), you will see that most of those studies are sampling women who do ROTATING nightshifts. Nearly all of my coworkers are healthy individuals, and a few who have issues mainly caused by switching back and forth and being really tired and worn down from it.
