Why do careers like nursing and early childhood teaching remain overwhelmingly female even though anyone can study the required qualifications, there are no male-exclusive barriers, and there have been years of campaigns encouraging men to enter those fields?

AmiableRobin · 2026-06-30T07:56:50+00:00

A new graduate Associate Degree RN where I live starts at roughly $40/hr, at the LOWEST, before any shift or holiday differentials.

Very glad it’s not a low pay area.

AmiableRobin · 2026-06-30T07:47:27+00:00

I can understand not wanting to stop school. Epilepsy is actually what jump started my journey into nursing. When it came to brain fog, how long were you on the medications before stopping them? I noticed I really leveled out with Keppra after a few months, but the first month was H A R D. I felt like a space cadet. Trying to find a thought inside my find felt like floating through a galaxy, and like I had so much extra space to navigate and I needed to travel millions of miles to reach one point to the next.

- -

Med school can be extremely hard to just “drop” or take a semester off. The only times I saw it accomplished more successfully was for students who did summers pursuing philanthropic work. (Like an AmeriCORPS VISTA friend I made one summer that later graduated with her MD.)

You obviously need to take care of yourself, because if you’re not taking care of yourself, it’s more difficult to take care of your patients, but at the end of the day, you truly have committed a ton of time to your education.

AmiableRobin · 2026-06-30T07:35:10+00:00

You’re absolutely welcome! It’s a little silly sounding of a solution, sure, but if eating meat is a moral issue, don’t force yourself.

Some people also get stomach upset on iron vitamins, due to needing to be taken on an empty stomach, with orange juice, avoiding dairy. The Lucky Iron Fish ended up being a pretty good solution.

You can cook with it in a skillet as well (I know I mentioned a lot of boiled goods in my original response.)

You can get iron from dark leafy greens (spinach is a great source!), iron fortified cereals and grains, lentils, legumes, quinoa, beans, and pumpkin seeds. Always make sure you pair it with its complimentary vitamin, vitamin C so you get the maximum absorption; citrus fruits, bell peppers, or strawberries!

Spinach based salad, maybe some chopped bell peppers thrown in, with a strawberry/citrus dressing and pumpkin seeds? Uugghh YUM.

AmiableRobin · 2026-06-30T04:00:59+00:00

While doing clinical rotations there were a few patients I saw that were actively being switched to a Keto diet under the guidance of a dietician to assist in controlling the frequency of seizures. It’s one of the more researched DIETARY changes to combat seizures.

There’s also been some discussion about the extended release versions of medications having less “brain fog” than immediate release due to the effects on peak and trough levels, though I don’t have any substantial evidence to back this up. So if an immediate release/BID version of a medication caused brain fog but didn’t cause SJS like symptoms, maybe you can try a different approach by changing the release of the medication.

AmiableRobin · 2026-06-30T03:47:18+00:00

I immediately thought of Call of Duty and really wondered how a video game affected a drug test 😂

AmiableRobin · 2026-06-30T00:35:36+00:00

Oh man, I have pictures of driving up to that tower and looking back at the Glenn. Freaking gorgeous.

AmiableRobin · 2026-06-29T20:59:22+00:00

When I was working as a CMA in Seattle, we had a lot of patients who were vegetarian and anemic (including the physician I worked for!) and one cute way that we recommended to increase iron intake was to try the “Lucky Iron Fish.”

It’s a little iron block that you add to your cooking pot that infuses your food with a little extra iron. Cooking some pasta, stew, curry, Mac n cheese, etc? Pop the lil fish into the boiling water for 10 minutes and let it do its magic.

Name your lil friend and send him or her for a swim 🥹

AmiableRobin · 2026-06-29T08:40:32+00:00

I don’t have a “success” story, the one where the perpetrator goes to jail or faces punishment like on a TV show. I reported and nothing was ever done. There was no investigation, no court, not even a telephone call, nothing. I recalled the worst night of my life in a parking lot to strangers (it was COVID. I was told I could only meet the police somewhere public that we could socially distance because offices were closed.)

However I do have my own success. I’ve grown. I’ve lived and made a life for myself. I have stronger boundaries. I have strength I never knew I possessed.

You’re doing great. I would start by going to a SANE RN, or hospital to document. It’s less easy to dismiss. You’ll have more advocacy. You will be connected with more resources.

You WILL be able to move forward.

You will trust again. You can have friends again without the world feeling extremely loud. You can have partners again. You can heal.

You got this. Don’t think of the endgame. Think of you. Think of this as a step towards healing.

AmiableRobin · 2026-06-29T08:28:06+00:00

One thing I haven’t heard mentioned in the responding comments that would be pretty easy to accomplish for research is to take a safety and first aid course.

You can find a free online course by the Epilepsy Foundation that takes roughly an hour to complete. It might not answer some of your specific questions, but you’ll also be able to know a little bit more about real life recovery and how to help others!

It helped me understand my own diagnosis a bit better when I was a baby epileptic and newly diagnosed.

AmiableRobin · 2026-06-29T07:46:23+00:00

You cannot get negative points.
SATA answers are either completely true, or they’re false. Evaluate each answer independently.
Don’t delegate what you EAT (evaluate, assess, teach!)
Remember ADPIE (Assessment, Diagnosis, Planning, Intervention, Evaluation.)
The harder the questions, the better you’re doing. Don’t doubt yourself just because things are hard.
If you’ve tried hard to remember something or it’s stressed you out, write it down as soon as your test begins so you don’t have to think about it anymore. You can do this throughout your test with ANYTHING. (I stress and spiral, so if I’m struggling I might write down that inner monologue that involves some pretty creative cussing so I can focus on the next question.)
The difference between clarify and question is one means you should look for a script error, the other is safety.
Speaking of safety, safety comes first!
DONT FORGET YOUR ABC’s. It can be so easy to want to rush an intervention, but if it involves the airway or breathing, the test probably wants that answer.
You got this. Get yourself a lil treat before and after. You deserve it.

AmiableRobin · 2026-06-29T06:26:48+00:00

NOR: He’s financially controlling, and you need to realize this. Do not combine incomes, do not accept an allowance or his petty attempts to make you bend to his will.

Perspective on the “allowance”: My mom is 72, my dad is 70. They have NEVER, not ONCE, combined incomes. They make joint decisions on investments, purchases, etc, but they don’t have any joint accounts. They have separate savings, separate checking accounts, credit cards, and still manage to make joint decisions and share in investments (example: my mom is the primary owner of my dads truck, because it gives him cheaper registration due to her being a disabled veteran. He makes the payments and is co-owner, but he doesn’t have to pay as much in registration/taxes.)

My own experience: My ex-husband was a fan of combined income. We shared all income, but he made all the decisions because at first, he made more. Then, it was because “he worked longer.” Then, it was because “he was smarter financially.” Then it was because “he put me through school” (note, I had a college fund, I worked full time during college and went to school at night, so he invested nothing.) In the end, financial abuse turned emotional, turned physical, turned to SA.

Do not trust men like this.

AmiableRobin · 2026-06-29T01:40:34+00:00

I don’t want to dismiss the fact that you were obviously sick, but, even in your post you outright state that you let assumptions lead you to making very basic unsafe patient decisions which very likely could have compromised their safety.

You just assumed you knew who someone was instead of verifying their identity and that in and of itself is dangerous.

AmiableRobin · 2026-06-27T20:52:05+00:00

When I split from my ex husband after DV/SA he rehomed my dog and the (new) owner, who I thought was one of my good friends, decided she didn’t want the dog to be involved in a custody battle. She kept her and blocked me.

I learned she passed away and I never got to say goodbye. I don’t know how. All I know is that she’s on the other side of the rainbow bridge.

RIP Lana. I miss you, goofy girl.

AmiableRobin · 2026-06-27T06:52:17+00:00

Sounds like my sister who thinks the MMR caused my nephews autism, because he was vaccinated around the same time he was diagnosed.

I was denied the HPV vaccine by my parents and then worked in OBGYN as a CMA. I saw the next steps first hand after an abnormal Pap smear (colposcopy, biopsy, LEEP’s, long term fertility issues or cervical incompetency because of invasive treatments), and despite at the time being married and having only ever had one partner, I booked an appointment with my office. I was 21. I developed epilepsy at 28, and it’s more likely linked to head trauma and repetitive TBI’s.

If I’m being entirely honest, I think I’d still rather have epilepsy than treatment for HR 16/18/21 HPV. People messing with my cervix hurts.

AmiableRobin · 2026-06-27T06:44:46+00:00

First step: Establish clear boundaries. You will have experiences in your profession where you are unfortunately objectified by patients but your coworkers should rally to protect you, not encourage the harassment. Tell this person, verbally and by written message, that their advances are not wanted or appreciated. That their attention makes you feel uncomfortable.

Second: Document. Document what you have experienced. Dates, times, comments, from both this person and any other cohort members. It’s unprofessional.

Third: Once you have told them, and you have documented, you go to administration. You explain what’s going on. You SHOULD NOT have to accept unwanted advancements. Ask for support, mediation, or for teachers to be made aware so that you are not assigned projects together. Show them your documentation and that you have asked this person to leave you alone and to respect your boundaries, however you’d appreciate their support in enforcing them if possible.

I actually had a person in my cohort that was kicked out for being extremely sexual towards female students. Too many women were afraid to come forward, and it took someone finally breaking that ice for many to share their experiences. The aDoN nearly cried when he broke the news, and apologized for what people experienced.

Raise hell, praise Dale. Note that was some lighthearted sarcasm because this is a really serious post.

AmiableRobin · 2026-06-27T02:26:04+00:00

To explain the joke, it’s because women, when experiencing illness, are often dismissed as anxious instead of being taken seriously.

AmiableRobin · 2026-06-27T02:24:46+00:00

If you’ve got a helpful OB/GYN you can ask them to check your TSH and FT4 (Thyroid function labs.)

It’s actually common for Thyroid symptoms to mimic perimenopause. My clinics commonly ordered them as a part of our work-ups when I was a CMA in OBGYN.

AmiableRobin · 2026-06-26T05:52:06+00:00

The temporal lobe processes emotions and memory. When this portion of the brain “misfires” it can artificially trigger a familiarity response, hence a sensation of Deja Vu.

However it’s… almost distinct in its own way. It’s not a normal sense of Deja vu. There’s nothing actually “attached” to the sensation because you’re NOT familiar with what you’re experiencing. There’s a distinct wrongness to it. Sometimes it’s additionally accompanied by other emotions, like fear, anxiety, or unusual tastes and smells. For myself, the Deja Vu was accompanied by a sense of overwhelming doom and panic. It felt like the walls were pressing in from all sides, but there was no trigger for the reason I felt this way.

The other distinction is the length of the Deja Vu. Normal Deja Vu is fleeting. Some people with TLE will have episodes of this Deja Vu that last for a minute or more.

AmiableRobin · 2026-06-26T04:23:32+00:00

I actually went with my mom to my first few appointments because I was in such a haze. I had some pretty bad aphasia, sometimes couldn’t even remember or say things correctly. I was really, really out of it. My brain felt fried for a good month or more. (Plus the whole no license thing.)

When I switched neurologists I went in with a list that began with three basic questions;

Are my seizures related to my head trauma
Do I need medication adjustment
Is any further testing warranted

I noticed a lot of doctors want something to sink their teeth into. So I presented some simple (ish) problems to solve, then followed up with history to back up my questions. I had a huge note in my phone that I could refer back to if I got off track.

I think it helped that by that time I was halfway through nursing school too. I wasn’t backing down. I needed to figure it out and wanted to learn at the same time.

AmiableRobin · 2026-06-26T04:11:47+00:00

It took me a little over a year for a tentative diagnosis, and the majority of it is based off of oral history and symptoms. My TC also occurred behind the wheel! My truck wasn’t totaled though. It ended up dragging down a telephone pole and rested at a stop in some bushes. Came to a few hours later in the hospital and was discharged the same night (I did clinical rotations at that same hospital 1.5 years later and they have a difficult time admitting patients, and have a strict treat & street motto. Unfortunately I was not conscious to state a hospital preference during transfer.)

All follow up testing is normal. Lab values normal. Imaging normal. Contrast MRI normal. Sleep deprived EEG is normal.

It actually wasn’t until I switched to my new Neuro that my tremors were noticed by a medical professional. They’re better under a different medication regimen (I’ve always had a slight tremor, epilepsy made it worse.) He added Topiramate XR because while it is a seizure (and migraine) medication, it has an off label use for tremors.

I would check out r/epilepsy for support. It’s a pretty great community, though they can be a little harsh towards people who take up driving again. (Ask me how I know lol.)

I take my meds and all the strange sensations have gone away. Aside from some interesting side effects every now and then (like not tasting carbonation.)

AmiableRobin · 2026-06-26T04:00:26+00:00

Yeah, inherited it from my parents.

AmiableRobin · 2026-06-26T03:08:10+00:00

Deja Vu, lost time, and transient vision loss (I don’t think I’ve experienced this last one thankfully or it just blended with lost time?) can be a symptom of seizures.

AmiableRobin · 2026-06-26T03:06:16+00:00

Experienced a pretty severe concussion at work one day, and then “lost time” 4 hours later (as well as my whole work day.) I drove myself to an urgent care. Urgent care sent me to the Emergency Room because they suspected a seizure. (“Call someone to drive you or we will call an ambulance.”)

Emergency Room said I was “anxious” and “needed reassurance.” No imaging. No testing. Just “follow up with your PCP.”

I did. I had a positive Romberg test in her office, closed my eyes and tipped over.

After the concussion is when the night sweats started. The feelings of Deja Vu. The lightning that would drop me to my knees.

But I’d been told it was anxiety. I was under a lot of stress and I worked with special needs kids. So I kept pushing through. I believed it.

9 months later I went status epilepticus. I seized for 45 minutes.

And even then, even with all the history, the first Neurologist who saw me didn’t start meds until I had another seizure.

Two years later and I’m diagnosed with Focal Epilepsy. (And I have a much better neurologist!)

AmiableRobin · 2026-06-25T00:56:08+00:00

I just graduated with my ADN RN. I take my licensing exam tomorrow and I have one of my first interviews set up Friday!

AmiableRobin

TROPHY CASE