Am I a bad caretaker if I start burnout?

If, only 18 days into what might be years, you are feeling burned out, then yes, You owe it to the family and the client to either shorten your hours or get out of the business altogether. Even family members can't do 24/7 without some relief. It's an unreasonable schedule for a paid attendant and they are taking advantage of you.

ayucan, you are on duty 168 hours per week, that is almost impossible for any one person to do without some type of physical or emotional burnout.

You are doing the work of 3 full-time caregivers, each of which would work 8 hours each, and go home to their own family, have a good nice sleep, and be ready for their next shift.

It is totally unfair for your patient's family to even think you could work around the clock with someone who has memory issues, and probably other medical and physical issues when someone reaches 96 years old.

Keep us up to-date.

Three days/nights on, three days/nights off.
Of course you are not bad. This type of caregiving requires a team of three caregivers. Some people can do 24/7, but not without breaks, respite care.
Have you tried Monday-Friday, weekends off? Have you read articles on this site about how many caregivers die before the ones they are taking care of?

24/7 is not a sustainable schedule. You have to sleep at some point, so how are you a caregiver 24/7? This is the problem most of us face as caregivers - and one I'm dealing with personally now. My mother took a bad fall recently, and now I'm afraid to sleep at night for fear she will fall again. She never sleeps all night, but gets up to go to the bathroom, etc. She's a huge fall risk right now, because we haven't yet determined why she blacked out and fell - so now I live with the fear that I will wake up and find her on the floor, having not heard her fall during the night.

I don't know what agency you are with but there are laws to prevent you working so many hours and days. If you are not with an agency, tell the family you must have another caregiver relieve you as your health will suffer, and I mean NOW.

You are a bad caregiver if you continue with this schedule. Mistakes are bound to happen. This is not a viable situation.

I am so sorry to hear that. That was scary for you, I'm sure. I hope they are able to find out what caused it.

I see the problem now. It's regional. Indonesia has no labor laws regarding caregivers, and a household employee can essentially be treated as a slave, albeit a paid one.

Ayucan, you need to find another line of work - this is never going to work for you as a household employee.

I am a caregiver that will tell you what you are heading for.

I was a caregiver for 13 - 16 hours per day, for 196 days straight.

I have been in the hospital 20 plus days, it has cost me far more than I ever made, and I almost did not come out of it, then got a superbug from the hospital,

Advice, 24 hours a day is NOT sustainable. 3 days on 4 days off or 4 days on, 3 days off, but NO NO NO.

Please do not do what I did. I am the only one she knows and will have, do not get in that trap. It is better to tell whomever up front.

Really, I lost 50 lbs and still work, but am so exhausted, that I only do 6 hours of elder care now, and work with the Household that has been so very good to me.

Pleese read everyone's advice.

Cwillie, labor laws yes, but in the state that I live in and I am on the books all the time, as caregivers do not realize or some don't that it just is a no win for you to make money off the books, no social security, no labor laws. And by the way, i just found out, when my doctor wrote a note that I was to work from 10:00 not 9:00am, that because I was an employee of one, they did not need to follow the labor laws.

Be GOOD TO YOURSELF, NO ONE ELSE WILL. {LIFE IS A JOURNEY, NOT A RACE"

r

I have a bedside potty for my Aunt, who is 95, so that she doesn't have to walk anywhere during the night. Also, there is a service that provides a monitor for them to wear around their necks. It's more than "I've fallen and can't get up". This monitor detects movement so that the person that falls doesn't have to notify the monitoring company. It senses the fall and contacts family, emergency, etc to let them know about the fall. I know ADT has it. Good luck.