The very best way to handle bathroom breaks?
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Sschell
Dude?
I would hate to be the dude sitting next to you in the exam room!
Raise your hand and they will take your exam booklet and you take your ticket with you to the restroom.
Take the few minutes and go, it is not going to make a big difference and you will be comfortable and make up the time lost.
Take the few minutes and go, it is not going to make a big difference and you will be comfortable and make up the time lost.
GulfCoastCivil
Don't Mess With My Oatmeal!
I'm going to use my trick I use for long road trips. I'm going to take half a dose of Immodium AD with my breakfast. I find it not only blocks up a certain part of the body, but also makes me have to pee less. This is important especially because I want to drink some coffee with my breakfast to get me over that morning slump.
TXengrChickPE
Here we go Steelers, here we go!
I say "go if you gotta go". Comfort is important... and I would not be comfortable wearing a diaper, or trying to hold it. Also, being dehydrated could cause a headache, which will cost you more than the time it would take to go pee. That said, I was careful with what I ate for a couple of days before my exam. I am pretty regular, but I know what foods tend to make me less so... and I avoided them.
jeb6294
Well-known member
I wouldn't recommend that...for me anyway. When I start to get dehydrated I get headaches and start to feel pretty crappy in general.I didn't want to take any breaks so I went into the exam a little dehydrated, like a boxer getting down to fighting weight.10940623:
If you've studied well, a few minutes for a bathroom break is not going to be a big deal. I think it is actually good to get up for a couple minutes to help clear your head a little bit...
jmbeck
Well-known member
Road Guy
Well-known member
I had an XL one of these just before the exam:
Felt good to have my normal caffine drug, and a 5 minute walk to the bathroom was well deserved for 4 hours of sitting in a cheap metal chair.
Felt good to have my normal caffine drug, and a 5 minute walk to the bathroom was well deserved for 4 hours of sitting in a cheap metal chair.
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Baltimore Joe
Joe
I agree that it is a good break to get up and go. For coffee drinkers like me, the morning is the issue. I found the morning session (breath module) to be less of a time crunch compared to the afternoon’s depth module. I even brought in water and got up twice to go. I still had time to go back and check some answers. My greatest fear was a headache caused by caffeine withdrawal or dehydration.
I guess I should have put my "dehydration" comment in perspective.
Most days, I start with a 44-ounce diet cola. The day of the exam, I only had about a pint of water when I woke up. That was recycled by the time I got into the exam and I was set until lunchtime.
It was similar during the break. I drank water before I left the test center for lunch, then again visited the lavatory before going back in for the second half.
So I was not shaking or faint but I didn't have to hourly water the flowers either.
I doubt very much if a 5 minute bathroom break is going to be the difference between passing and failing.
The key is to not stress yourself out so bad or mess up your digestive system to the point where that you get cramps, or the runs and end up spending hours on the can. That could make a difference.
The key is to not stress yourself out so bad or mess up your digestive system to the point where that you get cramps, or the runs and end up spending hours on the can. That could make a difference.
I was rolling and finished the morning in about two hours. So I had plenty of time to spare. But on the other hand, I didn't want to take a break and was glad I didn't have to.
jeb6294
Well-known member
When I started the exam and got on a roll, I didn't get up for anything. After my first run through and getting all my "definitely" questions I went back and looked at my "probably" questions. I'd take one more look at the "maybe" and "what the hell" questions to see if I'd missed anything. This is the point that a little bathroom break might be a good idea...give your brain a chance to wind down a little bit and let your eyes un-cross. Sometimes after you walk away for a couple minutes something might make sense when you look at it with fresh eyes.
RIP - VTEnviro
His Memory Eternal
What he said. Don't overthink the plumbing. Besides, getting up to take a leak is a good way to stretch your legs and rest your eyes for a minute or two.
TXengrChickPE
Here we go Steelers, here we go!
Oh no!!! YKW hacked Road Guy's account! Run for the hills!!!actually I recommend just getting all 40 right in the morning and the just finish the first 20 in the afternoon and get up and leave, that way you can beat the traffic
FairhopeEE
Well-known member
Good advice. I recall taking a trip to the head near the mid-point of both sessions, just as much to rest and stretch a few minutes as heeding the call of nature. We were not in the most comfortable room in the world, and I have a hard time sitting for hours on end under the best of conditions. One thing I did have to remember was to not take my blood pressure medicine that morning; it is a diuretic.
PE-ness
Advanced Member
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