should I take some sick days next week.

[Crocja]

I am in the middle of a 7 day live in stint - day and night, night and day. It's ok sometimes but then other times it can get so unbelievably intense and stressful. Like there can be times I won't be allowed to sleep. Then other stressful times. I could be in the middle of food preparation and the person will take the opportunity to take a big dump and smear it all over the place. It the dog ran went into the yard for wee and didn't come back. I made sure the person was ok for a few minutes to find the dog wandering the streets. I came back in to tmfind the person pissed the bed. My dinner gone cold.

Basically when I do finish this stint live in, I still likely won't be allowed a day off. It will be back into regular days. I don't know when my next day off will be. Maybe the 1st of Nov at a guess.

It's just too stressful. I have family home for a week from abroad and I would love to see them but there's likely no time in my schedule to see them.

Any other job would schedule appropriate time off at the end of a work day or at the end of a work week. There's no real breaks in care work. Just being wired into the ground for a flat fee.

Theres pressure on me to visit family next week and fuck me, I really just don't know when it how?

No, use annual leave like everyone else. It doesn't sound like you like it so maybe look for a new job?

No.

I know someone that did this sort of work and it was absolutely draining!!!
I’d go off sick and use the time to job hunt!!

How can you not know when your next day off is? There are laws around this. You are entitled to a certain amount of time off and to sleep. If you have agreed to a 7 day stint of working 24/7, then it would be reasonable to have some time off after that. What does your contract say?
I have never worked in care and so I don’t know what the norm is in that industry, but if you are in the UK there are legal protections against exploitation. Contact ACAS for clarification.
You do have the right to say no to additional hours.

Take the sick days. Your employer doesn’t care about your wellbeing and you shouldn’t care about theirs.

This.

I am going on sick leave from today after over a year of work-related stress and anxiety. My nervous system is fucked and I worry about long-lasting damage.

Don’t wait till you hit rock bottom, prioritise your health now.

The conditions care workers have to put up with are horrific. I don't understand why most people refuse to pay a tax to fund state care provision and would rather risk living reliant on miserable and abused people.

Any other job would schedule appropriate time off at the end of a work day or at the end of a work week. There's no real breaks in care work. Just being wired into the ground for a flat fee

Well I hope your flat fee is fucking enormous. But I bet it isn't, are you at least earning NMW for every hour you work and receiving statutory annual leave?

Surely if the person has such high needs then they need multiple carers and you will have time off to compensate for the long/live in shifts? But if you're not adequately compensated for such gruelling work could you get a different job in the care sector?

I did a live in stint last week that came to an end earlier this week. It thought they would give me a day off when that would be finished and they said I could have Thursday and Friday of this week but I now realize that was a lite to push me through more work after that live in stint and get me to work this week too without a day off.

I am now currently trying to organize cover to come and take over so I can get a day off. I am so sick and exhausted with the lies. It's always happening. Getting me to work 2 to 3 weeks solid before even considering giving me a day off or getting me to work weeks and claiming a half day is a day off.

I know a nurse who works 12 hours shifts but it's done over 3 days. Not 2 or 3 weeks.

I am just so sick of everything. There's no work life balance for me like this.

Sometimes my days can be okish but then other times it's just so much. Sometimes I do get time off but other times I could work weeks before I even get a day off.

I miss my younger days of working in a factory with defined hours.

It sounds like your employer is breaking the working time regulations

https://www.acas.org.uk/working-time-rules

Can you talk to them about it? Can you get another job? Can you talk to social services if a vulnerable person is at risk? If you work for a business rather than a private individual, the CQC or local equivalent may also be interested in your working conditions.