My sleep pattern gets disrupted and my intestinal rhythm gets disturbed.
Absolutely true and yet given no credence. Been there & done that. Guess what; your intestinal rhythm gets disturbed so your sleep pattern gets disrupted so your ..............intest.....OMG. The downward spiral to an unhealthy life. But never mind, it's legal and you pass the medical. Quality of life, piss poor. And who creates it? Rostering. And what do they say when you complain? "it's not our fault; it's legal, there is no one else and are you refusing a duty?" That makes you mad; but never mind; all the RST training tells you not to fly if stressed out with close personal problems. So you phone the very people who have created your personal problem to say you are unfit for the next utterly anti-social knackering roster combination. Another head-banging downward spiral.
Then you meet a friend who works for a proper outfit who have roster bids and limits and guidelines and sensible rosters and friendly rosters, and you wonder how the heck did you ever end up if your hell-hole. And they produce just as much productivity as you do, but in a manageable manner.
So to those who say you should have known what you were getting into before you got into it.......don't be daft. It ain't like that at all. It is good luck or bad luck, but it shouldn't be that way.