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Crohn's Disease Forum

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kb1

Joined
Apr 28, 2011
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Im currently sitting my AS maths, chemistry, physics and business studies. If anyone is looking any help or just wants to discuss any of those subjects let me know :D or even if u can offer help it wont go unused haha. If you would like to discuss how you manage through any exams or school in general i thought this thread would come im handy

Also anyone doing maths, chemistry, physics based course in uni let me know. Im trying to decide a career path atm and im getting no where just cant find anything I think i would enjoy. All help/replies are appreciated as always.

kb
 
I'm doing physics in science right now. I hate it -_- I'm so behind the others that I feel like when I go back to school I'll still be doing the first day stuff.:stinks:
 
I'm currently just starting my A2 in biology, chemistry and maths. Finding it really tough though 'cause I missed loads of work due to hospital admissions in my AS year. But hopefully things are on the up!

Looking at the date of your post kb I presume you sat your AS exams in summer? Have you moved on to A2 now? Still doing the same subjects? I hope all went well for you

and kimmidwife, I stopped physics as soon as I could - it was like torture for me. I admire anyone who chooses to take it further x
 
@vickie
yea i sat my AS's in the summer just past there they went surprisingly well got four A's :) atm im keeping all four on for a2 but im so annoyed at myself for not doing biology for a level because i really want to go into medicine now but im considering biomedical science instead. Crohns sort of sparked my interest in that side of things so atleast i can thank it for one thing lol :) and im still doing business studies for a2 for some reason i dont know seriously considering dropping it
How did your AS's go? From what weve done so far in chemistry this year its looking pretty tough but hopefully it'll turn out ok lol
What are you planning on doing after u finish your a levels?
I was pretty lucky with my crohns last year didnt have any major flares its just been mildly active for a few years and had all my hospital appointments/procedures during holidays so it didnt interfere to much with school thank god its complete hell trying to catch up with a level.. teachers go through topics so fast lol

@kimmidwife i LOVE physics haha well maybe slight exageration but i really lke it haha :p its really interesting when you study it in more detail although a level is pretty tough going. What year are you in at school? If you ever need any help with physics or science id be happy to help :)
x
 
@Vickie and KB1
Seeing as how I don't have a choice to take physics I don't really get the choice to quit. My teacher makes it really interesting and very hands on, so sometimes I feel like a college student and other times I just feel my brain go numb from all the information. I'm only in 8th grade though... so we're pretty much doing the easy stuff. :) my teacher already gave me all the notes of the things I missed, its like a packet as thick as the text book itself 0.0
 
@kb1 Well done on your AS results (very late I know). 4 As are amazing. I only managed to scrape a D, E and U after missing work and even missing some exams. But I am managing to keep up with the A2 stuff and just going to do a few resits to get them up to Bs :) The chemistry A2 is looking tough but I have a really good teacher so everything seems to be going well there. Not so keen on kinetics and equilibria though :p I'm currently looking towards uni after A levels, biomedical sciences degree looks like my perfect course! Just got to hope all stays in control Crohn's-wise this year :D

@Caitlyn So longs as you have a good teacher, even the worst subjects can seem fun! And it sounds like you have a good teacher making sure you keep up and everything :)

x
 
@Vickie
Yeah my teachers are great, I actually can understand things in math. My LA and Aciv teacher is awesome and my science teacher is giving me a break after all the exams we've done.
 
Hey Everyone, I'm new here and from Ireland! I was diagnosed with Crohn's when I was 15 and I am now 19! I;m studying Pharmacy in college and I love it.. I think having crohns definitely guided my career path!! :) My dad also has it and he is quiet alot of medication and different things so I think that sparked my interest..

Feel free to ask anything about my experience of Crohn;s or even Pharmacy questions!! :)

Condition: Crohn's Disease
Age: 19
Age Diagnosed: 15
Previous Meds: Prednisolone, Pentasa, Asacolon.
Meds now: NONE!!
Meds don't agree with me with Crohn's so I stopped taking them and I feel good
Feel free to have a chat!
 
Im doing my GCSE'S but as i have been ill missed some school last year. i have felt horrible trying to catch up and it is extremely stressful as im sure u all know. But hopefuy ill get there eventually and i am applying for collges at the moment.x my teachrs have been great.lots of love to u all.x
 
Hey, Eve! Are you in Pharmacy School currently or applying? I'm not sure how it works in Ireland, but here in the US we take 2 years of general studies, and then apply to a pharmacy school. I'm currently completing my general studies requirements but will be applying soon.
Like you, I owe my interest in pharmacy due to having to be knowledgeable about my own medication. I think it's very important to understand medicine for yourself, your family, and all of the patients you take care of. I have worked at a pharmacy for the past 2 years and it is very inspiring. Definitely an exciting profession!
 
Hey!
I'm currently in college studying Pharmacy Technician which is pretty much the helper to the Pharmacist. This is only two years and then I will go on to do Pharmacy. In Ireland for Pharmacy we are in college for 4 years and then you have to do 1 year of pharmacy practice in a pharmacy or hospital. Then you fully qualify after this.
Its really interesting all the things that you learn, because if your on your own medication you know just what you are told or what you research yourself but the amount of different things that I have learned! Its pretty amazing really :)

Retail pharmacy is extremely interesting if your in the right pharmacy because you have the front of shop to work with aswell as dispensary! Learn lots of things :) I'm on work experience in a hospital pharmacy now and its really interesting out there also, its very hard to get a job in a hospital though!
I hope your studies and your career work out great for you :D

:ghug:
 
It takes 6 years to get a pharmacy degree here! To become a tech, it takes 2 years and a different type of school, but my pharmacy lets me do tech work since I have worked there so long. I so agree about the double experience retail gives you since you have to work behind the counter and out in the store. I love retail pharmacies, I don't think I could do hospital because I just love interacting with the people who come in. Anyway, I'm starting to ramble, but I get excited when I meet other people who are pre-pharm! Its nice to meet you Eve and good luck in all of your schooling and future career!:soledance:
 
hi
im doing maths, english and french for A2... UCAS is driving me crazy!!
ive missed a lot of school but i always ask my doctor to give me a letter right before exams, which my teachers send off to the exam board, and it basically says that they should go easy on me cos ive missed a lot of school etc. it really helps cos if youre on the grade boundary, theyll push ya right up :)
also, just wondering if any of you guys mentioned your crohns on your ucas? there isnt a section for illnesses and stuff, and it didnt really fit in with my personal statement (im applying for maths w/ management :) )
 
UCAS is completely stressing me out at the minute haha aswell as CAO (irish equivalent) which is a disgrace of a system even in comparison to the shambles of UCAS lol.
I mentioned crohns in my ucas form.. under apply, and then personal details there is a section "disability/special needs". i selected the You have a disability, impairment or medical condition that is not listed above option and in additional details i just wrote crohns disease i think its a good thing to mention it.
(my brother is in 3rd year at uni and he also has crohns and he didnt mention anything to his uni about it when he applied and he had a bad flare during his exams last year meaning he missed them all as he was in hospital and he found it quite difficult to get the uni to allow him to repeat all the exams so he get back into his year)
I was literally about to post about the same thing on here.. whether to mention crohns in my p.s... I dont want to sound as if im sympathy seeking or anything by mentioning it but i decided to mention it and i used it to exaplain my interest in the pharmaceutical industry (im applying for chemistry)
 
Yep, another one of us stressed with UCAS over here! I've managed to tie in being ill quite well in my personal statement (as I'm applying for Biomedical Science) but I'm still going to mention it in the section kb1 said. When I was speaking to uni's, their disability department usually covered hidden medical conditions too and if it's highlighted on the form they said they can help with things such as pushing for ensuite accomodation and stuff. So I'd advise mentioning it :)

Right, back to draft 17 of my personal statement - I'll get it to sound okay eventually! I'll be glad when the process is over.
Good luck to both of you too x
 
ooh everyone! i was talking to my teacher today, and she says that if i get a flare up during exams and i feel that its affected my grade (which i bet is whats gonna happen...) she can call the unis a few days before results and this may make them go easy on me! she said that two girls had the same problem last year, so she called their unis, and even though they didnt get the grades they got in anyway!! hope is not all lost! :D

@kb1 i think maybe if you wanna mention crohns, talk about what youve learned from it cos maybe that way it wont sound all sympathy-ish :) gluck!

@vickie_x aw i wish i put it in my ucas but ive already sent it off now (4 offers so far yaay!) good luck with the personal statement!
 
What's UCAS?

I'm currently in my first electrical engineering. I really like it. This semester I have 5 classes: introduction to engineering, calculus, linera algebra, chemistry and human rights. I've aquired mad skills in manupulating matrices but I'm having a hard time learning programming. I manage to keep decent grades, but it's soooo hard to do home work because my mind wanders off all the time and I constantly feel tired due to crohn's and medication.

It sucks that my department won't take into account that I have crohn's and that it affects my grades. They are completely ignorant of the effect this disease has on the mind. ARG!! It was the same in highschool. Makes you wish that every teacher would have crohn's for a day to understand what it feels like.

Lately, I've entered a stage in my life where I don't know who I am and what I believe in. I don't know what to think anymore. People keep telling me that it's good to be asking questions. Truth is that sometimes I'd rather be like one of my friends, learning a trade in college and not give a f**k about anything except girls, beer and sports. I'm probably building a better future for myself but I could seriously use some good me time right now.
 
@luckyseven im sorry to hear youre so upset :( crohns is such an annoying and stupid illness, and it sucks that youre not getting the right kind of treatment from other people for it :( i know what you mean by wishing teachers had it for just a day... gah!!! i hope everythings ok soon- in the meantime RANT on this lovely site!

and UCAS is a university applying system that we have here in the UK. its basically an online registration form... but it ruins your life. STRESSSSSSED.
 
I'm thinking about creating a support group at school for students with IBD. I'm pretty sure other students at my school have IBD and are living the same things I am but I can't find them because theirs no way to know who has it. I'm hoping that I can raise awareness about IBD and help people who live with it. I figure that i'm not going to make anything better by sitting here a complaining about it.
 
thats a really good idea! youll be helping yourself and giving support to others at the same time! gluck with that :D
 
I'm doing my AS at the moment - psychology, sociology, philosophy and communication and culture.

Last year was my GSCE exam year and I sat at the back of the hall by the door incase I had to get out. I also have a fear of being trapped in a room with a load of people, so it calmed the fear too.

I have a philosophy exam in 2 weeks and because i've had the biggest flare up this month, more than ever, i've done no revision. There's no point - nothing is staying in my head and i'm too tired to concentrate.

I don't have a way of coping with college and this illness. So any ideas, feel free to let me know!
 
Hi!

I mentionned that I had a "chronic illness" in my personnal statement. I want to do journalism so to show that I constantly research stuff because doctors seem to contradict themselves. That way, they know something's up and I'm using it to my "advantage" and I don't get the X factor-type pity story :)

Geri
 
By the way, for Crohn's, would you put "long standing illness or health condition such as cancer, HIV, etc" or "disability, impairment or medical condition that is not listed above" in UCAS?

Thank you :)
 
I would say long standing illness.. It is afterall. It may not be like cancer. It can lead to cancer and it changes your life. It's not so much a disability or an impairment. But it is a medical condition.. tough one!

I would say Long standing illness.
 
I've ended up missing 50% of my final year of sixth form due to being diagnosed with Crohn's (basically 4 months in hospital or bed:ymad:) and submitted my uni application before it all kicked off. Has anyone else been in this problem or redone their A2's? I've firmed Nottingham for Zoology and they've said I may be able to apply for special access but I don't know if I'll be ready to live on my own in less than 5 months :eek2:
 
Hey chloescott
So sorry to hear this has all started during your A2s :hug:
I was diagnosed during my AS year and also missed 4 months or so but fortunately I had the second year to catch up (which I was shocked I managed but I had already prepared myself to need 3 years).

I would personally recommend speaking to your sixth form. Mine had to speak to uni's when I applied to explain my poor AS grades so it's good to keep them up-to-date. They should be able to support you now to get through the exams with minimal stress (for example, I had my own room near a bathroom) but they'll also be able to help if you need to speak to uni's on results day. But it's positive to hear that Nottingham have mentioned special access too! However, if you don't feel ready to move so soon after diagnosis there is always the option to defer your place as well.

Feel free to message me if you have anything to ask about uni life with Crohn's.
Best of luck :) x
 
chloescott said:
I've ended up missing 50% of my final year of sixth form due to being diagnosed with Crohn's (basically 4 months in hospital or bed:ymad:) and submitted my uni application before it all kicked off. Has anyone else been in this problem or redone their A2's? I've firmed Nottingham for Zoology and they've said I may be able to apply for special access but I don't know if I'll be ready to live on my own in less than 5 months :eek2:
Click to expand...

Im kinda in the same position ive missed lots of school too and ive applied to unis, just hoping i can do well this summer so i can get good enough results xd still not sure which to confirm tho.. And idk if i should take a year out or not too :/ sounds like im in the same position as you >.<
 
Blue said:
Im kinda in the same position ive missed lots of school too and ive applied to unis, just hoping i can do well this summer so i can get good enough results xd still not sure which to confirm tho.. And idk if i should take a year out or not too :/ sounds like im in the same position as you >.<
Click to expand...

I'm not well enough to take my exams this Summer so I have to take a year out if I don't get granted SA from Notts - good luck in the Summer, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you :smile:
 
I just wanted to say good luck to you all!! I'm just a year 10, so no major exams for me yet (although these controlled assessments are just the perfect thing to stop me RELAXING during term time, wow!).
 
chloescott said:
I'm not well enough to take my exams this Summer so I have to take a year out if I don't get granted SA from Notts - good luck in the Summer, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you :smile:
Click to expand...

ohh im sure it'll all work out alright in the end :) hope you get into Notts !!!
 
hey just saw this post! i've had to take out the whole school year since january and it was my last year too! worst thing ever. After going throught the whole stupid UCAS, finally getting excited and getting all my offers for uni, I then find out because i can't complete my exams this year, I have to go throught the whole stupid process again!!!!! Crohn's sucks. :(
 

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