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College with Crohn's/Colitis

Hi!!

My name is Mel and I am about to turn 21 soon. I was wondering if anyone can share their experience as being a crohns/colitis patient and dealing with college life and social life. How do you deal with it?
 
For me it depends on my anxiety. College is a lot easier to handle than work is because I know if I need the toilet I know where it is and I can access it whenever I want. Other than the pain I find it a bit easier to manage if I'm having a stress free day, any other day just have to take it on the chin and get on with it unfortunately.

The social aspect is heavily limited sadly not much I can do because of the anxiety but slowly getting there.

Sorry if I couldn't be much help.
 
Really? Do you ever feel like its difficult when you take exams? I always get paranoid when I take exams because I feel like I'd have to go to the bathroom. I don't really talk about my issues with the professors but the rule is that once you leave, you forfeit the exam as well.

As for the anxiety part, I can definitely relate. I was so bad one point last semester that I refused to leave my house. I used have mini anxiety attacks especially while I commuted to school. (Yes, I'm a commuter and I used to commute by bus and train which was horrible!)

If you have any questions for me let me know as well! I'd be glad to answer :)
 

nogutsnoglory

Moderator
I got diagnosed in college and it wasn't nearly as bad as it is now but it did impact my social life. I was afraid to go out much so I joined many campus clubs to be social and stay on campus. As for studies my professors were all aware beforehand and would accommodate if necessary ie: more sick days, leaving early etc.
 
As for me.... I had to stop college for a while. I have had a flare-up for over a year now. I just recently started Remicade, and I seem to be going toward remission with it. Everyone is different. I had to take time off because of the number of surgeries I was having. I think that I may be able to start back soon though. You might could do like me and one class at a time. It worked well with my work schedule also. There seemed to be not as much stress that way. When I start back, it will be a part-time nursing program. Maybe part-time could work for you also. At least until you get a feel for how your body will respond.....
 
I got diagnosed when I was 18 and just started studying at university. I had quite some problems during that time leading to surgery when I was 22. By that time I had graduated already (got my first degree quite quickly at 21).

In any event, in retrospect, if I had been treated properly back at university, did enough sport and generally had been a calmer person, things would have been better.

My tips would be to run your Crohn's management very well during your time at university and be rather strict about it. That might impact your social life (as in drinking heavily and partying all night eating junk food is a big no-no, at least it is for me), but doesn't mean your social life has to ceize. Quite on the contrary, you just need to adhere to some guidelines, even if those guidelines seem restrictive at first.

Re exams, my Crohn's never bothered me during exams. However, it you have problems and you are preparing for exams, it can be quite hard to prepare sufficiently. I can just reiterate that managing your Crohn's right is also the key to not getting into troubles with exams or exam prep schedules. On the anxiety part, the only thing that ever helped me is enough preparation AND the knowledge that I was quite good at university, so nothing much could happen.
 
I totally sympathise... That was both the best and worst time for me. Like Steph I had to take a break from studying for about 6 months ( a large chunk of which was spent in hospital). But the silver lining is they changed my meds and its only gotten better since then.

I found the stress of exam preparation made my flares worse, but the exams themselves were bearable. Most of my friends knew about my UC and were understanding of my dietary restrictions during an extreme flare, including that I couldn't really drink. Some days it was quite nice to get a specially prepared meal - but it dedpended on what they were serving in the residence. When I tried to drink it made me feel worse- so I'd often carry one drink and nurse it for much longer than usual, but even that did me no favors- It felt like my gut ruled my social life. But as soon as I worked out my limit (ZERO during flare) I was in control again. On the bright side the insomnia brought on by steroids meant it was easy to stay out till late, and study through the night- just not sure how much I retained :)

Mel it sounds like you're still in the fairly early days. For me the most important thing was learning coping mechanism for how I dealt with having a chronic disease. I can say my 7th year was by far easier than my first year at university. I just mellowed out a bit I think. I can't speak for anyone else but I know I was very highly strung in the beginning years since diagnosis- a change in attitude (and a good support network) has made the world of difference.

Good luck for the year ahead- what are you studying?

Robynne
 
Though I am new to IBD, I have other college-impacting and significant health issues (Bipolar I and Meniere's Disease/hearing loss on top of newly IBD) that have required accommodations. If you go to your Student Services center, they can help you out with such accommodations :) Don't be afraid to ask what they can do for you and come with a doctor's note. They will bend over backwards to help you and are very discrete.

I go to school online mostly at home now because it is way easier for me and is more flexible for me, but when I have to go to campus because the class must be taught or I have to go to the exam center for an exam, student services steps in and helps me.

They have allowed me to take my exams with no time limit or anyone else in the room (except a proctor) and I am allowed to go to the bathroom as much as I need to. I can even schedule exams on a different day and they negotiate it with the professor so I do not have to. They also allow me to record lectures and will give me a person who can take notes for me if I get ill so I don't fall behind. This is all provided free and discretely at any college I have ever attended-from community college to advanced University studies.

Not sure what your major is, but have you tried online classes?

Best wishes to you :)
 
that's very useful advise- had simiar services that I used at uni. I second that its a great idea to see what support they can offer.
 
As someone who teaches at a University, I am so pleased to see you are having this really important discussion. All Universities should have student support sections that you can go to get advice. Make sure you disclose your Crohn's as then we can make allowances in terms of assessments. University is stressful so I would advise anyone to make sure they have coping and support mechanisms in place. I am always upset when students have problems and leave it too late to resolve them. Your lecturers are there to help.
 
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