Struggling with school

[amor151]

struggling with school

im pretty new to all this and i am only 14 but ive got a big problem. getting to school, surviving the day and getting good grades! every morning when i wake up i feel absolutely horrnedous. i know most people feel the same early doors but i just feel completely 100% flat. ive tried going to bed earlier but it doesnt seem to affect the way i feel in the morning. this means me missing alot of time off school and i find that my school work suffers alot as a result of this. Even on the days i do go in i feel consitently low and sturggle greatly to concentrate during lessons.

for my GCSE results i am predicted A's in everything and was achieving that until i was diagnosed with crohns just under 6 months ago. since then ive been getting B's and C's with only the odd A. i also find that as i am missing so much school teachers are piling up work for me to do at home in my own time which is hard enough without crohns. at around 6 o'clock is when the effects of the steroids i am on start to wear out so doing any work after that time is near impossible as i tend to suffer severe stomach pains when the steroids have worn off.

and as for needing the toilet its hell! in the whole of our school (1200 children - 700 boys) we have but one cubicle with a locking door! thankfully diarrhea doesnt affect me all that much but it still has its days.

im worrying now that if my grades continue to slowly drop then i will suffer later on in life but what can i do? i appear to have entered a rather vicious circle! i still enjoy school and have some wicked mates who, although they dont really understand the disease, are supportive and are yet to let me down. i am putting alot of pressure on myself with my school work as both my parents and older brother got A's and B's in their GCSE's and i dont want to dissapoint them or myself as i no i should be able to get these grades if only it weren't for crohns!

i no i am quite young and most people on this site are older than me (no offence :smile: ) but if any of you had crohns at a young age please let me know how you dealt with school and if you think it affected the results of any exams you may have taken.

sorry for going on but i could really use some help. thanks alot and i hope to be reading your posts back soon!

 

[Jeff D.]

Do any of your parents work at home because if you could get home schooled for the next year or so. It may work to your benefit because you will be able to learn at you own pace and whenever you feel healthy enough to do such work. Of course do not to put off all the work, do a little each day and if you have to miss a day work on it during the weekends. I wasn't home schooled but I think in your case it may help.

I was diagnosed when I was 14 and I had to skip the last month of school because I couldn't walk and I had no bowel control. After freshman year of high school I started to take it easy on my education and tried to make myself not work too hard. I went from getting A's to B's but after that I started to feel much better. I also started to exercise.

Best of luck and welcome to the forum

 

[amor151]

my mum is unemployed at home but isnt able to teach me due to her illness (MND). i may ask my parents about abit of tutoring when im not feeling too bad so im keeping up with the work. i think ive probably been putting too much stress on myself and your advice on taking it easy is really useful especially as it seemed to work for you.

im going to get my parents to maybe write letters to all my teachers explaining the disease because although they know i have crohns the majority dont understand anything about it and think it just means i have a sort of permenant diarrheia!

thanks alot for the advice Jeff and if anyone else out there has any please write a post.

 

[JTKrol]

I wrote a post about what to do when you get to college and you are having a hard time with Crohn's.

I imagine you should do something similar in high school. I would suggest that you get your GI doctor to write a brief note explaining your condition. Also, you could pool together some short articles talking about Crohn's and what to expect from a student with it. Give a copy of the note and articles to all of your teachers and your principal and suggest they read it. Also, having you and your parents attend a short conference with each of your teachers is not a bad idea. It's a lot of work, but at least people will begin to understand.

Here is the link to that other post I had: Last Post

Also, I think Jeff D. is on to something with a personal tutor if, as you say, home schooling is out of the question. Good luck and let us know what works for you. We are always trying to collect advice to give to others. Post the positive as well as the negative on here!

 

[Jeff D.]

I like the idea of having your parents write a note to your teachers but if you are able to write the note and have your parents sign it then your teachers won't think that you are just lazy. Write from your perspective and research Crohn's to your best ability. Only do this if you feel up to it because really when you are telling a high school teacher something like this it means a lot more when it comes from you. If you want to ask any questions post them up.

I also think a tutor is exactly what you need. Someone who can keep you on your toes about the work but not so much that you are putting too much stress on yourself. I'm 18 and I know exactly how you are feeling. Also how are your friends feeling about the disease. One of my friends didn't understand why I couldn't go outside and why I always wanted to just sit around so he left me and my other friend to start drugs. It happened because I was not honest with them when it came to my disease. If your friends ask you how you are doing answer them truthfully but don't whine when you so it. I always would say that I feel like crap today or something along those lines.

Anyways best of luck

 

[vickyoddsocks]

Hello!
Your story sounds very familiar!
I got diagnosed at 16, i actually MISSED my GCSE's coz i was in hospital, but i still ended up doing ok. (they gave me results based on predictions) Im 22 now and at University. Overall ive had to repeat 2 years to get where i am.

I find that teachers / tutors etc are very understanding as long as they have the right knowlege of what crohns is and how it affects us young people!
If your not already, its worth joining NACC (national association for colitis and crohns disease) they provide (free of charge!) LOADS of booklets and leaflets bout all sorts. They recently released info sheets for students and teachers, and iv given it to my uni. It explains everything - even side effects of steroids! And theyve since been really understanding!
(it even mentions about possibly using staff toilets if we need to!
Hope thats of some help!
Good luck with everything!
XXX

 

[amor151]

thanks alot for all the posts, the advice is really helpful. ive just started going to a maths booster class after school which should help me catch up on work ive missed and my parents are looking into a tutor.

my friends are actually quite understanding about the disease, they all no that i am ill (although there knowledge of the disease ends at it causes me pain and i need the loo alot!) and if i say im not up to something they will usually understand and leave it at that. sometimes one person will get annoyed but the rest of my mates will tell him to shut up or something

i will look into those info sheets and will give them to my teachers ASAP! only 2 more weeks till a much needed christmas holiday which should help me get back on track. the advice has been great its good to know that your not the only one who is going through, or who has gone through something like this. i will look at the link u sent JTKrol as im sure it will be useful

next stop for me is queens medical centre for an endoscopy on the 21st of december. theres a christmas present i wont soon forget! good luck with the disease for the rest of you and as always the more advice the merrier!