Recently Diagnosed

[kristan]

Hey I've been recently diagnosed with IC. I'm in my junior year at college and IC has so far proved to be frustrating! The doctor is still trying different medicines, and meanwhile I'm trying to handle flares etc. It's really hard sometimes to sit in class in so much pain. Most of my friends seem to be fairly supportive so thats good! I was just wondering if anyone else is going through the same thing or has?

[Kiyoka]

Dear Kristen, This is my two year of college. I started having pain and didn't know what to do my first semester at college. I finally found out I have ic Feb 27, 2003. Taking all those different meds weekly didn't help very much during class time. I don't even know how I passed my classes. I'm here if you ever want to talk. my email address is [email protected]

Thanks,

[Alexa]

Dear kristan, Welcome to the ICN!

I totally understand....I went through the exact same thing during my undergrad degree. I'm 27 now, but was diagnosed 7 years ago. University is hard enough, without dealing with IC too, isn't it?? But it IS possible! It shows your strength and determination to be going to college while working with your urologist to find what medications or treatments work for you.

One thing that really helped me going through university was the Disability Resource Centre (DRC). It might be under a slightly different name at your college, but basically it's a support network and centre where students with various special needs and challenges can receive support and academic concessions while attending classes. They helped me tremendously...they were just wonderful. I would definitely look into that organization on your campus.

Have you talked to any of your professors about your health issues? Do you have a friend in each class that you can borrow notes from if you can't attend?

What medications and treatments have you tried so far? I tried just about everything out there before I got on Elmiron, which helped me so much! Have you tried the IC diet? That also helped me a lot. I would take a look through the ICN Patient Handbook when you get a chance...has a lot of great information on dealing with IC that was very helpful to me when I was first diagnosed.

Take care, grouphug
Alexa

[Megs]

Kristan,
I'm sorry you have IC, and i know how hard it is dealing with that at school. IC started for me the day i graduated from undergrad, but i headed right to a 4 year grad program, and it has been tough at times. the biggest thing that has helped me is letting my professors know what i am dealing with. i've had to miss a lot of class due to appointments and not feeling well, and it was easier once they knew what i was going through. i just printed out a little article about what IC was and what patients go thru, and since then, they have been very understanding when i say i have appointments and things. i also take a heating pad to class with me when i have bad flairs to provide another input. my classes are 3 hours long tho, but it does help. do you have urimax or pyridium? sometimes those meds help take the edge off. other than that, i would just recommend what someone else suggested (the IC diet) and try to get enough rest. if you have any other questions or need to talk to someone you can email me: [email protected] (that goes for anyone actually).

hang in there,
meg