College and Ic

[Ginns]

I'm a senior and I want to go to college but i'm so worried about having to drop out b/c of IC. Anyone going through college? Anyone have any tips or stories?

[moonstar00]

I'm a college sophomore now, studying computer science and business. When I was a senior in high school, I was just as worried as you are now! I was exhausted, burnt out, and hating my body for having the problems it has, and for a while there I considered not going to college at all. But, now that I'm here, I'm glad I decided against that idea.

The first thing I would recommend is to talk to someone from the Disability Services office at every school you are considering. It really doesn't matter how great the academic programs are if you aren't given the accomodations you need. Explain to them your situation and what accomodations you would need (able to leave during class, excused absences, special testing arrangements, a notetaker, a dorm room with a private bathroom, etc.) You may also want to ask to speak with a student who is enrolled with them and has a chronic illness to see what they think about the services they are getting.

The second thing I would recommend is to decide whether or not you can enroll fulltime. I was fulltime all last year, but this semester, I decided to take a lighter load, and although I am still pretty tired, it is definately an improvement. Just remember that the important thing is to take care of yourself first.

My last suggestion has to do with insurance. I'm from Chicago and have a crappy HMO that does not allow me to see anyone in Los Angeles where I go to college, and the school's health insurance is even crappier (I never knew it was possible to be crappier than an HMO! [img]rolleyes.gif[/img] ) If you are happy with the insurance you have now, you may want to make sure that it is accepted near the school. If you have doctors you are happy with, you might want to consider how feasible it would be for you to still see them if you are going to the college you are considering.

I hope this has helped some. Please let me know if there's anything else you would like to know!

-Jennifer

[Drama_Queen16]

Hi Ginny,

I'm in a similar situation to you. Technically, I'm 17 and a senior but I'm 2 years behind because I missed half of grade 10, nearly all of grade 11, and most of this year so far due to IC. I'm trying to catch up in time to go to university in the fall, but it won't be easy. The education system where I live is complicated and I may not even be allowed to do this - but I'm going to try. I've raised enough h*ll about the stupid regulations here already so at least until the new year (mid-year exam time!) I'm going to just study, study, study my butt off and keep quiet about it for awhile. As for university I'd love to go away to university but my IC may force me to stay here and attend locally so I can live at home. It's one of the sacrifices this disease sometimes forces us to make. However, I am not giving up. I still believe I'll get well enough to go away.

Anyway, I don't have any special suggestions for you regarding college other than the ones you've already gotten, but I just wanted to let you know that you're not alone. There are some other teens here, not all of them post regularly but they DO EXIST! [img]smile.gif[/img] I've had IC since I was 7, so I have 10 years of experience in dealing with IC and school. There are some adults here who have had it since they were kids too. This is a wonderful place to come for advice and there are always people willing to help, so if you ever have questions, feel free to ask.

I hope everything works out with your education and I wish you the best of luck!

[Amanda]

I am 18 and should be a senior in high school, though I have been too sick this past year to complete almost all of this past year's work, therefore I am in the middle of my junior year.

Good luck and feel free to e-mail me.

Amanda
[email protected]

[rnewman]

Ginny-
I am 22 and a senior nursing student at UMass- so probably not to far from you! It did take me five years, but believe it or not NOT because of IC......because I changed my mind before i found nursing. Im lucky in one sense, that all my professors are now nurses, but unlucky in another in that when you are on the floor doing your job, you sometims dont have time to pee- and nursing professors are unsympathetic unless you are a patient....lol...anyway, the point it dont let something so little (although, i KNOW it seems so big....) get in your way. If you need to maybe take a semester off and organize some stuff, get the IC under control, get some stress management teqniques you can use in school....but defintaly DONT forget school! Its a great experiance,and Im not even talking about the educational part.......and let the school know your issues, what you need- demand what you need- hell write your essay into school on "how you overcame IC" or soemthing. Just dont let it win!
Good luck and tons of support-
Rachel~ If you want to get in touch with me [email protected] Im at umass amherst!

[dansfever]

Ginny don't worry everything will be fine and you will not have to drop out of school. I am 21 and I do have this. The professors in college can be real jerks sometimed but it might help if you went to the Disability center at the college and talk to the counsalor and ask they if IC would be concidered a disability I believeI read on the forum somewhere that a college student was in the disabilities because of it you may want to check around. Good luck
____________
Veronica

[dansfever]

Ginny the heading for that reading on the forum is ILove the Disabilities Resource Office. It might help to talk to the person who started it since they have already succeeded in having it labled as a disability and they can give you good pointers on how to go about it. Hope this helps
____________________
Veronica