# University and Grades



## Eternity (Aug 25, 2011)

For those of you who have managed to get to and through university with IBS, please tell me about your experience with it. I'm about to start university in a couple of weeks and I'm so nervous about ruining my future because of this horrible curse. I have IBS-M, so I never know when I might have a bad day. I'm a good student, I get good grades, but I'm terrified because I missed a solid 6 months of grade 9 being sick all the time and my anxiety was at its peak. I've been told that the student disabilities office can get me someone who can write notes for me, but when I went to talk to them, they didn't really understand it. They also require me to have a doctor's letter explaining what my disability is and how it affects my life. This is a huge problem because I haven't had a doctor in two years, since I turned 18 and lost my pediatrician. I haven't had any medical treatment or examination regarding my IBS since I was 14 because they told me it was all in my head and anxiety related. They treated me horribly and made me hate doctors. But I suppose that story is a little beside the point. But either way, it looks as if I have to try to get through university without a note taker or having a liaison who can explain my situation to my professors. Does anybody have any advice for trying to juggle these? I've been told that missing any days of university is very risky and it makes me so scared.


----------



## Ros (Sep 3, 2011)

Eternity said:


> For those of you who have managed to get to and through university with IBS, please tell me about your experience with it. I'm about to start university in a couple of weeks and I'm so nervous about ruining my future because of this horrible curse. I have IBS-M, so I never know when I might have a bad day. I'm a good student, I get good grades, but I'm terrified because I missed a solid 6 months of grade 9 being sick all the time and my anxiety was at its peak. I've been told that the student disabilities office can get me someone who can write notes for me, but when I went to talk to them, they didn't really understand it. They also require me to have a doctor's letter explaining what my disability is and how it affects my life. This is a huge problem because I haven't had a doctor in two years, since I turned 18 and lost my pediatrician. I haven't had any medical treatment or examination regarding my IBS since I was 14 because they told me it was all in my head and anxiety related. They treated me horribly and made me hate doctors. But I suppose that story is a little beside the point. But either way, it looks as if I have to try to get through university without a note taker or having a liaison who can explain my situation to my professors. Does anybody have any advice for trying to juggle these? I've been told that missing any days of university is very risky and it makes me so scared.


Hey! I must say I was pretty much in your position last year. About to start uni. I have a pain predominant IBS which is also mixed (had it for 8 years so far)... as you say, you never know when you'll have a bad day. my grades are very good but I was afraid.I found I actually had to reject a place from Oxford uni because it would just be too stressful, so now i'm at Durham uni and loving it.Take everything one step at a time. If you've got a diagnosis for IBS then the university should allow you an ensuit room (which took care of a lot of worries for me). I made my dorm room a safe place, so I know it's a place I can just go back to and feel less anxious in. I had a worry that if I was in a lot of pain I wouldn't be able to get help if I needed it, so I asked the people in charge of the accommodation to give me a number I could ring if it got really bad (The Welfare office). Just knowing someone would be there if I needed it got rid of a lot of anxiety. I also gave a spare key to my neighbour once I knew her incase I needed help.I know everyone says to just not worry and it's not as easy as it sounds, but try and relax. If you feel safe in your room (Like you do at home) it's easier to relax. If people don't understand, print off a good explanation for them and show it them! I often had doctors saying it's all in my head, but you know it's not. and now it's been proved!! MRI scans can now pick up the pain which people are feeling due to IBS! and they have isolated the nerve responsible. It kind of short circuits and ends up looping the signal as it passes from your gut to the brain. So by the time you recieve it, it's 5-10 instead of 1-10 on the pain scale! .... few more years and maybe a cure Hope this has helped a little.


----------



## sophie06 (Sep 14, 2011)

Eternity said:


> For those of you who have managed to get to and through university with IBS, please tell me about your experience with it. I'm about to start university in a couple of weeks and I'm so nervous about ruining my future because of this horrible curse. I have IBS-M, so I never know when I might have a bad day. I'm a good student, I get good grades, but I'm terrified because I missed a solid 6 months of grade 9 being sick all the time and my anxiety was at its peak. I've been told that the student disabilities office can get me someone who can write notes for me, but when I went to talk to them, they didn't really understand it. They also require me to have a doctor's letter explaining what my disability is and how it affects my life. This is a huge problem because I haven't had a doctor in two years, since I turned 18 and lost my pediatrician. I haven't had any medical treatment or examination regarding my IBS since I was 14 because they told me it was all in my head and anxiety related. They treated me horribly and made me hate doctors. But I suppose that story is a little beside the point. But either way, it looks as if I have to try to get through university without a note taker or having a liaison who can explain my situation to my professors. Does anybody have any advice for trying to juggle these? I've been told that missing any days of university is very risky and it makes me so scared.


Hey there, I am currently 2nd year at university, been dealing with IBS for the past 5yrs, although was only diagnosed 2 weeks ago. I find that I do miss classes, and struggle with deadlines as I want to sleep all the time BUT do not worry! I find all my tutors are so understanding which helps alot. Just remember to keep up to date so the stress/anxiety doesn't increase and you will get there


----------



## ttc123123 (Oct 23, 2009)

Eternity said:


> For those of you who have managed to get to and through university with IBS, please tell me about your experience with it. I'm about to start university in a couple of weeks and I'm so nervous about ruining my future because of this horrible curse. I have IBS-M, so I never know when I might have a bad day. I'm a good student, I get good grades, but I'm terrified because I missed a solid 6 months of grade 9 being sick all the time and my anxiety was at its peak. I've been told that the student disabilities office can get me someone who can write notes for me, but when I went to talk to them, they didn't really understand it. They also require me to have a doctor's letter explaining what my disability is and how it affects my life. This is a huge problem because I haven't had a doctor in two years, since I turned 18 and lost my pediatrician. I haven't had any medical treatment or examination regarding my IBS since I was 14 because they told me it was all in my head and anxiety related. They treated me horribly and made me hate doctors. But I suppose that story is a little beside the point. But either way, it looks as if I have to try to get through university without a note taker or having a liaison who can explain my situation to my professors. Does anybody have any advice for trying to juggle these? I've been told that missing any days of university is very risky and it makes me so scared.


Hello,I hope I haven't posted this too late but hope this helps ( and sorry, this might be a bit of a novel so do forgive me!!)I have suffered with IBS since year 10 and I am now entering my second year of uni after taking a year out. Mine is caused by stress so it can hit at anytime and I never know what I am going to get when I wake up (or if I have managed to get to sleep at all!) I am not sure how different it is between the UK and where you are but this is how I have had to do it. My doctor has told me I have IBS and I have had some tests to rule out coeliacs disease etc but not anything like a colonoscopy (My sister however has had every test possible and we suffer from the same symptoms so that helps!). To get the help you are talking about I had to have a letter from my doctor which basically confirmed I had IBS and listed my symptoms and said how it affected my learning. I then gave this to the disability team at uni where I then went to an independednt assessment centre where I had to talk about what help I was looking for. I was able to get a digital recorder that I could use to take to lectures and seminars so that if I needed to leave the room I could without missing anything although this has been hard if I have been unable to get to uni that day at all. I have had many meetings with the disabilities people and my lecturers. At first my disability team were not aware of IBS until I went to see them and they have been very helpful in explaining things to lecturers and getting me my own room for exams etc. I did not need a doctors letter to get help from them, only to get funding for a recorder and hopefully for this year to get a note taker. May I sugget that you find as much info as you can about IBS and take it to the disabilities office, make an appointment with the main person which is what I had to do and have a chat about it ( it took a couple of meetings to get through to them), explain your problems and they should start to understand you. Go and see lecturers individually, it's best to do it face to face I have found and explain what your problems are, tell them how passionate you are about wanting to go to uni and that you work hard and that you have managed to get good grades so far. People seem to be becoming more aware of IBS now and especially now it is being included in disability acts ( may I suggest you find out about that too which may help you).I know that I have to work extra hard because I miss a lot of lectures and seminars but I managed to get throught the first year with B- and upwards. It can be done and one of my lecturers was clear that he did not understand what IBS was and assumed that because I was missing lectures it meant that I was hungover which as I explained to him that I do not touch alcohol and I found it very insulting that he wanted to be so sterotypical ( that soon put him in his place and he has been very helpful with deadlines etc ever since). I found that if I missed a lot of lectures and seminars I would go and see them about it and ask for extra help, two of them even offered me extra lessons each week to help me and they both gave me their lecture scripts so I was kept up to date.The key is to keep them informed when you can and I got given the whole thing about if you miss any lectures you will fail, you will be thrown off the course blah blah blah, they do that so they can get rid of the people that do not turn up, do not keep them informed and they don't hand in any work, they just like to scare people (thats what I was told by one of the lecturers, especially now in the UK courses are becoming oversubscribed it makes it easier for them to get rid of the people that do not bother to work) but DO NOT worry about it as you are clearly not one of those people, as I was told by lecturers, the fact that you are aware of the fact that you are missing work and are wanting to work and catch up is helpful. In fact I think that during the spring/summer terms they became very used to my work ethic and my attendence as I had been doing better than those that had been turing up to most of the classes made it very obvious that I was managing and that it can be done without having to go to all the classes.May I ask what you are studying? Good luck anyway and do not worry, as everyone else that has commented on this has made clear it can be done! I hope this helps in some way


----------



## outdoors geek (Nov 23, 2008)

Hey!I've been there (and still am). I have a degree but am doing more school. My IBS started first year University, so I know what it's like to spend 4 or more years with the pressure of school and having to deal with IBS on top of that. My advice to you is (I know it sounds stupid) relax. And I know you're probably like how do you expect me to relax?! University sucks! and IBS sucks more! I remember when people told me to relax and I wanted to strangle them (oh wait this still happens. I have anxiety and panic over everything and sometimes I can't relax. But there are things where you you can relax a bit. When getting my degree I really panicked about what might happen in class, but now I'm just like, if #### happens it happens. Sit in a good spot in the classroom so you have space to get out if you need (nothing worse than flaming intestines and you have to literally crawl over 30 students because those folding desk/writing things are too small to hold a 8.5x11 sheet of paper but are simultaneously too large for anyone to walk between rows of seats without everyone folding them up and standing). Basically, the biggest problem with IBS in class is - your stomach making weird noises when it's quiet (ie exams) or you having to go to the bathroom at the most inconvenient times (being late for class, leaving in the middle of class, leaving early, leaving multiple times). Do you have friends going to this school with you? Not necessarily in your class, but just on campus? It's always great to have someone who can watch your bag while you spend half an hour in the bathroom so you don't have to worry about someone stealing your stuff while you're dying of smelly agony. I know there was a disability center at my school that had the notes taking thing but I never used it, so I can't offer too much advice there. Your professors might post notes online, or you might be able to get them off someone. What are you taking? There are some subjects that are easier to learn out of a textbook than others. I guess I should ask you what you are the most worried about. Are you just worried you will miss classes from being sick? I'd leave and plan to be at school early and then if I got sick, I was on campus. Even if I felt (and looked) like ####, I went to class. And if I had to leave three times, I did. I was upfront and told my profs - those who taught smaller classes and actually noticed if you left - that I'd probably be late to all of their classes due to circumstances out of my control. Then they know. My one friend had a prof that had IBS and he was always late to teach his class haha. Pfft, risky. I'm not sure what school is like where you are, or where you even are for that matter, but I missed a lot of classes (for non IBS reasons, some classes were just pointless to go to) and did just fine. Unless you end up with the prof that grades participation, in which case you go at the beginning of class, sign the sheet when it comes around and can proceed to be as sick as you want throughout the class. You could even record the lecture if you are worried about missing some critical point while running to the washroom. Sure, #### will happen. Yes, I got sick before one of my finals and was two hours late (three hour exam) so I had to cram everything in in one hour. Yes I got sick during a final and couldnt finish. I still did okay on both of those exams. It happens, but if you prepare for it you won't do too bad. Once you get used to the swing of things, it will definitely be better. And finding this website definitely made me feel better, because everytime I went to school and thought this is awful, I'd look at the other people on the bus or the train and go, that person could have IBS and be feeling the same way. Look at you! You got accepted into University! Congratulations! That is a big deal, some people can't get that far, and they don't have IBS, so think of what you've done (however small it may seem) and remind yourself you can do this!


----------



## Cassie90 (Oct 4, 2011)

djfgdkfhkjhjkh


----------

