Crohns and college

I am starting back to college next week (graduated hs 25 yrs ago) and I am wondering how people handle Crohns and college. Should I tell the teacher up front or wait and hope I don't have an issue. I don't want a bad rep with the teacher, but I want them to understand if I find the need to leave class suddenly. Thanks!

I have been in college since I graduated high school in 2004 (the cost of changing majors halfway through) and I've had Crohn's the whole time. I have never had any problems that have affected my grade or GPA. I do not tell the instructors or the schools that I have Crohn's ahead of time, I just proceed with the class like a regular student. If I get sick during the semester and miss alot of due dates because I was in the hospital or the emergency room, then I will email the teacher and tell her about the Crohn's and the issues that I am having at the time. I will always provide documentation from my doctor, discharge paperwork from the hospital, and dr's notes excusing me from school (I always ask for Dr's notes when I have to go to the hospital so that you have them if you need them).

When this happens, I have never once had a teacher refuse to extend the due dates for the work I have missed. As long as you can prove that you are telling the true, which you can with the proper paperwork, professors are usually very understanding.

I just finished my first semester of college. Didn't have any major issues. Only had occasional minor discomfort here and there for the most part (one of the only things I've found to consistently give me trouble is ribs, and that's really just been terrible gurgling noises and some discomfort, although, going to school in Memphis around all this BBQ is a little... Unlucky). Even pledged a fraternity and ended up with a 3.2 GPA. I did end up dropping one class, so I only had 3 classes, which is the minimum here, but that wasn't really Crohn's related. Even though that's lower than my grades in high-school, I'm ok with it, especially considering where I was 6 months ago, sick as anything, in the hospital, 30 lbs lighter, looking and feeling like death, and honestly probably not too far from it. That's when I was first diagnosed. My biggest health battles have been tapering off prednisone completely, which took a few tries, but I finally got off it like last week, hopefully for good, knock on wood. I missed one teacher's class a few times, mainly just because I didn't feel great, had it been an exam or something I could have forced myself to go, and so I went ahead and emailed her explaining that I have crohn's. I don't want to use that as an excuse for everything though and will try to avoid doing things like that from now on, not because I was lying, I wasn't, but because I hate playing that card. Anyway, I'd say I had a pretty good first semester, but I guess it all comes down to your individual symptoms and all. I personally haven't and won't start out by telling my professors and all my friends, but I would if I had symptoms and missed a class or something. And my school's disability office or whoever knows I have cd because my doctor wrote to them when I first came in the fall. I did end up telling my pledge brothers and a few other people in my fraternity, mainly because they asked about my changing appearance in profile pictures (skinny to moon face), but I don't necessarily keep it a secret either. Sorry for the long reply, but that's been my experience so far.

I can give you some perspective from the other end (I'm a college professor). I have no problems with students who need to get up during class and leave the room; the important thing is that you minimize distracting the rest of class, so I would suggest sitting by a door. If you miss more than a couple classes or are late more than a couple times, make sure you first check the syllabus to see what the policy is for attendance, but then even if there isn't a policy, you should still contact your professor and let them know why you are missing class/are late. You do not need to go into specifics here, but it is important that your professor knows you are not a "slacker" but that you have a real reason for your absence. As others have noted, all universities should have disability services that you can use to basically get "proof" that you have a reason for missing class, being late, etc. I did not use my university's while I was in school, but I know other people who have.

Hopefully, you will never run into a situation where you have a professor who gives you a hard time. Most of us genuinely care about our students' best interests and just want them to succeed.

Register with your school's disability office ASAP. I was diagnosed during my sophomore year of college and tried balancing everything on my own for the first couple of semesters. After having to drop some courses (losing money, protecting the GPA) due to suffering grades, I registered at the disability office. I couldn't believe how many services they could provide. I was allowed to take exams there with a monitor, and each of my classes had a designated person to take notes and turn in to the disability office for the lectures I didn't make. The best part is that students aren't allowed to know who they are taking notes for, so you don't feel awkward while seeing them in class.

It took me a few years to realize that asking for help shouldn't be an embarrassing thing. More help= less stress. Less Stress = happy gut!