How do you manage college classes?

Healing right now needs to take a front seat, unfortunately. Stressing yourself with work overload is going to set you back.

I'm beyond those years, but it's not much different than having a job. You have to try to shorten the responsibilities or take some time away/off.

It sounds like your classes need to be in clinical settings, but if there are any classroom parts that you can do on line, that would be ideal.

ETA If you have to be away from home, be sure to at least pack lemon water with you, and any immune supportive herbs or substances you can get and take mid day. That should help a little.

I have one more tip from personal experience: If you don't have any Japanese Knotweed tincture, you might think about getting some and starting that, very low dose and building up. It has done wonders with my pain levels, unless I'm doing something that stresses my lower back which is a non Lyme issue.

My daughter (3rd year undergrad) got accommodations. She got a golf cart to take her to classes. She also let each of her professors know that she's sick, and they've generally been really great about things if she's too tired to attend class - e.g. letting her make up work at a later time. She uses mag oil spray for joint pain, and also has a freezer ice pack thing that goes in a knee brace for her knee joint which hurts the most (found it at Walgreens). Mostly she follows the "spoon theory" that if she uses up a lot of "spoons" on one activity, she has to cut back on other activities to keep some reserve. It's been a bummer because she's given up a lot of the fun stuff, but it's allowed to keep her enrolled in school. OT is a great profession; some of my favorite people are OTs.

Please keep us updated how it goes Sean.scott!

I'm trying to start with "easier" and shorter classes and find ones with big enough breaks between them to nap. A bit harder for the summer semester but I have hope it'll work out

What other kind of accomodations do you all think would be good to ask for? I have to go to a certain amount of college credits per semester on campus because I'm an international student. So far I'm thinking getting permission to record lectures, probably asking for extra time for exams/separate room... My main deal would cognitive issues, and noise distracts and brings my ability to learn down as well. Fatigue of course too... And POTS meaning sometimes I can't sit up for too long... And weakness/shakiness in general. And EMF sensitivity, although I have a protector and it seems to be helping.

I would start a new thread but thought maybe it's better to stick with this one so anyone else looking can get it all in one.

Post Edited (Blueskies7) : 5/1/2017 11:33:16 AM (GMT-6)

Thanks for all the info everyone! I really hope I can tolerate the class this summer!

Keep working on your health. This sounds crazy, but never forget that you're sick. I don't mean that you should obsess about it, but let it always be in the back of your head, and be working towards bettering your health. I've been caught up in a lot of extracurricular things, activities outside of my experience with Lyme disease, and it's been a struggle to remember to stay on top of my treatment.

On the one hand, I feel like we should all be chasing things that don't relate to being sick, because it's important to keep living life. It's been a learning experiencing, but, at the end of the day, I lost a lot of years to Lyme disease, because all it made me want to do was sit in the house and feel sorry for myself. Eventually, I started fighting back, but I still didn't do much, apart from take tinctures or look up things online. I get that's a part of the process, and, while I can't say I've come a lot way in recovering, maybe I'm not as bad as I was back then?

Don't force yourself TOO much. Though, don't be mistaken, you have to force yourself to do things. There's no other way around it. That's true for everyone in life. Risks have to be taken. Comfort zones need to be broken. If I'd listened to my Lyme, I wouldn't have signed up for classes at my community college last May. I wouldn't have gotten my nurse's aide certification. I wouldn't have passed all my classes since, and be ready to start the practical nursing program this summer. I'd be loading cups into machines at a factory, because that was easy, and it paid for my medical bills. I'd be sitting there, getting, in a sense, nowhere in life.

Am I afraid of failure? Yes. Do I think I can handle the workload? No. Am I going to keep trying? Of course. A few years ago, it was always, "when I get better." Yeah, it's still a matter of "when," but I'm making moves today. Now. Could I crash and burn? Could I flunk out? Yeah, totally possible. I won't know, unless I try. Plus, I mean, I've made it this far.

Short of my infections making a huge resurgence and frying my brain, accidental death, cancer, or something like that, I'm gonna have my dreams, eventually. I'm not the smartest, the strongest, I fall a lot, but... I keep getting back up. I'm good at that. Just keep getting up.

I know that's so much more difficult of a measure than my words imply. It's hard to get up, get out, and try and live a life that's not representative of you being chronically ill. Some of us are a lot more affected than others, not to make it a competition. Some of us don't have time, whether it's because of family pressures, work, etc. There are things that get in the way.

Work on your health, like I said. Nothing else matters, if I'm not healthy. Plus, if I can heal, I'll have the capacity for more growth.

But, life's short. Time goes by like running water. We're sick, I know. You feel ruined. But, there's not enough time in the world to not try and grow as human beings, too. Whatever that means to you, press for it.

Dreaming is a part of getting better, too.

I don't know if anyone will read this. It's probably a mess. Pull what you can from it.

Love you!

Proud of you Tonio!!

Not going to school, but working.

I had horrible cognitive issues and at the same time was a bookkeeper for our fire department. I don't do it for the money, as the pay is so small. I do it for our community. But quarterly taxes have to be done and payroll and balance of many vendors on my spreadsheets. I could not have any distractions. Over stimulation by anything else was difficult.

I closed my door and I did have to take 3 times as long to complete my work. I had to triple check myself. So remember to allow yourself ample time to be alone so you can memorize the stuff that is necessary to learn.

Remember to take time for good food, good sleep, detoxing and good treatment. Try meditation or breathing exercises to keep stress to a minimum.

Good luck. I think you can do this. The mind is powerful and a good positive one reaps rewards.