Students with Colitis

As for how you take care of your flare, that's up to you.

But you should get a note from your GI for any classes you are missing.

I am guessing you are in college (?)   I'm sure there is something you can do to make the school and your teacher aware of your condition.  In lower education there is a 504 plan for this reason...not sure if there is something like this at the college level. 

My heart goes out to you...managing a flare and worrying about your school work is tough!  Hang in there

Thank you everyone for your responses

bookworm21 said...
You should register with your university's Office of Disability Services. Your GI will have to fill out a form or write a letter explaining that you may need to miss classes, need extended time on tests in case of bathroom runs, etc.


If you can't get a letter from your GI ASAP, just talk to your professor directly. Explain that you have a medical condition that has relapsed, which is why you've been missing class etc. and that you will register with the Disability Services.

Thanks I did not know about disability services at school. I will be registering asap.

archiestyles said...
Prof, college? You don't have to legally tell him or her anything. Pretty foolish on your fault that you've been absent 8 days and failed to register with Disability Services. You're covered by the ADA Act.
You should of registered long before the semester started. Regardless of whether you would of thought you would of needed to use the services or not. No future employer would be digging up your files so to speak.

And you should not hide GI symptoms from your GI either, no matter how minor things seem. *sighs*

Yes, im in college. I did not know that disability services even existed at school.

Im not hiding symptoms from my GI. I've been through this before and know how to go back into remission on my own so I dont feel the need to go and see him. My GI will probably just give me stronger medication but I dont like taking medication. I only take Asacol because I have no choice. My way results in weight loss but I rather the weight loss instead of more medication in my body.

Does your professor have an attendance policy stated in the syllabus? I taught for 9 years as a college professor and I only allowed 3 absences (excused or unexcused), after that your final grade dropped one letter grade for each absence. The college also had a policy, only 6 absences and then you could be administratively dropped from the course. I think you are probably trying to do too little too late at this point. Do you have an Academic Dean? You might talk to them. This is the type of thing you should take care of at the beginning of the semester, not the end. I agree with looking into Disability Services but it may be too late for this semester. You have to be proactive.

I taught while having some fairly major flares. It is tough standing in front of the class while you are in pain, etc. and pretending like everything is fine. If you are sick enough that you are missing lots of classes then you should see your GI. Is it a morning class? You may want to try to schedule classes during times during the day when you are feeling better. I know that is not always possible.

Also, It is always good to let your professor know that something is going on. If I had a student who was missing classes and they never talked to me about it then I would assume they did not care... It is always good to keep the lines of communication open.

Hope you feel better soon!

beeswax said...
Does your professor have an attendance policy stated in the syllabus? I taught for 9 years as a college professor and I only allowed 3 absences (excused or unexcused), after that your final grade dropped one letter grade for each absence. The college also had a policy, only 6 absences and then you could be administratively dropped from the course. I think you are probably trying to do too little too late at this point. Do you have an Academic Dean? You might talk to them. This is the type of thing you should take care of at the beginning of the semester, not the end. I agree with looking into Disability Services but it may be too late for this semester. You have to be proactive.

I taught while having some fairly major flares. It is tough standing in front of the class while you are in pain, etc. and pretending like everything is fine. If you are sick enough that you are missing lots of classes then you should see your GI. Is it a morning class? You may want to try to schedule classes during times during the day when you are feeling better. I know that is not always possible.

Also, It is always good to let your professor know that something is going on. If I had a student who was missing classes and they never talked to me about it then I would assume they did not care... It is always good to keep the lines of communication open.

Hope you feel better soon!

No attendance policy stated on the syllabus. I agree, it might be too late. If I would have know there was disability service at school, I would have registered for it a long time ago.

I agree, it is really tough acting like everything is fine. I am the type of student who doesnt like to participate much in class while having a flare because once all eyes are on me, I get nervous and feel like my intestines are twisting(most likely IBS). I like having classes in the morning. I usually dont eat or just have a banana in the morning and I dont get too many symptoms during class.

Do you think that sending her an e-mail about it will be fine?

Ernee, I would send an email to your professor saying you want to set up an appointment to talk about your absences and find out if you can do extra credit or anything to help make up for missing class. You could say you have been dealing with an ongoing health issue. It is up to you how much you want to reveal about your situation. I guess you could try to deal with it just via email, or does she have office hours posted on her syllabus when you could stop by?

When I was teaching I would sometimes make exceptions for students but usually only if they talked to me and regularly kept me up to date (emailing me when they were absent or letting me know in advance if they were going to be out). It is kind of like a job, if you miss work and don't tell the boss why or in advance, you probably get fired. I know it is hard but most teachers are understanding if you communicate with them.