[cyoshimit]

Hi I was diagnosed in august and been gluten free for six weeks. I am still learning what I can and can't eat. It's taking a while. Did any other college students hv to dropp classes or stop going to school because of their symptoms? Just wondering cause I see alot of post where people are able to continue one way or another with being productive through the day and accomplishing things but for me it's different. Brain fog, fatigue, Weakness, eating every two hours, anxiety, and depression holds me back. It's frustrating for me because I'm not used to feeling like this I am usually a the opposite from this. It'd be nice to hear other stories of how recovery went when you first found out. If you had a hard time. Basically right now all I do is stay home rest watch tv, read, play games, research celiac, and cook sometimes when I feel good. It's such an up and down thing. Feel good then feel crappy. I really love to draw(fine art major) but the brain fog messes me up can't even think of simple things being creative usually comes instantanious but it's a stuggle right now. Iv written off the "arist block" cuz it's jut been so long. Anyway if anyone else in college feels the same way or going through similar things it'd be nice to hear from ya.

[summerteeth]

cyoshimit, on Oct 6 2009, 02:25 PM, said:

Hi I was diagnosed in august and been gluten free for six weeks. I am still learning what I can and can't eat. It's taking a while. Did any other college students hv to dropp classes or stop going to school because of their symptoms? Just wondering cause I see alot of post where people are able to continue one way or another with being productive through the day and accomplishing things but for me it's different. Brain fog, fatigue, Weakness, eating every two hours, anxiety, and depression holds me back. It's frustrating for me because I'm not used to feeling like this I am usually a the opposite from this. It'd be nice to hear other stories of how recovery went when you first found out. If you had a hard time. Basically right now all I do is stay home rest watch tv, read, play games, research celiac, and cook sometimes when I feel good. It's such an up and down thing. Feel good then feel crappy. I really love to draw(fine art major) but the brain fog messes me up can't even think of simple things being creative usually comes instantanious but it's a stuggle right now. Iv written off the "arist block" cuz it's jut been so long. Anyway if anyone else in college feels the same way or going through similar things it'd be nice to hear from ya.

I had to drop out. I got through 2 1/2 years of college and the doctors visits, inability to get out of bed, ER visits, depression/anxiety, inability to sleep/sleeping all the time... it just got to be too much. I did not even know what my problem was until a little more than a year after I quit school. But, in retrospect, leaving school was the best thing I did -- but this is just in my experience. After quitting school, I got a job that started out part time and eventually I started working full time. My boss has been extremely understanding when it comes to my health.

There is no definite answer to your question - take the time to get better. No two people are the same in this situation - what worked for me may not necessarily work for you. Some take longer to feel better while others feel better the next day. It took me quite a while to be functional again - but I did get there

[skinnyminny]

I am a college student and I fill for you. Celiac can be hard enough and to add the demands of school with teachers who do not understand it makes life hard! I have had Celiac for 8 years but a year ago I got really sick and had to sit out a semester. I do not regret taking the semester off. I was able to get my health in check and focus on school better when I returned.
I would take the time to let your body heal if its a possibiblity if not try taking part time hours while you are figuring out your body.
Things will get eaiser I promise!!

[cyoshimit]

summerteeth, on Oct 6 2009, 10:01 AM, said:

I had to drop out. I got through 2 1/2 years of college and the doctors visits, inability to get out of bed, ER visits, depression/anxiety, inability to sleep/sleeping all the time... it just got to be too much. I did not even know what my problem was until a little more than a year after I quit school. But, in retrospect, leaving school was the best thing I did -- but this is just in my experience. After quitting school, I got a job that started out part time and eventually I started working full time. My boss has been extremely understanding when it comes to my health.

There is no definite answer to your question - take the time to get better. No two people are the same in this situation - what worked for me may not necessarily work for you. Some take longer to feel better while others feel better the next day. It took me quite a while to be functional again - but I did get there

thanks for shaing your experience with me. It puts my mind at ease. It is difficult to do both and I didn't want to give in but I think that I might. So I can focus on my health. I guess I'm a little scared bout dropping because I hope that I'll be able to go back to school. I want to accomplish something but maybe that something isn't school right now. Iv been in and out of school because of the mysterious sumptoms of celiac and depression before I figured out what was making me sick. Kinda sucks that I hv to sit on the sidelines for a little longer while I heal:) one day at a time right?

[cyoshimit]

skinnyminny, on Oct 6 2009, 04:22 PM, said:

I am a college student and I fill for you. Celiac can be hard enough and to add the demands of school with teachers who do not understand it makes life hard! I have had Celiac for 8 years but a year ago I got really sick and had to sit out a semester. I do not regret taking the semester off. I was able to get my health in check and focus on school better when I returned.
I would take the time to let your body heal if its a possibiblity if not try taking part time hours while you are figuring out your body.
Things will get eaiser I promise!!

I totally see your point. I'm prob gonna drop and take care of myself. It will be one less thing that I hv to worry about while trying to heal. did you hv a hard time deciding if you should sit a semester out? Or where you ok with it at the time?

[summerteeth]

cyoshimit, on Oct 7 2009, 03:44 AM, said:

thanks for shaing your experience with me. It puts my mind at ease. It is difficult to do both and I didn't want to give in but I think that I might. So I can focus on my health. I guess I'm a little scared bout dropping because I hope that I'll be able to go back to school. I want to accomplish something but maybe that something isn't school right now. Iv been in and out of school because of the mysterious sumptoms of celiac and depression before I figured out what was making me sick. Kinda sucks that I hv to sit on the sidelines for a little longer while I heal:) one day at a time right?

Exactly. The myriad of complications - ie, depression, anxiety - that come with celiac disease is really what kept me down. My doctors thought I had bipolar disorder, yet it was what the medications did to me that made them realize that it was something else. Eventually after I had searched high and low for a solution, I mentioned to my doctors celiac disease and was eventually diagnosed.

The anxiety is really what made school that much harder for me.

I hope you start feeling better soon

[skinnyminny]

My parents had to convience me that it would be smarter in the long run to sit out. Which makes sense I wouldn't have been able to do the quality of work or make the grades I needed in the shape I was in, it was hard to grasp at first but when you think about it, the choice to sit out take care of yourself and come back healthy and ready makes great sense.
Hope that helps.

[Shess0816]

cyoshimit, on Oct 6 2009, 11:25 AM, said:

Hi I was diagnosed in august and been gluten free for six weeks. I am still learning what I can and can't eat. It's taking a while. Did any other college students hv to dropp classes or stop going to school because of their symptoms? Just wondering cause I see alot of post where people are able to continue one way or another with being productive through the day and accomplishing things but for me it's different. Brain fog, fatigue, Weakness, eating every two hours, anxiety, and depression holds me back. It's frustrating for me because I'm not used to feeling like this I am usually a the opposite from this. It'd be nice to hear other stories of how recovery went when you first found out. If you had a hard time. Basically right now all I do is stay home rest watch tv, read, play games, research celiac, and cook sometimes when I feel good. It's such an up and down thing. Feel good then feel crappy. I really love to draw(fine art major) but the brain fog messes me up can't even think of simple things being creative usually comes instantanious but it's a stuggle right now. Iv written off the "arist block" cuz it's jut been so long. Anyway if anyone else in college feels the same way or going through similar things it'd be nice to hear from ya.

I graduated from college a couple of years ago -- and I tell you this to give you hope! I was diagnosed last March with Celiac and have been on the gluten free diet since. I have always been an artistic, creative person. I love to draw, color, paint, write poetry, short stories, etc... There was a period of time for about 8 years I just could not do those things. I could not concentrate or think long enough to come up with a cool, creative idea. I would just end up getting frustrated and giving up. It was actually really awful. Since being gluten free now since March, I have noticed it getting progressively better. I actually finished my first creative short story a month ago since about 9 years ago... I have started drawing again and I'm actually thinking about writing a creative book for kids with Celiac and illustrating it myself. Trust me, the fog does lift! I promise. It takes a little time, but it does go away and it's amazing how good you feel.

Anyway, back to the college issue... I did okay my first year in college -- not great, but okay. I spent a lot of time by myself in my dorm room because my stomach hurt so bad every day, I was in a bad mood, irritable, couldn't think, couldn't sleep. I was depressed, had trouble studying and reading. I decided to switch schools to be closer to home because I'd been feeling so bad all the time. Well, I came back closer to home and I completely flunked out of school that whole first semester. I just could not make myself get up in the mornings nights after I'd been sick (Which was most nights). I hurt all the time, my muscles ached, I couldn't think, couldn't eat, I was so weak and tired and sad. Well, I got some counseling for the depression issue and that definitely helped some. The next semester I took one class. That's it. Just one. I made myself give everything I had to that one class. I ended up getting a B in it. I decided to take more night classes because they were only one night a week generally and the teachers were a little more understanding about if I had to miss classes. Something that might help you, too, is taking online classes if your school offers them. These allow you to not have to actually go to class. They are SO NICE when you feel so bad! You can just sit at home and do your work on the couch. If you're not feeling good all day long but you find that at 8 pm you feel good enough to do some work, you can do it then. If you wake up at 2 am and can't sleep but feel like working on school, you can do it then. I think online classes are a great way to go for people like us who cannot always plan on making ourselves attend classes.

Hope some of that helps! And don't give up on the creativity! The world needs more creative people!! I've found that it is helpful for me to share my creative poems and drawings with people I Trust --- they give me positive feedback, which makes me feel good, and it makes me want to keep trying! And by the way, taking primarily night classes and online classes, I was able to graduate in about 5 years from college with my undergrad degree and a GPA of 3.8. So, it is possible!!!

[UnhappyCoeliac]

yes
depression
coeliac
non attendance= drop out

[Lilymylove]

cyoshimit, on Oct 6 2009, 12:25 PM, said:

Hi I was diagnosed in august and been gluten free for six weeks. I am still learning what I can and can't eat. It's taking a while. Did any other college students hv to drop classes or stop going to school because of their symptoms? Just wondering cause I see alot of post where people are able to continue one way or another with being productive through the day and accomplishing things but for me it's different. Brain fog, fatigue, Weakness, eating every two hours, anxiety, and depression holds me back. It's frustrating for me because I'm not used to feeling like this I am usually a the opposite from this. It'd be nice to hear other stories of how recovery went when you first found out. If you had a hard time. Basically right now all I do is stay home rest watch tv, read, play games, research celiac, and cook sometimes when I feel good. It's such an up and down thing. Feel good then feel crappy. I really love to draw(fine art major) but the brain fog messes me up can't even think of simple things being creative usually comes instantaneous but it's a struggle right now. Iv written off the "arist block" cuz it's jut been so long. Anyway if anyone else in college feels the same way or going through similar things it'd be nice to hear from ya.

I am so excited to read this because I can relate 100%. I dropped out of high school and got my GED. This was because I had Celiac Disease and did not know it at the time. I can struggling right now to finish my application to college right now (i'm 17) and it is a college i absolutely love. I just want to feel normal. I love drawing too and I too cannot write off this artistic block nonsense anymore. it's not that i don't have ideas ...i have no energy to do or make anything. i am functioning at a minimum and i am always in pain. why do we have to sound insane?

[beaniebabe]

Hi there everyone. I had to drop out of college too because my symptoms were so bad. I was lucky though to have finished a whole year with good grades, but was feeling terrible. Many days I would dread going to class to sit there knowing that I would get sick to my stomach and have to leave the room. I lost like 20 pounds and was thin to begin with. I had bad anxiety to go along with it. So yes, I feel it was a good lesson as to what is really important in life. Overall the whole school thing doesn't matter in the long run. If you feel you are too ill to do it, then just give it a break for a while. I wish I had done it sooner than I had. I think the stress really began to trigger the symptoms even more. And now, three years on into being gluten-free, I am back in college. And so what if I am 23? Hey if that's how long it takes you then big deal. Your health is so much more important!

[cyoshimit]

Wow! Thanks so much for the replies! It's such a reliefs to know that I am not alone in this decision making process. It really helps to hear your experiences and storys of what you've gone through or are going through. Thank you!

[cyoshimit]

skinnyminny, on Oct 7 2009, 07:37 AM, said:

My parents had to convience me that it would be smarter in the long run to sit out. Which makes sense I wouldn't have been able to do the quality of work or make the grades I needed in the shape I was in, it was hard to grasp at first but when you think about it, the choice to sit out take care of yourself and come back healthy and ready makes great sense.
Hope that helps.

Yes that does help. Thank you:)

[gf_soph]

I was in a similar situation a couple of years back. I got really sick when I was in my fourth year of university, trying to complete my thesis. The pain and nutritional problems were bad enough, but the brain fog really messed things up. I kept going and didn't tell anyone at uni how sick i was, and I didn't do anywhere near as well as I know I could have. The marks I got that year have made it more difficult to progress in my field. In hindsight I wish that I had at least applied for special consideration for the thesis, as it was definitely not up to the standard of my work from previous years.

There are many people here who have already shared their experiences, I would just add that it may be worth informing your course coordinator or someone in administration that you are intending to defer your studies for medical reasons. This could make a difference to how easy it is for you to resume your studies, or how easy it is to get those subjects/work credited to you if you study elsewhere later.

I hope you start feeling better soon, and don't be afraid to give yourself some time to heal. Like me you may be amazed at how much your health is affecting your work, I didn't realise how sick I was until I started to get better.

Sophie

[rvagirl]

If at all possible, don't drop out! I know that is much easier said than done, though. I just graduated with my Bachelor's Degree a couple months ago and am now gearing up for Graduate School. I know what you mean about being in a brain fog and having anxiety/depression issues in addition to feeling crappy all the time, and I know how difficult all of that can be when you're trying to concentrate on school and make decent grades. I lived with all of this the entire time I was in college. I was diagnosed during my sophmore year of college, and I struggled with the disease for years before the doctors ever figured out what was wrong with me. In addition to celiac, I have also had several pretty severe medical problems throughout the last few years, to include pancreatitis, which has caused a lot of issues for me. I've had a few different surgeries all for completely different and unlreated issues, all of which have really nothing to do with being celiac. Throughout these ordeals, especially through surgeries and severe sicknesses, I had to really dig deep and pull my strength from deep within as well as from my support group, my family. I perservered through all of it and never had less than Dean's List every single semester I was in college, and graduated in December cum laude.

While it was difficult and challenging at times dealing with everything and tackling all of my coursework, I did it because I stuck with it. I realized that because of all I was dealing with, I just had to work harder, probably harder than everyone else, but I did it and achieved academic excellence because of it. Sure, there were times I was very sick from celiac or the other things I was dealing with and I felt as if I would never graduate or do much of anything else, and I felt like the last thing I wanted to do was homework or studying. Last summer, I had half of my thyroid removed beacuse there was a possibility that I had cancer in it, and I had to worry about that in addition to taking a full course load that summer as I did every summer. I still had to write term papers while in my hospital bed, still studied through long nights at the hospital, and still had to drag my butt into class when I felt like complete and total crap. I can totally commiserate with you and it because I have been there a lot myself that I can tell you to stay positive, focus on your classes, and work even harder towards your goals. No one said it was going to be easy, but it is definitely well worth it. When I'm feeling particularly sick, I look at my diploma and contemplate how hard I had to work to get that degree and how far I have come, and it makes me feel very proud. Another option you should look into is whether or not your university offers any online classes or hybrid classes which enable you to do most of your classwork online and attend class only a few times throughout the semester. I had the luxury of taking some online classes at my university, which definitely helped me throughout being so sick. I wish you well and lots of luck, and I hope that you start to feel better. Just hang in there as long as you can because it will get better. And you can remind yourself that things could always, always be much worse. Good luck.