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Missing Classes

Aeva

By Aeva
in Coping with Celiac Disease

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Aeva Rookie
Aeva
Posted

I'm still fairly new to being gluten-free, so my body is still adjusting, and I'm figuring out just how strict I have to be. Because of this, I'm still getting sick on a semi-regular basis. I've already missed 2 classes because I got glutened last week, and had D for several days...not good for the first week of school. In most of my classes there is a strict absence policy: 3 strikes and you're out, unless you have a doctors note, or something comparable. If you're not there for more than 15 minutes of the class (including leaving in the middle), it counts as half of an absence. But if I get sick, there's really no way to avoid it. Even if I were to go to class, I'd definitely be in the bathroom for more than 15 minutes of the three hour classes, so it's fairly pointless to go at all. I know that I'm going to exceed the number of classes I'm allowed to miss because of my stomach, or other gluten-related issues (my joints get so bad I literally can't get out of bed sometimes, let alone be able to drive to school). What can I do about this? Is there somebody at the school I should talk to, or get some sort of letter from my doctor?? My grades have suffered for most of my life because I've spent half the classes in the bathroom, and this needs to change! Help!!!

I'm a sophomore in college by the way.

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Looking for answers Contributor
Looking for answers
Posted

Until you feel better, you might want to cut out dairy as well. It may help calm your digestive track. Also, I highly recommend taking high doses of probiotics for a while and digestive enzymes. Since you're probably on a college budget, my GI recommended Trader Joes (hopefully they have these stores where you're at) acidophilus. It's only a few bucks and helped me very much during my healing.

kareng Grand Master
kareng
Posted

If a doctor has diagnosed you, get a note from him explaining you have celiac disease and some of the issues. Go to your colleges disability office and talk with them. You may need to take a semester off to get your health together. Good luck.

Aeva Rookie
Aeva
Posted
  • Author

The acidophilus sounds like a good plan, I shall check into that. Several people have mentioned the dairy thing to me, and it confuses me slightly. In the quest to diagnose my tummy troubles, I've been tested for lactose intolerance, and it's been negative. But does that not necessarily mean that cutting out dairy wouldn't help?

I unfortunately can not take a semester off. To be on my parents health care plan, I need to be attending school full time. I will definitely talk to my doctor thanks.

Skylark Collaborator
Skylark
Posted

Yes, go to the campus disability office. That's what the office is there for. They will help you negotiate with your profs.

As for the dairy, a lot of celiacs are sensitive to casein, one of the main proteins in milk. It has nothing to do with lactose.

ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted
  On 9/18/2010 at 3:16 AM, Aeva said:

I unfortunately can not take a semester off. To be on my parents health care plan, I need to be attending school full time. I will definitely talk to my doctor thanks.

That may not be the case if your taking the semester off for health reasons. Go to the disability office and talk to them and also give your health insurance company a call.

You should immediately drop dairy, even if you have not had positive lactose tests you may have casien intolerance and dropping dairy is not going to hurt. What are you eating? To heal fastest you should be eating whole unprocessed foods. If you are eating in the cafe at school make sure what you are eating is for sure gluten free. If your eating at home you also need to be careful of cross contamination. You need your own new gluten-free toaster, condiments, nut butters etc. Fresh fruits and veggies, meats, chicken, fish, potoatoes, rice etc are going to be naturally gluten free so build your diet around those. Go easy on gluten free replacement foods for now. Add those in after you have healed a bit.

I hope your feeling better soon.

i-geek Rookie
i-geek
Posted
  On 9/18/2010 at 3:16 AM, Aeva said:

The acidophilus sounds like a good plan, I shall check into that. Several people have mentioned the dairy thing to me, and it confuses me slightly. In the quest to diagnose my tummy troubles, I've been tested for lactose intolerance, and it's been negative. But does that not necessarily mean that cutting out dairy wouldn't help?

I unfortunately can not take a semester off. To be on my parents health care plan, I need to be attending school full time. I will definitely talk to my doctor thanks.

It's the casein, most likely. It's hard to digest when your gut is destroyed from celiac disease. I had to cut all dairy, including butter, when I first went gluten-free in late December 2009. I was able to add it back in after a few months, but had to give it up again this week to heal from a bad glutening last month. The bloating and GI turmoil started calming down after 24 hours without dairy. It's annoying, sure, but less so than being in constant pain, not having my pants fit and having to barricade myself in the bathroom on a daily basis.

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Skylark Collaborator
Skylark
Posted

I took a year off school on disability and was eligible for COBRA at a reasonable price.

K8ling Enthusiast
K8ling
Posted

I am a full time student, and what I did was at the beginning of the semester I brought in doctors notes and hand outs on Celiac. Then I told them that because I have Celiac, I am going to get sick occasionally. I could provide doctors notes or whatever else was needed. If I had to miss class, I had to miss class. Unfortunately, GI upset is not something you can "tough out".

I hope you figure it out :)

StacyA Enthusiast
StacyA
Posted

It's probably too late into the semester to switch, but does your college offer web-based courses? Same credit hours, just all online... Great for people with medical concerns.

MelindaLee Contributor
MelindaLee
Posted
  On 9/18/2010 at 3:00 AM, Aeva said:

I'm still fairly new to being gluten-free, so my body is still adjusting, and I'm figuring out just how strict I have to be. Because of this, I'm still getting sick on a semi-regular basis. I've already missed 2 classes because I got glutened last week, and had D for several days...not good for the first week of school. In most of my classes there is a strict absence policy: 3 strikes and you're out, unless you have a doctors note, or something comparable. If you're not there for more than 15 minutes of the class (including leaving in the middle), it counts as half of an absence. But if I get sick, there's really no way to avoid it. Even if I were to go to class, I'd definitely be in the bathroom for more than 15 minutes of the three hour classes, so it's fairly pointless to go at all. I know that I'm going to exceed the number of classes I'm allowed to miss because of my stomach, or other gluten-related issues (my joints get so bad I literally can't get out of bed sometimes, let alone be able to drive to school). What can I do about this? Is there somebody at the school I should talk to, or get some sort of letter from my doctor?? My grades have suffered for most of my life because I've spent half the classes in the bathroom, and this needs to change! Help!!!

I'm a sophomore in college by the way.

Check to see what the ADA rules are for your school. It's not fair for you to "strike out" if this is a disease, not a choice.

polarbearscooby Explorer
polarbearscooby
Posted

My class has a STRICT attendance policy and last semester I did horribly because I got sick and missed to many classes.

I've already had to miss classes this semester too :( I just hope this time they let me pass

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