18 year old college student

Hello and welcome! It’s true that this board is mostly an older demographic, but we get college students who post from time to time. You can use the “search posts” feature in the top right-hand corner of the screen to look for keywords such as “college”, “student”, etc.. to read older posts. Here is one that also includes a link to an article on students and Graves’:

http://gdatf.org/forum/topic/43028/

You can also send a private message to another poster by viewing one of their posts and clicking on the PM icon that appears a few lines underneath their screen name. The system will “ping” whatever e-mail address the other person used to sign up to let them know that they have a private message waiting. (You have to be logged in to the system in order to view your private messages).

Take care!

I think you will find sage advice in these forums. As a man, I feel outnumbered but never out of place. I think the challenges we face as individuals (school, parenting, jobs, etc.) unite us.

As a college student, you can usually take a letter from your doctor and give it to the dean of student’s office as documentation whenever something significant occurs. Depending on the dean, you may be able to get a letter addressed to your professors that leaves out the exact medical info, but that asks for accommodations on days you have documented absences that are medically related. Professors may or may not consider undocumented excuses because you’d be surprised at the fake ones. Hopefully, this advice will not be needed.

Hi Shirley,
Unfortunately I didn’t go:( I didn’t even know there was a conference in San Diego, and I don’t live that far from there!!

Welcome Rebecca! Sorry you have to join our club though. I am older, but at a point in my life where Graves is majorly derailing my future. I have sympathies for where you are at. I would encourage you to educate yourself as much as possible on all the options. I am working toward remission on antithyroid drugs, but if that doesn’t work out am planning on surgery. Based on what I’ve read people seem to get stabilized faster on the replacement hormone after surgery than RAI. But everything has its pros and cons, there is no choice for Graves that has zero significant negatives. It’s a very individual decision which mix of pros and cons works for you.

I’m a sophomore in college, and have been diagnosed with Grave’s since March, though I started getting symptoms when I started my freshman year. It’s been such a crazy experience. I’ve had anxiety for the first time in my life, and when my doctor told me to stop taking my beta blocker I was living with pms on a whole different level. My family thought I was anorexic when I was secretly crying on the phone to my boyfriend at night because I couldn’t eat enough to get full in the school cafeteria. Everyone keeps telling me about the college experience, but this is not what I wanted. It seems unfair that it happened now, but I keep telling myself that there are much worse things out there. My parents tell me that if I have to get one disease in my life, it’s good that this is it… Somehow I’m still miserable at the thought of going to the doctor and getting my blood drawn all throughout college. Should I get my thyroid taken out? How am I supposed to make a decision like this in the midst of finals?
Part of me doesn’t want to tell people about it, because no one can really understand unless they’ve been through it, and I certainly don’t want to play the pity card. Up until now, I haven’t talked to anyone, or seen anything from another Grave’s sufferer, and it’s a huge relief to see that there are people supporting each other. Reading about everyone’s experiences, especially the other college girls, makes me feel like I can do this.
We college girls should stay in touch and share our very out-of-the-ordinary experiences. I’m starting a blog for a class, and would absolutely love any feedback you have… I want to educate people about Grave’s, so no more girls have to go undiagnosed into college… I made a page especially for comments about experience with the disease! Anyone of any age is welcome to post, so we can all support each other.

I am so glad to find other college students on the forum. My daughter was also diagnosed as an 18 year old in her senior year of HS. She had a TT just 9 days before heading off to college. The surgery went really well and she healed and has almost no scar. She has generally done well, but it is taking some time to get her the proper dose of Synthroid. This process is ongoing. My question for the forum is: Has anyone on the forum gone through the process of obtaining a 504 PLan for a student diagnosed and being treated for Graves Disease? I am looking for help with this process in a college setting to help my daughter as she has experienced some problems with concentration, focus and memory with regards to her learning. She is seeking the accommodation of additional time to complete exams. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you Kimberly! I did find that article. Maybe it makes sense for me to start a new thread using 504 and see if anyone replies. It really can be a tough area to navigate if one has no experience.