[Kimberly]

#1066056

Hello – Hopefully, someone who has been in your situation can chime in, but I would start by speaking to a school administrator. The Individuals With Disabilities Act of 1997 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation act of 1973 can provide some relief for Graves’ patients by allowing accommodations through an individually designed plan. Perhaps something can be worked out where the instructor can assign you a solo project with an extended deadline.

Your body really needs to heal right now — and getting an adequate amount of sleep each night will go a long way towards helping you recover your health and your energy. Hopefully, you will find a compromise that will allow you to finish the program and *also* take care of yourself.

[Julie3588]

#1018620

So I’ve been having some issues lately dealing with being a full time college student and keeping my GD under control at the same time. I was diagnosed my freshmen year and treated throughout my second year with ATDs. I went into a short remission for about a year or so before relapsing this past summer and being treated with RAI. I went hypo in September and have been on Synthroid ever since but have not found a dose I’m 100% happy with yet. My body feels so run down and I feel like I just need to stop and sleep for about a year before I’m back to my old self. I haven’t really gotten a chance to relax and heal since receiving the RAI over the summer.

I know this disease takes a great deal of patience but it is beginning to really interfere with my ability to keep up with school. I’m in a 5-year professional degree program for architecture; it is an incredibly stressful and time consuming major. We are regularly expected to stay up throughout the night and work in order to meet deadlines. Until now, I’ve done a pretty good job of trying to manage staying healthy and doing well in my classes, however, I am taking a particularly difficult course of study this semester and it is really draining me. I cannot deal with the sleep deprivation and stress; it just makes me feel sick. I have excellent time management skills and have always relied on that to prevent pulling all nighters doing work but there is so much work this semester I cannot help but skip out on sleep some nights.

I am planning on talking to the professor in charge and trying to explain to him my situation. I have managed to avoid telling any professor before about my situation because I am the type of person that hates using excuses. Also, I know that even an extended deadline could not help because I am working with a partner and it would end up putting us both behind in the long run.

Has anyone dealt with a situation like this before? Is there anything specific I should tell my professor about? Is there any accommodation I can get that would not put me behind and hurt my partner’s performance? I really need to finish this semester out since I am so close to my degree, I have one more year after this. Any advice would be appreciated.

[StellaC]

#1066057

I had just started grad school when I was first diagnosed with Graves. Thankfully in my situation I was only carrying a part-time load – there’s no way that with the ADD and exhaustion that came with being hyper and the brain fog and exhaustion that came with being hypo I could have maintained a decent GPA. Since my load was so much lighter then yours, I’m not sure that I can be much help with advice on that account, however I was also working fulltime and my boss wasn’t particulary supportive (far from it really ) so I ended up having my Dr. write a letter explaining the severity of my illness and the symptoms I was experiencing … I mean as sick as I was he should have been grateful that I didn’t take a medical leave of absence …. blech. Anyway – Make an appt to talk to your profs and let them know what’s going on and that you are concerned that your grades may begin to suffer due to your illness. I understand that you want to get through school on the time schedule you planned for, but Graves really doesn’t work according to our schedules – it doesn’t make you less intelligent, less committed, or less driven if you have to drop a few hours and graduate a semester later … especially if that keeps you from failing a class! Good luck!

[Julie3588]

#1066058

Thanks for the advice guys ” title=”Very Happy” /> I was just so tired and frustrated yesterday and needed to vent a bit. Sometimes I still get angry that Graves’ is trying to mess up my "plan" lol. I’m going to talk to my professor today and think he’ll be helpful. I connected my school’s disabilities office too and although they mostly deal with learning disibilities, I think I can still use their services to help if my professor isn’t cooperative. I wish I knew my freshmen year that Graves’ fell under ADA.

I also got blood work back last night and my TSH had swung from .3 to over 3 in the past 3 months so it was nice to hear there’s a least a reason I’ve been feeling so off lately. My endo’s going to send me a note I can show my professors that explains a bit about my symptoms. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that my new increased dose of Synthroid will make me feel a bit better.

-Julie

[graves_mom]

#1066059

Does anyone know if there is evidence that prolonged GD causes learning deficiencies. My daughter was uncontrolled for 5-6 years. We finally had her thyroid removed. Although the emotional issues have improved (just about disappeared), she is still having difficulties in college (academically). She also has type 1 diabetes which was out of control until her thyroid was removed. Anyone have any info?

Thanks!

[mamabear]

#1066060

Julie, sorry this is going to be very short and to the point… Forgive me I’m on meds to try to pass a kidney stone so i am not myself.
You need to stop for a few moments and let it all out. cry , scream, beat the hell out of the pillow, take a swig of water and spit it out of your mouth just for laughs… THEN realize that you are not super woman and no one excepts you to be except yourself and that is a no no. HEALING is key,if you are not well you can not proceed into becoming what you want to be. So sit back and smell the roses, do something for yourself. Those late hours wont help you heal.
Talk to your professor and see what he says. You never know, he might already know you were sick and just waiting for you to speak up.

[Ski]

#1066061

by graves mom on Sat Mar 27, 2010 6:41 am
Does anyone know if there is evidence that prolonged GD causes learning deficiencies. My daughter was uncontrolled for 5-6 years. We finally had her thyroid removed. Although the emotional issues have improved (just about disappeared), she is still having difficulties in college (academically). She also has type 1 diabetes which was out of control until her thyroid was removed. Anyone have any info?

Hi graves mom,

This is the kind of thing that hasn’t been quantified scientifically, but I can tell you that many of my GD friends report continuing issues with "brain power," for lack of a better word ~ we still get some of the "GD fog" and continue to experience issues with memory. They DO improve over time, as our levels remain stable, but I haven’t heard anything about studies proving such a thing. The diabetes can’t have helped, and I can’t speak at all to what longterm effects that could have. It’s a good thing she’s finally seen such an improvement with the emotional issues, and it’s a good sign that she’s been able to heal so well. Just figure out what she can do to bolster her academic performance through small things ~ taking more complex notes, or even taking a tape recorder to class so she can review exactly what was said while she’s studying. I believe she can get there, based on my experience. It might be harder than it would’ve been if she never had Graves’, but it’s definitely possible.

[hyperm]

#1066062

Hi,

Sorry you are having such a hard time. I would have to agree with mamabear. I know that this degree is of great importance to you and you have come so far but sometimes it takes for you to have a step back and see the bigger picture. I found that very hard as someone who was young (not being ageist! lol) and "should" have been capable of doing so much. I was never off the go then WHAM! It all came to a standstill. I learned an awful lot about life from GD and from my friends on here. What are my priorities? My priority in life is my kids but in order to care for them I had to care for myself….very hard to do!!!

All I can say is that education will always be there but your health may not. If you don’t slow down just now and take the time to let your body heal then you may burn out completely. I found this SO hard to do. I wanted to keep that engine revving to high speeds but my body just couldn’t cope and I finally had no choice in the matter when it said enough is enough. So everything came to a halt and you know what? It would have been the same outcome practically with regards to work/family/houses etc… if I had said right I need time out. The huge difference was that by the time I got around to it my body was beyond exhaustion.

I had a TT in July and it took 8 months for my bloods to reach some kind of normal state…by the time I had my op though I had learned that my health was so important.

Take all the support you can get. Take the time now while your body is giving out signals to let you know its needing some time out.

I hope your Prof was supportive xxxx

[Julie3588]

#1066063

Thanks for all the thoughts and advice. I talked to my professor and he was extremely supportive. I’m always so scared to tell anyone about my GD since I’ve had some pretty harsh reactions to it in the past. From my experience, college kids and even some adults just don’t "get" what it means to feel sick and their reactions can hurt pretty badly. I’ve pretty much resorted to only telling a few people I’m close with and keep it quiet besides that.

I’ve definitely been pushing myself too hard. I’m usually really good about putting my health first but I guess I’ve been so busy lately that I’d lost sight of it. Sometimes I just don’t realize how hard I’m pushing myself until my health starts to decline. I need someone to tell me to stop and re-examine ” title=”Smile” />

I’m going to slow down a bit. Like you said hyperm, I don’t want to burn out completely. I love life too much not to enjoy it ” title=”Smile” /> Thanks for all the support.

-Julie

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