Uni Students

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katie

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Type 1
I was just wondering how people cope at university.

Do you test when you are there and do you inject in public etc??
 
I did my first degree before diagnosis, and my MSc a couple of years after diagnosis.

I reckon issues of injecting and testing in public are much the same as anywhere, but accommodation can be an issue - theft from shared fridges is a big problem! I did check with tutors that I could take sweets into exams (had several 3 hour papers) and supervisor said I could go out anytime I needed and someone would follow - which I didn't need, but nice to know it's an option. Also, if studying away from home, you can only register with one GP, but can use another as a visitor - usually, terms are longer than holidays. If registered with a hospital, then ask about getting appointments in term or vacation time as appropriate - or get repeat prescriptions by post, as I did when carrying out research in Northern Ireland, college & GP in London, parental home in Birmingham, then moved to Cambridge on graduation. Also, university probably the best ever opportuity to try new sports etc / develop interests - I developed fell walking, nordic skiing, orienteering etc. Blanket ban on minibus driving is only an issue if you use insulin and are over 25, as many unions don't allow younger people to drive minibuses. But I couldn't continue with my TA service that I had done during first degree after diagnosis, so military cadet units eg OTC (Officer Training Corps) are out I think, although I know there are younger people with Type 1 in CCF (Combined Cadet Force) / ACF (Army Cadet Force) - not sure about Navy & Air Force equivalents, but I guess rules are the same.
 
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I graduated a couple of years ago but was diagnosed the summer before my last year at uni, stressful enough year without the diabetes on top! In terms of injecting etc it was the same as anywhere else.
I did have an issue with shared housing though, but I think that was down to individuals as opposed to a university thing. In my last year I went back into halls and lived with people I didn't know. They complained that they didn't want to have insulin in the fridge next to their food.... bang out of order but I dealt with it!
I guess the only other issue was once I had a hypo in the union bar and everyone assumed I was drunk so I was pretty bad before I got any help.
 
I was lucky - I told the university I was diabetic and the halls of residence gave me a mini-fridge for my room! I suddenly became very popular with people who wanted cold beer without the risk of having it stolen from the communal kitchen!

Seriously though, I think this is a 'reasonable adjustment' under disability legislation so anyone heading to university should contact the disability department and their halls and ask.
 
I was

I was diagnosed several months before starting uni so it was something new to deal with as well as the living in halls with strangers. On the 1st day when everyone was doing their introduction talk, i added that I am a diabetic and what they should do etc if I needed their help, they thought I was all around 21 years old when I was only 18, because I delt with it all maturely.

Ive luckily never had any hypo problems out, but most people know that I am diabetic as they are quite intruiged or sympathetic lol. Also the uni has been very accomodating with exams, I am allowed sweets in the room, extra time if i go low and require to treat myself, toilet breaks if im high and I can choose to use a quieter room mainly to stop distruptions occuring from my test meter which has a self loading strip drum!

With regards to testing and injecting, I do it where ever and whenever, just discretely if I can and if not possible I just do it, its my health my problem not anyone elses.
 
Was diagnosed AFTER I left Uni but I suspect I was diabetic at some point over my Uni career if not a huge fraction of it.

One of my diabetic nurses believes I could have a sub-set of T1D (Type 1 Diabetes) that I could have been suffering from 4 years ago when I started and it got progressively worse over the 4 years there until my diagnosis last November.

Makes me wonder how much my Diabetes affected me at Uni and could I have improved on my performance had I known. 🙂
 
The reason I asked is because im really bad at uni. i dont usually test and sometimes there are people about who i dont want to inject in front of. because there always seem to be new people about who i dont know very well, as well as my actual friends.

it's because they aren't complete strangers and they are'nt my real friends. so i find it a bit difficult at uni.
 
katie I understand where you are coming from. there are times when I'm with people I don't know and don't want to have to test and inject in front of them.
One example was as part of my induction at work i had to spend a day at another site and I didn't test or inject at lunch.
 
sofaraway said:
katie I understand where you are coming from. there are times when I'm with people I don't know and don't want to have to test and inject in front of them.
One example was as part of my induction at work i had to spend a day at another site and I didn't test or inject at lunch.
Click to expand...

Im glad im not the only one hehe.

slightly off topic but the work induction day thing reminded me... once i had to go to an "equality and diversity" thing at work. the woman doing the talk was implying that diabetes is a disability, because it does seem to come under that category on forms sometimes! I was starting to feel a bit angry she was implying this, but couldnt quite bring myself to say anything! luckily one woman spoke up and said her son is diabetic and he is not disabled!
 
Disability

katie said:
Im glad im not the only one hehe.

slightly off topic but the work induction day thing reminded me... once i had to go to an "equality and diversity" thing at work. the woman doing the talk was implying that diabetes is a disability, because it does seem to come under that category on forms sometimes! I was starting to feel a bit angry she was implying this, but couldnt quite bring myself to say anything! luckily one woman spoke up and said her son is diabetic and he is not disabled!
Click to expand...

Actually it is classed as a disablility in most parts now due to having to inject yourself to keep yourself alive and because you are having to rely on a drug to keep you alive or something along those lines, if you get in touch with the disability helpline
 
angel30eyes said:
Actually it is classed as a disablility in most parts now due to having to inject yourself to keep yourself alive and because you are having to rely on a drug to keep you alive or something along those lines, if you get in touch with the disability helpline
Click to expand...

I know it can be classed as this, I still don't want to be called disabled.
 
Its classed as a 'hidden disability' and although not disabling we are covered by disability laws, which has its benefits sometimes....well when you've got it for life you got to milk it ;-) lol x
 
Hi Katie. I did both my degree and post grad with diabetes. I didn't find it easy, but then I didn't find it as hard as I could because I generally tried to pretend it didn't exist. First year, in halls (catered on my mum's request!) I was also lucky enough to be allowed a fridge in my room, invaluable for privacy where injecting and changing insulin cartridges and what-not were concerned! However, I really didn't control my diabetes well and am regretting that now. My advice would be to be open with the people you have found yourself thrown together with, they will probably become your friends and will come away with a knowledge of and respect for diabetes. Make sure you test - in public or private, whichever you feel comfortable. Don't let it take over, but do try and take care of it.
 
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