***** and Moan or Support and Encourage: All about College Post DS

Since I'm not the only one starting or returning to college/university this fall who is struggling to adjust to stupid rules and carrying water and protein around and everything every other person in college has to adjust to I thought maybe we could share our tears and fears and joys and accomplishments here?

Any interest?

I'll start.

I bought 4 bottles of hand sanitizer today. I wonder if I will be completely ridiculed if I also carry Clorox wipes to wipe down the desks? I've become a germ phobic since I got the DS because I am PETRIFIED of getting sick and all that that means. Especially in terms of dehydration. If I get just a LITTLE dehydrated I get horrible foot cramps and can't sleep a wink. Legitimate fear or neurosis?

Next!!!

Thats a legitimate fear Becky.  I unfortunately lost my spleen during my surgery with Ungson and now I FEAR germs like crazy.  My hematologist is also afraid for me so I take this very seriously.

I have to park a couple miles from campus (no parking space close by) and then take a trolley so carrying extra water, food, books just isn't happening for me.   I buy water and food on campus.

Can't you get an on campus parking permit?

I have a parking permit, almost 3 miles from campus.  To get one closer you have to have seniority which I do not have. 

Ok so that REALLY sucks. I mean REALLY sucks. Do you have to walk those 3 miles or are there busses?

Wow. SUCKS.

Thanks for sharing. Misery does love company.

No don't have to walk,  there are buses and trolleys that come by the parking lots quite frequently.  You just have to get your head around it and know that is just part of the deal.  I don't like it and it does really suck.  Thanks for feeling my pain. 

Oh and I go only 1 day a week so don't feel too bad for me!!

Well......I'd consider that a bit excessive, because IMO hand washing is the best thing to do and I do it often. However, last semester swine flu broke out on my campus and there was great (excessive) terror involved. I got swine flu and it was unpleasant but not all THAT bad. I was banned from campus for nine days :-p. I got vaccinated for regular and swine flu anyhow.

I suspect that you will find your way just fine. You are embarking on something new while still kinda sorta in the grips of clinical depression, and this something new involves people who are very different than you are. So your anxiety is understandable. Just pack lots of jerky, cheese sticks etc., and some other more satisfying foods in your car (you could carry a cooler), and you'll be fine.

Oh: Wash your hands :-).

I'm going to pack my non-perishable protein in a bag and keep it stocked. Then I will pack my perishables daily in one or more of my lunch boxes/coolers depending on how many hours I will be in class.

I'll add handwashing to my hand sanitizing but I still may clorox the desks.

And according to my crazy school if I get the swine flu and miss more than one class I will get an automatic withdrawal. And that sets me back an entire year.

I'm sorry you got the flu. Wasn't it much more difficult to manage post DS ?

Nah, swine flu was milder than regular flu. No belly issues, just fever, body aches and general misery, in much lower concentrations than with regular flu. I was fortunate in that the campus clinic was being super watchful and informative about flu issues, so as soon as I got slight symptoms, I said to myself, "Hmm, I got a regular flu vaccine but no H1N1 (because it wasn't yet available to me). They keep emailing these bulletins that say if you have even SLIGHT symptoms, get your ass to the clinic. Okay, it's free, I might be carrying a virus that could kill my young schoolmates, so I'll go."

Sure enough, they had a fit and sent me home and filled out forms and such crap. By the time I got home (couple hours later), I was sick enough to KNOW it was flu, called my PCP to get Tamiflu, and put myself to bed. It was really quite simple. I had to be fever free for x amount of time before going back on campus. Okay, that was sensible. No biggie.

I still got the H1N1 vaccine when it became available for my demographic.

Talk to the provost, the health center and your advisor about yoru concerns. It may be a public school, but you are still a paying customer and have a right to service.

Hey Becky - first, about all of the de-germing.   There's lots and lots of data out there that suggests that our current obsession with antibacterial everything is merely contributing to the spread of disease.    Think MRSA.   You know how our bodies have developed antibiotic resistance because every time we'd run to the doctor for a cold or something we'd beg for antibiotics the doctor would comply and reluctantly write out a script?  It's the same thing with antibacterial stuff.    We need a certain level of germs to help resist disease.   Most immunologists will say that handwashing with soap and water is best.   I teach in the poorest district in Michigan with kids who have VERY poor sanitation and hygiene, and I get a cold or virus a few times a year.   I have less illness-related sick days now than I did pre-DS.  This past year, when my D was so low, I did pick up more colds, but they were never bad enough to make me call in.    I do not have hand sanitizers or Clorox wipes in my classroom.  My younger students love to hug me when they leave the classroom and I am a very hands on teacher.  My kids need lots of love and reassurance.   I wash my hands between each 40-minute class with soap and water, and wash them at the end of the day before I go home.    
In regard to the lugging food/drink/etc.   Right now this is all so new to you - it'll get easier once you get into a routine.     I was just recently in a graduate program at a university here in MIchigan.   I had no fridge in my dorm, so I had to really keep it nonperishable.  I packed a tote bag in the morning with a refillable water bottle (one of those stainless ones) and several protein bars, nuts, and a huge bag of beef jerky.   I'd go back to my residence hall for lunch or go out to eat with classmates.