<p>Hi Everyone, new to post but have long been reading all the valuable information each of you provide. My eldest child is entering college the fall of 2014. This is all new to us. She wears an insulin pump and would benefit with some privacy for site changes and needs a secure place within her dorm room for her insulin and supplies. Other than that no special requirements needed. How should this be addressed with this school? Has anyone had a similar situation and how did you handle? Thanks!</p>
<p>Welcome!</p>
<p>I am also the parent of a T1 diabetic, but my son is the class of 2015. Some colleges have mini-fridges. If you daughter’s doesn’t offer that, I would definitely suggest getting a fridge. She can probably change her pump in the bathroom.</p>
<p>I do plan to have my son communicate with the health center of his chosen college. It’s important that our kids have backup emergency plans in the event they run out of supplies or have emergencies. </p>
<p>Does your D have a CGM? If not, I would also have her roommate trained to administer glucagon. We only had to do that once with our son but it was awful. His BG dropped like a bomb for no apparent reason. :-(</p>
<p>There are some threads on T1 diabetes but I can’t find any good ones. Here’s one, though:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-life/1298520-college-type-1-diabetes.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-life/1298520-college-type-1-diabetes.html</a></p>
<p>Thanks, Sbjdorlo. No CGM yet but she recently did a study at Yale and we are looking into it. Yale suggested waiting for a new version from Minimed to be released. She was diagnosed at 7. We too are lucky that we have only had to use a glucadon pen once. Sound advice about the roommate, thanks again.</p>
<p>My daughter, who was diagnosed at age 4, just graduated.
- register with the disabilities office and give them documentation (see accommodations below)
- make contact with health services, possibly an endocrinologist but certainly a primary care
- consider getting a single, within a suite if possible (my daughter checks her blood sugars overnight and didn’t want to disturb anyone; she also has other medical conditions and needs regular sleep)
4)make roommates aware and if possible train on glucagon - the disabilities office will provide a letter that your son takes to professors with requested accommodations such as allowed snacks in class; some explanations may be necessary later if low blood sugar makes it hard to walk across campus to make class on time, or highs have him sick in his room
6)he can consider a separate exam room so he can take time to do blood sugar checks, insertions, eat or drink, whatever comes up, and not lose valuable exam time
7)make sure he knows alcohol’s effects on blood sugars - consider meeting with dining services about carb counts and other dietary needs</p>
<p>Your d can get permission to have her own mini fridge to hold her insulin.
She can put a simple chain lock around it and through the handle to secure her needles, syringes, vials.
As for privacy for pump maintenance, she can work that out with her room mate.
I would imagine her room mate, friends, RA would be okay with getting training in using a glucadon pen and what signs to look for in your d’s behavior as she slips into diabetic shock.</p>
<p>Good suggestions, compmom. I like the idea of a single, though having someone around to administer glucagon seems important. I really like the idea of talking with dining hall.</p>
<p>My mom passed away recently and, though it was probably due to a stroke, she may have given herself too much insulin and slipped into a coma-we just don’t know. At any rate, I am very sensitive when it comes to diabetes management.</p>
<p>Here’s a list I made for my son:</p>
<p>DIABETES:
_Check blood sugar 6-8 times a day
_Bolus if BG is high
_Always carry sugar with you and correct if low
_Carry pods, insulin, cotton balls, & alcohol wipes with you
_Know where you order pods, insulin, and other diabetic supplies from
_Make sure you plan ahead so as not to run out of supplies
_Know where to get supplies in an emergency
_Have a measuring cup and scale
_Adjust basals when needed
_Contact health center; establish good relationship with them
_Contact disability office; bring documentation
_Tell friends and professors about your diabetes
_Carry glucagon with you at all times
_Teach close friends how to administer glucagon
_Work hard at managing your diabetes well; don’t ignore highs
_Know where a local hospital is; have a plan to get there if needed
_EXERCISE! Find something you enjoy, but EXERCISE!</p>
<p>S1 is a type one diabetic, but was not diagnosed until spring break of his freshman year at college. Since your D has been a diabetic since age 7, you are probably more educated than I am on all the ins and outs of her needs. You said she has a pump…that means that she only has to change it about once in every 3 days. She can easily do this in her room, especially if it has a sink. Does she have to wake up in the middle of the night to check her sugar? This will make a difference in whether she should have a roommate or not. The insulin can easily go in a minifridge (most dorms permit one) and her supplies can be stored in her closet etc. You also know if she needs to have snacks during classes, tests, etc. If she does, then definitely have her listed with the disability office so there are no problems with her professors to accommodate her needs.</p>
<p>My son did NOT register with the disability office after his diagnosis. Although his blood sugar was near 900, his stomach stopped working, and he was in the hospital for a week, we sent him back to school after one week at home. We figured he had to go on with his life. After sending him back, I did read and hear more “horror” stories and second guessed are decision but all turned out okay. Since his U has a hospital on campus, we did set him up with a doctor there, helped him figure out how to get his supplies etc. We wanted to go to the cafetaria with him to figure out the food situation, but he wouldn’t let us. My S did finish the semester with decent grades but his heart wasn’t in school. Things got alot better and easier for him once he was put on the pump.</p>
<p>S1 is a senior now. He did have a bumpy ride his sophomore year when his stomach stopped working again and he went low (and couldn’t get his sugar back up since he couldn’t digest anything…very scary.) I was glad he was in a double-room so he had a roommate who could see if anything was wrong. I was also VERY GLAD that he had a hospital on campus. I would never send a Type 1 diabetic to a university without one.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for the sound advice and recommendations. I am on the fence about a private room. In some regards I think the privacy would be nice. I also fear if she dropped too low being alone would not be good so a roommate may be better. She typically does not need to test overnight but on rare occasions does wake low and needs to drink a juice. She generally manages well but she also won’t have mom around nagging.</p>
<p>Oh sorry, for some reason, even though I read your post, I posted about your “son”!</p>
<p>I have to admit my daughter never told any of her roommates how to do glucagon and did not involve them in any of her medical conditions. That’s her choice, leaving me with only one choice: to try not to think about it.</p>
<p>A room of her own in a shared suite might be ideal. Mini fridge of course. And always snacks in the room.</p>
<p>It might help to have glucose tablets and perhaps something easier to get down like frosting in a tube near the bed.</p>
<p>The required level of accommodations at college is lower than at high school, and some is at the professors’ discretion. My kids have been at 3 different schools and the accommodation system is different at each. So just be aware that although registering with the disabilities office is a needed formality, much of the negotiation for accommodations will be between your daughter and professors, mediated as well by MD and dean or other administrator. If my daughter has a health problem that interferes with school, she goes to the healths services, gets a note from the MD, sends it to the dean, who then communicates with her professors and tells them to please give her an extension or whatever. She hates accommodations and rarely seeks them and if really really needed, will do work asap rather than take the full time given.</p>
<p>I want to emphasize that only twice in 4 years has diabetes been an issue with her classes. She has other problems. Don’t want to alarm you.</p>
<p>Every kid has a different timetable for independence with this stuff. Starting college is not the best time for a jump in medical autonomy. That first year I still did prescriptions, kept track of supplies, communicated with health insurance, and did referrals. I did NOT go near any of her MD’s. Each year, more was passed from me to her and at this point I am not involved at all. I haven’t known a blood sugar in years and years!</p>
<p>I keep a cell by my bed. At some point, I realized that if I was going to get any sleep, I was going to have to not think about overnight dangers. Still, I am always glad to hear from her the next day, so I haven’t totally succeeded in relaxing, that’s for sure.</p>
<p>Of course, there aren’t many people who understand this.</p>
<p>There are pros and cons to roommates. I doubt the need for some light in the middle of the night will phase most people- remember college hours mean midnight is not that late as well. Either using a private bathroom shower stall or one’s room with a privacy needed warning to a roommate seems easily doable. Locking up supplies to avoid theft from drug abusers seems prudent. Having the people around you know what to look for seems like a good idea- it doesn’t hurt if those on the floor know. Also- a roommate with her own key can assure your D hasn’t had problems without making a big deal of trying to check.</p>
<p>Food service- check it out. This should be easy to take care of, especially with computerized nutritional content likely available. </p>
<p>I definitely agree with having medical facilities available 24/7. Check out student health hours and how to access care during off hours. I have heard CC stories of problems with other illnesses. There will be many colleges that work from a medical needs standpoint.</p>
<p>I hope it doesn’t bother your D to answer questions. People like me who ended up becoming physicians are fascinated by things medical and would have loved to learn from a dorm mate. Knowledge is power- it sounds like she will be able to do well without mom to nag her. It is amazing what kids can do without us when motivated.</p>
<p>My child doesn’t need the same accommodations as yours does but needs some nonetheless. All kids are different but I find that it’s not uncommon to be frustrated in this department. </p>
<p>Our college is great with the exception that it’s up to the child (who they view as an adult) to seek out assistance and help and to communicate everything. Be prepared to be more in the dark as far as what is going on at school and with your kid’s health than you ever been. Build that trust now before she leaves that she can proactively do everything that needs to be done.</p>
<p>Again, every child is different in attitude on this but every parent with a kid with some extra needs goes from being very involved in these details to almost zero information cold turkey. Be ready.</p>
<p>Right after colleges send out acceptances, Facebook groups (or whatever has replaced them) form, and some people use them to seek compatible roommates.</p>
<p>It might make sense for a diabetic to seek out a roommate who has similar needs – perhaps another diabetic or a person with a different medical problem, such as a severe food allergy. If two people with medical needs room together, neither of them would feel that she was inconveniencing (or freaking out) someone who has no medical issues. And each of them would understand the importance of taking the other person’s problem seriously.</p>
<p>My daughter wanted to choose roommates based on the same factors as anyone else, not on medical status. But everyone is different.</p>
<p>OP, you probably thought of this, but make sure when your daughter looks for a roommate that she looks for one that does NOT drink. Maybe even have her go to the non-drinking or dry dorm if the U has one. It will make it so much easier for her to have friends who do not pressure her, even indirectly, to drink. That is my fear for my 21 year old right now. He didn’t feel very well his freshman year and was in a dorm where it wasn’t prevalent and I thank God he wasn’t drinking as the consequences before he was diagnosed could have been severe. He legally can drink right now, as are most of his friends, and it worries me when he goes out. Thank goodness most of the time he ends up being the designated driver.</p>
<p>Have you or your kids every made use of College Diabetes Network?</p>
<p><a href=“https://collegediabetesnetwork.org/[/url]”>https://collegediabetesnetwork.org/</a></p>
<p>^^^Thanks for the information. There is actually a chapter at S1’s school. Wish he would connect with some other TD1s as since he has been diagnosed he has been on is own. Looks like a great resource for both college students and parents.</p>
<p>My T1 D is a freshman now. She did register with the disabilities office, but I had to really kick and prod. I was right, she needed it. Unreasonable professor locked her out of class when she was late (stopped to treat a low) and she got very, very ill about 8 weeks in, requiring hospitalization, and missing a week of classes. The school was wonderful, and because we already had a plan in place, they took care of emailing deans, and getting everything taken care of. I’m fortunate because my daughter goes to school where the medical university her endo has been at for the entire 15 years of diagnosis.you have had lots of good suggestions, so I won’t throw any more out there other than the medic alert. That’s once thing I wouldn’t compromise on. Her A1c was pretty bad a few weeks ago, but endo was expecting it to be. My girl has been living with it most of her 19 years, and did the best she could, but it was hard. I will say, when she did get very ill, I had to go get her, and by the time I got to the student health clinic, they had hooked up IVs, taken blood, run every test I would have wanted, and hugged me when I walked in the room. I LOVE the doctors there. …which brings me to one other thing…you have to sign a consent for them to be able to talk to you once your child is an adult. I was out of my mind trying to get information initially : ) everything turned out ok, though. It was the scariest thing I ever did sending her off! I feel for you!</p>
<p>Good point about the release. My daughter was sent to the ER by health services in Freshman Year and for awhile I couldn’t find her!</p>
<p>You should not depend on roommates to be able to monitor your daughter’s health.
Unlike elementary and secondary schools, colleges do not have any obligation to provide anyone to inject your daughter although they might choose to do so. They may also charge a fee for it. Note that many campus medical facilities are not open 24/7.</p>
<p>It is standard advice to show roommates and friends how to do glucagon. Showing a paid RA how to do it is more complicated legally due to liability with the invasiveness of injections but it would be worth looking into. </p>
<p>But yes, noone is obligated to do it. (And in most schools unlicensed staff are not allowed to be trained by the nurse to do glucagon, though I, the parent, or my daughter, was allowed to train them.)</p>
<p>Calling 911 would be another option, but even then, it is crucial that someone is present to tell the paramedics/EMT’s that a person is unconscious due to low blood sugar. so telling those around you that you have diabetes and may have dangerous lows is a really good idea.</p>
<p>For schools in areas without a lot of paramedics, it is important to know that EMT’s in almost all states are NOT allowed to do glucagon, cannot do IV glucose, cannot test blood sugar, and are limited to mostly just transport (and maybe rubbing a little sugar on the gums). If your child is going to be in an area without easy access to paramedics, then showing someone how to do glucagon becomes all the more important.</p>