uni, diabetes and concentration

Many years ago now I developed a strange reaction to a form of penicillin. I ended up collapsed just outside the university gates on the way back to university from a visit to the doctors. This was in the run up to my final year exams. As a consequence I was examined in a different locality to the rest of the year along with a handful of other students taking their exams, who too had medical conditions of one kind or another.

So to answer your question. I didn’t ask for this. It was arranged for me as a consequence of this occurrence. However you could enquire along similar lines. Part of the idea was to reduce the stress involved in sitting the exams.

Have you been to see the disability office at your uni? They have a standard set of adjustments they apply to T1 diabetics, to enable us to manage during exams etc.

It sounds as if you are looking for some kind of concession based on disability but I am not sure that high blood sugars would count in this way. If you had a health crisis or a bereavement I think there would be grounds for delaying finals but it sounds that you are doing your best and know what you are doing. I'd agree that T1 can disrupt concentration if sugars are variable or if you are anxious about them but on the other side of the coin, you may be much more health conscious, disciplined and better organised than your non td1 peers.
I hope in any case that you are getting the support you need to get those sugars in range for as much of the time as possible and have a good awareness of the effects of stress so that you can adjust things for finals and the preceding intense study period.

You can work through it, and I am sure that the uni concerned (which one is it by the way?) will support you if they are aware of the circumstances, but as with most things in life the initial steps have to be taken by yourself, and usually you will need to do some prodding/pushing to get all that you need, that just seems to be another "fact of life" I am afraid! Good luck to you

You are the sum total of a lot of things. One of them is your blood sugar. It is part of who you are. You have to accept that accept that it will change your marks, your career, your relationships. (Definitely for the better, at times.)

You should definitely notify your uni that you need adjustments to your tests/exams, to allow for hypo treatments (including breaks) etc.

But unless you are having a particularly bad time (e.g. miss a week of classes due to crazy sugars) I would suggest you don't look for special treatment, just study hard, take steps to improve diabetes control, and don't forget to enjoy life.

I presume you have Student Support people somewhere on campus? I would go and talk to them. You won't be the first student to have t1 or the last.
Raise your concerns and see what they say. You're not asking for special treatment just discussing the issues. For example, if you have long exams you may need to access your monitor or snacks.
As I say, you won't be the first or last t1 and they will probably have had protocols for other students previously.

hollyslot said:

I'm in my final year of university, this might be a silly thing to say but I'm worried about my bg levels having an effect on the amount of time I can work. I'm not sure if I'm the only one but when I have a high BG I can't concentrate. and obviously that can affect the work I do.

At the same time I'm worried of bringing this up with tutors in fear of what they might think, and if I'm being too nice to myself (does that make sense?)

anyway I was wondering what others think, if you think maybe I should speak to someone at university or not, and what you did when or if you went to university about this.

Click to expand...

Hi

I'm currently a Postgrad but would recommend speaking to the Disability Office for your uni. I spoke to mine because I was worried about exactly the same thing!
It might vary uni to uni but mine worked through my concerns with exams etc. I ended up being placed in a room with other people with specific needs for all my exams, and was allowed breaks to check blood sugars etc during longer exams.
I think it was also on all of my uni records, this meant that if I had any issues my lecturers would know about it!
The course I'm doing now is purely coursework based so I don't really have the same worries.

Alway check with the uni & examaning body as an allowance may be given, I did a set of professional exams a number of years ago and it's not easy doing 3hr exams.

I did not ask but I am sure you can submit to examing board the reasons for instance you sit a tough exam and your already nervous and the paper your sitting shocks you then you think am I hypo and start eating into a packet of digestives in my case and this takes time and is noisy in big sports hall.

Before long you wasted precious minutes eating and drinking and it interupts the focus on a time pressured exam that does not factor into taking a lunch break never mind trying to leave exam to relieve yourself.

So in summary nothing is going to make you pass other than hardwork and preporation and having diabetes will not stop you passing BUT if the examing body has something to assist someone with diabetes take it.

If you know the subject back to front being hypo is sometimes benefit as you go into extra detail with almost OCD quality.

I learnt later in life with exams take a lucozade sport + water+digestives+twix-dextrosol & wine gums just to be safe taking a calculator and pen and exam docket was the easy part.