I made the decision to go back to school, and while so far everything has been going well (it's only the second day lol), I have an important diabetes questions for college kids or maybe even parents of college kids out there.
Did you, or do you tell your professors your type 1? Or is there somewhere I should go to let someone at the school know I am type 1? I would like to protect my privacy a little bit but at the same time, if I need to eat or step out of class, or god forbid should need assistance I don't want it to come as a total shocker. I'm just curious what everyone out there does in regards to college classes and such.
It depends. If it's a large class, no one will probably notice if you step out and grab a snack, test your BG, whatever. And the professor would probably not even remember who are you if you told him/her that you were diabetic. In smaller classes, you may only want to say something if a professor makes some comment about you eating, stepping out, or playing with your pump (as in a "Put that pager away!" comment).
Some professors begin the semester with a stern "no food, no drink in class" warning. When this happened, I would approach him/her after that first class and explain that I'm a T1 diabetic and might have to eat or drink during class if my blood sugar goes low. Once, a professor rolled his eyes and said something about my still having to step out of class if I needed to do that because it was disruptive to the class. I explained what low blood sugar was and noted that if I was really low, I might not be able to walk and could become unconscious which would be a FAR bigger disruption and would necessitate the EMTs. The conversation ended at that point and it was never brought up as an issue again (and yes, I did have to eat during class several times).
In-class tests are becoming less common in college (I think), but you may need to explain to a professor that, during a long test, you're going to have to stop and check your blood sugar and possibly eat or administer insulin. If this is the case, you might have to get student disability services involved. I only had to do this once; most tests were take-home or short enough that it wasn't an issue. They could require a note from your physician. You may be afforded extra time or the ability to take a test when your BG is in range. I never exercised this accommodation, but it was nice to know it was there.
I think it's fine to try and handle things without letting someone know, but you might at least want to find out who the appropriate contact is within your schools disability services division, just in case you run into issues.
I teach community college; I've taught just online since my diagnosis and this semester I went back to teaching live. I told my students briefly at the first class about my Type 1 and how it might (but probably won't ) affect them. Surprisingly, when we went on with Introductions, one of my students said she was also Type 1 (in a class of 40!). Unfortunately I've forgotten her name (I teach via camera to 4 different sites). I definitely would want to know if any of my students might have to break the "no food and drink" rule of the college, step out of class or come to class late. And yes, even I would wonder (if I hadn't been told) if I heard beeping!
I think it's great that MBP brought up the disabled students program though you might or might not find this necessary. It might be an option to hook up with their services in case you had a problem with a professor like mentioned above. Or if something came up like having a low during a test and needing extra time or a make-up.
I never told any of my professors that I had T1. I told my close friends and my roommates, but no one else really knew about it. I am a very private person (but 1,000,000x more so back then) and did not feel the need to discuss it. Luckily, I never needed assistance. In college, I mainly ran on the high side, so lows weren't much of an issue. I did tell my roommates how to use a Glucagon pen if I ever passed out from a low.
I remember one time my BG meter read 18... my roommate was gone for the weekend and it was the middle of the night. I ate about 6 nutragrain bars and sat in the hallway on the phone with my boyfriend until I felt better. Ugh, I felt HORRIBLE the next day. At that time, I wasn't instructed on the 15-15 rule and 6 nutragrain bars were a little more carbs than I needed.
