Few things are more hectic for parents and young adults than preparing for college life

The stress can increase exponentially when the new college student has Type 1 diabetes.

The College Diabetes Network is there to help. The Network has 115 chapters across the United States, including two in Southwest Ohio and five others within about 125 miles of Greater Cincinnati.

Chapters exist at University of Cincinnati, Miami University, Ohio State University (two), University of Kentucky, Ball State University, Indiana University, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis and Purdue University. According to national operations and communications manager Sarah Twomey-Mercurio, chapters average between seven and 10 members.

Christina Roth, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes as a teenager, founded the group in 2009 while in college. The group became a 501c3 non-profit in 2010 and a full-time organization in 2012.

The College Diabetes Network lists three pillars of programming on its website, www.collegediabetesnetwork.org: tools, network and ecosystem. Its main goal is to connect college students who have Type 1 with each other.

(Learn More about CDN)

Ellie Thiemann and Madeline Foley co-founded the CDN chapter at the University of Cincinnati, which formed in 2016 and was officially recognized as a university organization in 2017. Thiemann is a fourth-year marketing major from Cincinnati; Foley a third-year electronic media major from Columbus. They talked about what it’s like being a Type 1 diabetic in college.

‘It’s just a huge life change. There’s new friends, new people all the time. You’re not sure how people are going to react to it,” Thiemann, who was diagnosed 12 years ago, said. “You’re living in a different place usually, or even, just like socially, in college, people start going out more and drinking, and things like that, and it’s just a lot of new things at once. I mean it’s a hard adjustment. It’s definitely doable, but it’s a hard adjustment.”

Foley was diagnosed at age 2.

“Honestly, I don’t think worrying about my diabetes was at the very top of my list of my worries to come to college. It’s just another thing. If I had been diagnosed my sophomore or junior year of high school, then I would be like, ‘Oh I just got used to dealing with this and now I have to do it on my own. But I bring my snacks to school, I bring my insulin to school, I bring my books to school. It’s just another thing on my list,” Foley said.

Their biggest fears?

“I know for me, it’s going low in a class,” Thiemann said. “Ninety-five percent of my professors have been great about it, asking me questions, but then there’s one in particular I can think of who didn’t seem to grasp the reasons (my sensor) was beeping, or the reasons I had food in class was very, very important. It’s not just, ‘Oh, I want a snack during your case. Those are the kinds of situations where it’s ‘What do I do? How do I convince this person?’”

Both advise Type 1 diabetics to be upfront about their condition.

“My biggest rule, and I tell people this, diabetic or not, is to introduce yourself to your professors,” Thiemann said. “That sounds silly and can feel kind of awkward, but if you take two minutes at the end of your first class of the year and say ‘Hey, it’s great to meet you and I’m excited for this class, and by the way, I’m Type 1 diabetic,’ that can make a huge difference in avoiding future awkward situations, in case something comes up for that class. Also, be your own advocate. College is your chance to define diabetes and what it means to you and how it relates to who you are, but if you’re in a situation where I need to take some insulin right now or eat some Starburst right now, just do it.”

Foley told the story of a UC student who took off his insulin pump at a party, so no one else would see it.

“He just took the whole thing off. I can’t tell you how to feel. I can’t tell you not to be embarrassed, and if you need to feel that way, you have every right to that emotion, but that’s really dangerous. You want to find a group of people where you can wear your pump around, who will support you and not judge you, and be careful with you.”

The UC chapter, which has 25 members on its roster, meets twice a month. Thiemann said one meeting usually includes a formal program or speaker, and the other is more of a casual get-together. The group welcomes members from schools that do not have chapters.

“We want to be a group that provides support, not a support group,” Foley said.

For more information about the group, visit its Facebook page, College Diabetes Network UC.

 

Written by: Richard Maloney, JDRF Volunteer