College Life

[beatcf1994]

So ill be heading to college in the fall and have decided to room with a roommate despite being able to have a single due to meds and such. Is there anyone that has advice, stories, experiences etc. about dealing with roommates and CF treatments? or going away to college with CF?

 

[BikerEd]

Okay, first cantact the room mate and let them know what's up. Second, very few people are bff's (for lack of a better term) with there roommates. Having said that I got along with most of my college roommates, and my kids seem to as well; yeah I'm that old. The big thing is let your roommate know what to expect. And they will either be your biggest asset and caring, or your gonna be their biggest pain in the ass. My exeriance was very positve though, I can even remebera bunch of times where "dude, have fun at the party? Do your freggin nebs, I hate hearring hack in the morining"

 

[Printer]

Ed nailed it. Contact your roommate and give him/her an opportunity to not room with you. You need someone who will understand your medical needs. You don't need someone who will be a pain in the ass.

Enjoy your time at College

Bill

 

[TarHeelBlue2007]

I had a very positive experience w/ my roommates at college, and with my roommates since, and w/ college in general. I think good communication and planning is key. Some specific tips:
(1) Let the roommate know up front what to expect. Supply them w/ the key info, including the fact that having CF is not a death sentence, so that they don't look it up from a biased source (i.e. crazy people on the internet).
(2) Discuss w/ your roommate about your treatment routine and what that will entail. One roommate I had couldn't study that well when my neb was going b/c of the noise...we simply mandated that certain times of the day I was free to do my nebs, and if he wanted to study, he could try to, but my nebs took priority. But, understand that playing loud music would have done the same thing, so it was more just roommates getting along than CF.
(3) Discuss w/ your roommate the importance of keeping your personal info (i.e. having CF) private...you should be able to tell people that you have CF if/when you want to, and they need to respect that.
(4) Be prepared for questions from roommates/new acquaintances/friends/friends of friends/hookups/etc about why you have nebs and pills and a cough. I often found that telling people "I have this lung thing...it's kind of like asthma," while technically not true, was enough for most people to understand, and to not be afraid of me coughing.
(5) Investigate campus health services beforehand, and note if there is a doc w/ CF training in town. If it's a smaller college, then you may be the first CFer to go to that campus health. A planned visit to meet a doc at the campus health service over this summer (maybe during orientation) to discuss your health needs might be a good idea. Getting a doc that will communciate with the CF doc that takes care of you now would be ideal.
(6) Have a discussion w/ your CF nutritionist about college food. Often, dining hall food is loaded w/ fat, which can be a problem for CF pancreas. Having a plan about which items are likely to be easier on your GI system will be good...I had success w/ waffles/cereal/fruit for breakfast, sandwiches or a single slice of pizza for lunch, and watching the pasta (it's loaded w/ oil so it won't stick together).
(7) Talk to campus academic services beforehand about an emergency plan in case you need to go into hospital. Better to have one hammered out early than to be making one while calling the dean on your way to the hospital.
(8) See if you can make your roommate help you w/ your stuff, but don't overburden them...they shouldn't have to feel like your caretaker. At the same time, don't resent them if they are trying to help you...it's easy to roll your eyes at a parent when they remind you to do some nebs, but a roommate who reminds you doesn't have to...they're probably just trying to help.

Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions. Cheers!

 

[imported_Momto2]

I chose not to have a roomate during college. I wanted to be able to sleep on my schedule. Didnt want to have to worry about meds being misplaced, stolen, ect by people my roomate might invite in while I wasnt there. Didnt want to disturb my roomate with my coughing, problems, etc. I had plenty of support from friends during college, but I think part of that was the fact that they didnt have to live with me day in and day out. I think I would have driven a roomate crazy with the nebulizers, IV's, coughing, farting, etc. No need to make it anyone elses problem or to make an enemy. Make sure that your potential roomate has an "out". YOU many choose to room with someone, but THEY may not choose to room with a person with CF. Keep in mind they may get sick adn get you sick too. Does your doc support having a roomate? Mine was adamant that I have a single.

 

[Havoc]

At my college we had suites. 3 bedrooms shared a bath and a common living area. I paid extra to have a bedroom to myself, even though at the time I didn't do nebs or CPT and don't have a cough. It worked out really well. We had a common room so you still had the social aspect, but if I wanted to study, sleep or engage in "extracurricular activities" I had my own bedroom and a king sized bed (2 beds pushed together).

 

[beatcf1994]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I have until Thursday to decide between a roommate or a single. Not really sure what i want tho. Thanks again everyone

 

[Aboveallislove]

Just wanted to jump in and do a strong pitch for rooming solo. I'm wondering first if your thought for having a roommate is to have more social/companionship/friend, etc.? I remember going to college how my mom cautioned against asking for a "single" for those reasons (I don't have CF), and that makes sense. BUT it actually might backfire b/c it will likely be very hard on your roommate and even if you are frank up front and they "no biggie" it could be. It is hard on us when our son coughes at night--obviously harder on him--but the point being we love him more than anything, but it is still hard having interrupted sleep. So imagine a stranger. Then it could end up with them complaining to others, you feeling uncomfortable, etc. And obviously the having a room for you to do what you want when you want and not worrying re them being sick in closed quarters, etc. is a benefit to you. So I guess I'd say, room single your first year or even semester and you'll still get the social aspect in the dorm with people next door, across the hall, etc. etc. And once you have your circle of friends and they know what it is like then you can always have a roommate later.

Some other suggestions: I taught undergrads for 10+ years at a big university. So from that perspective, I'd suggest you send an email to the professor explaining (if you are comfortable) you have CF, it isn't contagious, but that it causes coughing, even when you are healthy. And that you hope you can keep minimal so as not to disrupt class and that in the past what worked best was when your teacher's just ignored it because then the students do. I'd do this because I didn't like sick kids coming to class to get others sick and I could see saying something/giving a look if I didn't know they weren't sick. (I know CFers get this and hate it, but you probably do to others too if you think they've got something!). You could also give a heads up that you don't anticipate any issues, but if is possible that you could have a hospitalization during the semester and that you will make sure to work with the professor and the disabilities office should that happen.

Which leads me to point 3: Make sure you get in touch right away with the disabilities office. You shouldn't have any issues, but if you need to do a tune-up mid-semester they can help you make sureyou don't have to drop classes, etc.

And finally--DO NOT DRINK, especially from a keg with a nasty bacteria-infected tap! ;-))

Best of luck! What an exciting time!!!