Andy,
I saw your post earlier this week and have meant to get back to you - There are lots of us who do lots of things once we get this stuff under control - it's just a matter of getting to know your body and how you will deal with this disease. Your studies/career are not over - they're just beginning, let's keep that in perspective. I'm 28 yrs. old and I have Crohn's disease - no it's not IBS, it's full out eat through your intestines, almost never digest your food, swallow 23 pills a day - Crohn's disease. I was only diagnosed with this a few months ago and before had been working on an IBS diagnosis. That's how I came to the boards and the diet - it does help and I digest markedly more food when I'm keeping to the diet than I do when I'm not. I have had problems with IBS (that I now know was Crohn's) since my junior year in undergrad. It started when I was a double major at William and Mary studying government and East Asian Studies. To this point I have completed both degrees, learned to speak fluent Chinese and intermediate Thai, written an honors thesis that ranked highest honors and graduated Magne Cum Laude. I also have a master's degree in international affairs from George Washington and a certification in global public health. I'm currently working for a governmental Commission that makes policy recommendations regarding promotion of religious freedom in the countries of the world where religion is most severly persecuted. I still consider myself very much on the way up and this disease is not going to stop me. Like other people have said, certain teas help with alertness in abscence of coffee - coffee is BAD and you won't perform if you're running to the bathroom every 20 minutes, we all know that! You're support system is also important - it's important to have freinds telling you can do this and kicking you in the ass when you get down on yourself - it's just good for somebody to keep you moving in a positive way - I didn't mean that kicking you in the ass thing that they would be mean - that wouldn't help, just that they would be consistent, that does help. Once you're sleeping the right amount you will perform better. I would also whole-heartedly agree that once you get to grad school you age will be more of an asset - it's been provent that students that are just out of undergrad with no work experience don't get as much out of grad school as most older students who know what they're looking for and have some real world experience behind them before coming in. Anyone who has been in the field for longer times (10 years or more) will tell you and I am CERTAIN of this, once you are out of school for more than 5 years, your grades and where you went to school matter minimally. What you have done since graduation and in your career matters MUCH more in the long run. This is a long run process, don't rush to do it all today or you'll burn yourself out by the time you're 35. Look at your long term goals and take into consideration how many years you have to get there and talk to people who are already there, they will help you with the steps and it's also always good connections. So I'm done being career counselor for the day - I need to get back to work!! Get to know your body and listen to it, you will find ways to deal with your situation - you say your symptoms have already gotten much better from the diet - that in itself is encouraging that you can stabilize and maybe it's just a few more steps till you find ways to work in the details of making sure you have the time and energy for the work you need to do - you can do it and yes, there are people here to encourage you as you can see from the website. Good luck and good for you for trying as hard as you have thus far to make progress on this.
Mindy
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Re: The End Of My Career Without Coffee?!?I'm desperate.................
