Migraine

I'm new to posting, so I think I did this the wrong way the 1st time. Sorry! Is it legal for a public university to dismiss someone for missing school for going to a migraine specialist, getting sick due to migraines, & getting tests run for migraines. All instructors were notified of my condition before I started school & they were informed when I had to take time off for Dr. visit or tests. If it is illegal, where do I get help for this? Thank you!

Ella,
I would try and first find out what your schools policies are for attendance. I know at my childrens public high schools even with excused absences there are attendence levels that must be met. Those policies might be posted on line.

Others with more experience in this area have special arrangements in place with schools, even at the college level to accomadate "special needs" as migraines do fall under. You will probably need to explore what that is so you can return to school and not fail. Can you talk with counseling at school to get specifics of what you would need to do so you can resume your course work?

I'm sorry I don't have more specific information for you.

Cindy

I think that public universities are covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires "reasonable accommodation" for persons with a disability. Migraine has been found to be a disability in some cases.

I'd start with the person who notified you of your dismissal. Do you have a faculty adviser? If not, the dean of students might be a good place to start.

Gretchen in Mississippi

Hi, Ella, and welcome to the forum!

You should have some kind of office on campus with some kind of student services department to help you navigate this. Your advisor is a good first place to start, unless you advisor is the one pushing for your dismissal. Perhaps there is a Student Affairs office? Or an overall departmental advisory office?

I'm with Gretchen in thinking that the Americans with Disabilities Act provisions are to public university settings.

Hi Ella,

Welcome to MyMigraineConnection.

I found some information for you I hope you find helpful:

Higer Ed Advocay links

Let us know what you think, and how we can help you further, ok

(PS I did delete your other post, since we addressed the issue here.)

Try the ombudsman at your university. All government institutions must adhere to the Americans with Disability Act. Also, check with their disabled student services department. They know all the rules for people with disabilities. If worse comes to worse, call a lawyer. The first consultation is usually free.

Hi Ella

You definitely are covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act if your University receives federal funding.

There is an advocate available. Her website is www.advocacyforpatients.org She has been very helpful to me with the problems I am having at my son's school. It's free.

Good Luck
Jean Ann

so i am a nursing student. i am just starting my clinical rotation. most of my teachers know about my condition because i was hospitalized for it earlier int year. can the school really tell me what medicine i can and can not take? i mean i understand i can't take ones that make me loopy but they restrict me to tylenol and motrin which don't do anything and i therefore go through clinical all day with a hell of a headache and i think that is as dangerous as take meds that make you loopy.

Kate,

You are in a very difficult situation. The inforamtion the others have given you for advice and direction are spot on.

Please remember one thing in all of this. The care and safety of the patient must come first. Unfortunatley many of the medications we take for migraines do impact our judgement and ability to function 100%. As much as you want your education, I hope you can keep that in mind at all times.

Take care and I hope you can find a workable solution. A person who has been through what you have will make a very caring and compastionate nurse. They are lucky to have you.

Cindy

even though privacy rules protect me from doing this, should i go to them disclose my abortive meds and tell them that they don't effect me in the ways that they think? or do y'all think that would just dig a deeper hole for me? i'm very torn in this situation between how much to tell and how much not to tell. my friend says i don't advocate enough for myself and i need to stand up for myself and not suffer through a 6 hour clincal.. its just not right.
ignore the typos for some reasons... my hands twitch.

Kate,

I think anytime we are dealing with on ongoing medication usage for a chronic condition, being upfront and matter of fact about what is going on is helpful. You want to give your school and patient's your best. Here is what is going on with me. How can we work with this so that everyone wins.

My personal concern for you is that working at your clinicals is triggering so many migraines. What is it about the conditions that are contributing to that. Perhaps looking at that could be of help to you also. Is the florscent lighting a trigger?

Good Luck Kate,
Cindy

Obviously when you're working in a clinical setting as a part of your schooling there are going to be rules to keep things as safe as possible for both you and the patients you come in contact with.

Yes, going through clinical while under the influence of a killer migraine can be as risky as being affected by meds. But we have to be cautious. Sometimes we take meds for a myriad of reasons. Sometimes they affect us in ways we can feel and notice. Sometimes they affect us, but we don't seem to notice ourselves. We can end up much more out of it than we realize, and that can be dangerous to those we work around and work with. It can be a liability, so yeah, I think the school does have leeway in what you can take.

That said, if you've been taking meds all along, and your doctor can firmly attest that they don't adversely affect your behavior or how you work, and wouldn't affect your clinicals, then perhaps a written letter to the school powers that be might help. The school probably would still have the latitude to decide whether to honor the doctor's opinion or not, but there is the chance that they might be receptive to making exceptions in your case for certain meds. It might be worth asking about. The worst is that they could say no dice, even with a doctor's letter saying the meds don't affect you adversely.

quote:

Originally posted by soccerstudentnurse:
so i am a nursing student. i am just starting my clinical rotation. most of my teachers know about my condition because i was hospitalized for it earlier int year. can the school really tell me what medicine i can and can not take? i mean i understand i can't take ones that make me loopy but they restrict me to tylenol and motrin which don't do anything and i therefore go through clinical all day with a hell of a headache and i think that is as dangerous as take meds that make you loopy.

thanks for your input. i am still weighing the options. i'm just afraid that the more i share the more they can use against me at some point in time. i already work with disability services because once the school found out about my condition and i started to miss class, they pretty much made me but it was one of the best things that happened. if i wasn't working with the guy that i was working with, i would have failed probably all of my classes thus far with the time that i've missed. they unfortunately can't do a lot with clinicals. its more of a inter-department (nursing) thing. i just don't want to put my major in jeopardy.