Dealing with a bad flare up away from home for the first time

This post is about dealing with a bad flare up of chronic illness away from home for the first time, primarily talking about pain and fatigue. If anyone would like a post about dealing with any other specific issues of flare ups, please comment below or message on our Instagram.

Dealing with a bad flare up or just pain and fatigue in general for the first time away from home can be quite a scary thing. But there are many ways to prepare to make life a bit easier for when a flare up happens. These are just a few things that I did to help prepare for dealing with my flare ups on my own:

Make sure in advance that painkillers, hot water bottles, gels or whatever else you might need is close by

Nothing is worse than having a flare up and you’re not able find the things that might actually help ease the problems because they’ve been put somewhere random in the madness of unpacking. So make sure you have a draw or a box or anything to keep all those bits you might need in a close and easy to get to place.

Have easy to cook meals at home ready for when a flare up happens

When you’re exhausted and/ or in a lot of pain, it can be really difficult to make sure you’re eating properly as cooking can be really difficult and strenuous. Therefore, its a really good idea to have some easy to cook meals that can just all go in the oven or microwave and takes minimal effort.

It also might be a good idea to keep a snack draw with whatever bits you want in it so you don’t have to get up and go to the kitchen every time you want something.

If you feel comfortable to do so, speak to a friend about your disability/condition

Missing lectures can often be a big worry when you have a flare up and its not always easy to ‘just catch up’, especially when you can only just about do the work as it is. Making yourself go to lectures when you’re feeling that awful will likely make things worse so sometimes you do just have to stay home and rest. Having a friend or even a few friends in your modules that know about the problems you deal with and are happy that you might need help sometimes, can be so so helpful.

I’ve had bad flare ups and have been unable to come to lectures but I’ve been able to message a friend and ask if I can have a copy of their notes. I make sure I don’t overuse this and only ask when I really need it but honestly having someone there when you need it can be really helpful.

However, just to note, if you’re not really comfortable asking others for notes, many universities can get note takers to write notes for you if you are unable to write/type or cannot attend a lecture for whatever reason. To access this, you would need to get in contact with your university accessibility page.

Know it is okay to miss lectures, seminars, etc.

I think one of the worst parts of having a bad flare up for me was the fact I was missing things at uni like lectures. I felt like I was being lazy and ‘I could make myself go even though I feel awful’ and worried I would get loads behind. Don’t do what I did.

There are people that don’t go to a single lecture and are off at the beach or something instead and they somehow still pass the year so missing a few lectures will be okay and will be a lot better for you overall. If you don’t have time to catch up on things when your modules are running, there is usually revision time before exams, etc. to catch up on anything and if you’re able to get notes from someone, even better! There will always be someone to speak to about any worries you’re having and people to help you understand anything you missed.

But the main thing is knowing it is okay to miss lectures if you feel you need to.

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