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College

Sun, February 19, 2017 8:00 AM

I am a parent, but feel that a young adult would be the best person to answer my question.  My 16 (almost 17) year old has Crohns and he is looking at colleges.  He receives Remicade infusions every 8 weeks.  He really wants to go to college out of state at an Ivy League school.  I am trying to figure out if that is feasible.  My concern is his getting Remicade while at home over summer vacation. If he has a doctor where he goes to college, he would get most infusions there, but he would definitely need an infusion while he is home over summer vacation.  I have called a couple out of state Gastroenterologist offices and they say they refer their Remicade patients to a nearby facility for infusions.  They say they will not send an order for a Remicade infusion to an out of state infusion center.  Has anyone encountered this situation?  I would really hate to limit his college choices to schools in state, just because he needs Remicade.  

bon22
Joined Sep 28, 2011

Fri, March 24, 2017 7:59 PM

Reply posted for bon22.

You should also consider if the college has good hospitals around.. For example if Harvard was a choice.. she would have plenty of great hospitals around like Mass General, Brigham and Women's, Beth Israel etc..

jboussea
Joined Mar 24, 2017

Mon, February 20, 2017 7:59 PM

Thank you!  That is a huge help!

bon22
Joined Sep 28, 2011

Mon, February 20, 2017 11:27 AM

Reply posted for bon22.

I was on Remicade when I left for college and had infusions in both states (AZ & PA). You'll need GIs in both places who are willing to work together. In my case, the GI from home in AZ who had been my doctor for years was "in charge"; she did my colonscopies and was consulted for any major medical decisions. The GI in PA wrote the prescription for Remicade (and eventually Humira). I had to see him every few months as per protocol but really his job was to keep me in remission. When I returned home for the summer I would see my AZ doc and I would receive an infusion or 2 at home. In that regards, it worked really well. I would advise when he picks a school finding a doctor/hospital system nearby and going to see the doctor before school starts. Depending on the school you might even be able to get it done at student health (unlikely, but I've heard of it before).

Best of luck, but believe me, it's possible.

akr008
Joined Sep 2, 2014

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