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Diseases, allergies force afflicted students to reconsider alcohol consumption
By Jennie Kushlis
Posted: 11/19/04, 1:24 AM EST Section: Pulp
Doctors told Haley Magnett that excessive alcohol intake could lower her blood pressure and put her in a coma. But Magnett, who was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes before she was 2 years old, had grown sick of talking about it.
She wasn't the type to let anything prevent her from living her life, said Joe Stark, her best friend who graduated from Syracuse University last year.
"We partied like rock stars," Stark said. "Before she got sick, we were drinking six days a week. We had a friend that was a large guy and we'd try to keep pace with him. We took 10 shots of vodka a night."
Magnett, now a senior art history major, didn't let her disease stop her from drinking. But of the estimated 20 percent of college students who don't drink, many choose not to partake for medical reasons. Doctors warn students with conditions ranging from diabetes to mood disorders that drinking alcohol can have dangerous side effects, said Kate Carey, a psychology professor who teaches a class on alcohol and substance abuse.
Students like Magnett, whose ailments allow them to drink in moderation, may feel social pressure to push the envelope and see how much they can drink, Carey said.
"It's a good idea not to drink because something could happen," Carey said. "But then again, it might not, so they're playing the odds. The decision is very individual. For some, it's not worth setting themselves apart from their peers."
The costs of pushing the envelope were great for Magnett. Routine blood tests taken in Oct. 2002, led to the discovery that her liver had grown to three times its normal size. The liver had started to put pressure on her other organs, and left her in constant pain.
"My liver tried to get rid of the alcohol, but couldn't process all the sugar," Magnett said. "It couldn't handle the amount of crap I was putting into it."
Doctors assured Magnett that time away from school - and alcohol - would help. Her friends at SU didn't realize how sick she'd gotten, until Magnett called Stark to pack up her South Campus apartment. She wouldn't return to SU that year.
She wasn't the type to let anything prevent her from living her life, said Joe Stark, her best friend who graduated from Syracuse University last year.
"We partied like rock stars," Stark said. "Before she got sick, we were drinking six days a week. We had a friend that was a large guy and we'd try to keep pace with him. We took 10 shots of vodka a night."
Magnett, now a senior art history major, didn't let her disease stop her from drinking. But of the estimated 20 percent of college students who don't drink, many choose not to partake for medical reasons. Doctors warn students with conditions ranging from diabetes to mood disorders that drinking alcohol can have dangerous side effects, said Kate Carey, a psychology professor who teaches a class on alcohol and substance abuse.
Students like Magnett, whose ailments allow them to drink in moderation, may feel social pressure to push the envelope and see how much they can drink, Carey said.
"It's a good idea not to drink because something could happen," Carey said. "But then again, it might not, so they're playing the odds. The decision is very individual. For some, it's not worth setting themselves apart from their peers."
The costs of pushing the envelope were great for Magnett. Routine blood tests taken in Oct. 2002, led to the discovery that her liver had grown to three times its normal size. The liver had started to put pressure on her other organs, and left her in constant pain.
"My liver tried to get rid of the alcohol, but couldn't process all the sugar," Magnett said. "It couldn't handle the amount of crap I was putting into it."
Doctors assured Magnett that time away from school - and alcohol - would help. Her friends at SU didn't realize how sick she'd gotten, until Magnett called Stark to pack up her South Campus apartment. She wouldn't return to SU that year.
