Public Service Announcement: Epi Pens

[R_J_K75]

I had a player go into diabetic shock tonight. Fortunately, he had stashed an Epi Pen at my house a few months ago. All seemed good, player 3 is reading me off the instructions to administer the drug....AND I shoot myself in the thumb with it. Hurt like hell. I said guys, this wasn't supposed to happen I don't believe. My neighbor was able to get Jaime home, to another Epi pen so crisis was averted. But he brought the spare over months ago, but I had no training, and then when he needed it I did it wrong. Sometimes the simplest things seem like you could do it with your eyes closed, but you can't, and all you need is a 5-minute crash course. That was a scary 2-3 minutes. TAKE CARE OF THE ONES YOU LOVE!!!!

 

[Clint_L]

That sounds scary! As teachers, we get a refresher on them every year. I’ve fortunately never had to use one on a student but my close friend and colleague has, twice.

I second: if you are regularly around someone with severe allergies, learn to use an EpiPen!

(PS your thumb injury is a funny story to have, since it didn’t end tragically).

 

[R_J_K75]

That sounds scary! As teachers, we get a refresher on them every year. I’ve fortunately never had to use one on a student but my close friend and colleague has, twice.

I second: if you are regularly around someone with severe allergies, learn to use an EpiPen!

(PS your thumb injury is a funny story to have, since it didn’t end tragically).

He gave me the Epi pen 6 months or so ago, never thought I would need training. Everyone came out unscathed. Holy .... that prick in my thumb felt like an Imperial Probe Droid....

 

[Willie the Duck]

I had a player go into diabetic shock tonight...AND I shoot myself in the thumb with it.

While we are listing out important things to know, it should be mentioned that were you to do this when applying insulin, you could go into hypoglycemic shock (and then both of you could be in danger).

Also, epi pens have a shelf life (12-18 months from manufacture), and although studies have shown that a well-stored (cool-but-not-refrigerated dark place) one can still be effective well past the official expiration, it's not like those aspirin pills you've had since three moves ago and still work fine.

I think the important overall point is that these simple lifesaving measures require know-how, and are hard to use in a crises situation. It's important to learn them (and fortunately there are plenty of videos out there for this).

 

[Ryujin]

"Orange to the thigh, blue to the sky." Yes, definitely need to remember that they expire, as well. It's also good to know how to administer Narcan. Remember, for both, you still want to seek medical attention ASAP.

 

[Blue]

Also remember that Epi-pens grant time by offsetting the anaphylaxis so that the issue can be solved. Follow up with care.

Oh, and @Willie the Duck is completely right about they have been found to last longer than their expiration date. In the US there is no government oversight on those, it's whatever the pharma company wants to put. And a too-long expiration date opens them up for lawsuits, while a shorter one opens them up for repeat sales. Especially for children when you need to send an unexpired one into school so need to buy 2-3 sets every year.

 

[trappedslider]

my last epi pen came with a practice one, so i could learn the motions. Luckily, I only have one specific allergy that would require it's usage.

 

[Umbran]

Also remember that Epi-pens grant time by offsetting the anaphylaxis so that the issue can be solved. Follow up with care.

You are correct about this being a stop-gap until the issue can be solved, but, for sake of accuracy...

The OP doesn't call this a case of anaphylaxis. He reported "diabetic shock", by which I think he probably meant hypoglycemic shock - shock due to low blood sugar, not immune response.

One uses epinephrine in such a case because one of the liver's responses to epinephrine is to flood the blood with glucose. If you're extremely low on glucose, this can save you until you can get a more long-lasting correction to your blood sugar in place.

 

[R_J_K75]

The OP doesn't call this a case of anaphylaxis. He reported "diabetic shock", by which I think he probably meant hypoglycemic shock - shock due to low blood sugar, not immune response.

Most likely. I'm not exactly sure what happened besides him going blank and asking for the ill-administered epi-pen. I just got off the phone with him so he's OK. I talked to him last night too so I'm assuming he gave himself some insulin when he got home, (which is a 2-minute drive from my house) ate some food and the episode resolved itself.

 

[Elodan]

You are correct about this being a stop-gap until the issue can be solved, but, for sake of accuracy...

The OP doesn't call this a case of anaphylaxis. He reported "diabetic shock", by which I think he probably meant hypoglycemic shock - shock due to low blood sugar, not immune response.

One uses epinephrine in such a case because one of the liver's responses to epinephrine is to flood the blood with glucose. If you're extremely low on glucose, this can save you until you can get a more long-lasting correction to your blood sugar in place.

Never knew / heard of this in my 40ish years as a Type I diabetic.

I’ve been lucky in that my body is sensitive to lows and I can treat them before they get too bad. It also helps that I can set my CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitor) to trigger an alarm before things get out of hand. I usually carry sugar pills but have Glucagon (which is a nasal spray instead of a shot now) at the house for when things get really bad.