Public Service Announcement: Epi Pens

[R_J_K75]

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.

I think it's all about management. Hence, he brought over the ill-fated epi pen, but he knew enough to bring one over, & don't stray too far from home. This is not a recommendation, but we made the decision to get him home where he could self-manage rather than take him to the Emergency Room.

 

[Umbran]

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

I am not a doctor, but my understanding is that this isn't a preferred treatment, but for some it can get the job done in an emergency.

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.

Which is great. Unfortunately treatment isn't one size fits all, either medically or economically.

 

[MGibster]

I fear as my group continues to age we'll have a stroke, heart attack, or some other medical malady at the table one of these days.

 

[jian]

Yeah, EpiPens are easy to use but under stress you can do anything simple wrong. During training we were particularly told to avoid the thumb thing - it can be quite serious as you lose blood flow to that area from vasoconstriction from the adrenaline. I hope yours is OK but if it feels numb or you can’t move it properly you might need medical attention.

EpiPens are very much not the first line treatment for hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar; generally occurs in type 1 diabetics from not eating enough or having taken too much insulin) but they can work in the short term and they’re usually cheaper than injected glucagon, which is the first line (along with giving the person sugar - jelly sweets, buccal sugar syrup, etc). Generally you hope to head off the episode before it needs medication with sugar.