Just a couple of things:
- on mainland Europe local (town) ordnances can cause restaurants, especially smaller ones, to fear shutdown if "they" are caught allowing drug use or allowing anything that could be reported as unhygienic. Such rules are there for a reason but they can make the owners and employees ultra vigilant and they will usually be very helpful when I politely point out they I am diabetic and need to blood test and inject, so either they allow me to do this as discretely as possible at the table or they provide me with a safe and clean place to inject. One owner (always ask to see the owner and as they approach good friendly eye contact and a warm smile work wonders) took me into his apartment behind the restaurant (I wasn't on my own) to inject and when the food came to the we has double portions of steak and free drinks.
If they get difficult it is always a good move to say you will go to the town hall and ask about the regional policy on the treatment of people with life threatening illnesses - that is usually enough to frighten them into acquiescence as they won't want their restaurant drawing to the attention of the local council.
- I have been T1 since I was a child and I have come across this issue a number of times, but usually with other diabetics.
For some reason some of our ilk decide to make a very loud and attention drawing declarations about "shooting up" knowing the drug use connotations and then act outraged when they are told to leave. Think about it from their point of view - all it would take is for someone to report the "drug" use and they could be shut down. All for one idiots need for attention.
Yes we have to test and inject but we also have to take into account other people otherwise we just come over as selfish, self-serving and arrogant attention seekers.
I can see it from both sides as I helped out at a local sports club in the club restaurant and health and safety dictates can be frightening. The club now keeps a sharps box behind the counter as it is the needles which breach the H&S guidelines in regard to both staff and patrons - it is amazing that people don't even carry a pocket sharps box with them in their injection &/or testing kit. We even had people put their used uncapped needles on the food plate for the restaurant staff to try to deal with - one idiot put the needle off their pen in the leftover mashed potato on his plate. It was the woman at his table that warned the server otherwise she or the kitchen staff could have been stuck - and the result would be testing for everything from Hep to AIDS and tetanus and months of worry to ensure that they were clear.
There would have to be a H&S investigation as well as a police investigation (and an internal one) to see what happened and how liable we (the club) would be for that injury. Through all of this the restaurant would be shut and the staff would be concerned not only for their individual health and safety at work but also for their jobs - it is a small club in a small town and the restaurant helps the club reach for break even.
If it happens that you are approached please try to explain what you are doing and why - it is through calm explanation that we educate others
If you don't get any joy from the server then ask for the manager and try to remain calm.
On a side note, I also have degenerative bone disease (like an extreme form of arthritis mixed with really bad osteoporosis which is causing my body to destroy the bones), it is genetic in my case, and causes me extreme pain when trying to stand, walk, even sitting can and usually is agony. Add to that the inoperable ovarian cancer diagnosis in October 2016 and it means I am on some very strong pain killers - some are tablets, some liquid (oramorph) and some injection. More often than not the injections are vial and syringe though prefilled injection pens are available but apparently too expensive for the NHS. If you think you have problems with your insulin injections try drawing up and injecting opiate based pain medication!
I have found that a calm approach to ignorance is better than shouting from the rooftops about my illness and my injections - even when I am threatening to go to the local authorities about the incident. With a calm approach you can make the restaurant owner/manager feel like s/he is an important part of your medical treatment and they will be very attentive when they see you again.
The only place I have had any real issues with is McDonalds - they need to educate their staff ... and not just in manners!
Sorry for the length but there is so much more to this issue that just a blood test and injection in a restaurant.