Whatever happened to that passport thing?

[happier than you]

I remember being given this pointless bit of paper that i was supposed to fill in with all my insulin details, i was told if i didn't show this i wouldn't be able to get any insulin. I never filled it in, as it was utterly pointless, and nobody has ever asked me for it or mention it ever since. One of the most ridiculous things i've ever seen. If i'm so ill i can't speak, i don't really want some random nurse injecting me with insulin willy nilly.

Same reason i never wear any kind of alert bracelet etc. If i'm that ill, i won't be eating, i'd rather take my chances of having high blood sugar than some dufus injecting me to death with too high a dose of insulin. The average person wouldn't have a clue and could easily think injecting insulin would help a diabetic whos been hit by a bus!

 

[GrantGam]

I remember being given this pointless bit of paper that i was supposed to fill in with all my insulin details, i was told if i didn't show this i wouldn't be able to get any insulin. I never filled it in, as it was utterly pointless, and nobody has ever asked me for it or mention it ever since. One of the most ridiculous things i've ever seen. If i'm so ill i can't speak, i don't really want some random nurse injecting me with insulin willy nilly.

Same reason i never wear any kind of alert bracelet etc. If i'm that ill, i won't be eating, i'd rather take my chances of having high blood sugar than some dufus injecting me to death with too high a dose of insulin. The average person wouldn't have a clue and could easily think injecting insulin would help a diabetic whos been hit by a bus!

I'm not sure about the passport thing, I've never heard of it.

Medical bracelets are more designed for paramedics. They are trained to look for these when carrying out primary observations at the scene of an incident. There may be well a situation where the emergency services knowing you are diabetic could save your life.

You keep mentioning high BG and "willy nilly" injections of insulin, but hypos are the immediate danger for most of us. No-one should be injecting you willy nilly with insulin, but I suppose like getting hit by lightening - it could happen. If I collapsed in a bar with low BG, when everyone thought I was drunk - I'd want them to know I'm diabetic. At least that way, sugar could try to be administered by Joe Public. Failing that, the emergency services would be immediately aware of my diabetes and could provide that life saving glucagon injection and/or intravenous glucose to keep me alive...

A medical bracelet might seem like a waste of time, but at least you'd be able to laugh about it the next day.

Grant

 

[catapillar]

I think you are referring to an insulin passport @happier than you ?

The insulin passport isn't really designed for first aid, it's for when you might be admitted to hospital for non-diabetic treatment. Say you need your tonsils out - a non emergency, non diabetic treatment. The insulin passport is supposed to clearly set out your insulin regime. Because hospitals are notoriously pretty poor at managing diabetes when diabetics are inpatients for non-diabetic things.

The general advice is that if you are well enough it's probably best to maintain control of your diabetic management when you are an inpatient - I think the insulin passport does have a box to check for that. Even if you are keeping charge of doing the actual injections, while youre in hospital your insulin doses should, ideally, still be charted by nursing staff and blood sugar levels should be checked as part of your observations - especially if you have been admitted for a big surgery for example because low blood sugar reduces coagulopathy and could increase the risk that you might have occult internal bleeding after surgery, while high blood sugar is going to impair healing. Even if you do go into hospital with every intention of being well enough to keep managing your diabetes yourself, something might happen that might mean you aren't able to do that and, as you say, you might be so ill that you aren't eating. But even if you aren't eating, you will need your basal insulin and you might need correction boluses if you are poorly - the insulin passport should contain information on you basal insulin and correction factor.

 

[therower]

@happier than you. Uncanny but it was only last week I found my insulin passport stuffed at the back of a folder.
Yes it was a a credit card sized piece of paper that when unfolded was I guess A4 size.
You had to list your details and medication and I was told at the time no passport=no insulin.
This was all set up at my local pharmacy.

After filling everything out and making space in my wallet i was all set up.
First time I went to collect insulin I had passport ready in hand.
Pharmacist looked, smiled and shook her head.
Was never asked to show passport at any time since.
I'm thinking it never took off, I hope so because I dumped the bloody thing last week

 

[Gaz-M]

Ive still got mine but its useless now as I'm using different insulin now