Medic Alert Jewelry, etc. for Type 1

Just wondering how many Type 1’s wear a medic alert bracelet or identifier of some sort. Where did you get it? I just started insulin this week and have to go away to conference all next week. I’m wondering if I should wear something since I’ll be on a strange eating schedule, in a strange place and am still unsure how the insulin is going to really affect my bs levels (still just trying to figure it all out). I picture myself going too low or high and ending up on the floor and no one knowing whats wrong (worry much? hahaha).

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I got one from Medical ID Fashions before an overseas trip for the same reasons. The bracelet I selected is stainless steel so can be worn in the shower or while swimming.

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I bought a simple elastic sports band from the Medic Alert Foundation. It includes a 24/7 telephone number the medics or hospital can call where you can list far more information than can be included on the bracelet or necklace, including medical history and emergency contacts. Since I’m retired and usually home with my domestic partner, I don’t think there is a great likelihood of needing it. I chose the sports band since the time I’ll use it most frequently is when I go for walks alone. And since my diabetes is under good control, I think there is a greater likelihood that if I should need it, it would more likely be due to an pedestrian or auto accident or a stroke than to a hypoglycemic incident. But regardless of the reason, the medics should know that I’m a diabetic on insulin.

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I am responding because I literally just now discovered that my alert anklet is not where I thought it was. In other words, I don’t even know where it is! This tells you how much I wear medical jewelry. :wink: But I do think it is a good idea and so will try to locate it and start wearing it a little more consistently.

The reality is that I find most of what is available out there for medical purposes not very stylish, mostly because of the large Star of Life/Staff of Asclepius icon they usually have on them. I don’t typically wear much on my hands (nothing really before I got engaged and married; the two rings now) and wasn’t going to start by wearing an ugly bracelet. Finally, after MUCH looking (several years), I found a silver anklet at http://creativemedicalid.com that didn’t have that icon. Instead, they engraved what I wanted (“T1D; insulin pump user; call 911”) on the simple silver plate.

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I’ve worn a MedicAlert stainless steel bracelet since 1964, when I left home for college. It has twice been extremely important that my medical information was readily available . Although the MedicAlert organization has grown tremendously since 1964, they remain a reliable resource with 24 hour availability. I highly recommend them [I don’t get a penny from this recommendation.]

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I get my medic alert bracelets from CoolMedID.com. Nothing fancy but very comfortable. I get nothing for recommending them.

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i got mine from www.laurenshope.com. nice array of bracelets, cuffs, dog tags, necklaces.

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I’ve used both the Medic Alert Foundation and Lauren’s Hope.

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I very highly recommend Road ID:

www.roadid.com/

You can switch out the band part of the bracelet to match all your outfits! My daughter has all the colors.

I wear a stretchy elastic ss band bracelet which is made by the medic alert foundation- it has an id and phone number to contact for info for my family/doc /medications etc. as well as basic information printed on the bracelet about my conditions. I just wonder what happens if I pass out from something else other than D because lately I feel very dizzy on and off nearly every time I go for a walk or something like that.

I wore an ID as a kid, but I stopped when got a job as a mill operator. Since this job involves high powered machinery, I’d (ironically) be in more danger if I wore a bracelet or necklace

For me I wear the bracelet not only so that others (public) will know I have diabetes if I pass out, but so that medical personel will know that I need insulin if I were in the hospital unconscious.

Yes, that is a good idea Jen, I think they would know we need insulin from our pumps too. I just hope if I pass out from some other condition they will not automatically assume it is due to diabetes and that I need glucagon or whatever.

I have a classic medic alert necklace (silver, shaped like a stop sign–with my name and Type 1 Diabetes written on it). I wear my necklace for medical personnel and those who talk to medical personnel about me. I really don’t expect that “Type 1 Diabetes” will mean anything to non-medical folks. Unless someone intimately knows what it means, I don’t want them acting on that information. I have a Type 1 brother (diagnosed when I was five–I’m fifty now) and until I developed it myself, I didn’t know enough to possibly help someone.

Even WITH the knowledge of what it means, finding another Type 1 unconscious and figuring out what was wrong would be traumatic. Think about it. You’d grab YOUR blood glucose meter and test them. You’d tell someone to call 911. If they were really low, I would be able to give them glucagon and put them on their side. But if they were really high, I would be very hesitant to inject someone else with insulin. Plus, I might have to convince someone on the scene that I knew what I was doing. Imagine how freaked out someone would be if you pulled out a glucagon pen or a vial of insulin from YOUR bag and prepared to inject them!

I dunno, I wouldn’t count on anyone understanding what my pump is or what it does. When I was in emergency in December for almost 24 hours, the nurses tested my blood sugar ONCE. My blood sugar was 11 mmol/L (200 mg/dl) that one time, and yet they never tested me again. I heard one of them tell another that I was “completely stable” because I had a pump and CGM that did the job for me… Maybe it would be different if I hadn’t been coherent, but I wouldn’t bet my life on it…

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Another option, which I used as a child, is the alarm tags that slip into your shoelaces. This would be a good option for someone who doesn’t like jewelry or can’t wear it at work.

Same boat but I am trying a different approach. Trying is the operative word here. :slight_smile:

I downloaded a ICE app (In Case of Emergency) and loved it the first day only. I entered all my information and honestly thought it would work out great since my medical and emergency contact info showed before my lock screen on my cell phone. I think I’ve read somewhere that emergency responders are starting to be trained to look at cell phones for medical information. Not sure if that’s true or not. My issue is that it started to bug the heck out of me to have to clear the ICE screen before I could unlock my phone. I may just need to play with the settings or try a different app.

I may resort to jewelry as it sounds so much simpler than trying to figure out ICE apps that I don’t even know if emergency responders would even think to check.

Road ID offers a service where first responders are directed to their website (or the Cloud or both or whatever; I’m old and don’t understand all this new-tangled stuff) via information on your alert bracelet and the “Intersphere” has all of your emergency info. (At least that’s my understanding of how it works…) For now and until my daughter leaves for college (may the next 4 years pass slowly!), I have just the ID bracelet without the additional service; everyone around her at school, at home, and when she is out and about with long-time friends at the mall or the pool, etc. know what to do if she has a D-related emergency. This will no longer be the case when she flies the coop and enters the real world, so that’s when I’ll add the additional Road ID service.

I don’t mind having a website or a phone app (or wallet card, or whatever) with additional information on it. But I wouldn’t trust a phone app alone. If I passed out during a meeting at work or while teaching or exercising, I wouldn’t necessarily have my phone on me, nor would my colleagues/friends necessarily think to go check my phone. So I like having something that’s on me at all times, and then having additional information on my phone or in my wallet. Just my personal opinion, though (and I Have more “stuff” than just diabetes…).

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I guess we never know what may happen, but at least they would know you were on insulin etc. Were you able to test your own bg too?