I check BG and shoot insulin in eateries all the time. No one seems to notice. I have done insulin in the car and crashed before the waiter ginally brought something. I have also left my insulin kit in places.
Only scandal happened when I checked BGbefore driving a motor vehicle and a co-worker complained, “Maybe you ought to do that in private.” I could not believe he said that. I remember saying something about driving being dangerous and I need to check.
Thinking back about that incident, I imagine myself finding it in myself the moxey to bark at that fellow to stuff it, but really that has been the one and only offensive incidence of diabetic troglodytism that I have ever experienced.
Wow. I’m really sorry you had to experience that. It’s very upsetting to hear that someone would have the audacity to say that to you! I commend you for not making a scene, as I probably wouldn’t have the restraint to do that. I’ve never experienced anything like that in the 11 years of having T1D, thank goodness. I test and inject in public all the time and though I am discreet, it’s generally for my own comfort as I figure the same as you- if you don’t like it, don’t look! The only thing I have ever experienced was when I was 17 (one year after being diagnosed) and being on a Diabetes camp. All of us kids were in the camp ground toilets, testing, injecting and using our pumps. A lady burst into the toilet and started yelling at all of us and calling us “disgusting junkies” etc. When we explained that we are Diabetics, she quickly retreated. Other than that, people have generally been quite understanding and more so curious, than anything. I hope you don’t have another experience like that again. xx
I’ve never had anyone do anything like that when eating out or out in public. I would go back to the restaurant & make a complaint about the waiter, speak to a manager. I’m on a pump now but when on mdi I tested/injected frequently in restaurants and still test in public. I don’t eat out much anymore but it has never been a problem. Most people don’t even notice what you’re doing.
What surprised me about your experience is that you injected in your arm. I’ve never injected in my arm because my stomach is so much easier to reach and is (at least to my understanding) the most ideal insulin absorption site.
(Not that I inject very often, being on the pump).
I think you handled the waiter really well! I suppose I might be perpetuating the “shoot up” language because sometimes I will ask the people I am with if it bothers them if I “shoot up” in a joking way. Of course they know I’m talking about insulin, not something like heroin. So far nobody has actually said that it bothers them, so I haven’t had to deal with that! I did use to go to the restroom to inject but rarely do so now (the exception is something like a business dinner with VIPs).
It does sound like the waiter was somewhere between flippant and condescending. Whether or not it’s just the waiter or management they shouldn’t be trying to make diabetics inject in the restroom so I glad you represented and injected right then and there.
I have to say, perhaps I am a militant. I test and inject whenever I need to. And as far as I am concerned if it is a “public accommodation” I consider it my “right” to do whatever is needed to take care of my diabetes. If I had been asked this I would have probably started with a short lecture of the waiter and then asked to see the manager. The manager would have gotten an earful and then I would have asked for another waiter who was more informed and respectful.
And just so we are clear, I consider the right to a inject in public part of the reasonable accommodations afforded me under the Americans with Disabilities Act. And in fact some states like Illinois have gone further and encoded it in a separate law that gives us the right to inject in public.
You may make the choice to not inject in front of others, but you have every right to inject at a restaurant table and you should never be made to feel bad about it.
Well, the French have the perfect term–l’esprit d’escalier (“staircase wit”)—for the predicament of thinking of the perfect reply too late. Nevertheless one can always hope to be prepared for next time…
To the waiter: "I’ve never stiffed a server before but I am making an exception in your case."
To the manager: “I’ve never been humiliated in front of my friends by a waiter before. Is that a service you provide to all your guests, or do you just single out diabetics? In any case I’ll be featuring it in my Yelp reviews.”
Back of the upper arm was a favored spot for me when I was on MDI. Very few nerves back there and it’s one of those places where most bodies seem to like to store subcutaneous fat. I’ve tried it as an infusion site as well—works great except that it’s too darn easy to yank the thing out accidentally when taking off my shirt.
My arms have become a favorite infusion site, except when I know I’ll be wearing a suit, when it can get a bit too complicated. Have only yanked out one when taking off a shirt! Early on, I found the stomach too uncomfortable - my skin seems to get more irritated there than anywhere else.
I’ve only injected once in a very quiet restaurant, in a corner booth, and only after my friend stopped me from leaving the table, stating she wasn’t at all bothered by my injecting in front of her. I usually (when on MDI) would go to the washroom, in a closed stall, for my own safety–people can bonk into you in a crowded bar, and are not expecting a needle if they do!
I test in public, but usually the meter is in my purse, and no one can see what I’m doing. I would understand others not wanting needles or test strips with blood out where food is eaten.
That said, I’m shocked that a waiter would say anything at all, and to call it “shooting up” could really offend someone.
Is it likely that a waiter would ask an MS patient in a wheelchair to leave? Or a COPD sufferer with a nasal cannula? Or an asthmatic using an inhaler? Or someone using a needleless syringe to measure out cough syrup or some such? I very much doubt it.
This, exactly. I"m a relatively private person but that kind of comment would honestly have made me make a scene just to single out and publicly shame the waiter. I also would have LOUDLY demanded to speak with a manager. Taking a hormone required to stay alive is so far away from “shooting up” that it’s not funny… and should honestly never be referred to that way. It’s offensive, and we shouldn’t have to put up with that kind of ignorance.
I wouldn’t be brave enough to manage in public. I have been kicked out of Burger King for checking my blood sugar. I did it completely under the table and a lady behind me told the manager I was doing drugs. I was kicked out of TCBY Treats. I have been told to go to my car or restroom on several occasions. I have been told to leave AFTER I already did the test and management didn’t understand that I was already through with the test so I was sill thrown out. I have disgusted many friends and people dining with me. I have heard “Diabetic.” among the other patrons when they saw me test my sugar. I have been asked multiple times if I were doing drugs. I have had the police called on me at work when a coworker saw me checking my sugar. I have been kicked out of a college class for testing my blood sugar. I have been told that I couldn’t eat during a college class. After getting my Associate’s degree, I decided no more humiliation and gave up on getting a Bachelor’s in English. Girls I’ve gone on dates with have asked me to just leave my pump in the car. A girl kicked me out of her car. Some girls wouldn’t make out with me. Some stopped making out with me once they saw the tubing. Bosses thought I should “just take a shot”. One professor thought I could “just leave it in my truck”. And it’s pointless to try to explain to them that the pump is not just a fancy holder of insulin - that it is actually working every 3 minutes to drip insulin into my body. No point in telling them that. Oh, what else is there?! I’m sure I’m missing much more. But yeah, that’s pretty much how MY life has been the last 21 years. But I still manage to get by somehow.
@MayaK this is where my dander goes up!!! How DARE he put you in the same basket as a junkie!!! Insulin is your life line! Would a person with an allergic anaphylactic reaction be requested to “shoot up” their epinephrine in the bathroom? Heck no!!
Personally…I would have been much more boisterous right then and there. Be that as it may…you need to let their management know about this incident! DO visit their establishment again, and next time, be assertive in the way you manage your diabetes.There will always be trolls!
Be it a learning tool to others as well!!!
By the way, we’ve all been there with "I wish I would have said…"
Baskets of hugs Maya!
@Sam19 Sam… it’s more than those of us with diabetes…it’s those of us with inhalers, epi pens, etc. I don’t know what it is that triggers their adverse reaction…repulsion? fear?
Who knows…but bottom line, I’ll be darn if I’m going to hide in order to treat!!
This is one of those perennial topics and it doesn’t seem like positions change very much. But one way to think of it is like that joke about the person who calls in a cop to complain about her neighbor shamelessly walking around unclothed in his house. Cop: “Where? I don’t see anyone.” Offended neighbor: “Here officer, use my binoculars.”
I think a lot depends on your equipment. I recently ran into a circumstance where my pump ran dry 2 hours from home and I ended up having to use a vial and syringe in the restaurant where we were having my grandkid’s birthday dinner. It’s funny because I had the earlier TUD thread about this very much in my head as I confronted the question of having to pull out a vial and load up a syringe at the table, and it felt distinctly uncomfortable. Men’s room for me. OTOH, when I was on MDI I never had any qualms about using my FlexPen at the table and no one ever complained or even noticed so far as I know. The whole process is quite discreet–that’s what it’s designed for after all. You’d have to be really working at being nosy to take umbrage.
As far as the OP circumstance goes, that business of being cramped in with others and just having to manage with the BG meter is perfectly familiar and my attitude would be a big “Eff you” to the officious server or anyone else who couldn’t be reasonably understanding. That’s one waiter who would definitely go un-tipped.
Thanks, everyone once again for all your support and encouraging words.
I think @DrBB hit the nail on the head with this as to how I felt and why it keeps bothering me.
I briefly mentioned something about that incident this morning to my husband and he replied: “just let it go already” even though this was the first I brought it up after the night it happened. It’s nice to have this community of people who “get it” and are so supportive even if we don’t all see eye to eye all the time. Thank you.
@Cocheze I have to say, I don’t know where you’re from or where you live, but WOW.
Until the incident in my original post, in all my 30 years with diabetes, I had never experienced anything even remotely as bad as all your experiences. Sounds like you might need to move and find some new people to hang out with.
I’m sorry you had that experience. I bet you could still send the restaurant an e-mail or call them to discuss your concerns so that the same doesn’t happen to the next person who comes along.
I’ve tested and injected in restaurants many times and have never been questioned about it. I am as discreet as I can be and do not draw attention to myself and also am careful that my blood not come into contact with anything. I tested and injected several times every day during a year-long undergraduate degree where I spent most of the time with the same 16 students in my cohort. Many of them were surprised to learn I had diabetes halfway through the program or, for some, at the very end (I went low during the graduation ceremony and those I was sitting with were confused when I pulled out a juice box).
I think that, several decades ago, maybe it would have been acceptable to ask someone to leave a restaurant when injecting, just as it would have been acceptable to ask someone who uses a wheelchair or is accompanied by a guide dog to leave. Today, it’s no longer acceptable, no matter how much it bothers someone to see an amputated limb, how nervous someone may be around dogs, or how grossed out someone might be at the sight of a needle.
I’m happy to agree to disagree regarding tending to medical conditions in public… Just wanted to share an alternate viewpoint. Conversation would be quite mundane if we all agreed on everything.
Regarding your doctors advice on afrezza, I’d suggest he or she clearly doesn’t understand the whole concept. A 4u dose of afrezza is equivalent to anywhere from 1 to 4 units of injected bolus (as advertised, possibly more like 1-3 in real world). They aren’t really comparable, at all. Injected bolus requires a precise dose/ carb ratio… Afrezza absolutely does not. Hope your doctor realizes that before he makes a determination whether it’s suitable or not.
I certainly do toot the diabetes whistle (afrezza) in public and don’t feel it is something even by my conservative standards belongs in private…
Anyway, I’m sorry you had this negative experience, you shouldn’t have. I hope that you don’t experience such unpleasantries again. I will continue to not test or inject in public bc it just doesn’t feel appropriate to me, but certainly would have no interest in scolding others for doing so.
It’s very upsetting to hear that someone would have the audacity to say that to you! I commend you for not making a scene, as I probably wouldn’t have the restraint to do that. 
I’ve never experienced anything like that in the 11 years of having T1D, thank goodness. I test and inject in public all the time and though I am discreet, it’s generally for my own comfort as I figure the same as you- if you don’t like it, don’t look! The only thing I have ever experienced was when I was 17 (one year after being diagnosed) and being on a Diabetes camp. All of us kids were in the camp ground toilets, testing, injecting and using our pumps. A lady burst into the toilet and started yelling at all of us and calling us “disgusting junkies” etc. When we explained that we are Diabetics, she quickly retreated. Other than that, people have generally been quite understanding and more so curious, than anything. I hope you don’t have another experience like that again. 