Originally Posted by
straygaijin
I'm glad you know exactly what I need to manage my Diabetes - if you can make an instant decision on what is the appropriate substance for me to take, why do I bother to test myself 8 times a day and visit the doctor/hospital on a regular basis? It would be much easier on me (and less pinpricks/injections!) to just ring you up.
I bet you couldn't even tell whether I was high or low just by observing my behaviour. I certainly wouldn't presume that *I* could determine the right course of action just by observing another diabetic.
Please don't presume you understand how to treat my disease.
I have treated plenty with your disease in the pre-hospital setting, two within the last two weeks with hyperglycemia. Maybe you have missed my prior threads, but 1/3 of the officers at BNA (where I work) are EMTs. Even without being an EMT-I, joe public knows that treatment for a diabetic acting strange (i.e. altered mental status) is to give them sugar if they are conscious enough to swallow it. In most cases Airline/TSA personnel are not going to do it, they are going to call us to the scene.
When I get someone in my airport that has an altered mental status, the first thing I do is a blood-sugar check. If it is below normal, then they will be consuming something with sugar in it. If they are unable to swallow, then I will start an intravenous line (IV) and push up to an amp of D50 (depending on the extent of the hypOglycemia). If their blood sugar is elevated (hyper), then I will start an IV, give some O2, and wait on an ambulance for transport.
I know the disease quite well. It sounds like you manage it well. That is more to say than some of those with Type I or Type II that I have treated in the last 8 years as an EMT.