[Diabetes-talk] glucagon

[Eileen Scrivani]

Veronica, 

You and I have been diabetic a long, long time and a lot more experienced in handling syringes and techniques of inserting a needle into a vial.  My husband is not a diabetic and really has had very little experience doing it.  

I do not expect him to be able to do it if there isn’t a comfort level or if he finds it too difficult.  Each person is different and there are different strokes for different folks.  My sighted sister-in-law happened to be here the day we tried the experiment and even she had a difficult time of it.  It is not an easy task for those who are un-used to doing it.  If there were opportunities to practice with it maybe, but it would get expensive just trashing kit after kit to try and get it working.  

Luckily I have never passed out due to a low and have always been able to get myself to juice or food when needed.

Eileen

From: Veronica Elsea via Diabetes-talk 
Sent: Saturday, September 5, 2015 7:55 PM
To: 'Diabetes Talk for the Blind' 
Cc: Veronica Elsea 
Subject: Re: [Diabetes-talk] glucagon

Wow! Eileen! Maybe we're going to have to start paying attention to brands of kits to see which ones are easier to use. The one I had wasn't hard to manipulate. As for getting the syringe into the vial, I just pressed the needle somewhere on the rubber and in she went. I never even thought of using a guide. Too bad I can't remember the brand I had though. Hmmm, can't even remember the last time I had one around. Got tired of paying for them and not using them. So it's a good thing we can add up the variety of experiences here for any future use. <grin>
Veronica

"Guide Dogs, First Hand", Veronica Elsea's classic album is now available on iTunes, along with other music from her and from the Guide Dog Glee Club. 
To learn more, visit:
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-----Original Message-----
From: Diabetes-talk [mailto:diabetes-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Eileen Scrivani via Diabetes-talk
Sent: Saturday, September 05, 2015 4:43 PM
To: Diabetes Talk for the Blind
Cc: Eileen Scrivani
Subject: Re: [Diabetes-talk] glucagon

Rachael, 

I am not sure if you could or could not do an injection if the need arose.  

I had a glucogen kit in the house, stored in the frig, and it expired last year. The plan was that if I ever needed it, my husband who is also totally blind, would use it on me. Since they are gotten by prescription and they don’t give out samples of them for trial/practice my husband never got to try it out.  So when my kit expired, we took it out and tried running through filling the syringe.  It was not easy for him.  As I recall there were 2 main problems.

First there was inserting the needle into the rubber stopper on the vial.  This was even with the old needle guides I have and used to use on my insulin vial.  They did not work and if I’m remembering correctly its because the vial was a slightly different size from the insulin vials I used them on.

Second, the plunger on the syringe was quite difficult to push down.  I seem to recall it taking a lot of force.  I’m not sure if this is because the kit got old, but it was not easy. 

I did get a fresh kit, but told my husband to just call 911 as fast as possible and give the kit to them if the need should ever arise.

Now because we could not work it out doesn’t mean you would not be able to.  Maybe you would have better luck or technique if you had to do it.  And, the way you mix is by injecting the solution that is pre-loaded in the syringe into the vial and then re-drawing it back up into the syringe.

Good luck.

Eileen

From: Rachel Krieg via Diabetes-talk 
Sent: Saturday, September 5, 2015 6:53 PM
To: Diabetes Talk for the Blind 
Cc: Rachel Krieg 
Subject: [Diabetes-talk] glucagon

Hi, all.

 

My husband Jeremy's endo wanted my family since they live in the area to be
able to learn to administer glucagon in the event he went low. However, they
refused. As someone who is totally blind, with no light perception, is it
possible for me to administer it to him? I know the type she wanted him to
use you had to mix it, and that could be difficult for someone who has no
vision whatsoever. Usually, if he drops and I can't get anything into him, I
wind up calling the paramedics which in this town wind up being the fire
department, unless they deem it necessary to transport him to the hospital
in which case they send an ambulance.

Rachel and Lady the lovable lab

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