Do you carry around glucogon?

[still..hopeful]

After reading all the posts on the lowest lows, I was wondering if I should be carrying around glucagon with me. I just figured as long as I am monitoring her blood sugars then I would catch a low and be able to correct it. I can't believe kids could be walking around and playing with bs in the single digit numbers.:eek: I guess everyone reacts to lows differently. Nothing is ever routine!
Angie

[yeswe'rebothD]

We carry it with us. We've never had need to use it in an emergency situation, but I would sure hate not having it if we needed it.

And yes, sometimes kids are walking and talking, at least in the 20's (since under that your meter won't tell you an exact #).

[Denise]

I was told to ALWAYS have it with me. We have done so. I think we forgot it ONCE and I was so panicky! We do carry the tube of icing gel with us as well. The one thing that will stay in my mind is when Molly hit 22. She had eaten dinner about 90 mins before I tested her ( for a softball game as I always do) and she was acting like she was just "a bit" low. I am too scared that it might happen when I least expect it and I'll be unprepared! :(

[hawkeyegirl]

Yep. Wherever Jack goes, the glucagon goes. It's not that big, and I'd never forgive myself if he needed it, and I didn't have it with me.

[mom2kenny]

we dont, unless we are going away for the whole day or more. we just keep checking bs so we will catch the lows.

[still..hopeful]

Do you send one to the school as well?

[Seans Mom]

Yep, take it with me along with meter/strip/lancet case, glucose tabs, syringes, insulin and a set change. Oh and a juice box. :D

[yeswe'rebothD]

Do you send one to the school as well?

Absolutely. In our small school setting, we don't use a 504 plan (since the school does NOT receive Gov't funds). Grace's teacher used to be an EMT, and knows how to administer it if need be. Especially because the school is an approximate 20 minutes from the hospital that would be called.

Basically I'd never go anywhere w/o it and that includes school.

[Sarah Maddie's Mom]

School nurse has one and I keep one in Maddie's Lacrosse bag, but no I don't carry one around. I have one in the glove box of the car but it's been there ages and in all sorts of temperatures. :eek: BUT, in 5 + years, knock wood, we've not ever needed it. AND I carry honey packets in my handbag, and in Maddie's D bag. I'm not suggesting what anyone else should do, just reporting on what we do.;)

[beaniesmom]

We do carry our glucagon everywhere. This reminds me I need to check the date for exp. We (I) carry just about everything: juice, cake gel, skittles, power bars, a little bit of everything. I was a good Girl Scout.;)

[redmcgee]

Wherever she goes it goes with her (her bag is like a growth on her, HAHA:D)

[Mama2H]

Hailey does not go anywhere without out it. Even with the cgms you just never ever know when you will need it. If you knew it was coming on to such a severe low you would head it off before it got there, unfortunatly D does not usually work the way it is suppose to. That is why it is so important. I have seen Hailey drop 100 pts in 30 minutes when it was completely unexpected. I won't risk it!

[Mama Belle]

I carry it with me. Samantha does not carry it on her, since most folks don't know how to use it. But whenever she is out with me or in school we have glucagon.

[LJM]

The bag with Glucagon goes everywhere with him. One is kept in the school health aid's office during the school year. There is also one at home at all times. Only time we don't send it is when he is at a friend's house in the neighborhood and he has just eaten and will only be there for a short time.

[Grace]

Ds has one in his D backpack, I have one in my purse, and during basketball season my dd(14) keeps one in her gym bag since they practice at the same time (double gym).

BUT, so far we've never needed it and praying we never do!

[KatieJane'smom]

Yep, Katie Jane carries it in her bag, backpack, purse...whatever she's carrying her meter in.

I also have a couple at home & take an extra when we are gone for more than a few days.

She carries the glucogon kit right beside her epi-pen (she has an anaphylactic peanut allergy) everywhere she goes.

My first question when we got the glucogon kit was - If she's laying on the floor passed out how are people going to know which one to give? Chances are it's the diabetes & not the peanut allergy but if in doubt - give both.

[Scotty's Mum]

We dont take it everywhere with us, but we do live in a small town. We do take it with us if travelling out of town for any reason and it always goes to sports games/practices etc. We also have one at school.

[kyleesmom]

We have two of them, one is taped to the fridge, the other is in her D bag. It goes with us when we go out of town or when she goes to a friends for the night or even to play for a long time. We always have glucose tabs, cake gel, Skittles, Air Heads, honey and peanut butter crackers with us too, even if we dont have the Glucogon.

[Shannon's Mom]

Here is how we learned to always carry one.... about 4 years ago we had a mix up in DD's insulin (lente and humalog then). Not pointing fingers ;), but someone switched dosage amounts for the two insulins. Dropped DD off at daycare and head to work. Got a call from daycare and they were pretty frantic that she was just staring into space and not responding. Tried to get them to give her juice which she couldn't drink. Told them to call 911 and I rushed from work. Was driving like a maniac for about 15 miles to get there and talking to the ambulance driver on the phone. Asked him to give her glucagon and guess what? They don't carry it and are not allowed to do any invasive procedures! Only a paramedic can. This was my lesson to know that if you call 911 and request and ambulance you answer "yes" when they ask if you need a paramedic and to ALWAYS carry the glucagon (which we had not up to that time - but have not left the house without it since). BTW, this was not DD's day care center - it was Easter break and since she was not in school she was a drop in at a friend's center. We never went over "emergency" procedures because we had never had anything like that happen before. Lessons learned.....

[MommaRetta]

We have one at the school for when school is in session.

He had a terrible low at Walmart the other day and we had left his bag in the van! :eek: He wasn't wanting to walk or anything. I may have mentioned this on another thread but I guess it made an impression on me. We went and got a bag of those hershey minis. He ate two of those and was fine for the rest of the trip. Got to the van, he was 72.

I had everything that we [I]would[I] have needed in his bag but I left the bag in the van.

In the bag we have glugagon, his tabs, pack of honey, and then all the supplies.

Talk about a lesson learned the hard way...........:(

Going to have learn to be a Girl Scout!

[wilf]

We will take it with us when we're on trips away from home, but otherwise it just sits in the fridge :rolleyes:

[sam1nat2]

we don't. Probably should, but it seems like everytime we leave the house its all I can do to remember to bring my brain:rolleyes:

I did find out that the emergency personnel around here will not administer it--they will give IV glucose, but not glucagon. They claim it has to do with liability and that the ER docs that they work under for licensing won't allow it.

About the epi pen, won't that raise glucose if needed? I seem to remember having that conversation with someone---maybe here?
(see, no brain for me)

[StillMamamia]

We take one with us everywhere we go. It's in a frio-type bag, which we give to the teacher everyday. And we have a 2nd one in the fridge.

[jules12]

We keep one in his bag which we take when we leave for a long time. I always keep gel and glucose tabs with me in purse, car, etc.

[JohnMom]

Wherever she goes it goes with her (her bag is like a growth on her, HAHA:D)

I thought we were the only ones who did this. My son feels naked with out his bag.

[frizzyrazzy]

If I'm making a short trip to the supermarket we dont' take it (just meter and tabs) but anything longer then we take our full D bag. I've also got one at school and we keep one at my moms (this way I don't have to bring it)

[wendyc]

Since Abby is still young, I'm the one in charge of D supplies for now. I always have an emergency kit in my purse. It has glucagon, glucose, fruit chews, meter.

[Kirsten]

It is always with him in his D bag.

Kirsten

[Tigerlilly's mom]

I have a glucagon in my pocketbook and there is also one at school. So I guess the answer is yes. Except I no longer send one with Tyler when he is off with friends or at friends houses. I think that a friends parent feels more comfortable calling 911 and squriting gel into Tylers mouth in case of an emergency as opposed to using the glucagon.
If we are running to the store real quick and I am not bringing my pocketbook (which doubles as my diaper & diabetes bag) I won't bring the glucagon just meter and glucose tabs.
Knock on wood - in almost 3 years we have only used it once and that was with a syringe in a non-emergency situation. (Tyler had lows for over two hours - couldn't get his bg up and he just couldn't eat or drink anything else, so the endo had us give him a mini-glucagon shot)

[vettechmomof2]

I thought we were the only ones who did this. My son feels naked with out his bag.

Same here, except my daughter.;)
She carries her bag and I have mine and both are supplied with the same stuff.
Allene

[mph]

Same here, except my daughter.;)
She carries her bag and I have mine and both are supplied with the same stuff.
Allene

Yep, same here! I just started "packing" my purse with an extra of everything just in case someone "forgets" the D bag in a store, restaurant, granny's, or something.;)

No one ever "plans" to have a car accident, yet they do happen. No child "plans" to have a seizure, yet they do happen. No child "plans" to get sick and start profusely vomitting while away from home, yet it can happen. And when it does, I may not be able to just run home and grab the supplies I need.....unfortunately.:o

I like to at least "try" to be prepared.:)

[still..hopeful]

I guess we need a bigger backpack to carry everything. Our glucagon was $100 a kit!! My husband is getting new insurance in a few months so hopefully it will be cheaper. Do you just throw it away when it expires even if you never used it? Does glucagon contain gluten?? I know it wouldn't matter if we had to use it but the celiac mother in me questions everything.:(
Angie

[Denise]

We stored one at school right after dx and plan to send it again when she goes back in the Fall. Molly carries a little 12 inch backpack we found at Wal Mart. It has enough room for her D supplies plus a stuffed animal or her Nintendo DS. She always has in her backpack : Calorie King book, writing pen, fruit snacks, cake gel, complex carb snack, skittles, glucagon, log book, meter, spare needles and alcohol wipes. I found that keeping the needles and insulin in an old eyeglass case that snaps shut is perfect for the purpose. We haven't had to worry about keeping the insulin cool yet.

[zell828]

Yes, definitely, it goes everywhere she does when she's with us.

[Mom2Boys]

Yes, we always bring the glucagon with us. We have an insulated D case for everything that we bring with us.

[Pauji5]

we don't carry it around locally, but in addtion to the skitttles, juice boxes, peanut butter crackers and such, I we carry cake frosting and something called Gluco Burst (from Target or Walmart). It's a liquid you can squirt in the mouth for quick absorbtion. We've never used either, but someone told me to rub the frosting on her gums if she's passing out.

Hopefully we won't ever have to use anyone of it!

[albasmom]

We always carry it and while reading this thread earlier I realized I forgot to bring it to my parents where we are for the weekend :eek: . So called endo and got a prescription, and now it's in the fridge and I can relax again :o

[danismom79]

I keep one with me when we're out, one in the camp bag, and one in the house.

When she's in school she has one at the nurse's office.

[danismom79]

I guess we need a bigger backpack to carry everything. Our glucagon was $100 a kit!! My husband is getting new insurance in a few months so hopefully it will be cheaper. Do you just throw it away when it expires even if you never used it? Does glucagon contain gluten?? I know it wouldn't matter if we had to use it but the celiac mother in me questions everything.:(
Angie

Ouch! My insurance happens to cover 3 kits for a small copay. When ours expire, I'm going to use them to practice mixing it.

[Denise]

Ouch! My insurance happens to cover 3 kits for a small copay. When ours expire, I'm going to use them to practice mixing it.

OOooh what a wonderful idea! I will have to remember that when the time comes for me as well! :cool:

Our insurance covered 2...er at least the two that we purchased anyway. I haven't tried to purchase any more as two is enough for us atm.

[Caydens_Mommy]

Ours is with us everytime we step out of the house.. I've got one in his backpack that goes everywhere with us and another in the glove compartment of my car.. We have never used one of these, but if something were to happen at least we would have it.

[Kaileen]

We have a lunch bag that goes everywhere we go. The top compartment is big enough for an ice pack, her Glucagon, and her Novolog. In the bottom, we keep pen tips, alcohol swabs, glucose tabs, her meter and supplies, peanut butter crackers, an icing tube, juice, and an empty water bottle to use as a Sharps container. I also carry a spare meter and glucose tabs in my purse: although she hopes she never has to resort to my glucose tabs. She has the sour apple, and loves them: I have orange, and she can't stand them.

I was a Girl Scout as well. :D

[liasmommy2000]

Yes, we have them at home, school, my purse, her bag etc.

[still..hopeful]

Does it have to be kept in the refig? I'm looking at mine sitting right there on the counter. I did add the other to her backpack.
Angie

Does anyone know if skittles are gluten free and what type of juice boxes are?

[Denise]

I was told the glucagon does not have to be refrigerated.

[Thoover]

Mine is sitting on the counter as well.

However if we are going to the store I normally don't carry it.. If we are out for the day we carry it.

We do keep her cake make gel in her meter case and that is like a growth on us at all time.. Never left it at home and never will.

[mlbertness]

After reading all the posts on the lowest lows, I was wondering if I should be carrying around glucagon with me. I just figured as long as I am monitoring her blood sugars then I would catch a low and be able to correct it. I can't believe kids could be walking around and playing with bs in the single digit numbers.:eek: I guess everyone reacts to lows differently. Nothing is ever routine!
Angie


I carry mine everywhere! I have spare ones in the car, in my purse, everywhere!

[mlbertness]

I guess we need a bigger backpack to carry everything. Our glucagon was $100 a kit!! My husband is getting new insurance in a few months so hopefully it will be cheaper. Do you just throw it away when it expires even if you never used it? Does glucagon contain gluten?? I know it wouldn't matter if we had to use it but the celiac mother in me questions everything.:(
Angie


no glucagon does not contain gluten, I have saved past glucagon kits and put them in various places (grandma's house, van, wherever) just in case because they won't have the full affect to them but they will have a little kick to them and it is better than nothing