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The emergency room will provide insulin 100% of the time whether you can pay or not.

Dangeranger 9y ago
If you don’t have insulin at home it’s easy to go into an acute diabetic shock and die without anyone knowing. A diabetic without insulin quickly loses their higher brain functions, including decision making like “Is this an emergency? Should I call 911?”
- asimilator 9y ago
  This isn’t accurate. A friend of mine was diagnosed with T1D freshman year of college and was still passing exams when he went to hospital with the initial diagnosis. He told me his blood sugar was so high those standard portable glucose measuring devices couldn’t even measure it.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - bigiain 9y ago
    I'm type 2 ("adult onset") diabetic. I'm controlled with metformin and insulin. I got gastro a few years back, spend two days throwing up and pooping out all my medication, and then literally spent three days delirious. I should have called an ambulance, but wasn't thinking clearly enough to know it at the time. Eventually a friend dropped in, took me to my local GP, who immediately sent me off to hospital. In bad cases, it _does_ get that bad. Dehydration on top of losing control of my medication and a not particularly serious gastric bug ended up being a very serious thing for me.
    - asimilator 9y ago
      “Bad cases” is a lot different than “really easy”. My friend has a pump which occasionally fails (that wireless pump, forgot the name). It’s possible (in a pinch) go without it for hours. I don’t think most diabetics are that brittle that “without insulin quickly loses their higher brain functions”. One of the above posters explains it better than I have.
  - cjbprime 9y ago
    (Removed confused post about hypoglycemic coma.)
    - tomca32 9y ago
      Insulin lowers blood sugar. Hypoglycemia is "low blood sugar". Insulin is NOT treatment for hypoglycemia. Insulin shot can be fatal in case of hypoglycemia. In case of hypoglycemia, it is imperative to raise blood sugar as soon as possible. You do not need prescription for that. It is achieved with regular sugar, sweets, or orange juice that everybody has in their household. In extreme cases a shot of glycogen may be required. Glycogen is not expensive and does not require prescription. Also, most people never use that shot. I have my one, and only, shot of glycogen in my fridge for many years now. Thankfully, I never used it.
      - cjbprime 9y ago
        Oops, yes, thanks.
    - micro_cam 9y ago
      Hypoglycemia or low blood sugar is a result of too much insulin for your food and activity levels. Not having insulin results in hyperglycemia or high blood sugar which causes longer term complications and severe illness but won't put you in a coma.
- tomca32 9y ago
  I'm a T1 diabetic. This is quite false. What you're describing are the symptoms of hypoglycemia; a very low blood sugar level. Not only would insulin not help in that case, but would probably be fatal. The best way to treat hypoglycemia is fast acting source of sugar, such as orange juice, or in more extreme cases, a shot of glycogen. Complications of high blood sugar level don't develop suddenly. It's a relatively slow process that takes weeks or months. There is a medical emergency, called diabetic ketoacidosis, that results from high blood sugar level. However, that takes months of untreated high sugar levels, combined with dehydration, to develop. A diabetic without insulin will, with time, develop a ton of serious complications. However, none of them are sudden, and certainly don't lead to a "quick loss of higher brain functions".
  - FireBeyond 9y ago
    As a paramedic, I appreciate your comments on this. Acute hypoglycemia, as you mentioned, we treat with sugars, either oral glucose, or IV dextrose. Complex sugars are of course better. I will take issue with this, however: > Complications of high blood sugar level don't develop suddenly. It's a relatively slow process that takes weeks or months. There is a medical emergency, called diabetic ketoacidosis, that results from high blood sugar level. However, that takes months of untreated high sugar levels, combined with dehydration, to develop. You can begin to notice symptoms of DKA in as little as 24 hours, and high acuity incidents can happen with a matter of days to a week or so. But yes, you're right that it will not be something that has such rapid onset as described by the parent.
    - tomca32 9y ago
      > You can begin to notice symptoms of DKA in as little as 24 hours, and high acuity incidents can happen with a matter of days to a week or so. Interesting. Can they really develop in a single day starting from a "normal" BG level, without a longer period of elevated BG beforehand? I guess I should have also been more precise in my comment. I was mostly referring to the severe form where actual coma can occur. Still, I'm surprised it can develop in only a couple of days. Thanks. I definitely appreciate the correction.
    - 9y ago

If you don’t have insulin at home it’s easy to go into an acute diabetic shock and die without anyone knowing. A diabetic without insulin quickly loses their higher brain functions, including decision making like “Is this an emergency? Should I call 911?”

asimilator 9y ago
This isn’t accurate. A friend of mine was diagnosed with T1D freshman year of college and was still passing exams when he went to hospital with the initial diagnosis. He told me his blood sugar was so high those standard portable glucose measuring devices couldn’t even measure it.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- bigiain 9y ago
  I'm type 2 ("adult onset") diabetic. I'm controlled with metformin and insulin. I got gastro a few years back, spend two days throwing up and pooping out all my medication, and then literally spent three days delirious. I should have called an ambulance, but wasn't thinking clearly enough to know it at the time. Eventually a friend dropped in, took me to my local GP, who immediately sent me off to hospital. In bad cases, it _does_ get that bad. Dehydration on top of losing control of my medication and a not particularly serious gastric bug ended up being a very serious thing for me.
  - asimilator 9y ago
    “Bad cases” is a lot different than “really easy”. My friend has a pump which occasionally fails (that wireless pump, forgot the name). It’s possible (in a pinch) go without it for hours. I don’t think most diabetics are that brittle that “without insulin quickly loses their higher brain functions”. One of the above posters explains it better than I have.
- cjbprime 9y ago
  (Removed confused post about hypoglycemic coma.)
  - tomca32 9y ago
    Insulin lowers blood sugar. Hypoglycemia is "low blood sugar". Insulin is NOT treatment for hypoglycemia. Insulin shot can be fatal in case of hypoglycemia. In case of hypoglycemia, it is imperative to raise blood sugar as soon as possible. You do not need prescription for that. It is achieved with regular sugar, sweets, or orange juice that everybody has in their household. In extreme cases a shot of glycogen may be required. Glycogen is not expensive and does not require prescription. Also, most people never use that shot. I have my one, and only, shot of glycogen in my fridge for many years now. Thankfully, I never used it.
    - cjbprime 9y ago
      Oops, yes, thanks.
  - micro_cam 9y ago
    Hypoglycemia or low blood sugar is a result of too much insulin for your food and activity levels. Not having insulin results in hyperglycemia or high blood sugar which causes longer term complications and severe illness but won't put you in a coma.
tomca32 9y ago
I'm a T1 diabetic. This is quite false. What you're describing are the symptoms of hypoglycemia; a very low blood sugar level. Not only would insulin not help in that case, but would probably be fatal. The best way to treat hypoglycemia is fast acting source of sugar, such as orange juice, or in more extreme cases, a shot of glycogen. Complications of high blood sugar level don't develop suddenly. It's a relatively slow process that takes weeks or months. There is a medical emergency, called diabetic ketoacidosis, that results from high blood sugar level. However, that takes months of untreated high sugar levels, combined with dehydration, to develop. A diabetic without insulin will, with time, develop a ton of serious complications. However, none of them are sudden, and certainly don't lead to a "quick loss of higher brain functions".
- FireBeyond 9y ago
  As a paramedic, I appreciate your comments on this. Acute hypoglycemia, as you mentioned, we treat with sugars, either oral glucose, or IV dextrose. Complex sugars are of course better. I will take issue with this, however: > Complications of high blood sugar level don't develop suddenly. It's a relatively slow process that takes weeks or months. There is a medical emergency, called diabetic ketoacidosis, that results from high blood sugar level. However, that takes months of untreated high sugar levels, combined with dehydration, to develop. You can begin to notice symptoms of DKA in as little as 24 hours, and high acuity incidents can happen with a matter of days to a week or so. But yes, you're right that it will not be something that has such rapid onset as described by the parent.
  - tomca32 9y ago
    > You can begin to notice symptoms of DKA in as little as 24 hours, and high acuity incidents can happen with a matter of days to a week or so. Interesting. Can they really develop in a single day starting from a "normal" BG level, without a longer period of elevated BG beforehand? I guess I should have also been more precise in my comment. I was mostly referring to the severe form where actual coma can occur. Still, I'm surprised it can develop in only a couple of days. Thanks. I definitely appreciate the correction.
  - 9y ago