Diabetics on insulin or oral drugs that cause increased insulin production should have someone around who can administer glucagon in cases of severe hypoglycemia.

Transcript: Like most insulin dependent diabetics, I’ve got a glucagon on hand. And, uh, I actually have three glucagons. I got two from the hospital, and then I ordered another one about eight months ago. And, uh, I had umed that the two from the hospital were expiring at the same time, which is, uh, November of 2007. But I just looked at the one in my mother’s bedroom, which is the only one that’s likely to be used, and it expired in July. So I replaced it with my newest one. Glucagon is a hormone that signals to the liver to dump all of the- uh to dump glucose. The glucagon injections generally signal it to release ALL of the sugar that its storing, but your body normally secretes smaller amounts of glucagon, with peaks at mealtimes. More dramatic peaks in diabetics. Type 1 diabetics especially tend to have unusual glucagon production although we do still tend to HAVE glucagon production. In any case, in the case of severe low blood sugar, severe hypoglycemia, you should have a glucagon kit, red or orange (I know the color’s kinda bad on here)and uh someone else can administer this if you’ve passed out. If you’re just having trouble eating, they can use it. They should first turn you over on your side- its good to have whoever’s around trained in this- turn you over on your side because if the glucagon injection is a little too much or whatever, you can throw up and you really don’t want to choke on your throw up. That’s a nasty way to die. Also very preventable. So, uh, they should turn you on your side. And then they’ve got, in here they’ve got, a glucagon needle, which is intramuscular length needle, it’s considerably longer than the insulin needles, and they’ve got this little vial, which has a little white pill in it. And they’re gonna uncap this, uh, thing, and they’ve got this big old needle here. Lemme see if I can get it to show up better. No I don’t think you can see a needle. Oh well. It’s- trust me, it’s large. You’re gonna uncap the glucagon. You’re gonna inject the water that’s in the needle into the glucagon, sticking only part of the needle inside the vial, not the whole thing. Then they’re gonna shake up, you’re gonna roll the mix, not shake it up, my bad. Then draw the mixture back out into the syringe. If you’re dealing with someone who weighs more than about fifty pounds, they say go for the whole thing. If not, half the thing. It’s probably not going to make a difference. Um, yeah. You can’t overdose on glucagon. It’ll give you a crazy headache, and uh, it can make you throw up, but it’s not likely to kill you [editing note: it can kill only in cases of allergic reactions to the mixture]. And then they can just inject it anywhere. If you’re really really low, circulation to your fat can be cut off, so that it’s better to inject it into a muscle, but if it goes into the fat, then it’s probable that you’re not so low that it’s going to be a problem. It’ll act a little faster if it goes into muscle. If it goes into a vein, that’s also not a problem, it’s gonna act a little faster that way, and you might have a little more of the side effects of glucagon, but it’s still liable to save your life. Uh, so, I expect you check the expiration dates. Often the expiration date on the syringe with the liquid on it is different from the expiration date on the little glucagon pill. On this particular one, I’ve got an expiration date of November 2007 on the pill, an’ an expiration date of December 2007 on the bottle. The container itself might also have an expiration date. You wanna throw it out when it- not necessarily throw it out, practice with it- soon as the earliest of the expiration dates has passed. Uh, yeah. I’ve, I’ve never had to use a glucagon. But I know I want an unexpired one on hand. Also as a person living alone, I’m not that likely to have anybody actually use it [editing note: my mother checks on me in the mornings sometimes and might use one if I was nonresponsive then]. But… it’s security. It’s good to have on hand. Saves lives every now and then. Check and see whether yours is expired.

Duration : 0:4:45

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