Medic Alert Bracelet ?

[Disy]

Hi Every one

As I am new to all of this with being diagnosed a few weeks ago I was wondering do we need to wear a medic alert bracelet ? It crossed my mind this morning and thought do we or don't we. Would love some help with this. Thanks. Hope everyone is keeping well.

Cheers

[Universal44]

No idea Disy good question x

[Puddles]

HI Disy,

Medic alert bracelets are usually used for conditions that may present very quickly and render the patient unconscious or unable to give medical information themselves - for example anaphylactic allergic reactions or insulin dependent diabetics. These conditions require immediate treatment by paramedics. Because PBC is such a slowly progressing disease and does not give us acute sudden symptoms I would not think a bracelet was necessary. The only situation I can think of where it could be useful would be in late stages of liver disease where in an emergency medication doses may need to be altered because the liver could not break them down normally, but this would only be an issue if you could not give the information yourself. Interested to hear what others think and if anyone does wear one......

Puddles

[Disy in reply to Puddles]

Thankyou Puddles yes I was wondering that. I do have one cos of allergic reaction to penicillin so I thought do I add another. I had a giggle to myself imagining by the time I an finished will need a wheelbarrow to carry oround my necklace. Lol !!

[Puddles in reply to Disy]

LOL you could start a new fashion! I also wonder even if PBC was written on an alert bracelet how many people would know what it was....

[Hidden in reply to Puddles]

Doubt anyone would know what PBC stood for but thinking if one of those new rubberised ones, more than likely would be thought one was supporting some charity. My words for PBC are Pretty Bloody Crap - excuse the language now.

[Disy in reply to Hidden]

Lol !!!! Love it

[Becca75 in reply to Puddles]

ya I thought the same thing about whether we need one. I'm thinking if I was in a car accident and was unconscious - is there a reason they medical staff needs to know about my PBC right away - for example - are there medications they can't give me because of the PBC?

[Neata]

Replyingthe question sent me wondering about varices it might be a good idea for those that have them to carry a medic alert

Neata

[littlemo in reply to Neata]

I agree with two that mention if you are in advanced stages of thedisease or have suffered from oesophageal varices it would be a good idea to wear one to alert medics to take extra care when prescribing and administering emergency drugs. I have lived with PBC for 12 yrs and have never worn one as thankfully have always been able to provide medics with the info they need when treating me for anything over the years.

[Hidden]

No I wouldn't partake of wearing one.

I think with PBC if we miss a few of the urso pills it wouldn't prob make that much difference.

I tend to think even more differently since PBC reared its head in 2010 for me. I go by the well-known saying, "A life without risk, is no life at all".

I'd feel that PBC was ruling my life. I've had plenty ups and downs since 2010 and currently I am on a level with it that I do not want reminding of it all the time by the stance of some bracelet or chain about my persons.

Now if I had insulin-dependent diabetes like my 3yr old grand-daughter who has a bracelet it would be totally different as that can change suddenly. Also a condition like epilepsy warrants one but I think PBC not.

[Val02]

An interesting thought. I suppose it depends on your symptoms. I have just been diagnosed with "Autoimmune Angio Oedema," after an episode of neck, lips and tongue swelling, so I think I will ask my doctor when I'm next in.

Thanks for bringing that up. Take Care x

[littledragon23]

Thank you for bringing that up as well. I was wondering about these braceletts as well, especially as I tend to do quite a bit of backpacking. I will bring that up the next time I see my GP to see what he thinks about that.

[finfeature]

My doctor gave me a letter, stating that I have PBC, to carry with me at all times. She said that, in case of accidents, medical staff need to know why your LFT's are abnormal.

Also some investigations are made irrelevant by autoimmune disease. i.e. I had a D-Dimer test, for ? DVT, recently, which came back positive. This was wrong, my PBC caused the test to give a false positive reading, and I should never have had the test in the first place. This was OK...just a blood test, but there may be other, more invasive tests out there.

I don't believe a medic alert bracelet is a bad idea. I personally wouldn't wear one as I wouldn't want to explain PBC to everyone who noticed it, but I do carry the letter my doctor gave me.

[My-life]

If you put on your phone ICE and your medication and condition. Many paramedics know this also hospitals. ICE. Is in case of emergency leave an emegency numbet also.