Learn about management and approaches to stress doses of steroids and adjustments in patients with adrenal insufficiency.
© 2016 – 2024, Pituitary World News. All rights reserved.
Learn about management and approaches to stress doses of steroids and adjustments in patients with adrenal insufficiency.
© 2016 – 2024, Pituitary World News. All rights reserved.
If a patient is ordering a med bracelet, what other than “steroid dependent” if a person is completely panhypopituitary? Is “panhypopit” an acceptable abbreviation on a bracelet? It is very important they manage DI as well.
Jennifer- I have complete pan-hypopituitarusm. My medical bracelet states,
Front: I have Pan-Hypopituitarism & DI – I Need Cortef/DDAVP
Back: Allergies: ——
ER Contacts—–
Thanks, I need to send my bracelet back as it is to small and want to change a few things.
Jennifer, in the ER, the most important thing for them to see is “‘needs steroids,”steroid dependent,’etc,” and obviously any other things, like diabetes insipidus.
When stating diabetes insipidus, I say salt diabetes in qoutes. Too many times over my 17 years with this I’ve been finger pricked…
As for putting panhypopituitarism on it, leave that on your web information if you’re using a bracelet from americanmedical-id, roadid, etc with a log in medical portfolio. They just have no idea what to do or what it means when they hear panhypopituitarism, kind of like they think sugar diabetes when they hear diabetes insipidus. They never see cases like ours.
It is a medic alert bracelet. I have other medical issues that are outside of panhypopit that need to be on there as well.
Can you provide the doctor’s credentials.
Thanks for getting in touch Amy. The info you requested has been sent via email.
“4.6 We recommend that every patient should be equipped with a glucocorticoid injection kit for emergency use and be educated on how to use it.” – See more at: http://press.endocrine.org/doi/10.1210/jc.2015-1710#sthash.ph9ZMC8I.dpuf
Dr Blevin, Thank you for an informative & helpful podcast on stress doses. I have 2ndary Addison’s due to hypopit & I really notice the impact of stress on my health; I now have more confidence about coping with these situations through use of hydrocortisone.
Dr, Blevin, I highly disagree with not needing solucortef if you have adrenal insufficiency from pituitary damage/loss. If there’s a bone break, car accident, vomiting, etc, the faster you administer it, the better. I don’t want wait until I get to the hospital, for them to figure that I need it. Especially if I have to become unconscious, have a seizure, or die for them to figure out I really do need it.
I’ve found ERs, and quite frankly hospitals in general, incredibly clueless with it come AI, and panhypopituitarism in general.
We have helped many people on the craniopharyngioma group I’m an administrator for that would have been in real trouble if we hadn’t stressed how important it is to get solucortef and know how to use it. We’ve also gotten several ‘thanks’ saying they don’t even want to think what would happen when they needed it.
This is coming from someone who’s been living with panhypopituitarism for 17 years, and had countless adrenal crises, including in ICUs, ERs, etc.
I believe every PAI and SAI patient should carry an emergency injection, but be mindful,of expiration dates. I think just because it hasn’t been needed for a while is a poor excuse not to carry one. An accident can happen to any one of us at any time, and not always be within the vicinity of emergency services,or hospitals. Being SAI, I have needed SC injection once since my diagnosis 15 months ago, and another crisis recently averted by taking double extra oral medication during an obstructuve colitis flare, however I needed hospitalisation and the ER did give me IV solu cortef because I was on the brink of crisis still. My endocrinologist believes in playing it safe rather than deliberating, because a one off dose is not going to cause a problem.
Sir. Firstly I know very few people who survive on less than 20mg HC/day and have any form of life outside their bed.
Secondly, I have seen people end up either dead or with brain damage, and other less severe side effects, becausre of poorly educated Dr’s stating there is no need to carry an emergency injection kit.
Crisis can come on fast, and without warning (i.e., in accident) and as said previously, DEATH IS NOT AN OPTION!
To deny someone an emergency injection kit is telling them their life doesn’t matter, and for all you care, they can die.
Total incompetence. Wise up, your job is to save lives.
I was diagnosed with Addison’s Disease in 1977, after spending three months in Victoria General Hospital, Halifax, NS, Canada. I was told it was a result of giving birth to my daughter in 1970. (Yes, I was terribly ill for seven years and was near death when admitted to hospital.) At the time of my daughter’s delivry, in 1970, I was told there had been a brain bleed which affected my pituitary gland, which of course affected the production of prednisone by my adrenal glands.
Ten years ago, my brother was diagnosed with Addison’s Disease.
Two years ago, both my brother and I were given an update on our disease by an endocrinologist. We both have ‘Isolated ACTH Deficiency’. We have been told it is an extremely rare disease.
My reason for writing this note, is because when I had back surgery two years ago, I explained my disease to the specialist telling him I needed extra prednisone to recover from the surgery. He never told the hospital staff about this and when I asked for extra prednisone I was pooh poohed. He had left for holidays the day after my surgery and so I then asked my daughter to bring my prednisone from home.
A month ago my brother was admitted to hospital in another city from where I live, he was incoherent, and when I asked his wife if she had explained to the hospital staff about his disease, she said oh no, that’s nothing to worry about. I told her it was, she said she’d phone in the morning, but I told her no, she had to tell them right now.
Since his return home, the two doctors he was asked to see by the hospital, have both said he needed to wean himself off the prednisone. This is an impossibility and it makes me so angry that our own doctors are constantly trying to find ways for us to get off of prednisone.
The first item on my medic alert bracelet says I am steroid dependent. What can I and my brother do, other than this to make medical staff (and his wife), understand we are dependent on prednisone? Plus, the fact we need extra at certain times in our lives. I am baffled about this.
Thank you for your time…I hope I’m not too late to hear back from you.
ps, I like your idea of putting it on the driver’s license, which I will do and I will let my brother know this, as well.