Going to jail with diabetes

General
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So, DiabetesNewsHound posted this article (http://diabetesnewshound.com/type2/diabetes-salyer) recently about this man who got out of jail by arguing that his health depended on it (he has T2).  But I wanted to re-post it because this is an issue I've been thinking a lot about.

I have this friend who went to jail for 9 months, and he told me about how there was a diabetic there, and he couldn't get treated for low blood sugars.  That really got me thinking about this issue!  And then I did some googling and found some really interesting writing about this subject.  Everyone seems to agree that the situation for diabetics in jail and prison is NOT GOOD at all.  You get your blood sugar tested twice a day only, a "diabetic meal" (whatever the heck that means), no pump, and little to no treatment of lows.  Pumps are not allowed in prison at all.  Instead, you get two shots.  Crazy.  On just two shots, I'd die.  Really.

 I remember that when I used to go protest the Iraq war, I was really afraid of getting arrested for no reason, like some of my friends had, because I was scared I'd get separated from my insulin (I'm not on the pump).

Here are a couple links of people posting about this topic.  The responses are really worth reading, they repeat the same kinds of stories.


http://www.diabetesdaily.com/edelman/2007/07/diabetes-on-lockdown.php

http://www.tudiabetes.org/profiles/blog/show?id=583967%3ABlogPost%3A944456&commentId=583967%3AComment%3A966370&xg_source=activity">http://www.tudiabetes.org/profiles/blog/show?id=583967%3ABlogPost%3A944456&commentId=583967%3AComment%3A966370&xg_source=activity

http://www.prisontalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=447681">http://www.prisontalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=447681

It makes me really angry!  Partly because I have issues with our justice system/prison industrial complex already, without making it all personal with diabetes.  As my friend who worked at a women's prison told me when I asked her what we could do to improve the place she worked, "They need to shut that place down and start over."

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I don't know about jail, but the prison would depend mostly on the state, in which it was located, and the type of prison. I have never been to prison or jail myself, but do have family that works in the state prison system in Arizona. If the prison has a knowledgeable health team, they can/ will have better care. The prison my grandma retired from had diabetic inmates and I did hear her talk about them from time to time, over 20 years. If they request medical attention they usually receive it. If they cry wolf or if there is a situation going on they may not get it right away. It depends mostly on how active or how connected the person is with their own health. I have been in the hospital several times and have had inmates from ether a jail or a prison right close to my room. They would have guards with the inmate at all times. My husband also worked for the state of Arizona prison system and had flown with inmates when they needed to go to a hospital, a couple of times when it was diabetes related. I had heard talk several times about needing to escort an inmate to medical for diabetes care and also having to call the nurse over for immediate attention on a diabetic inmate.

I would just have to say that just like our care out side of a prison depends on our health care team and us the same would apply to a prison/jail. If a family member pushes the system for better care could make a difference. This brings the importance of making sure when you are in a situation that is tight, that the people around are aware of the health problems. This is just my opinion and things that I have heard from people that where working around inmates.

 

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I am not going spend time worrying about people in Jail .. My GF works in the male prison in MA and let me tell you . if you ever end up there your last worry would be being a diabetic ..

 

 

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Note to self:  Gazing upon this thread with a mouthful of coffee was not the best decision you ever made.  Ow.

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that seems completely unresponsible. yes the person is in jail for one reason or another but to not allow proper care of a medical disease, that seems....i am just at a loss of words. i am on an insulin pump and i cant imagine going back on shots. i also tend to run high most of the time so two shots of insulin(novalog is my choice =) would definatly cause me to become ill, if not die. Sometimes non-diabetics dont realize that insulin and proper monitering is what keeps on earth. hopefully i never have to experience this. i am going to stay out of risky situations, that way i can keep my pump =)

thanks for this post though, i havent heard anything like this before.

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[quote user="Rich"]

 

I am not going spend time worrying about people in Jail .. My GF works in the male prison in MA and let me tell you . if you ever end up there your last worry would be being a diabetic ..

 

 

[/quote]

I would definitely agree with that one. Male or female prisons have a lot more going on and the diabetes would be one of the last of my worries.

Too funny Pat! ROFL

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Here's an interesting forum topic to go along with this: 

http://juvenation.org/forums/p/3164/28534.aspx

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my goal is to just stay out of jail.

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[quote user="C"]

my goal is to just stay out of jail.

[/quote]

agreed.

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[quote user="C"]

my goal is to just stay out of jail.

[/quote]

Iowa doesn't have jails do they? Punishment enough just living there? :P

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har de har, patface, soooo hilarious.

 

iowa is going to stop producing meats and foods for your paleo diet... then you'll have something nice to say about us :o)

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[quote user="Batts"]

[quote user="C"]

my goal is to just stay out of jail.

[/quote]

agreed.

[/quote]

 

This was my thought as I was reading all of this.

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Melissa, I do see where you are coming from. Being a protester and being at the wrong place at the wrong time can really mess things up for us. I imagine one going back to 2 shots a day of R and NPH insulin (because it is a lot cheaper- and 2 shots a day.) We wouldn't have much freedom or choices to be allowed to make in prison anyway so going back to 2 shots wouldn't be too hard if a doctor converted the amounts for you- it would just suck being in prison.

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[quote user="Pat"]

[quote user="C"]

my goal is to just stay out of jail.

[/quote]

Iowa doesn't have jails do they? Punishment enough just living there? :P

[/quote]

Pat that made me laugh out loud LOL

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At the risk of sounding like an echo...I remember protesting when W came down to a local university to deliver a commencement address...and I was out there with a banner, and I remember thinking, hmm...I wonder if they arrest me...

I worked with a volunteer thing and went into the work release program here for around a year. The process is as follows: you get arrested. You get booked. You get taken off of any medication or treatment that you were on the moment you are booked.

A kid--he was 17 when I talked to him. He had been in juvenile detention for a few years--drug violation, by the by. When the nurse didn't come in, he didn't. Get. His. Shot.

I'm relieved that people are aware of this problem. Private warehouses for human beings are a slap in the face of any individual, not just the incarcerated, any person who believes for a second that she lives in civilization. They have a chair in Lexington County, down here in SC. If there's a disorderly inmate, he's strapped into a chair that is built at awkward angles and left there. I know someone who was in there for a week. A guy came in who was manic. They strapped him in the chair. For 24 hours.

Around here, if you are mixed in a relationship with someone who is not of your, shall we say, ancestry, and it's obvious, out the window goes any sort of legitimate process, like Miranda rights, or little things, like actual warrants. I mean, who needs rights, after all.

And then there's the lovely, lovely people around here who respond, "Ah well, thets jest what happens when them there people broke tha law. If they hadna broke tha law, theydun nawt hafta thank about them thangs. Its only raght. They broke tha law."

I think these places should be shut down. The government will not do it. The privateers certainly won't do it. And how does one shut down something like this...the people shrug; they've had their fill and then some of social darwinism and feel that it is only right. It's excrutiating knowing this.

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[quote user="Kim"]

Note to self:  Gazing upon this thread with a mouthful of coffee was not the best decision you ever made.  Ow.

[/quote]

since I couldn't post this to anyone's comments, here you go Kim:

[View:http://www.flickr.com/photos/guine/4477881930/:500:500]

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blah it won't let me post my shark with a freakin laser beam attached to its head!

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Lame!

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yeah. this one isn't as good but it serves its purpose