Pacemaker

bracelets

by Tracey_E - 2017-10-24 16:59:24

If you do a search, there are a lot of opinions on medical alerts.

Some will say the pretty ones don't look like a medical alert and be overlooked by first responders. Some may, but I stick to the ones that I believe are a balance between functional enough to get the point across and pretty enough that I'll actually wear it. No point having it if I hate the look and it lives in the jewelry box. 

Some will say no need, it's not like an EMT won't see our scar. That was me for a lot of years, until we had a member who was an EMT and she scared me into it. It affects how they cut us out of an accident, how they transport us, where they transport us. Not every hospital is equipped to do surgery on us. What if we were rushed to such a hospital because they didn't notice the pacer?

I have on an online medical record (OMR) from American Medical. You can buy it but it comes free with any purchase so I got the cheapest they had (which was less than buying OMR, go figure). That stores everything from emergency contact to meds to surgical history. All I have on my bracelet is my name, PACEMAKER, and the phone number/code for my OMR. This way if I change doctors or medications, my bracelets aren't obsolete. 

I have bits and pieces  from both https://www.n-styleid.com/ and https://laurenshope.com/. You can mix up the bracelets and tags. I prefer the shape of the N-Style tags but LH has some gorgeous bracelets. 

ID Medical Bracelet

by Mapleshaz - 2017-10-24 17:02:55

How lovely of you to be researching this for your wife. I have several bracelets to match my wardrobe!! They all have the facility to have interchangeable ID and info tags so I have one silver tag and a gold one. The bracelets are all beaded but am thinking of getting a leather one as well. I have found the two best sites are Lauren’s Hope and Sticky Jewellery. For overseas members reading this, (I live in UK) Sticky Jewellery use UPS to deliver and their charges include Duty whereas Lauren’s don’t and I got stung big time by customs. I have included th following info...

my name

CRTD Implanted Nov. 2017 (my operation is next Wednesday)

Dilated Cardiomyopathy

Left Bundle Branch Block

Hypothyroidism

ICE SON: 4477+ his cell phone number

Hope this helps and happy shopping. 🇬🇧

I don’t have a bracelet

by Shaun - 2017-10-24 17:50:04

..... but if I did it would say something like “Pacemaker - for details refer to ID card in pocket”. That way when the pacemaker or configuration changed I wouldn’t need to change also the bracelet.

Bracelet

by Alma Annie - 2017-10-24 22:35:18

Yes your wife DOES  need one.  It is the paramedics or first responders who scrape you off the road after an accident, or off the wall as happened to me when I tripped up a step, flinging myself into a wall and concussing myself.  It is not always quick enough to find a wallet or purse with the card and details.  A quick look at the wrist tells what is needed to know.

Alma Annie.

Bracelet

by LondonAndy - 2017-10-25 08:09:20

I have several medical conditions, so I have a Medic Alert bracelet - I don't like jewelry, so mine is on a "sports band" and worn on the wrist, but they have quite a choice of designs and pendants etc.  Although I sent my thoughts about what should be on the disk, a medical person phoned me and discussed this, and advised some changes which I accepted. The disk has summary information about my conditions, and I subscribe annually to their telephone support service.  They have details of medications, my pacemaker insert notes, next of kin details etc etc. that are available 24 hours a day to paramedics.

I agree with Alma Annie: a female friend of mine collapsed in a supermarket, and was taken to hospital by ambulance.  At no point did anyone look in her handbag where she had comprehensive medical notes. So a pacemaker card may not be found when needed and something with an internationally recognised (by paramedics, anyway) medical symbol seems a good idea to me.

Thanks

by Olli - 2017-10-25 10:02:06

Thanks very much for the suggestions. I'll assist my wife in deciding what she wants to try first, and then she can make changes as needed. 

We're very thankful for her pacemaker - she continues to feel so much better.

-Olli's husband