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Permalink Reply by Kelly WPA on October 26, 2010 at 3:38pm

I can tell you one company to avoid – American Medical Alarms. I sent for their system back in July after I had two bad lows that involved EMTs in the summer. When they sent me the alarm, they sent a contract that I felt like I needed to have an attorney read. I knew that I would be responsible for the equipment and would have to pay for damages, but they wanted me to sign giving them permission to take $300 off my credit card or checking account on file. I was not going to do that so sent the equipment back. If you find one you like or someone else has one, I would be interested. I would like to get one but after the experience with American Medical, was afraid to call another one.

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Permalink Reply by Olaf R Saugen on October 27, 2010 at 8:27am

Many many thanks, Kelly! This is the kind of advice it is difficult to find anywhere else. I find myself living alone all of a sudden, and neighbors and friends strongly recommend I get such a device, but I barely know where to start. You have shown me what I may be up against, and I am grateful to you.

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Permalink Reply by Kelly WPA on October 27, 2010 at 9:04am

You are welcome Olaf! I hope that you find one that you like. I know that I really need to get one also. In July after I woke up from a bad low, I knew I needed help but was not able to move and when I finally made it to the phone, accidentally yanked that out of the wall.

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Permalink Reply by Katsz on October 27, 2010 at 8:46am

Couldn't you just preprogram a cell for easy 911? Also call your local 911 responders....let them know your phone number and that you are diabetic? My son has a program called SNAP here in DE and they have all his info...and it is hooked to our phone numbers.. any of ours ...cells, homeline.. son's cell.. if we call 911 they immediately know it is for a diabetic and can bring up his charts on the way to our house... They need programs like this for adults...

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Permalink Reply by Kelly WPA on October 27, 2010 at 9:10am

The 911 center will mark his number if something comes up - I did that in the summer after I had a problem and the cop that came was not going to come in. Luckily, my neighbors convinced him to come in because I was unconscious. I called after that to make sure they knew they had my permission to gain entry if something came up in the future.

One of my neighbors wears a cell phone around her neck. She fell a couple weeks ago and was not able to press the buttons on the cell phone to dial 911. Fortunately for her, her son was supposed to call her and when she did not answer, he called his brother that lived closer. She is now getting one of the medic alert buttons. I know when my BS is low, I have trouble seeing and would probably have a problem hitting the right buttons to call 911. The medic alert buttons are also waterproof so you can wear those in the shower. I like that aspect.

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Permalink Reply by Olaf R Saugen on October 27, 2010 at 10:18am

I am looking now at Lifeline Medical Alert, which has something called an Auto-Alert device -- a pushbutton thingamajig that you hang around your neck or your wrist. In addition to having a button you can press if you need attention it also, according to the salesperson I spoke with, has sensors that detect if you are falling, how fast and how far you are falling, and, if you don't push the button within a specified time after such a fall the device will place the call for support by itself. Lifeline's basic push-button device costs $ 40.75 a month; the Auto-Alert is $ 48 a month. There is also a
$ 12.95 "handling fee" that covers the cost of an installer (and you have to pay that even if you install it yourself). Anybody have any experience with Lifeline?

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Permalink Reply by Mark Oldham on July 23, 2011 at 2:19pm

We have my mom on Phillips Lifeline with the fall alert. One thing to note is that the coverage (how far you can be from the base station and push the button) is only about 5o-60 ft. If there are any walls in between, that distance drops very fast.

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