# MedicAlert Bracelets: No Pre-Engraved Alzheimer's **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 2, 2008, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicalert-bracelets-no-pre-engraved-alzheimers/475296 "2008-12-02T04:03:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicalert-bracelets-no-pre-engraved-alzheimers/475296/1 "2008-12-02T04:03:12Z")
Gettin’ my SERIOUS face on for a minute… Today I went to 7 pharmacies and 2 medical supply stores looking for an engraved MedicAlert “Alzheimer Disease” bracelet, so that I can have something to identify me and my meds in case something happens to me and I cannot speak for myself. There aren’t any. (Not here in the Dallas, Georgia area, anyway). Oh, they do have engraved bracelets for diabetics, hemophiliacs, asthmatics and contact lens wearers to name a few, but for those of us with AD, the closest I was able to come was a bracelet engraved with the word “Memory”. To me, all THAT indicates is I may have a fixation on Andrew Lloyd Webber plays about felines, and that I may burst into song at any time. And yes, one can _order_ them, but that’s not my point. My point is that they should be masde availabl as a purchase item already engraved. Sorry but with stats such as these (from the Alzheimer’s Association), I think there should be bracelets avalable for us as well: • As many as 5.2 million people in the United States are living with Alzheimer’s. • 10 million baby boomers will develop Alzheimer’s in their lifetime. • Every 71 seconds, someone develops Alzheimer’s. • Alzheimer’s is the sixth-leading cause of death. • The direct and indirect costs of Alzheimer’s and other dementias to Medicare, Medicaid and businesses amount to more than $148 billion each year. Does anyone know who controls pre-engraved bracelets, so that we can get something done about this? I am not talking about MedicAlert (the manufacturer), but an agency that can demand these bracelets be made available \*already \*engraved. Thanks Bill ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicalert-bracelets-no-pre-engraved-alzheimers/475296/2 "2008-12-02T04:11:33Z")
The thing which controls pre-engraved bracelet availability is called “the marketplace.” Medic Alert makes, and Walgreens stocks, the ones they think will sell. It appears that the one you want is not one they think will sell well. Morelikely they already tried selling them, and they didn’t sell well enough to continue making / stocking. My Mom had a varienty of conditions and so we had one made with all the relevant info and a contact phone number. Substantially the same cost as a pre-made one and much more useful for her conditions. The nice folks at Walgreens have the form to fill out, you pay them and it arrives in the mail in a few days. If I had any need of one myself, I’d much rather have one which includes everything I need, even if that’s just “Alzheimer’s” & a phone number for my caretaker. I’m betting that the market for pre-made ones is shrinking, not growing, and within a few years the pre-made ones won’t be available much at all. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicalert-bracelets-no-pre-engraved-alzheimers/475296/3 "2008-12-02T05:29:16Z")
Someone here once mentioned getting their MedicAlert bracelet tattooed on. That way, you’ll never lose it. It might be a bit of a grim reminder of your condition, but it seemed like a good idea. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicalert-bracelets-no-pre-engraved-alzheimers/475296/4 "2008-12-02T09:50:26Z")
> [@Darryl\_Lict](#): > > Someone here once mentioned getting their MedicAlert bracelet tattooed on. That way, you’ll never lose it. It might be a bit of a grim reminder of your condition, but it seemed like a good idea. 🙂 Mixed emotions about that idea. On the one hand, if you were in denial, that would sure ram the point home, wouldn’t it? On the other, if there were someday to be a cure for AD, you’d play hell gettin’ that thing off, wouldn’t you? Hoping for the latter! Hell, I’d get a skin transplant from my own ass, if I had to!!! 😃 Thsnks Q ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicalert-bracelets-no-pre-engraved-alzheimers/475296/5 "2008-12-02T15:19:12Z")
I would think it’s because someone with advanced Alzheimer’s is already probably under supervision. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicalert-bracelets-no-pre-engraved-alzheimers/475296/6 "2008-12-02T15:21:44Z")
Having a couple of chronic conditions that one day will doubtless earn me a medicalert bracelet of my own, and with all due respect to the OP and the 5.2 million, I confess, I’m fighting really hard not to make “now what did I come here to buy?” joke. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicalert-bracelets-no-pre-engraved-alzheimers/475296/7 "2008-12-02T17:19:52Z")
My mom has alzheimers, we have gotten her a bracelet, but she isnt too bad right now … but mrAru, Aru’sBro and I are planning on getting that commercially available gps lowjack unit for her from the TV commercials , and stashing it in her purse fairly soon … My mom is of the generation that a woman doesnt get too far from her purse, as in it goes upstairs at night into her bedroom, and she carries it wherever she goes during the day if she leaves the house … So, working on the same principal that the German retiremnt home did [put up a fake bus stop to get the wanderers to stop and sit and wait for a bus] we will tag her in a way that is nonintrusive=) ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicalert-bracelets-no-pre-engraved-alzheimers/475296/8 "2008-12-02T17:29:30Z")
I’m curious why you find the “memory” one inadequate. I just bought one from a hospital gift shop for a friend (as a joke, but that’s how I learned that your comment is indeed, accurate, at least in that hospital’s supply of bracelets). I think most observers would consider such a bracelet a gentle way of saying the wearer is potentially confused. Technically, Alzheimer disease is a specific diagnosis, not even necessarily one made formally. The “memory” term is a little broader and perhaps for some–most?–less insensitive. I wonder if some patients prefer a less pejorative term for their memory problems, and tend to be less resistent to wearing a bracelet that doesn’t label their issue too obtrusively. I was going to post more but I forgot the rest. ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicalert-bracelets-no-pre-engraved-alzheimers/475296/9 "2008-12-02T19:59:32Z")
> [@SmackFu](#): > > I would think it’s because someone with advanced Alzheimer’s is already probably under supervision. And if they’re not, I think it would be fairly obvious to any medical personnel what the deal is. If the cops find an old man dressed in a bathrobe wandering out into traffic and he’s unable to clearly communicate, it’s not a stretch to guess that he has some age-related memory problem. Also, **Quasimodem** , did you even Google this? MedicAlert has an entire Alzheimer’s [program](http://www.medicalert.org/SafeReturn/default.aspx) set up. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicalert-bracelets-no-pre-engraved-alzheimers/475296/10 "2008-12-02T20:21:40Z")
With all due respect, I think y’all are missing the point, which is I need a bracelet by Thursday, and I cannot get one that quickly. And yes, I am aware of Medic Alerts many programs. Since my diagnosis, I have done very intensive reading. Yes, it’s my fault for thinking they might be available pre-engraved, but that does not change the fact that they aren’t. Also, please remember that my AD is “Early Onset”, but I do have memory lapses, so while I **may** be okay, there’s a chance I might not be, and it’s the opinion of my friends , family and the [alz.org](http://alz.org) message board that I should have one. I don’t think any of us realized one would be this difficult to obtain. As for the “MEMORY” issue, okay I’ll admit it’s a gentle reminder that the wearer may have some kind of dementia, but I have early onset ALZHEIMER’S and I don’t care to sugar-coat that. Quasi ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicalert-bracelets-no-pre-engraved-alzheimers/475296/11 "2008-12-02T20:27:01Z")
> [@Quasimodem](#): > > With all due respect, I think y’all are missing the point, which is I need a bracelet by Thursday, and I cannot get one that quickly. Are there blank bracelets available? I haven’t been to one lately, but there used to be a Things Remembered in every mall I went to, and they should be able to engrave something while you wait if you explain the situation. [Store locator](http://www.thingsremembered.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreByStateView?storeId=10001&catalogId=9951&langId=&orderId=&errorViewName=StoreLocatorErrorView) or check in your Yellow Pages under “Engraving” ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicalert-bracelets-no-pre-engraved-alzheimers/475296/12 "2008-12-02T20:30:07Z")
I am having a bracelet overnighted to me. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicalert-bracelets-no-pre-engraved-alzheimers/475296/13 "2008-12-02T20:40:04Z")
I swear, some of y’all make it a science to pounce on people for asking for help or stating a need. I freely admit I am not as “quick on my feet” as I once was, and never have been trhe brightest bulb in the package. Hell, that’s what this is **about** , after all. AD is DEMENTIA, okay? Stuff like this: _Also, Quasimodem, did you_\* even \*_Google this? MedicAlert has an entire Alzheimer’s program set up_ is total bullshit. I’m doing the best I can, Goddamit. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicalert-bracelets-no-pre-engraved-alzheimers/475296/14 "2008-12-02T20:55:00Z")
The OP doesn’t say anything about needing a bracelet by Thursday, or by any specific day. I agree that bracelets with “Alzheimer’s” should be as readily available as those for persons with diabetes or people who refuse blood transfusions. I thought the “Things Remembered” idea was a good one. I’m glad your bracelet is on its way. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicalert-bracelets-no-pre-engraved-alzheimers/475296/15 "2008-12-02T21:13:27Z")
Sorry, I think we were trying to explain why it wasn’t available, not trying to come up with a solution for your immediate needs. Like none of the stats you cited in the original post seem to be a direct reason why it should be available easily, except “lots of people have it”. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicalert-bracelets-no-pre-engraved-alzheimers/475296/16 "2008-12-02T21:44:40Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > I thought the “Things Remembered” idea was a good one. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicalert-bracelets-no-pre-engraved-alzheimers/475296/17 "2008-12-02T21:46:23Z")
My thanks as well, **KTK** 🙂 Q ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicalert-bracelets-no-pre-engraved-alzheimers/475296/18 "2008-12-02T21:47:22Z")
Happy to help, **Quasi**. It’s rare I get to smartass in a thread and then actually contribute something to it, too. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicalert-bracelets-no-pre-engraved-alzheimers/475296/19 "2008-12-02T22:00:09Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Having a couple of chronic conditions that one day will doubtless earn me a medicalert bracelet of my own, and with all due respect to the OP and the 5.2 million, I confess, I’m fighting really hard not to make “now what did I come here to buy?” joke. As is evidenced on my blog, I too am trying to see this in a humorous light, **KTK**. It’s tough sometimes.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicalert-bracelets-no-pre-engraved-alzheimers/475296/20 "2008-12-02T23:31:28Z")
Glad not to have offended. I’ve always considered you a class act. If I remember correctly. 😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicalert-bracelets-no-pre-engraved-alzheimers/475296.md?page=2)