I was told that all diabetic should have an emergency disaster plan. I should have a toolbox with all diabetic supplies that would hold me over for at least 3 days or more. This would sustain me until help arrives. Major tornado or earthquake or other major events and with limited communication and transportation, you get the picture would put me in a world of hurt without my insulin and pump supplies. The Red Cross and or the Military would be there with food and water but not the type of medical help I need.
My wife works at a large hospital on the cardiac floor. Part of her job is to inform all outgoing patients with preparedness information. Some patient leave with medical equipment and would be in a world of hurt without them.
Does anyone have ideas or suggestions on toolbox size and what to pack?
I don't have one since I live in Illinois and tornadoes are, at most, a couple of miles wide and there are Walgreens all over the place if we get clobbered. My pump is my toolbox. I also have been through a bunch of "near miss" tornado situation and, while I'm not a professional, I've seen them develop on radar so I feel like I'd know if we were going to get hit. We have a deep basement w/ 10' ceilings and I'd take the 'log and some goodies down there with me. I guess I'm not too far from the New Madrid fault line and have felt a couple of minor quakes here. Still, I don't get enough extra supplies from BCBS to "stock" any sort of backup plan.
I carry a day-pack with me wherever I go. Inside the backpack I keep a bag about 6 inches by 9 inches with a zippered top. (This bag was an accessory pouch that I received from Medtronic a few pumps back.)
I consider this my "go" kit. My go kit includes at least one bottle of insulin, 2-3 insulin pump set changes, 100-150 test strips, and extra pump batteries. I also carry a couple of granola type snacks bars and a 50 tab bottle of Dex4s. I recently added a glucagon kit and a blood ketone test kit and strips.
Since I always have this with me I can treat the most common diabetic needs that may arise. I figure that I could meet all my usual diabetic requirements for about a week before I needed to replenish.
This is a good topic. As I write this, I realize that I do not have any of my other Rx's in my go pack. Those medications, however, could be omitted for a few days without the drastic consequences that missing insulin would mean.
I keep ice and cold packs in the freezer for power outages which have served me well in our local disaster trouble. I don't carry a toolkit with me everywhere everyday, I would pack a kit with more than three days of 'stuff' if I were to go to far to get home though.
If your insulin needs to be refrigerated you might want to certainly look into a FRIO wallet. You "charge it" with water and it will stay cool for up to 3 days under 100 degree weather. I guess it depends on whether you are on MDI or pump therapy...obviously syringes and vials would take up less room than infusion sets, etc. Just get a tackle box :) There are lots of variety--especially this time of year--at Academy. It might be that the first box that you get might not entirely meet your needs, but you can adjust from there. Some of the SNAPWARE boxes are really good for diabetic supplies.
You could rotate your supplies out of the box every month...like if you needed to put a box of test strips in there, each month use the ones you have stored in the box and replace them with the newest prescription. I'd certainly have some non-perisable snacks or juice boxes in there. If you look up D-Mom blog you'll see some of the things that she packs in her daughters emergency box.
Once or twice in the coming days write down everything you do for your diabetes management...tested 6 times on Monday, tested 8 times on tuesday due to a high/low (had to treat with 1 carb serving)...yada yada. You can then review the list and you'll see the things that you (literally) can't live without.
Duh, just re-read the post. You're a pumper... sorry for my blunder above. I'd have enough supplies to get you through two site changes and an emergency one in case one of those fails. Definitely ALCOHOL!! If you're without running water you'll be up the creek swimming in bacteria!
After 9/11, I figured I should probably have such a kit. But I don't. When I travel far (meaning 45 minutes or more) from home, I generally take a Ziploc bag with an extra infusion set, vial of insulin, pump battery, alcohol swab, and tube of test strips. (I've been thinking of switching to something more durable). This is the same place I go every time I change my set, then I replenish it.
You can't just have a "go bag" sitting somewhere, ignored 'til you need it. Insulin expires. Batteries die. Alcohol swabs dry out. You've got to have a supply that you actively use and rotate through.
We store my son’s supplies in a tackle box on my kitchen counter. There are all these little compartments meant to hold lures, but his are full of lancets, bottles of test strips, his current insulin vial, a few pen needles, alcohol swabs, site change supplies, rolls of glucose tabs, batteries for his pump/meter that are off limits for other purposes, etc. Since he’s on a pump, we keep the syringe/pen needles, etc. - stuff we don’t use much on the lower level, stuff he uses daily is on the top level. The big open compartment on the bottom has his glucagon kits, Calorie King book, etc. We refill it when things get low - the big boxes of supplies stay on a shelf in the laundry room out of sight. There are enough supplies in the tackle box to last at least a week or two.
It works really well for us, and it would be easy to grab in an emergency. We have several vials of insulin in a bin in the fridge. I’d grab the tool box, a tiny cooler, and the insulin from the fridge and go!
The first couple of times we did car trips after my son’s diagnosis, the tackle box went with us. We’ve pared down a little for travel since those first trips fortunately.
