Does anyone have suggestions on what to do with your supplies (tabs, glucagon, strips, etc) when you're out, at say a bar, a dance club, etc where it isn't very feasible to hold onto it? I carry my supplies in small backback usually - do you ask the bartender to keep it behind the bar for you? I would worry about just leaving it on a bench or a chair without keeping eyes on it. Wondering what others do in these situations!
I was going to say put them in your purse but you are a guy! How much can you fit in your pockets? Other than insulin which should not get over heated or too cold, you can leave stuff in your car.
If there's a restaurant attached to the bar, lounge-style, see if you can leave it at the front of house. Otherwise, I'd ask the bartender or bouncer to watch it. If you're wearing a winter coat, it's pretty safe to dump the supplies with your coat in a safe place where nobody will confuse it with their own.
I have this for syringes:
Sugar Bombs:
for hypos.
Those, my meter, wallet, phone and car keys can all go in my pockets. I found some Tony Hawk jeans that are a bit dressier than normal jeans, colors, etc. have bigger pockets. As do Kuhl pants (snowboarding inspired, I gather from theri website...) that are very handy, some have some seam pockets and you could fit a sandwich in there...
and i thought it was annoying trying to stuff everything into a cute little clutch or evening bag. dont know what to tell you. fanny pack? thats not so hot on a night out...
i wouldnt ever ask the people at the bar to hold onto my stuff, leaving it on a chair or something, no.
i usually have a fanny pack with me, where i carry my phone, wallet, meter and glucose tabs with me. fits all in there. i put the tabs either in a small box, or i carry tabs in a bar. here we can get sidroga or dextro energy ones:
i do not carry glucagon with me, since i do not have anyone instructed to inject glucagon with me anyway, so that stays at home. i could even fit a pen into my fanny pack, but usually i only take a syringe with me, if my pump fails. if i go out i can get home within an hour at least, so for big emergencies i go home. but i could get by a night on injections only.
i am usually that kind of person who doesn't like to cause a lot of attention around my diabetes, so i would definitely not make a bartender keep my stuff, lol.
all my friends know i am diabetic, but i dont throw it at strangers who do not need to know.
for day trips, i have a cute little thingy, where pretty much everything i need fits in. it is white on the outside and i would even call it somewhat "stylish" ;)
You might consider carrying only the portions you need for the evening. Wrap 4 strips securely in a small plain white paper? Take only enough glucose tabs for a double dose for a hypo. And so on. You don't need, presumably, the whole amount of all your items for a few hours. Get a mini glucose meter for such occasions if you don't have one. I don't know what else you carry but if you minimize, it should all fit in one pocket, or half it for two pockets if you want a slimmer profile!
For women, and for men(?), they make flat pockets for cash to keep under clothing. Maybe a small such container stashed under your shirt?
I would not trust my diabetes supplies with anyone else, especially strangers.
Wear a jacket. If its too hot wear a vest. Usually jackets and vests have inner pockets so you get more pockets to carry stuff in.
I have a fanny pack with meter, test strips, lancet, novolog pen, and a film can for sharps in the main compartment. I carry glucose tablets in the inner compartment, leaving one outer compartment for lancets and one for needles. I always carry at least 3 needles. I never take the fanny pack off except in my office, lab, or home.
A pancreas goes with you automatically, but you need to consciously add your diacrap.
Mary had a little lamb
She ate it with mint sauce
Everywhere that Mary went
The lamb went too, of course
I have a man bag, goes across the shoulder and inside is everything I need in case of emergency, I got mine from Tesco.
However I would not leave mine with anyone, Its always on me wherever I go.
The is my man bag and I love it. Here is a bit a humorous review of the man bag by a now 57 year old satisfied customer.
http://www.tudiabetes.org/profiles/blogs/is-that-a-56-year-old-man-from-indiana-carrying-a-purse
I keep glucose tabs, nutrition gel (for a long-acting BG rise if needed), BG meter, strips, infusion set, insulin pens (in a frio cool case), pen needles, watch batteries (for meter).
I used to have a backpack, but I got a little case (www.blackhawk.com) that straps to my belt. It keeps it out of the way, but on me at all times. I did this because with the bag I would take it off and put it at risk of lose. I keep a note inside which states "This is my Diabetic bag. Call this number right away." which has come in handy before!
733-bag2.jpg (1.36 MB) 734-bag1.jpg (1.25 MB)
Straps onto my belt, I take it everywhere I go, don't really care what people think. Although I have got some strange looks when I'm in a packed area and it starts getting into contact with Women's rears. -.-
As a girl, I carry a small over the shoulder bag which means that I do not have to carry anything in my hands. While in some areas of London, these bags can be popular with blokes, I can easily see why you choose not to carry a ‘man bag’ so I’ll advise you as to what my brother does. He is an eighteen year old diabetic which means that, as, like me, he is a Londoner meaning that he can legally drink at a pub at eighteen, he likes going out too. He cuts down on things like the case that holds the blood testing kit and just carries around the pricker, the test strips and the meter. He then carries around glucose tabs. These he can spread between both his trouser pockets. My recommendation is to wear trousers with large pockets. It works very well for him.
Well, this may or may not be helpful and I'm sure you've already thought of it, but I tend to just wear cargo shorts/pants most of the time. I'm not personally diabetic, but my 9 year old son is and when we go places where carrying supplies around is necessary but inconvenient, I just load up the pockets. One pocket usually has his kit (meter, strips, insulin, pick), one pocket might have an extra inset, and one pocket usually has glucose tabs. We fortunately have not had to start carrying around glucagon and syringes everywhere (pump user), but that's mostly because I check him every 45 minutes MAX when we're at a place like that.
Hope that might help. Sorry if it doesn't.