How would you control yourself before

Okay so i made this discussion to see how YOU people that had diabetes more than 15 years did to control their blood levels. And to realize how things have changed.?

Okay so here’s my part =)

All My Pens & Syringes Since I Became Diabetic In 1989

The Big Pink One Was The First One I Had... I Dont Remember Alot From That One Because I Was Soo Little. The Other Ones Were Later On The Mid-90's And I Have The Humalog & Lantus Ones But They Are Not In The Pic =) I Just Wanted To Share This, So People New To Diabetes Now All The New Advanced Things NOW WE HAVE A PUMP... Who Would Of Thought That?

I don’t have any pics, but I do remember one of my first meters was a glucoscan-3000 and having to blot my strips on little squares of paper. I think I had one before that one, but can’t remember it as I was so young. Getting the original one touch was a big deal as I didn’t have to blot any more.

As far back as I can remember, I was first using NPH and R for insulin and doing only two shots a day. Eventually that was 3, then 4. Humalog and Lantus were both great but expensive as well so for awhile when I had no insurance I went back to buying NPH and R over the counter.

I also had that metal pen in the pic(third one from the left) and was probably my favorite pen. I just liked the durability and feel of it compared to the disposable ones.

I started with the pork insulin (just lente) and disposable syringes for injections. Later, it was regular and ultra lente, then switching to the recombinant human insulins, adding lantus and humalog/novolog. Pump now for 6 years.

Testing was done by collecting a urine sample, mixing a couple drops of urine in a test tube with a couple of drops of water and a tablet that caused the mix to turn different colors to see how my BG had been over the few hours BEFORE the test.

Diet was based on a menu of exchanges that was incredibly dull, so was mostly ignored. It took a long time before I was told about carb counting and taking different quantities of insulin based on how much I was eating.

It took about 5 years before I started testing blood sugar – the glucoscan 3000, taking 2 minutes to get a result.

Times and technology have changed so much.

Hmmm… circa 1970… disposable needle, but I think they may have had a 20-gauge needle (that’s alot bigger than they are now), beef/pork insulin (U-40), testing urine with a test tube and pill you dropped in, same thing for ketones… Your urine sugars read out as Negative, 1+, 2+, 3+, 4+. what that translated to, I have no idea.

Urine test strips for glucose and ketones showed up in the late '70s I think.

Think I had my first glucometer from Bayer around 1979 or 1980, about the size of a brick and weighed about that much too…

Human insulin and big-hair bands entered the mix in the early '80s. Got off the NPH started Ultralente about this time also

Switched over to Lantus/Humalog and stayed on that for a long time until I started pumping last fall

oh woow…u could have animal insulin??

haha i liked it too =)
well right now i love the one from the humalog…
it is not disposable its the nova something ill look for the name later =)

yeah i love how us diabetics can actually go along with technology too.
and woow i thought i had it hard controlling myself with that big pink thing
but omg! i just want to congratulate you all the hard work you’ve done
to keep your diabetes under control

big-hair bands? what is that!? and ooh wow i just can imagine having the Bayer brick in my purse =)

what is that? /sigh, old I am

you’re not making me feel any better, you know…

/wink

I now feel officially old, cheers ADRIANA, I loved the 80’s. Yeah I had the beef/pork insulin, used to get teased about it, the glucometer was the size of a video, hold on you don’t know what a video is either. I did a urine test which came out black, no I do not drink Guinness.

Ohh…im sorry =(
its just that im super curious
& i always ask question =(
i feel bad now =(

lol… Poison was a big-hair band… Quiet Riot… careful or this thread will get hijacked

Scott is neolithic, forgive him, we do love him loads.

Ohh okay okay
yeah i know who Poison is =)
Bret Michaels band =)
you should of told me that first!

& Yes i know what a video is! >.<<br /> =)

we actually had another name for those kind of bands :wink: I never did the urine testing though my brother used to have to do that. When I was dx,d they’d advanced to strips where you compared your color to the container, which might be why mfgs allow such a high range of error on the meters today. I mixed insulin in the vial in the morning NPH and R and took one shot that was supposed to get me through the entire day. I’m pretty sure I’m lucky I lived through that nonesense. MDI came along years later which was much better. Now the pump and for me this is the ultimate control!

That is MR. Neolithic to you, young lady!

Don’t drink Guinness? why not? it’s a complete meal in a glass!

Scott drank so much Guiness he doesn’t remember videos either. It’s rotten black stuff in a glass, and I can hardly lift a pint

But, what the late 70s and early 80s were known for was BIG HAIR.