I am a recently diagnosed T1 Diabetic. I was wondering what other people take with them when they leave the house to go out and about. I bring my BG meter w/ strips and lancets. My Novolog pen with a pen needle. Then in my vehicle I have some Glucose tablets, extra lancets, and extra pen needles. I ask because I have a read a bunch on here about people carrying around bags and all sorts of stuff to carry there supplies in. I have found I can fit this stuff in my jeans pockets most of the time. Am I missing stuff I should carry around?
Maybe some of these posts you been reading are about people who are on pumps. Usually when you pump its a good idea, in addition to all the things you carry along, is to bring some extra infusion sets and reservoirs with you as well. When you are on a pump the only insulin we use is rapid acting. It works as both our basal and bolus, if something goes wrong, and we are not getting any insulin, we can go into DKA really fast.
I'm on a pump and used to carry around an entire little kit of stuff (extra cartridge, infusion set, insulin, ketone strips and meter, backup glucose gel, etc.), but I've been using a smaller purse recently so now have much less. When I carried cartridges and extra sets and such I was often somewhere (like on public transit or at work teaching) where I couldn't use them, anyway. Now I just bring an insulin pen (with insulin inside), alcohol swabs, some pen needles, and batteries, as well as my glucose meter (and strips and lancet) and Skittles as fast-acting glucose. If I'm going out overnight or farther away from home (like another city) I would bring more, but an insulin pen is enough to tide me over for a few hours or half a day if I have a pump problem.
I have a pump and carry a meter and 1 or 2 little bags of jelly beans in my pockets.
I had some issues w/ pullouts when I drove to go run w/ a group last summer and tossed some extra pump stuff into my glove compartment that's probably still there?
Keep a spare battery for your meter. I carry a small black case which came with my meter. Be sure to put your name address and phone number on it. Get a Medic Alert card and bracelet. and when on vacation take triple of everything. If you travel with your significant other or friends split the supplies up and keep in two locations. Hope this helps. Happy New Year! Always tell your friends about being diabetic. They could save your life. No shame in being diabetic my friend.
I shoot old school way, so I have a vial of insulin and syringes, a little bio hazard box for used syringes. I carry glucose tablets in my purse. I have gone low inside of a store way more than I like to say, so if my glucose tablets had been in the car I would have been in trouble. I also carry my glucagon kits as well, but I have a pretty big purse. I also keep cracker and peanut butter snacks again in my purse.
I bring my meter that communicates with my pump. In its case, I have extra lancets, strips, and a vial of test solution. I also have a little black case that contains an extra infusion set, insulin reservoir , alcohol swabs, insulin, syringes, a battery, glucose tabs and a container each for used strips and oral meds. I also carry glucose tabs in my car and usually have them in my pocket. The pump has made lows far less frequent, but i have has them and they have been difficult to fight off.
Meter, with lancets, strips and an extra battery--all in a smal case.
Skittles in a small galdware
Medic alert necklace (it points to a wallet card with lots of information, including a disc which contains my medical records.)
Those all go with me everywhere in a big purse!
I keep juice boxes in my car and office
I have an emergency kit in my office and I have asked that it go with me, if the paramedics ever take me away. (Also, I live outside of DC, so if we ever need to flee, I can survive a couple of weeks.)
I am the queen of large purses. I've always said that I feel bad for guys with diabetes because they can't really carry around a purse. Anyway, I live in the DC area and going to work each day via Metro can be unpredictable at best (when we had our little earthquake this past summer, I wasn't even able to make it home and had to crash at a coworker's house). So, I tend to leave the house each day with a little more than I probably need, but enough to keep me alive for at least a couple of weeks should I get stuck somewhere. So, here's what I generally leave the house with on the days I go to work:
-Three infusion sets (and I also have spares at my office and in my car)
-1 vial of Humalog and a humalog pen
-All the stuff I need for site changes (skin tac, alcohol prep, IV3000, etc)
-Several containers of test strips
-Meter
-A few extra lancets (I generally use about 4 a year)
-Snacks, juice, glucotabs, fruit bars....I try to keep a variety of things with me because I can be picky when I'm low sometimes.
-Glucagon kit
-Spare batteries for both my pump and my meter (AAA)
-A few syringes (in case I need to draw off the insulin from my pump)
Now, if I'm just running around my neighborhood, I will sometimes just carry a small purse/bag with just my mini meter, lancing device, test strips, and some fast-acting carbs. Since I use a pump, my insulin is always "on" me. I keep extra stuff in my car. But on the days I travel downtown via Metro, I carry enough supplies to keep a small army of diabetics alive.
Well since I've had a pump I only bring bg meter, strips, lancing device, and glucose tabs on my person, in a nice little pocket sized canvas sunglass case, one of the beauties of the pump i believe. I also keep a spare EVERYTHING in my car glove box (short of insulin and a spare pump) that is, new infusion sets, glucose meter, glucagon kit, whole jar of glucose tabs, strips, lancets, lancing devices, batteries, ketostix, pen needles (and pens if I'm going to be sleeping somewhere) everything diabetes related imaginable. Good luck!
You actually use test solution?
I think it depends on how long you are going out and how far you are going from home. One thing that I have with me always is lifesavers (glucose) they are always in my pocket and have been a life saver many a time. I would recomend that you begin to always cary them.
If you are going around the corner to get juice for 5 minutes: sugar and maybe glucometer.
2 hour trip: sugar, glucometer, insulin (if MDI). Maybe basal insulin and back up supplies
Most of the day trip: sugar, glucometer (check number of strips), each type of insulin, maybe back up supplies
overnight: everything and the kitchen sink.
If you are spending a lot of time somewhere (work, girlfriends, etc) try to get a space where you can keep supplies to make your life easier. Make sure people realize your sugar is medication and they cannot touch it.
No, it is just in there from the factory.
Depends for how long I'm going to be out, and how far I'm going. I'm on the pump which makes it easier. For a couple hours near home I just take my meter remote (with strips of course) and I always have glucose tablets in my purse. That's it. No lancets, cause I have the AcuChek which is a drum of six and I only change them once in a blue moon.
Actually now that I think of it, that's all I take unless I was going away overnight then I would take extra insulin, a back-up pen or syringe and an extra infusion set. I no longer work fulltime but if I did I would probably find a place to keep an extra infusion set and insulin in the company fridge.
Wow, I just read the other supplies and compared to everyone else I'm definitely a minimalist. I should add though that I live in a town small enough to get anywhere in 10 minutes! Oh, and the other posts reminded me I have an extra pump battery and extra meter battery in my meter case.
I have a little case with my insulin pen, needles, meter, test strips, and a couple of syringes in case the pen jams. I also carry skittles and glucose tabs.
I've seen a few people here mention they carry a glucagon kit with their daily stuff. I'm curious what the reason is? I would bring one if I was going camping or somewhere and had people nearby who knew how to use it. But on a day to day basis I'm not usually around people who know how to use it, and if I was low enough that I couldn't drink juice I'd rather they just call 911 than try to fiddle with mixing up glucagon.
I carry an epi-pen as I have food allergies but that is simple enough that I could use it even if I was near passing out, and anyone else could use it easily with very minimal training. If they made a glucagon pen that was similar in its ease of use then it would make more sense to carry it around on a daily basis, but the way the kits are now I just don't see them being much use when travelling about a city.
I have extra pump supplies in my car (somewhere) including insets, reservoirs and extra batteries for pump/meter. There's an extra one touch mini kit in there somewhere too with strips, poker, lancets. A box of juice in the glove box, and skittles in every nook, cranny and purse. I almost always go low when shopping... weird. If I'm not in the car it's usually just my Ping meter/remote, strips, dexcom and skittles. Longer trips require more 'stuff'. Wish they made a car charger for the dexcom!
My reason for having a gluagon kit with me at all times is b/c I ALWAYS maKE SURE THAT ALL AROUND ME KNOW HOW TO USE IT IF NEEDED. i TEND TO NOT FEEL MYSELF GOING LOW AND PPL AROUND ME CATCH IT ALL THE TIME. mOST OF THE TIME i WILL PASS OUT AND START SEIZING. (WHOOPS EXCUSE THE CAPS THERE HIT THE WRONG KEY SORRY) I have found in my life that if ppl call 911 sometimes u don't need it when u can take care of it urself and u don't have those waaaaay high bs's that the hospital causes from giving u too much glucose.
When I was on shots, I would carry everything I needed in a small bag. I put in there the black case with my meter, test strips, lancets, and lancing device. Then I would also carry a glucagon, a small tube of cake gel, 3 or 4 pen needles at a time, my insulin pen, something small like an empty pill bottle to carry sharps, an extra bottle of test strips (started doing that after an unfortunate incident when I ran out) and some alcohol swabs or a small bottle of hand sanitizer. It was kind of alot to carry but I was able to fit it all into a small little bag. I never worried about carrying spare batteries for my meter because I usually had access to a meter wherever I was going. I kept spares at friends houses and at school.
I keep sweet tarts in my car, lifesavers at work and usually a larabar or something in my purse. I also carry my meter everywhere I go. An extra pump set is at work if I need it but I don't typically carry that around with me if I am staying local. What I learned from being on a pump is bring enough infusion sets with you for the trip plus 1 extra. Last week when I was traveling and out of town for 5 days, I should have only needed 2 sets, but I had to change one out early and the second one I implanted I ripped out immediately :( I will just tell you I was really nervous with my last set because we were snowboarding but all was well! You can never be too prepared!