Thanks to diabetes, I carry around a lot of stuff. All of it is important to have with me, but I never know exactly when I’m going to need all of it. On more than one occasion, I’ve had to leave work for something important that I was missing, so now I just bring it all with me.
My big bag of diabetes stuff (click for larger)
Stuff in the bag (click for larger)
So what’s in it?
- Infusion sets and reservoirs (usually at least two of each)
- Inserter
- Syringes (just in case I need to give myself a little insulin the old fashion way)
- Alcohol swabs
- A spare insulin pump (because a couple have broken, I carry this out of warranty pump)
- AAA battery for the pump
- A quarter (to open the pump to change the battery)
- Glucagon (not that I’ll be able to give it to myself . . .)
- Timolol malleate eyedrops (for my other, other chronic illness)
- Moisturizing eyedrops (because sometimes my eyes get dry)
- Prescriptions (This really helps when traveling)
The kit I take with me every time I leave the house (click for larger)
This little kit has everything I need 90% of the time: my Freestyle glucose meter, test strips, BD lancing device, a couple fresh lancets, insulin, a syringe, a tube of glucose tablets, and my prescription eyedrops.
I’ve recently started carrying around a sheet of paper with carbohydrate values for things that I eat when we eat away from home. I don’t know why it took me so long to figure out that I could do this, but it’s quite helpful. It’s too bad that some restaurants have made it so damn hard to find this information.
Exercise update: Over the previous three days of exercise, my blood glucose levels have been much better: The “after” readings have been much closer to the “before” values, which have been much better as well. More details to follow when I’m convinced it’s not a series of flukes.
