So Much to Carry

Having diabetes inadvertently means carrying TONS of extra stuff around all the time or suffer some rather unpleasant consequences.

For my first decade or so of being a diabetic, the only thing I made sure to have with me all the time was my glucose monitor. Some luxury of trusting the school nurse, my parents, and friends meant that I was never really worried about carrying something to treat lows. And by the time I was in high school, I had a pump, which meant no lugging around insulin or taking shots. I made a point to leave some extra pump gear and some needles at the nurses office but never ever used ANY of it. Somehow, I was lucky enough to not see a clogged set or malfunctioning infusion site for the first 12 or so years as a diabetic. AND then things changed.

I started experimenting with different sites more. Travelling on the fly more. Paying more attention to my good friend, Diabetes. Having more bad experiences without extra supplies. Whatever the reason, I realized how important it was to carry more than just a glucose monitor with me.

So now, I try to carry:

• Glucose meter
• Lancing device
• Test Strips
• Continuous Glucose Monitor Reciever (Eggy!)
• 2 pump reservoirs
• 2 infusion sets
• An Extra Bottle of Strips
• 1 AAA battery
• Current Vial of Insulin (and an extra if it's looking low)
• A bajillion alcohol swabs (that I don't realllly use except for site changes [shhh!])
• A tube of glucose tabs (or a bottle if it's a bad day/big bag)
• Glucagon (usually there's one case in my backpack but I can't say it wanders out to dinner with me all the time...)

When I was a kid and we went on long vacations, I remember the green army pack looking thing that my mom put all my supplies in. It was pretty sturdy and seemed like you stuff enough syringes and other supplies to last me 2 months. But I hated that thing. It exemplified the idea that diabetes was ugly and just a burden to carry around.

Now that I'm older, I have purchasing power. I COULD buy whatever I wanted to hold this in. Coach. Nine West. Dolce & Gabana. (Alright, I'm kidding. If you know me, you know I'm no where near that trendy). In reality, I'm an eternal college student. I'm also really picky when it comes to bags and shoes. I like simple. Sleek. Elegant. The green army pack was never going to make it. But sometimes, my engineering side kicks in. So instead of buying a bag, I just macguyvered things around the house.

My favorite thing to carry supplies in is a tupperware container. Nothing fancy. Or blue. I ordered takeout sushi one night and the plastic container in was just the right size to fit all I needed. Plus, it's super easy to swap from my backpack to my purse to my overnight bag/carry on without losing any essential pieces. And the vain side of me loves that it's black instead of that ugly white plastic. If you were feeling crafty (or sticker-y), you could easily paint or wrap that clear cover to look cooler.

Large tupperware container filled with pump supplies!

On the inside of the large container

I was talking via Twitter to Mr. Mike Lawson (who's really cool if you didn't know) and he was wondering about something more manly and sleek to carry d-supplies around in. Since he's on multiple daily injections (MDI), there's a little less gear to tote around in some ways. I was thinking of other things to stick supplies in just in case tupperware isn't your thing.

The best thing I found around my apartment was my hard shell sunglasses case. I can't really remember where I got it from but it's pretty easy to stuff in the essentials (testing supplies, insulin, and syringes). There's tons of hard shell cases online and in stores and most are less than $30.

Sunglass Case, Small Takeout Container, Large Takeout Container

Small Container with MDI Supplies

Sunglass Case with MDI Supplies

Playing around with different things, I think the size of the case is most important and the limiting factor is really the size of your meter. Most syringes and vials of insulin are the same size. But really if your meter is big, your case needs to be large enough to hold it. A OneTouch Mini is pretty tiny but the only meter I had at the moment to test with. Also, I recommend any makeshift case be water proof/resistant, sturdy, and easy to clean. If making/modifying carrying cases isn't your thing, there are tons of cute or manly carrying cases out there to buy nowadays. Some even come with built in slots to hold syringes and vials! We'll see how long it takes me to graduate from tupperware...

Vacations, Bad Luck, & Emergency Baking

It's weeks like these that make me feel like Diabetes isn't going to kill me. Stress on the other hand...

I apologize for the impromptu hiatus in blog posts. I'm a little disappointed for not making a goal I set to post regularly. Honestly, I'm burnt out on responsibilities at the moment. I needed to take a real break from everything for a little while, which was amazing while that feeling lasted (and unfortunately it was extremely short lived).

So what have I been doing? I took the week after Christmas to sleep out the exhaustion from my first semester and the crazy holiday/semester-end celebrations. There was quite a bit of driving around. I think I spent 14 hrs in a car over a 48 hr span of time. Every day that week began with many hours of sleep and a few enjoyable hours on the couch watching bad television (because really, it's the only kind).

Unluckily, my laptop crashed the day after I returned to New Jersey after only functioning for about 45 minutes. It was a serious blue screen of death followed by a "I won't boot regardless of how nicely you ask me" tantrum. Two system restores, many phone calls to HP tech repair, and 48 hours later my laptop was mildly functional. I just recently (as in the last few hours) installed Windows 7 and restored its functionality (read: it's no longer a very expensive paperweight).

This past Saturday, I managed to have my cell phone and One Touch Ultralink meter lost (and probably now stolen) in a public restroom. That lead to a very unpleasant 24 hours where I was relying very heavily on my continuous glucose monitor (EGGY TO THE RESCUE!). Needless to say, I have had multiple moments of undue stress, unclear thinking, and reckless panic. I still haven't slept to make up for all of it.

It proved to be a fairly (but not insanely) expensive mistake. I bought a new phone from AT&T and a One Touch mini from my favorite pharmacy. To try and unwind a little, I googled a quick recipe for my favorite (and mildly famous) chocolate chip cheesecake cookies since all my recipes are hiding in the backed up files on my external hard drive somewhere. Whipped up a batch as speedily as I could. I'm all sorts of discombobulated still. But indeed a delivered pizza and baked goods do ease large quantities of stress, in case you thought otherwise.

I'm sure you'll see upcoming posts that were intended for well before their actual post date. I hope they haven't hit their expiration dates.

Traveling & Surprise Vacations

I hate being all over the place. Scatter-brained checklists everywhere and anxiety laced with panic setting in.

I don't do well with living out of bags. Especially because I always like to be prepared and look appropriate for the destination. Which means that I have no idea how to pack light. I'm always thinking about pouring rain and cold breezes or bug bites and emergency situations. I wanna have six of everything but I know that impossible to carry that much stuff around comfortably. As it is, I always get looks of worry from lugging around and overstuffed duffel bag plus my school backpack (which houses my laptop and other random things). Regardless of the situation, I always end up with one too many "emergency" outfits and things that I don't touch at all, but in the same token, I ALWAYS forget something I wish I had brought.

On my latest excursion to no where terribly exciting to see family, I managed to forget to bring along an extra Dexcom sensor for Eggy mostly because I assumed, I'd get at least the extra 3 or 4 days that I needed to survive the extra 3 or 4 days I was out of town. Unfortunately, traveling makes me sweat and fidget with seatbelts which coincidentally makes Eggy's sensors peel. And that peeling was what led to the stingy feeling in my side that comes from the sensor coming a little bit out and then going back in a little bit (because those things are dull yet extremely sharp all at the same time). So I pulled it right out thinking I had an extra one.

I panicked for exactly 3 minutes. And then I breathed a great big sigh of relief. Because, yes, despite how much I love my CGM, I love my time without my CGM. One less D-tech thing I have to carry around. Plus, no serious fears of losing it (leaving it in the bathroom, slipping out of my pocket during a walk in the park, running out of my car, taking out the trash, and the list goes on). I enjoyed my Dexcom vacation a little longer than I had to and now I've got a new sensor in about 5 days later.

The alerts are nice. The Dexcom 7+ Sensor System is way more fun than I had I with 6 months of Minimed's shell-shaped Guardian/Paradigm sensor. It works better and is more functional for me when I can hold onto/remember where I put Eggy. But yea, sometimes it stresses me out and sometimes I bolus/eat without actually doing a finger-stick. Not all technology is good and useful (ESPECIALLY if you overreact to it). And even when it is good or useful, sometimes few days without it makes you remember to smell the roses, or the alcohol wipes on your finger tips, more often. I enjoyed my vacation so much, I think someday probably not until winter break I may want to take a full technology break: no Dexcom, no pump, no smartphone (GASP, could be hard). Of course that silly meter has to come along, but hey I can have my dreams right?