Stuff Happens


Diabetes Blog Week


 
Today's the first day of Diabetes Blog Week! (!!!)

Today's topic is: Diabetes can sometimes seem to play by a rulebook that makes no sense, tossing out unexpected challenges at random.  What are your best tips for being prepared when the unexpected happens? Or, take this topic another way and tell us about some good things diabetes has brought into your, or your loved one’s, life that you never could have expected?
 
I try to maintain a family-friendly blog here, so I'll put it this way: Diabetes stuff happens. Like sitting down to lunch only to discover there's only a unit of insulin left in the pump. Or being so low all day that you run out of glucose tabs. Or discovering the meter battery is dead while you're on a sleepover. The stuff is not always preventable. So we try to be prepared for as many eventualities as possible.
 
At home or at school there are plenty of supplies to address any diabetes disaster. When we're out but close to home I can run over to a friend's house with a battery or we can stop home between errands for a new infusion set if we need to.
 
But sometimes we travel further afield. For day trips, excursions while on vacation and school field trips, we throw this Ziploc bag (or a facsimile thereof from school) in the backpack:


 
THE CONTENTS INCLUDE:
A spare vial of test strips
Spare batteries for both the meter and the pump
Glucagon (even though there's usually one in my purse)
The current open vial of insulin
Long-acting insulin for pump failure - at least if we'll be more than an hour or so away
A couple of syringes
Everything needed for a site change including 2 insertion sets
Dexcom tape
Extra glucose tabs
 
 

If it's hot, we put the contents in this insulated zipper bag.
 
It's a lot to carry around. We usually also carry extra juice boxes and water. But it beats the possibility of having to return home (or to our home away from home) if the infusion set rips out, or the pump battery dies, or somebody accidentally dumps all the test strips on the ground.
 
Nobody ever said having diabetes was predictable. Stuff happens. That stuff is less likely to stop us if we're prepared for it.

Want to read more posts about the Unexpected? Click here!
 


5 comments:

  1. So true - the stuff is less likely to stop us if we're prepared...good post!

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  2. Ah yes, the bag o' stuff that we carry around! I have several of these pre-packed, so I can just grab one and go. I remember the days when I had to actually THINK about what to put in there, now it's all so automatic!

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  3. Hahaha, my mind totally swapped out every "stuff" with the much less family friendly word.

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  4. LOL stuff. As you can tell we got the real thought. I love it.

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