BM 1-44 Test Strips- remeber them??!

[janabelle]

Hi
Emptying my kitchen cupboard last week I came accross an old box of BM 1-44 blood test strips- unopened! I didn't know I'd kept them, but it was a real blast from the past and I couldn't wait to try them. I compared the test to one on my meter and the result was pretty close, colour chart reading about 9, browny green rectangle with blue rectangle below. The expiry date was May 2001!
When I was diagnosed in '89 I relied on these, didn't get a meter till bout '91 and it was on loan from the hospital, and in mobile phone terms,it was a brick!
Does anyone else have fond memories of ancient and antique diabetes equipment?
I have to say that at the time of being forced to switch to a meter, when the 1-44s were discontinued, I resented it, as I trusted the strips and found it hard to feel that way about the meters-though I am an old stick in the mud, I still dislike pens, and prefer to use syringes.
Still glad I wasn't diagnosed in the times of glass syringes though, so I'm not totally against advancements in technology!
Jus

 

[sugarless sue]

I remember those well! Principally for trying to get reluctant diabetes to actually put blood onto the strip!!You really needed three hands to guide and catch the drop of blood and if you missed ,it had dried up and you had to start again! Oh happy days.

 

[jopar]

I remember that I used to be able to cut the things into 3? Then the first meter I had that used these strips was loaned to me during my pregnancy, and I brought one myself at a cost of £125 zero VAT…

And those flat stainless still lancets that looked like a razor blade with a point at the end, boy it used to take ages with my finger against the edge of the table before I plucked the encourage to actually prick my finger, and several attempts before completion…

And I rember that it cost £20 per tub of 50 strips!

 

[sugarybibs]

I remember that I used to be able to cut the things into 3? Then the first meter I had that used these strips was loaned to me during my pregnancy, and I brought one myself at a cost of £125 zero VAT…

And those flat stainless still lancets that looked like a razor blade with a point at the end, boy it used to take ages with my finger against the edge of the table before I plucked the encourage to actually prick my finger, and several attempts before completion…

And I rember that it cost £20 per tub of 50 strips!

The thought of having to use them now makes me feel ill.I dont know how i used them.My poor fingers were really sore!!I used to stare at that lancet like a pen nib it was and dont know how i used to lash it in my poor fingers!!!

 

[lauralou!]

I cant remember those strips but I do fondly remember my first blood monitor. Yes definitely a BRICK. But I was so glad that I didn't have to wee, have my mum put 5 drops in a test tube a put a fizzy tablet in it which 99 times out of100 went bright orange. Which then ment I had to be tested for keytones, and if that turned purple. That was me interagaterd about everything I had or hadn't eaten that day, the day before and the day before that. And then the dietian was brought out in my mum, who measured everything. 20grs rice krispies, 4 chips, 10 grapes, a potato the size of an egg, and so on.....

But thank you for message other night, I have spent most of today on IDDT web site. Its great. Got a lot of good stuff to take to docs in morning.

Wish me luck I am going to ask to be taken of Lantus and Humalog. And be put back on pork insulin. Non of the gm ****. LANTUS IS POISON!!!!!

 

[janabelle]

HI Lauralou,
I'd love to hear how u get on when u change back to good old-fashioned REAL insulin-let us know! The side-effects you suffered on Lantus sound frighteningly familiar to me and similar to many reports i've read. You should report the side-efects through the "yellow Card Reporting System", which can be done online.
A lady called Sandrea Den-Braber, who u may have read about in recent IDDT newsletter would like anyone who experienced side-effects on Lantus to contact her. She gave me her permission to put her telephone number on this forum for people to contact her. I don't know if forum rules allow me to do this, but if anyone would like to send me a private message I will gladly pass the number on.

For anyone else who's switched back to animal insulin and would like just to forget their bad experiences, I say we must not be complacement-the way things are going in the NHS, we may have no choice in the future about our medication. We need to ensure that animal insulins remain available for those who cannot tolerate synthetic or analogue insulins, therefore we must make our voices heard, and tell of our experiences.

Jus

 

[Sweet3x]

I remember them. I have a pot at home, just in case of emergencies, such as my monitor breaking. Being able to see the result by eye is very useful, and I do miss that.
I'm sure, though, that the size of them and trying to get enough blood to cover them (until I discovered that you could cut them in half and still use them ok) is the reason I was so reluctant to do blood tests as a kid.