I had the big metal and glass syringe and mum and dad boiled it every morning and the needles were massive wise guage things.The insulin I grew up with from 1966 aged 4 years was the lente 80 strength zinc suspension.You had to wipe your leg with cotton wool and surgical spirit. before the injection.It was superb,never had a reaction like I do with the 100's.In the 1980's they made us just change one day,never had a good day since,bring my 80 strength insulin back!!!!!!Everybody is different and they gave an insulin the they considered suited you.The urine test kits were like something out of a lab,a test tube with 5 drops of pee then 10 drops of water and I think a clinitest tabet dropped in.It all fizzed up and then settled and changed colour.There was blue which was fine,green which was ok,green trace which was starting to get higher,brown which wasn't too good and then orange which was the highest,it said it was 2% whatever that meant.Overall it was so much more predictable than nowadays,not all these night time hypos that constantly read about.Also we had acetest tablets when a drop of pee on it changed colour to show acetone.I think my dr's were behind the times as I had to ask myself for disposable syringes in the late 1970's.They gave me the test strips from the specialist once when there was no finger pricker just a big needle to get blood and had to do it 4 times a day for a few days.Can't remember the first meter,but remember you had to 'grade' them each time with the box of strips.My diabetes was managed well through all the years of no meters and only one injection a day.Now it is hell with these 100 insulins as far as I'm concerned,they just don't agree with me.The humulin nearly killed me as I just kept falling over.Had to travel from my home as far as Sheffield(I live in Blackpool)before a specialist changed me back to a beef insulin that I grew up with,I do think I would have died,I get warnings with the beef,but never the same as my old lente's.Sorry for moaning,but the old urine tests and those big glass syringes bring back some memories.