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How many of you actually carry your monitors around with you?

I know, your son's...next you will be posting pics of your bank card+PIN number for a laugh lol
 
eddie1968 said:
I know, your son's...next you will be posting pics of your bank card+PIN number for a laugh lol
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I wouldn't be worried about people knowing that. They would probably feel sorry for me when they saw the balance and put some in.:D:D
 
Type 1 I never leave home without it. In fact I carry two one for backup. ;)
 
Actually I carry a spare toy pump meter as well.

Last weigh in at hospital.. I weighed my handbag satchel..6.7kg!!!!
 
I have a bag that all my stuff lives in and it goes everywhere with me,

early days for me so the possibility of hypos as I get my insulin doses right is reasonably high,

I've had to do some emergency lucozade guzzling even when i've only been out for half an hour so wouldn't leave the house without it
 
It's an interesting question for t1s though. When diagnosed, meters weren't really available and the visual test strips were slow and not amazingly good for lows, so rather than test, one would just eat an appropriate portion of carbs (4 glucose tabs for example ).

Always carrying a meter is a relatively recent thing as size has dropped and convenience increased.

Am I alone in treating a hypo first based on feeling and testing afterwards? Do we over analyse the data we do have? Has the advent of better meters allowed more testing and as an end result, more control and lower Hba1c results if you want them? Should we all get more of a life?
 
I've always got my blood monitor on me but find it hard to take it when I'm out as people look and I think there judging me. I got to feel comfortable before checking my blood or taking my insulin
 
adrian207 said:
I know you say that you have it with you all the time, but how often have you had to use it, in an emergency that is ie having a hypo?
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Not a lot to be fair. But I like to be able to if I let's say go into town and decide I'd like to eat a sausage roll from Greggs (not that I do that ever anyway) Id' like to be able to do it. And in my case with the omnipod my meter operates my pump as well so I rather take it everywhere :)
 
tim2000s said:
Am I alone in treating a hypo first based on feeling and testing afterwards? Do we over analyse the data we do have? Has the advent of better meters allowed more testing and as an end result, more control and lower Hba1c results if you want them? Should we all get more of a life?
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No, I do the same. If I have a hypo feeling I treat quickly and then check. After 35 years I know when I'm hypo or not;). And yes, I think compared to 30 years ago when meters were big and heavy like bricks and needed to be plugged into the socket in the wall I think nowadays all these meters available (and the libre for example!) allow a lot more easier testing and better control and Hba1c if you so wish. And I am very glad about it because it means I can hopefully get to 80 years old without having too many severe complications or ideally none at all :)
 
kitty55 said:
Not a lot to be fair. But I like to be able to if I let's say go into town and decide I'd like to eat a sausage roll from Greggs (not that I do that ever anyway) Id' like to be able to do it. And in my case with the omnipod my meter operates my pump as well so I rather take it everywhere :)
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I think that's a different case though. If your control for your pump is also your meter, then of course you will take it everywhere. If you only have a meter and are on MDI, will you? I've found that I take my Libre with me everywhere because of the convenience. I didn't take my fingerprick meter everywhere before, because I have warning signs when becoming hypo, and used them as an indicator for treating. I still do, and think that if you have them, those are what you should use. Rather than go through the process of "Do I have a hypo, I should test, oh yes I do".

If you don't get warning symptoms, or they are unreliable, then this of course is a totally different case. I think it all comes back to the same point that despite the group naming, how we deal with it and how it affects us is a very individual thing.
 
tim2000s said:
I think that's a different case though. If your control for your pump is also your meter, then of course you will take it everywhere. If you only have a meter and are on MDI, will you?
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Yes I did it beforehand as well when I was on MDI. What I primarily meant was that I carry it round (on pump or MDI) just for the fact that I might want to eat something so I do need to test. If I am out and then don't eat, well fair enough. But I could have because I had my meter with me.

And I second what you say about hypos. I'd rather treat when I feel hypo and then after treating test than the other way round cos I don't need to test to know I am hypo.:)
 
@kitty55 That's a fair point. I guess before BDEC/DAFNE I wasn't aware of the correction dose guidelines, so insulated according to meal carbs and didn't worry about a correction dose at the same time. It seemed to work okay as my 6 monthly Hba1Cs seemed to validate that I wasn't running particularly high.
 
Using a pump has made me weld myself to my bg meter. It comes with me in the side of my satchel type handbag and Ive also got a tiny backup mèter just in case my main one plays up and doesnt wòrk
 
Now here's something I didn't know but should have. I was in my local pharmacy this morning picking up my prescription and was casually speaking about this site to one of the staff. I told her about the question I asked on here about carrying your monitor with you at all times and how it was a mixed reaction as to whether to or not. She replied with "did you know that any pharmacy will give you a BS check for free if you feel you may need one."...........................Well I didn't know that. Did anyone else?:)
 
adrian207 said:
Now here's something I didn't know but should have. I was in my local pharmacy this morning picking up my prescription and was casually speaking about this site to one of the staff. I told her about the question I asked on here about carrying your monitor with you at all times and how it was a mixed reaction as to whether to or not. She replied with "did you know that any pharmacy will give you a BS check for free if you feel you may need one."...........................Well I didn't know that. Did anyone else?:)
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I know most big pharmacy chains do diabetes checks, but wasn't aware they would just do a finger prick test if you needed to know what your bg levels were in the absence of having your meter on you, that's good to know Adrian.
 
noblehead said:
I know most big pharmacy chains do diabetes checks, but wasn't aware they would just do a finger prick test if you needed to know what your bg levels were in the absence of having your meter on you, that's good to know Adrian.
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This was just a small Lloyds the chemist shop, of which there are 2 on the way to town. So plenty of support there for me.smiley thumb.jpg
 
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