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When I was a lad it was a long while ago

jaywak said:
Was it only 8mm ? I seem to remember using maybe 12mm , I've probably got that wrong .
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When they got blunt they felt like William Wallace’s sword and I’ve seen it it’s taller than Mel Gibson lol
 
jaywak said:
Was it only 8mm ? I seem to remember using maybe 12mm , I've probably got that wrong .
Click to expand...
They were available at 20mm in the sixties and seventies. When I realized that I could be using 12mm I asked for the prescription to be changed. I would need to invade my loft to investigate lomger ones!
 
When I my mum asked why the disposable plastic syringes weren’t available on prescription she was told because they are a “ luxury “. Diabetics only got plastic syringes on prescription after drug addicts were given free syringes during the AIDS development.
 
When I said I think some were 12mm long I seem to remember using16mm but thought that can't be right, but after what Grant said about 20mm being available in the 60s - 70s maybe I did . that would also explain the fat lumps on my belly .
 
I still have my my Glass and metal syringe brand name Rocket. Flicking the metal base needles for air bubbles was painfull.

A tough life as a teenager trying to fit in a lt easier now, luckily 50 years in no problems due to cattying the syringe around in its blue plastic container filled with industrial meths.

Sunday night i would sterlise in saucepan by boiling in water.
 
jaywak said:
Was it only 8mm ? I seem to remember using maybe 12mm , I've probably got that wrong .
Click to expand...
I put a question mark after 8 mm because i was unsure myself.
To a small boy it was like a harpoon!! lol

Tony
 
I think 16mm was right for the glass jobbie I got given when first diagnosed, in 1982,
At least diy sharpening your needles with a whetstone ended a couple of years earlier?

I was working with a chap who was still using one of those abominations in the early 2000's.
And he was still sharpening his own needles.

I think he could have done with a better G.P.
 
I can remember that some of the progress was actually forced upon me , when I changed from syringes to pens there were lots of diabetics in our clinic all queuing to get our pens and given a chat like in a classroom on how to use them , when we changed from the pee tests to blood tests I remember thinking why do I need to know what my blood sugar is instantly .
 
I tried to find something sugar free all I could fine was 1 Cal lemonade , Tab Cola and Orbit chewing gum abs obviously diabetic seeers which weren’t really sugar free
 
Ushthetaff said:
I tried to find something sugar free all I could fine was 1 Cal lemonade , Tab Cola and Orbit chewing gum abs obviously diabetic seeers which weren’t really sugar free
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The only place that sold one cal was the chemist!!
And it was a treat too.

Tony
 
Does anyone remember a hypo alert watch that had a couple of sensor pads that detected moisture I used it as I suffered nocturnal hypos but the amount of false alarms I got during the night it soon ended up in the bedside cabinet ,I think back in the 80s it cost £200 or more , what a waste of money .
 
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I think I remember seeing adverts for that watch @jawak but we were skint in the 80s and had two small children to feed and clothe.
I do remember a sense of elation when the first blood sugar strips came on prescription. At last it was possible to see whether glucotabs were needed rather than relying on guesswork.
 
I was just reminded of the "line " diet where 10g of carbs equaled 1 "line".

Tony
 
I remember when diagnosed its was about 'a portion' - not having any explanation other than the blue sheet from the hospital what a portion was - very limiting for a 3 year old kid.

Then that became grams of carbs (10g per portion) in the 80s.

Then it was a CPs in the 90s and 2000s(Carb Portion - very fashionable and modern....right...) "We all use this, you need to change to using these terms"

Now we are back to counting grams (from 2015 or so)

If they try and change this again, I will be even more grumpy than when they came out with the CP rubbish
 
I still use the portion thing I actually had a list they gave me and how you could swap portions it was all about 10 g of carbs as it is today ,you can polish a t- #d but at the end of the day it’s still a t-#d
 
Hmmm, bringing back memories.

I found the plastic syringe action injecting smoother than the glass ones?
Looking back, i’m certain the rubber bung in the barrel on the glass ones degraded over time..
 
The problem I found with the glass and metal ones was as the needles got blunt they filled with skin so pushing the plunger became harder until whoosh the needle separated from the syringe and unless u had the scale facing you you didn’t know how much insulin you’d injected plus you stank of insulin as it had gone all over you oh such good memories lol
 
Ushthetaff said:
The problem I found with the glass and metal ones was as the needles got blunt they filled with skin so pushing the plunger became harder until whoosh the needle separated from the syringe and unless u had the scale facing you you didn’t know how much insulin you’d injected plus you stank of insulin as it had gone all over you oh such good memories lol
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Yes. I had that a few times as a kid.
Leaving insulin over my leg & having to pull "nail" out..
Happy daze...
 
I still remember the line diet. I was diagnosed 65 years ago, and when I left hospital I remember my mum was given a couple of sheets of paper divided vertically into "black" and "red" foods, the black being carbohydrates and the red protein. The "black" foods were described into weight/number of items which equated to 10g.
For some years when I was a child, my mum religiously weighed out each meal!
The syringes were hand sterilised daily, and stored in the larder, lying on a bed of cotton wool, soaked in surgical spirit.
A mixed basel and bolus animal insulin, taken once daily, and urine testing by 'Clinitest'.
Thankfully substantial progress has been made, but Type 1 still remains a worrying and sometimes frightening thing I'm sure for newly diagnosed.
Looking back, my parents were fantastic, and the best advice they consistently gave me as a youngster was " never forget, it lives with you, you don't live with it" !


Sent from my SM-S931B using Diabetes Forum mobile app
 
jaywak said:
Does anyone remember a hypo alert watch that had a couple of sensor pads that detected moisture I used it as I suffered nocturnal hypos but the amount of false alarms I got during the night it soon ended up in the bedside cabinet ,I think back in the 80s it cost £200 or more , what a waste of money .
Click to expand...
I never saw these @jaywak - maybe I had stopped getting The British Diabetic Association paper (Balance)?
 
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