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Your Everyday gear... What do you take with you when you go to work/school/out?

tim2000s

Expert
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8,936
Location
London
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Other
Following another topic, I thought it would be interesting to see what people take with them on a day to day basis as it does seem to vary based on an individual's preferences. Ignoring your pump, if you use one, as that's a given, what else do you carry with you?

For me personally, on a work day, I'll sling my blood testing meter in its case and a Novopen in my bag, and there's always a Mio in my desk drawer. Then I have my RileyLink in my pocket for Pump to iPhone comms. I don't really need the blood meter as I'm using a Dexcom G5 and I always bolus off that.

On a night out, it goes down to less. I'll simply have the RileyLink and a Pen.

When on MDI, I used to carry similar, but with two pens rather than a pump. How does your kit look?
 
Meter, spare cannula and hypo treatment for diabetes and for my Addison's extra steroid in case of need.
 
Theses are the things that come out of the bag ang get used all day long (and this is the stuff that gets taken on a night out or on a run)
  • iPhone to recieve dexcom readings
  • PDM (which is glucose monitor and pump controller)
  • Test strips
  • Lancing device
  • Dextrose tablets
There will be various other hypo treatments hanging around my handbag, desk drawer: glucojuice; rice cakes; I think I've got bits of rock somewhere.

Then I have a "pump death" kit, which hardly ever comes out of my bag (apart from the odd occasion when I sit down and pod starts screaming to let me know it's occluded, my colleagues really enjoy that) and that has;
  • Spare pod
  • Vial of novorapid
  • Spare batteries
  • Ketone monitor and strips
  • Novorapid flexpen
  • Levemir flex pen
  • A few needles
  • More dextrose tablets
I don't travel light...
 
Spare Pod, insulin, mylife Daily Dose syringes, Steret Swabs, batteries and test strips (all in the PDM case), GlucoJuice, Glucotabs and a oat bar in coat pockets.
 
I was assuming that we all carried hypo treatments of some sort, so was really more interested in what "Kit" items people carried as standard. I think it's an interesting one as it relates to pumps and different types of pumps.
 
tim2000s said:
I was assuming that we all carried hypo treatments of some sort, so was really more interested in what "Kit" items people carried as standard. I think it's an interesting one as it relates to pumps and different types of pumps.
Click to expand...
All the usual,
Insulin
Blood test meter
Biscuits for any hypo, always have food with me. My Galaxy phone for electronic diary
 
Work days. Novorapid, needle + 2 spare needles which are stowed in separate compartment. BM meter, lancet + 4 test strip's aim to test twice at work 2 strip's for unforeseen occurrences.
Weekend days. If eating out, novorapid as above, BM meter, lancet + 2 test strip's and cotton wool.
Never actually pack hypo treatment as after so many years I just have glucotabs and jelly babies in every conceivable location. Every coat pocket, car cup holder and door panel, work locker and tool box and special bag I take to every gym session.
 
If out for more than an hour, I take a Mio, reservoir, pen, battery, glucose/ketone test kit and hypo treatment. In over 6 years, I've only had to change the battery in my pump once, while out.
 
I have a 640g - so I carry my contour next monitor and sometimes a ketone monitor and spare monitor (probably because it's still in my bag from last time I stayed overnight somewhere). My real spares kit is in a make up bag - it has my current bottle of humalog plus a spare filled reservoir which I will use the next time I do a set change, a reservoir in a pack, a mio, an A4 battery, a spare finger pricker as I find the ones that comes with the contour keep breaking on me, some ketone strips, a vial of test strips, some syringes (instead of carrying a pen for spare), the belt clip.
 
When out and about when not working i just have my blood testing kit with spare lancet drums, a small packet of hand cleaning wipes and dextrose tablets.

When working all of the above plus.
Vial of insulin in current use.
3 infusion sets.
3 Reservoirs.
Quickset inserter.
Spare Contour meter.
Spare box of test strips.
Glucagon hypo kit.
Freestyle Ketone meter and test strips.
Novo rapid cartridge.
Novo pen.
Needels for pen.
Spare finger pricker.
Spare batteries for pump.
lucozade and spare food stuffs.

Some may think i carry a bit much for work but i do 12 hr shifts and travel 30 miles to work.
I have experienced the need to do a set change due to high bg etc also on one occasion the adhesive patch on one or two occasions has got stuck to the inserter so just incase the canular has been damaged or dislodged during the process i change it.

Regards

Martin
 
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2 meter kits including lancets, strips, pricker (in case 1 breaks/old days runs out of batteries or i forget to put main one in my bag)
2 infusion sets- i keep a steel canula specially for this as no sharps disposal needed
Infusion set plugs in meter kits in case i go swimming
A few syringes
Vial of insulin(i don't use pens)
Batteries
Glucose tabs
Cereal bar
Libre reader if I have a libre in.

I have occasionally run out of tablets and go for the sugar packets at work as a good substitute.

If i'm just round the area then meter, glucose and phone with librelink.

My handbag is not light.
 
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Libre, Dextrose Tabs, Novopen, wallet, phone. I'm a bloke what more do you need.
 
Two small lollies (nothing *****) in an empty test strip container in case of a hypo..... whenever I leave the house.
 
So you take a bolus insulin pen with you more or less everywhere? Interesting to hear that - but it does make sense if your pump somehow fails.

Basal and bolus insulin pens, 2 needles, Dario Smart meter, 1 spare lancet.

I travel very light. I also usually have a Libre on and use my Smartphone with that.
 
GrantGam1337 said:
So you take a bolus insulin pen with you more or less everywhere? Interesting to hear that - but it does make sense if your pump somehow fails.
Click to expand...
Basically, there's one in my coat pocket and one in my backpack, then of course one in the desk drawer at work.
 


Yes - it's a requirement for a pump as you have no basal hanging around your system so you can go into DKA a lot faster if you have a set failure. I rarely carried insulin and syringes unless I knew I was out for supper before getting a pump as I only injected 3 times daily (2 x in the evening) and now take it everywhere unless I'm only out for an hour or so.
 
Although, if you simply carry a syringe, that also suffices as you can always withdraw insulin from the pump reservoir.
 
Basal & Bolus pens
Test strips
Needles
Lancets
Sharps box
Meter
Ketone meter/strips
Spare batteries
Dextrose
Glucogel
Glucagen injection kit

I use a messenger bag and it goes with me to work
 
GrantGam1337 said:
So you take a bolus insulin pen with you more or less everywhere? Interesting to hear that - but it does make sense if your pump somehow fails.
Click to expand...

If I was travelling a considerable distance from home or staying overnight somewhere then I do carry a basal pen, for days out & about (be it work or recreational) I don't carry a basal pen.
 
noblehead said:
If I was travelling a considerable distance from home or staying overnight somewhere then I do carry a basal pen, for days out & about (be it work or recreational) I don't carry a basal pen.
Click to expand...
Is that bolus or is it basal @noblehead?

If it is in fact basal you intended to type, do you carry a bolus pen everywhere by default too?
 
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