January 20, 2012

How many is too many?

Blood glucose meters, that is.  The other day, I picked Ally up from school.  As we were driving to her after school activity, I realized that we had 4 meters with us in the car!


1) In My Purse.  I always carry a small meter in my purse in case we forget to grab Ally's diabetes bag on our way out the door.  I am trying to teach her to be responsible for making sure that we leave the house with her supplies, because one day it will be her responsibility.  But an 8 year old does forget things, so I carry a backup in my purse.  Plus you never know when the battery in your meter might stop working.

2) In Her Backpack.  The first year that we sent Ally to school with diabetes, I was told that she could not carry a blood glucose meter and lancing device on the school bus because the lancet was considered a weapon.  I followed the rules.  She did not carry a meter, just glucose tablets with her.  And then one day she stepped off the bus with a very low blood sugar (despite them checking before she got on the bus).  So year #2, I didn't ask.  I just put a meter in her backpack.  She also carries a card in her backpack with our phone numbers and the most important safety information about her diabetes. 

3) In Her D Bag that she takes with her to the after school activity.  Her diabetes bag that she carries with her when I am not along contains: meter, test strips, alcohol wipes, glucose tablets, glucagon, extra battery, cell phone, emergency card with T1 information and our phone numbers.  (But don't worry, other than when she is at school, she is never away from us for more than an hour or two at a time.  And even on those occasions, I don't go very far!)

and 

4) A Backup Meter that I Keep in the Car (for the same reasons as #1).  Who knows if it would actually work if we needed it.  The different temperatures that it is subjected to in the car (extreme cold in the winter and heat in the summer) must not be good for it.  But it is a backup to a backup (the one in my purse) after all!

Are we over-prepared?  Maybe.  Now, I don't intentionally carry 4 meters with us everywhere we go.  But I guess it's better to be over-prepared than to find ourselves in a pickle with no meter at all.

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7 comments:

  1. that sounds about right. we also have some spares stashed at the grandparent's houses, just in case ;-)

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  2. It always seems like we're going overboard with the supplies we squirrel everywhere, but I'm with you. Rather be prepared. My biggest fear is being without glucose!

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  3. You can NEVER have too many. I always take advantage of those free offers, and killer deals on ebay. It's cheaper, and when you find a great deal on strips, you have all the meters! I love it! :)

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  4. totally agree...you can never have too many! :o)

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  5. I have NO idea how many meters we have - I have them all over the place (with 2 T1D kids that's not terribly surprising). Like Rachael said - I always take advantage of free offers and I always like to test out new ones! I have a full emergency kit that lives in an insulated bag in my car, the kids each have emergency kits at the nurse's office at school - all packed up in a red case which goes along on any field trips - they also have an extra spare tester each in the nurses' office. They have their own testers that they use all the time - daughter keeps hers with her all the time, son keeps his in his locker at school - of course that means that he occasionally leaves it at school overnight - so we have his back-up meter at home. I also have back-up meters of different kinds to double or triple check our of the ordinary levels. Daughter also has a hypo kit and spare tester (including Blood Ketone tester) in an insulated pack in her classroom. Yep - I keep a spare in my handbag too!

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  6. There is no such ing as too many!

    And seriously? The lancet could be considered a weapon? Bahahahahahaha! That is so ridiculous.

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  7. No! You are so wise!

    I'll always remember getting to a soccer game and MAtthew went to check his BG...but the lancet had fallen out of his kit and was left at home.

    I was so very thankful that I had a spare in my purse!!

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