You Can Never Be Too Prepared!

Insulin: I don’t leave home without it. Ever!

I don’t have any children, but you might mistake my little black pouch containing my insulin, glucose tabs and glucose meter for my newborn child, because I never go anywhere without it. Seriously, I never go anywhere without it.

I consider my insulin and glucose meter the only way to keep up with my insulin-producing friends. With it, I can do everything they can do. Without it, I’m a girl with a broken pancreas and it would show.

Unlike my friends, I can’t just suddenly decide to play a game of basketball, because first, I need to make sure my blood sugar is high enough to survive the exercise. Unlike my friends, I can’t just chow down on candy and soda and popcorn, because first, I need to know just how many carbohydrates I’m about to consume, so I can take enough insulin to keep myself from winding up in the hospital with DKA later that day (look, we all need candy sometimes, right?).

The best thing I can think of to be able to keep up with my insulin-producing friends is to keep my supplies with me at all times.

There have been times I’ve considered leaving it at home, because I’m simply going to the grocery store or to a friend’s house to back to work because I forgot my jacket, but there’s a voice in my head (my inner and very wise diabetic) telling me I’d better bring that darn black pouch with me because I might regret it. And as usual, while I’m at the grocery store, a friend calls and says I should come over for dinner or down to the waterfront for a swim. While I’m picking up a jacket, my card could break down or I might get stuck in the office finishing up a few last minutes tasks and before I know it, it’s dinnertime, my friend wants to get dinner at the Mexican restaurant nearby and I don’t have my insulin. Whatever it might be, at least I’m prepared.

It is annoying to admit that without our insulin, we have a weakness, we are vulnerable, but its equally empowering to realize that as long as we have the right tools WITH us, we can do everything we need to do.

The only reason I’m not afraid of hypo or hyper-glycemia is because I know I’m prepared for it. I have juice boxes and glucose tabs stashed everywhere! Now, yes, there have been a few instances where I’ve searched my bag for glucose tabs only to realize I had just finished them off the day before and forgot to replenish my supply, but I try to make sure this doesn’t happen too often.  The same goes for insulin and syringes: as soon as I open my last bottle of insulin, I pick up more at the pharmacy. As a diabetic, I don’t think you can ever be too prepared.

Leaving home without your insulin and your glucose meter is like…well, it’s kind of like babysitting a 1 year old without a diaper bag. If anything happens and you’re not prepared, you’re in for a mess! A preventable mess!