# Hypo essentials bag



## Lilmssquirrel (Jul 25, 2020)

Good morning 

We were just discharged from hospital yesterday and I'm sure we were given a list of essentials for basic (1-2 hour) trips out of the house but I can't find it in the mountain of paper I bought home with me. 

Can someone give me a list please? We're only going to Pets at Home but even that feels daunting. 

Thanks x


----------



## Robin (Jul 25, 2020)

Glucose Testing kit (meter, lancing device, test strips) and something containing glucose (jelly babies, small can of coke. whatever you choose) for treating a hypo are the basic essentials. I never leave home without them.

For 1-2hours, I wouldn’t take my insulin pen and needles unless I might want to stop for a coffee/snack on the way home. So take those if that’s a possibility.

Whatever you do or don’t decide to take, something sweet to treat a hypo is absolutely essential.


----------



## Lilmssquirrel (Jul 25, 2020)

Thank you xx


----------



## Inka (Jul 25, 2020)

You could also add a longer-acting carbs snack eg a flapjack bar, a few digestive biscuits, etc. Although you can buy things when out, I like the reassurance of having a snack with me sometimes.


----------



## SB2015 (Jul 25, 2020)

Glad to hear that you have made it home.

We have the hypo treatment everywhere, and I have JBs in every bag.
Always have the hypo kit along with test kit.  I also tended to take my quick acting pen with me just so that if our plans changed I was ready.

For home we bought some small lidded pots,  which are easy to open, for JBs to be placed around the house.  This stops them drying out.

As has been said before this will all become ‘normal’.


----------



## Ljc (Jul 25, 2020)

I am another who goes out fully loaded just like @SB2015 as plans can alter .
My advise is to have the preferred hypo treatments stached everywhere , bags, pockets, car,  in the diabetes kit, as well as Just about every room in the house. Never leave home without the meter, test strips  ensure  you have a good supply of hypo treatments to hand.
I often wonder what visitors think when they spot my tub of glucose tabs on the shelf in the cloakroom  

If going away on holiday or just for a day or two , take at least double the amount of diabetes stuff / treatments etc  that you think you’ll need.

It’s a good idea to have a spare meter , just in case your one meets with an accident .

I know their is lots to think and worry about right now ((((Hug))))


----------



## Sally71 (Jul 25, 2020)

I would suggest getting a small bag, something along the lines of Smiggle lunch bags, and keep everything in it - test kit, hypo treatments, even a spare pen, then when you go out you can just grab the bag.  Make sure you keep it full though! Having stashes all over the place is also a good idea, I think I’ve still got a tube of Glucotabs in my car that has been there goodness knows how long 
You never know when you might need it though, I remember when we were going to visit my grandmother once, daughter went low in the car and there was nowhere safe for me to pull over at that point, so I just passed her the tube and she had to deal with it herself!


----------



## Bronco Billy (Jul 25, 2020)

Hi @Lilmssquirrel. I can't really add anything to the above except to say never be afraid to take with you what you think is too much. Knowing you are prepared for any eventuality makes every trip more relaxing.


----------



## Lilmssquirrel (Jul 25, 2020)

Thanks everyone for the advice. I am daunted that I've got to do all this even for an impromptu 10 minute walk around the block with the dog 

I know it will save her life but poor girl having it constantly rubbed in her face


----------



## trophywench (Jul 25, 2020)

Well if you choose to make a song and dance about then she most likely will feel it's being rubbed in her face - hence sorry mate, I know you are scared and worried and I'm entirely empathetic about THAT - but I most certainly am not if you DO make her feel like that.  Pack a small bag/box/whatever that doesn't need to be any bigger than a make-up bag in truth, or if you wear a jacket with a decent pocket you can get a meter case which has strips and bodger inside it, and a tube of Dextro tablets or gel, in the pocket under the meter case.  I don't leave the house without my handbag normally and I've always shoved everything in there - only thing that really beat me one night with just a small evening bag, was husband asking me to put the rotor arm off the car into it! (- we'd had to park in a multi storey in the centre of Birmingham where the function was being held and it would thereby disable the car.)


----------



## Lilmssquirrel (Jul 26, 2020)

trophywench said:


> Well if you choose to make a song and dance about then she most likely will feel it's being rubbed in her face - hence sorry mate, I know you are scared and worried and I'm entirely empathetic about THAT - but I most certainly am not if you DO make her feel like that.  Pack a small bag/box/whatever that doesn't need to be any bigger than a make-up bag in truth, or if you wear a jacket with a decent pocket you can get a meter case which has strips and bodger inside it, and a tube of Dextro tablets or gel, in the pocket under the meter case.  I don't leave the house without my handbag normally and I've always shoved everything in there - only thing that really beat me one night with just a small evening bag, was husband asking me to put the rotor arm off the car into it! (- we'd had to park in a multi storey in the centre of Birmingham where the function was being held and it would thereby disable the car.)


Thanks. I have never carried a handbag. Car keys, phone and wallet. Now I have tap and pay, I don't even have to take a wallet so it is a big change for us. I know it seems pathetic but we are on day two and there is so much I previously took for granted that I've got to remember to do. Maybe several years in it might be habit but nobody in hospital told me to never step out without the meter and the sweets. Maybe they presumed I'm cleverer than I feel right now


----------



## Lilmssquirrel (Jul 26, 2020)

@trophywench just reread the last bit and that did make me smile


----------



## stephknits (Jul 26, 2020)

It does feel like a pain to take everything, where you used to just pop out.  If we are just walking the dog, Alice and I both have freestylelibres so only need put phone and some sweets.  I only take more if out longer and further away.  For dog walking in the winter stuff just goes in my coat, but in summer I have a very small bag which goes over my shoulder with poo bags and treats for dog and humans.  
It is with these little things that we actually notice the big impact diabetes has on our lives.  So the packing of a bag is about the lack of spontaneity - a thing I miss greatly, as I like to just do things.  My husband is a planner, so this aspect bothers him a lot less!


----------



## Thebearcametoo (Jul 26, 2020)

For a 10 minute walk we would just have some glucotabs or dextrose with us. For going out anywhere where it may turn into longer then we pack full kit (we have testing meter, insulin penneedles, hypo treatment etc in one of these https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product...&pf_rd_p=e632fea2-678f-4848-9a97-bcecda59cb4e anyway so we just pick it up) and a drink and some snacks that live in the bottom of the bag anyway but that’s not much different to usual going out with kids stuff. Oh and tissues.

Having some slower release snacks like a crackers, cereal bar, crisps (?), nuts & dried fruit, etc, something around 10g carbs that are slower release than the hypo treatment to have after a hypo to prevent another dip is handy. I always have snacks in my bag anyway so it’s just a case of keep them topped up.

We have a specific rucksack for my daughter that always has the basics in that we add her diabetes kit and a drink to if we go out so it’s easy. It’s a bit annoy as we’d got to the point where we didn’t need to take all the things with us like you do when you have younger kids but she’s old enough that she can carry it herself and be in charge with check what’s in it. 

(We used to just use a small washbag for her meter etc but the case I linked to keeps everything in place so you can see at a glance if you need more needles or lancets or whatever. We can fit an empty strips pot for used needles -it’ll only hold a couple- and a tube of glucotabs in it as well as her meter etc.)


----------



## Ljc (Jul 26, 2020)

How about a wrist bag , waist / bum bag or a small cross body bag .
I use a clear pencil case that goes whatever bag I am taking out with me.


----------



## everydayupsanddowns (Jul 26, 2020)

Ah thank you @Lilmssquirrel and @Ljc 

You've just given me a little fond memory of a pervious phase of life





						Where's your pencil case?
					

Because no two days with type 1 diabetes are the same. Except when they are. The ups and downs of life with T1D.




					www.everydayupsanddowns.co.uk
				




But yes... always take hypo treatment... squirreled away in every pocket, every coat and in every bag. Topped up regularly in case you’ve eaten your main supply already. Find the ones that are fairly indestructible, and remain edible even under duress (fun size bags of Skittles are pretty good I find).

It doesn’t do to rely on shops and needing to go and find somewhere open and available!


----------



## Ljc (Jul 26, 2020)

Lilmssquirrel said:


> Thanks. I have never carried a handbag. Car keys, phone and wallet. Now I have tap and pay, I don't even have to take a wallet so it is a big change for us. I know it seems pathetic but we are on day two and there is so much I previously took for granted that I've got to remember to do. Maybe several years in it might be habit but nobody in hospital told me to never step out without the meter and the sweets. Maybe they presumed I'm cleverer than I feel right now


No it doesn’t seem pathetic at all. You are a worried mum probably facing one of the hardest things you’ve ever had to face and yes they should have ensured you knew never to step out without the sweets and meter. 
Right now you are on a very steep learning curve , in a few months time  when you look back on these horrible early days I am sure you will be supprised at just how well you coped. I think you’ll be amazed about your daughter too


----------



## Lilmssquirrel (Jul 27, 2020)

Thank you everyone! @trophywench sorry for seeming grumpy. I am really struggling at the moment. I feel like I've let everyone down and I can't get my head round it all and I'm so scared that I'll screw it up. 

As it was we did a short dog walk as a family and I just popped the meter and some dextrose tabs in my jeans pocket and off we went. 

I feel woefully underprepared. I'm such a planner and normally we'd have a massive list that would get ticked off with all the stuff but I came out of hospital and home to a house with no coke or cereal bars or jelly babies as they are things I wouldn't ordinarily have. 

I did venture out to Tesco yesterday and now  have a lunchbox for each car with appletise, dextrose tabs and a snack so that feels better. I also got her a pencil case so all the meters can strips can be in one place - we have to do ketones every time too at the moment. 

We will get there, I know. 

Thank you so much - you have no idea how much the time you guys take to reply helps. I hope one day I can return the favour to others xx


----------



## trophywench (Jul 27, 2020)

(The grumpy old cow said - You kids!  Imagine what it must have been like for us old uns before the interwebnet thingy had been invented!  Don't know you're born .... )


----------



## Lilmssquirrel (Jul 27, 2020)

trophywench said:


> (The grumpy old cow said - You kids!  Imagine what it must have been like for us old uns before the interwebnet thingy had been invented!  Don't know you're born .... )




There doesn't seem to be a laugh cry-ey face but that's what I'm doing. 

I know we are so lucky in future to have the tech. I'm just mourning that my daughter and so many lovely other people get a sh*tty deal when there are sh*tty people who sail through life treating their bodies badly and being generally not nice people and get off Scot free x


----------



## trophywench (Jul 27, 2020)

This grumpy old cow has very long agreed with that sentiment - even when a heifer - but it doesn't change a damned thing -never has - so she also decided best part of some time ago, not to waste any energy on that.

Her energy is precious to her and 'that shower' ain't having any of it.

Just come on here and have a moan, when it gets to you, luv.  You will feel better doing that, honest!


----------

