I wanted to share my “go kit”. This is what I have packed for an emergency unplanned departure of possibly extended length. This is not a daily carry pack. When I leave the house for a few hours, the only thing I carry is a PDM and strips.
I wanted to be able to have a pack that I don’t need to put anything into, it is always ready. So I don’t have a lot of stuff in here. This is not my zombie apocalypse pack. But I think I could possibly survive 2 months with the insulin in here. I would love to have more strips than 50. But this way I don’t have to go into my inventory too much. The goal is to not be using stuff from the pack. It is not a storage for things I need to use now, don’t want to say “Oh, I need strips, let me get them from my go bag…”
Once a year I can replace the insulin, sensor, pods, batteries, and alcohol swabs (they dry out after an extended time). Yes, the insulin will be kept in my pack for a year without refrigeration. Apparently - as I have discovered over the years - I have the type of diabetes that does not require my insulin to be refrigerated.
Here is what I have in there:
- 30 syringes
- 1 vial of NovoLog
- 1 vial of Levemir
- 1 cartridge of Humalog (for the pen)
- 2 OmniPods
- 1 Humalog pen (choosing the one that allows 1/2 unit dosing, which is vital)
- 50 Contour strips (would love to have more, but don’t want to have too much in my unusable stash inventory)
- 1 Contour Next One meter
- 2 spare batteries for meter (no batteries stored in meter so they doesn’t go bad and leak)
- 1 Dexcom sensor
- 10 pen needles (8mm)
- lancets
- alcohol swabs
- 1 piece Tegaderm (for extending sensor life)
- 4 packs of glucose gel (60 grams of very fast carbs, I chose this type because it lasts forever, won’t mold like gtabs potentially can)
The empty kit:
The supplies:
Everything fits really well in here:
I picked a pack that is not diabetes specific. I like this one better than any of the standard D kits. It holds every thing securely, everything stays in place. The only mod I needed was to put two holes in it to keep the insulin vials in. Dimensions - 8.5" x 7.5" x 3", and the external material is semi-hard EVA with a rubber handle. Only $15 - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072DYTVZG/
Keep in mind - this is not a daily use pack, I am only going to repack this once a year with new insulin, pods, and sensor. And it is not a luxury kit. Just the essentials.
Am I missing anything?