woot woot! I’m causing strife in FUDland! I knew that all of this extra energy I had leftover after getting out of local political debates would be good for something!
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Let’s do it. But let’s coordinate at least so we can stay friends. 
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You will never put a wedge between me and Nick. She’s my evil twin, my sister, my partner in crime, my opposite, and my same. All in one nice loveable package.
Bruce Wayne and Batman, Clarke Kent and Superman, Peter Parker and Spider-Man. You can’t separate us.
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I mean, it was incidental strife. I didn’t mean to, but y’all are fun to watch at the ol’ FUD tennis matches around here.
This whole Superman/Clarke Kent and Spiderman/Peter Parker idea is fascinating. Which one of you is the straight-laced “regular” person and which one of you is the tights-wearing, underwear-on-the-outside flashy one? @Nickyghaleb and @Eric? I mean, I don’t know what kind of get-ups you guys exercise in so it’s really a toss up in what I’m envisioning right now.
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Eric, when you were talking of survival scenarios, I thought of two things:. Macgyver, of course, and the "fire drill"episode of the office. Fire drill. I know, not really the same thing but an irresistible tangent
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According to the pool boys, Nicky seldom wears any underwear…
Awwww, Eric! That’s a lot of pressure! 
But for sure, I was about to say the exact same thing. 
Seriously… awwww… 
We already know, don’t we?
It’s Eric. The tights-wearing, underwear-on-the-outside (when he wears them) flashy one.
And I heard that, @Eric, about the pool boys. But you should hear what they say about you.
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Holy. Crap. You ARE MacGyver!
I am so impressed! That is amazing!
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I can’t lie, I really like this way of thinking.
Reading many of the other posts in this thread totally stressed me out. The level of concern needed from moment-to-moment made me sad.
I’m sure that EH and I have run into a relatively long list of possible emergencies, caused by our lack of planning, and yet we find ourselves here today. And for years before reading on FUD about being a more prepared person or planning for T1D disaster, we just kinda flew by the seat of our pants. I guess there are probably times that Eric could’ve died, but he didn’t. And I am thankful for that.
When he was diagnosed he decided he wasn’t going to let diabetes hold him back. He doesn’t hide his condition, instead uses it as an opportunity to inform people*. We travel, and know there’s a donut or bottle of juice around the corner. He runs, sometime far, and basically in his underwear and occasionally doesn’t take enough sugar - but people will help him. He just asks strangers for help if need be. Bartenders for soda. Flight attendants for juice. If he was walking down the street and was unprepared he’d just talk to someone. Once he ran across a closed former dump in LA, after jumping over a fence, and found his way to a golf course where they gave him a Gatorade for free.
I don’t want to make it sound like everyone should be unprepared. However, sometimes it is not the absolute end of the world. And being unafraid is the thing that I would hope everyone had a chance to experience. If more stuff eases the fear, that’s cool. If it only adds to the burden of the disease, might be time to reevaluate.
I guess it’s really a case of YDMV - historically, his diabetes has been predictable enough to leave the house without an immense amount of preparedness. And I’m sure that we have been lucky. But I like to think that most days will be like the tens of thousands that have preceded them.
Don’t give me wrong, I like the idea of preparedness. We’ve got the insulin hoard, plenty of supplies, and I have learned well from folks here at FUD! 
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I used to live that way pre-kids. Being a diabetic mom changes my calculation on everything. It has to.
When my husband and I were newly married, I was newly diabetic and we lived out east. We’d gone down to the Washington Monument and had been walking around the Tidal Basin for quite a while. I tanked. I sat under some picturesque trees by the water and he ran off to find sugar (not easy in that location bc he couldn’t find a vendor or shop close by - off tourist time or something). Anyway, I’m sitting by the basin while being low…and another lady is laying on her stomach doing a watercolor painting of the water. Well, the show “Bones” was filming a car scene and we were in the background. The crew asked me to get out of the shot, but not the happy painter chick! Apparently my sweaty low self was ruining their shot and I crawled out of it to be nice…while still low. I think it’s funny…I guess I’m not camera ready in that state!
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I think this really depends on personality, circumstances, and experiences.
For me, having more “stuff” definitely makes my experience significantly more enjoyable and relaxing than not having it. To me, it’s really about putting in the effort now (ahead of time) versus later (when it’s actually needed). Similar to how I think about low-carb eating. Harder up-front, but more relaxing in the long run… Not driven by fear so much as that convenience.
However, I’m also facing many issues that others aren’t: I can’t just take random juice or candy and eat it because of severe food allergies; I can’t expect that I’ll easily be able to find a store or random stranger because I can’t glance around and spot something; and because I travel by public transit and can’t drive or bike, I rarely have the option of quickly popping home.
I also live in an earthquake zone and have had earthquake preparedness drilled into me since I was a kid. And I had my best friend pass away unexpectedly several years ago, which has heightened my awareness of how life is never something I can take for granted.
I definitely don’t think it’s right or wrong to be prepared or not. I think it just comes down to those factors of personality, circumstances, and past experiences. I’m certainly not prepared for the apocalypse like some people out there are. I don’t keep things in every room of my apartment, nor always bring my phone with me when I take an elevator, though I do sometimes keep things on my body if I want to be able to access something immediately without having to stop what I’m doing. I’m just prepared for the possibility of daily issues (ripping out pump site, going low) and likely local disasters (major earthquake, getting stuck somewhere). And for me, that’s just because things are easier and more relaxing knowing that I’m ready, not because I’m walking around in constant fear.
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Being able to treat a low with juice within arm’s length without getting up with a sleeping baby on you makes life easier. Working in a building full of electrical gremlins makes the elevator I use fall into the “probably will get stuck today” category rather than the “apocalypse” category. 
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Yes, agreed. I don’t have kids, but I teach kids. I don’t have the luxury of being able to hit “pause” on a classroom to go treat a low. And some of the areas I’m qualified to teach have life-and-death consequences if I’m not on top of everything at all times.
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Yeah, this is another thing I have to think of. We’ve had a local school lock down for hours before. That’s why I use a spi-belt or small sling bag to carry supplies on me if I’m going to be in a different room from my backpack.
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This case is only about 5.5 inches square, and less than 2.5 inches thick. It has a hard exterior to protect everything inside.
It contains:
- 20 syringes with 1/2 unit markings
- 1000 units of Levemir
- 1000 units of NovoLog
- 1 BG meter
- 100 test strips
- swabs
- lancets
- 70 grams of sugar (10 gtabs and 2 Transcend gels)
Here it is all packed up.
The case (linked here) is only about $15.
The stuff packed inside should be enough to get you through most any jam. Like I mentioned, the smaller the case, the more likely you are to make sure you always have it available.
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That’s really neat. I’m in the process of getting new cases for my emergency medications, daily backup medications, and for travel. Right now I keep my emergency and backup medications in the same case, but I’m going to separate them so I can put the emergency ones in an outside pocket that’s easy to access. I’ve been using Medicool cases (Dia-Pak Classic and Dia-Pak Deluxe) for years, plus a lunch bag for medications for longer trips, but I find the Medicool cases aren’t configured very well for fitting a lot.
My biggest issue isn’t so much fitting a lot into a small space, it’s more the weight that is created when it’s all added up (medications, food and utensils, technology, weather gear, and other essentials). In emptying out my bag I’ve realized that no individual item is that large or heavy, but added up my entire backpack weighs a lot.
I’m seriously considering buying a folding luggage cart that I can keep in my backpack for days when I come home with my backpack plus buy a few bags of groceries on the way home. Carrying so much weight while walking can’t be good in the long run…
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Are you able to fast without too much problem? I mean like in a real emergency, would fasting be doable for you?
I think it can make everything easier. You don’t need to do as much correction stuff, just basal.
Since you have experience doing low carb, this probably would not be completely new ground for you to negotiate. I have found that fasting just requires a basal reduction. I think in an emergency, I would reduce my food intake to the absolute minimum. The exception would be if I had to spend a lot of energy walking or moving around.
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In an emergency, sure. I guess I’m talking more about a daily basis thing. Maybe I should start a new thread…
On a daily basis, if I don’t bring food, I usually don’t eat. So fasting is fine if needed (I just skipped breakfast this week one morning when I woke up late), but not something I want to do every day.
In an emergency it’s hard to say what would happen with BG. In my case, I would be walking everywhere most likely or staying put. Walking absolutely makes me crash every time (except in the morning), but stress absolutely makes me spike. So hard to say what my blood sugar would do.
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I think this thread is interesting in highlighting the broad spectrum of approaches and related feelings about such approaches.
Some people prefer to be prepared for contingencies and that is the most relaxing avenue for them (and the “unlimited” avenue for them…unafraid).
Some people prefer to plan for the routine outcome and that is the relaxing avenue for them (again, unlimited and unafraid, for them).
Maybe I’m reading the FUD temperature wrong, but I have read statements in other threads that border on judgmental towards the planners (“Don’t worry about it. Don’t cry about it. Why stress about it? Why live your life that way? Etc etc”)…but that seems to come from people who often refer to a spouse or partner who highlight their lows for them. I don’t recall reading finger-wagging at people who don’t plan and then have something go sideways for them. I usually see lots of support and helpful comments that direction. Maybe I’m wrong. Just something I keep noticing.
I might be too new to say this, but hopefully there’s a healthy appreciation that everyone’s version of Unlimited is different…and that planning doesn’t mean fear. If there’s one thing that The Betes has taught me, it is to expect to be surprised. Personally, if I’m ready for the surprise, I can do whatever I want to do…do it well…and have fun with my kids without causing them undue stress or harm. That’s my Unlimited.
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My life is all about planning.
There is no way I would be able to do what I do (work full-time in a very dynamic job, commute all over the city by foot/bus/train/boat, travel regularly around the province/country/continent) while being legally blind, having T1 diabetes, having multiple severe food allergies, and having other medical conditions if I didn’t plan the way I do.
Planning for me allows me to be unlimited.
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