An old humalog case (containing admelog and basaglar now) , my contour next one, and not pictured like 3 portable tubes of glucose tablets. This is all just in my purse lol.
2 Likes
Even so, I have found it to be an immense help in daily life and as a yoga teacher. Now I can stash my phone in purse or pocket and keep my hands free!
3 Likes
You’re a yoga teacher? That’s awesome! I really enjoy yoga but stick to online videos because I’m a little intimidated by public classes 
I haven’t been doing it much at all lately, but keep thinking I need to get back to it!
1 Like
Just starting out as a teacher after going through a very intense training course. (I feel like I know enough to be dangerous. LOL!). We stream music through our phones for classes so with the watch I can keep an eye on my BG at the same time…’cos it’s prolly not good if the teacher goes hypo. 
6 Likes
One of my endo’s mentioned to me that he uses the insulin pen cartridge off label and carries syringes with him instead of using a pen. For him, it’s about accuracy. He said that he can eyeball 1/4 unit. He is much younger than 55+ with better eyesight, AND he is a doctor. I don’t quite comprehend the advantage of carrying syringes and a cartridge because I like the ease and convenience of the Echo Novo Pen.
1 Like
A cartridge and a few syringes (if he is using the 30 unit size syringes) is smaller than a pen with the cartridge loaded inside.
As I mentioned in my earlier post on this thread, the syringes make for a small carry. And using a cartridge instead of a vial makes it even more compact.
I have some stuff that uses that same idea also (using a cartridge as a container). I’ll have to post it at some time.
1 Like
Prior to my current fascination with pens, I carried pre-loaded syringes for years, leaving the vials in the fridge. Humalog and regular had 25 units each syringe, and Lantus had 10 units (or whatever my 2x daily dose was). Humalog and regular were eyeballed and injections stopped short according to need at the time. This works better with 30 unit syringes, instead of 100 unit (2 unit per mark)…Just a little bump can be a lot more insulin.
I labeled the syringes with a sharpie according to contents.
A couple drawbacks: 1. easier to mistake bolus syringe for basal (did that at bedtime, two different times)…a pen with Levemir fixed that. 2. Sometimes hard to dose exactly, stopping at the mark I want to stop at. This again is better with 30 unit syringes.
3 Likes
I’ve tried a number of systems over the years but have settled on carrying these items with me when out and about: meter, strips, lancet, a couple of insulin syringes, alcohol swabs, and IV prep swab, one insulin pump site, a small amount of Skittles, my in-use insulin vial, skin-tape and a re-purposed Tic-Tac container for spent strips. I also like to have room for extra strips if I’m at the end of a vial. I put it in a Vera Bradley double zip case. The convenient part is the two compartment thing. In the small compartment is the meter, strips, and lancing device - that’s it - quick and dirty access with a no-struggle zip closure. I like this setup so much that I’ve purchased three of them and change out seasonally. I’ve never been a fan of cases that hold everything in a dedicated location as I find they need more space to hold fewer items and I’d end up holding the entire case in weird positions to get the sample on the strip. Faster and more discreet to use the three main components “freestyle”.
7 Likes
When you use syringe, do you pre load the syringe? I’d be concerned about drawing and filling the syringe in public and fear a oops, I dropped and cracked the cartridge, and freaking out some folks (this has happened when I checked my BG). The insulin pen is more “discreet”, if that makes sense. When I consider the number of steps involved in filling the syringe, removing the air. In my case, I’m much more comfortable with the dial feature of the pen.
Sometimes I do a pre-load. But not always.
Yes, the pen is more convenient. But I was just mentioning that the syringes are smaller than the pen. So it depends on the situation, and what priorities someone has.
But the great thing is - you don’t have to only pick a single solution. Just use the best thing for any particular situation.
1 Like
Agreed, there are many viable options.
When you pre fill the syringes, how do you prevent it from deploying and squirting the insulin inside the container/case? My “usual” dosage is 1.5 units. Would you pre fill a few syringes with 1.5 units and consume them? I cannot imagine filling with more and then trying to make certain that I “only” dose 1.5 units.
What kind of syringes do you use?
If you use BD, you can do what I do. It works great.
Try this…
After you load the syringe, replace the back plunger cap.
This one, the back cap:
Hard to tell from the pic, but this syringe has 1.5 units loaded, and the back plunger cap is on the syringe:
Basically, on the BD 30 unit syringes, the back plunger cap will fit on the syringe, and keep the plunger from accidentally injecting out the insulin.
Any amount in the syringe, 1.5 units or less, you can load in the syringe and replace the plunger cap to keep it from spiriting out, and the plunger will still fit inside the cap
The back cap fits in there without deploying the insulin. I hope this makes sense.
If not, I can try to explain it better.
Easy to demonstrate for yourself - just load a syringe with 1.5 units and replace the back plunger cap and look at the syringe and see there is still 1.5 units in there!
3 Likes
Ah…yes. I see; I do, in fact use the BD syringe. 
1 Like
Needless to say, but for 10U or greater preloads, the cap doesn’t fit back on…
If you are careful in how you handle the syringes and case, the larger preloads are fine - you just need to be careful.
1 Like
For larger pre-loads, I like these syringe cases. They are not much bigger than the syringe and keep it from accidentally injecting.
Available on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Medicool-Wright-Pre-Filled-Syringe-Case/dp/B000VBDXT8/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1537461865&sr=8-1&keywords=syringe%2Bcase%2Bwright&th=1
4 Likes
If I’m on an overnight trip I’ll carry a kit with spare sensor, infusion set, pump battery, humalog, syringes, glucagon, meter and test strips, and lots of glucose. But reading all the posts makes me feel somewhat self-irresponsible because it seems like folks are carrying most of this kit all the time. For me when I’m just out and about I only have a tube of glucose tabs, my pump, and my phone for the Dexcom and Loop (plus the Rileylink so the phone can talk to the pump.) All the backup supplies are at home. If a sudden disaster scenario strands me away from home I’d be in trouble in about 2 days unless I could reach a pharmacy or medical facility. But probably the zombies would get me first.
2 Likes
I have a Tandem tSlim X2. You also need to carry a charging cable with you. I learned this last month when I had a cartridge failure. The cartridge failure alarm (audible) will not shut off until you change the cartridge and you cannot power down the pump without the cable being attached to it. I was in a situation where I could not change out the cartridge for several hours (had a pen with me to use in the meantime). I had to take my disconnected pump out to my car and leave it there because I couldn’t silence it.
1 Like
Hmm, we have never had this alarm, thanks for the tip. I think my son usually carries a charging cable because he doesn’t always remember to charge it. But good to understand another use case.
1 Like
Don’t see your test strips… you have them in there?? Or are they in you other bag that’s off-screen. The big one with all the important stuff?