D-Blog Week Day 5: Diabetes Life Hacks

Share the (non-medical) tips and tricks that help you in the day-to-day management of diabetes.  

This is an interesting topic.  Every single diabetic I have spoken to has little tips and tricks on making living with diabetes a little bit easier.  Here is a random list of my own:

* A good place to store your waterproof pump when swimming is clipped to the front of your bathing suit with the screen of the pump facing inward.  Keeps it nice and snug, no worries about it dropping to the bottom of the pool.
 
* Keep a quarter in your meter case for pump battery changes, makes unscrewing that little cap so much easier.

* After a site change, leave your old site in for a couple of hours.  This seems to have helped me in the highs I was experiencing after changing my site.

* If making soups, stews or chili's in big batches, freeze them in freezer bags instead of containers and write the carb count on the front of the freezer bag.  A good way to portion things out correctly, get the exact amount of carbs to bolus for and save space in your freezer.

* When you go running and want to bring along some glucose tabs just in case of a low, put them in a snack size Ziploc bag and then store them in the side of your sports bra.  Not only does this keep them dry, but it keeps them warmer so if you need to use them they dissolve faster in your mouth.

* Store your emergency glucagon in a toothbrush holder and write the expiry date with a sharpie on the outside.  They are the perfect size to hold everything you need, including the instructions.

I am heading off camping for the long weekend so will post my remaining two D-Blog week entries on Monday.  Happy Friday!