Dolly dim moment

[helli]

my diabetes kit lives in an insulated lunch bag, so it's easy to forget.

Where do you live that means your insulin need to live in an insulated bag?
Insulin is fine at room temperature for 30 days. The only time I have bothered with any form of insulation for my insulin is when I am spending hours outside in a very hot climate.
I prefer to keep my kit as small as possible. That means as little packaging as necessary. Meter cases and pen cases are thrown as soon as I get them. At home, I keep it all in a small bag and stock it up with needles, insulin cartridges, strips as I am getting low.

Probably, like you, I do not carry a handbag so I need to remember to transfer the bits of the kit I need for the trip out of my bag and put it in my pockets. When the missing part is insulin, I have eaten salad or something low carb.
Yes, I am human and I have forgotten in the past. I think it as much of a rite of passage as forgetting whether we have taken basal insulin.

 

[Woodywoodpecker]

Eating some of the food would have stopped you going low then

yes your right, but think I panicked and wasn’t thinking straight. Will know for future hopefully won’t happen again

 

[rebrascora]

Yes, I didn't understand the comment about the jelly babies either!


hame you didn't quickly log into the site and ask us what to do whilst you were still at the restaurant. I am sure we could have reassured you.
I have never made that mistake (probably because I am naughty and reuse my needles so my pen always has a needle fitted and there is usually at least one new needle rolling around in the bottom of my bags just in case I dropped my pen and the needle gets bent or contaminated or something) but I have made the mistake of injecting my bolus insulin instead of basal.... TWICE!! The first time it was just before bed, so I had to have a bit of a midnight feast although my evening dose is pretty small, so no real panic. The second time (clearly didn't learn from my first mistake or perhaps I enjoyed the midnight feast a bit too much 🙄) was in the morning and it was a whopping 24 units of fast acting insulin to mop up. That was a bit of a scary one as it was my Fiasp and much Faster acting than NovoRapid and that was quite a lot of carbs to eat! In fact because follow a low carb way of eating I was a bit worried that I might not have enough carbs in the house to cover it but I didn't want to drive anywhere to get some because I didn't think it was safe to drive.
My worst (most dangerous) mistake was injecting for breakfast and then going out without it to exercise horses. I kept all my gear in a bum bag at the time but I took it off to go to the loo just before we set off on the horses and it wasn't until we were a good 4-5 miles from the farm that I realised I had active insulin in my system and my jelly babies and test kit and protein bar and everything else was in the bum bag at the farm. It was about 7am on a Sunday morning and I had visions of having to knock someone out of bed in one of the rural cottages and beg some sweets, which would have mortified me! As it was, after much searching of pockets, my partner found 2 mint imperials rolling around loose in in his farm coat pocket that were covered in brown/grey dirt/fluff as his farm pockets get all sorts of farm related stuff like screws and tools and filthy hands put in them. The mints were there to catch/reward horses but those 2 mints sucked slowly, together with the panic about hypoing in the middle of nowhere, got me back to my supplies at the farm. I changed to a faster insulin (Fiasp) after that as I had to prebolus more than an hour before breakfast with Novo(not so)Rapid and it was just too easy to inject and then forget that I hadn't eaten and get distracted doing something else.

Anyway, just wanted you to know that there are lots of mistakes you can make with diabetes and this will probably not be your last. Just a shame it spoiled your meal out.

 

[Woodywoodpecker]

And don’t forget to check how much insulin is in the pen and pack a spare insulin cartridge or pen if it’s running low.

Thank you will certainly be double checking everything now

 

[CliffH]

Where do you live that means your insulin need to live in an insulated bag?
Insulin is fine at room temperature for 30 days. The only time I have bothered with any form of insulation for my insulin is when I am spending hours outside in a very hot climate.
I prefer to keep my kit as small as possible. That means as little packaging as necessary. Meter cases and pen cases are thrown as soon as I get them. At home, I keep it all in a small bag and stock it up with needles, insulin cartridges, strips as I am getting low.

Probably, like you, I do not carry a handbag so I need to remember to transfer the bits of the kit I need for the trip out of my bag and put it in my pockets. When the missing part is insulin, I have eaten salad or something low carb.
Yes, I am human and I have forgotten in the past. I think it as much of a rite of passage as forgetting whether we have taken basal insulin.

I live in the tropical climate of Stirling 🙂

 

[Woodywoodpecker]

Yes, I didn't understand the comment about the jelly babies either!


hame you didn't quickly log into the site and ask us what to do whilst you were still at the restaurant. I am sure we could have reassured you.
I have never made that mistake (probably because I am naughty and reuse my needles so my pen always has a needle fitted and there is usually at least one new needle rolling around in the bottom of my bags just in case I dropped my pen and the needle gets bent or contaminated or something) but I have made the mistake of injecting my bolus insulin instead of basal.... TWICE!! The first time it was just before bed, so I had to have a bit of a midnight feast although my evening dose is pretty small, so no real panic. The second time (clearly didn't learn from my first mistake or perhaps I enjoyed the midnight feast a bit too much 🙄) was in the morning and it was a whopping 24 units of fast acting insulin to mop up. That was a bit of a scary one as it was my Fiasp and much Faster acting than NovoRapid and that was quite a lot of carbs to eat! In fact because follow a low carb way of eating I was a bit worried that I might not have enough carbs in the house to cover it but I didn't want to drive anywhere to get some because I didn't think it was safe to drive.
My worst (most dangerous) mistake was injecting for breakfast and then going out without it to exercise horses. I kept all my gear in a bum bag at the time but I took it off to go to the loo just before we set off on the horses and it wasn't until we were a good 4-5 miles from the farm that I realised I had active insulin in my system and my jelly babies and test kit and protein bar and everything else was in the bum bag at the farm. It was about 7am on a Sunday morning and I had visions of having to knock someone out of bed in one of the rural cottages and beg some sweets, which would have mortified me! As it was, after much searching of pockets, my partner found 2 mint imperials rolling around loose in in his farm coat pocket that were covered in brown/grey dirt/fluff as his farm pockets get all sorts of farm related stuff like screws and tools and filthy hands put in them. The mints were there to catch/reward horses but those 2 mints sucked slowly, together with the panic about hypoing in the middle of nowhere, got me back to my supplies at the farm. I changed to a faster insulin (Fiasp) after that as I had to prebolus more than an hour before breakfast with Novo(not so)Rapid and it was just too easy to inject and then forget that I hadn't eaten and get distracted doing something else.

Anyway, just wanted you to know that there are lots of mistakes you can make with diabetes and this will probably not be your last. Just a shame it spoiled your meal out.

I think I spoilt it by panicking, know idea why I took the jelly babies just thought keep me going till I get home. Obviously my brain wasn’t in gear, never thought about asking on here. I need to chill and stop panicking hopefully soon

 

[Lucyr]

I live in the tropical climate of Stirling 🙂

Certainly no need for an insulated lunch bag in Stirling! Why not downsize to a small pencil case you can stick in a coat pocket or bag so you don’t forget it?

 

[CliffH]

Certainly no need for an insulated lunch bag in Stirling! Why not downsize to a small pencil case you can stick in a coat pocket or bag so you don’t forget it?

Unfortunately I'm too set in my ways to change . Anyway, Stirling's much warmer than it used to be years ago.

 

[mashedupmatt]

It's easy to forget things from time to time - I'm usually very organised, but realised on a Saturday morning that I didn't have any needles at all (thought I had another box!) - after a few minutes of swearing profusely, then blind panic, I googled emergency prescription - It advised me to contact NHS 111 - went online and asked for an emergency prescription at my local pharmacy (who were only open till lunchtime (fortunately it was before 9am)) - once it was logged on the NHS system I was literally banging on the door of the pharmacy when they opened - told them I'd requested an emergency prescription via 111 and they logged on to their system and could see that I'd put in a request - the pharmacist said that they didn't have the brand of needles I was prescribed but handed over a box of 100 compatible ones immediately which was a huge relief - fantastic service from the NHS and my local chemist (I've always made sure I have at least one box spare now!)

 

[SimonP]

Very upset with myself today, went out with my friends for lunch. Ordered it and was looking forward to it, went to inject had my insulin but no needles, I could have cried ( I actually did when I came home) never forgot them before and was 7 mile from home. Just watched everyone else eat, got it boxed up, but not that keen on reheated food. Has anyone else done this, or am I the only idiot

I did this during the summer - went for what I thought was going to be a quick wander around the local town with my children, it dragged on longer than expected (for us all), we all got hungry and sat down in a café to get coffee & a snack, saw the fry-up on the menu and thought we'd make it brunch so ordered three. I then, thankfully quickly, realised I didn't have any insulin with me, so had to cancel my order and watch my children tuck into their fry-ups. Vicarious pleasure, not quite all it's cracked up to be! 🙂

I don't think they are really old enough to be abandoned on their own (for me to walk to the car, drive home, then come back), and I didn't think that eating the (hot) chips, hash brown, beans and toast without any insulin cover would do me any good.

I do now habitually take my bolus insulin with me whenever we pop out to do a "quick look around town" though! 🙂

 

[Lucyr]

Anyway, Stirling's much warmer than it used to be years ago.

If Stirling is over 25 degrees in December (the safe temperature for in use insulin) I’ll pack my bags and come!

 

[Lucyr]

I then, thankfully quickly, realised I didn't have any insulin with me, so had to cancel my order and watch my children tuck into their fry-ups

Just asking them to remove beans and toast would have been fine surely? Minimal carbs in sausages, mushrooms, bacon, eggs, tomatoes, and you’d have got away with the small amount there is in that after all that walking I bet.

 

[CliffH]

If Stirling is over 25 degrees in December (the safe temperature for in use insulin) I’ll pack my bags and come!

Well it's dipped slightly below that over the past few days with the wind - which at least means that I've been able to turn the air conditioning down and save money on electricity

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Ah @Woodywoodpecker !

Sorry about the stressful time you had, but be kind to yourself. You certainly aren't the first to make this mistake (or something more dramatic!).

Many's the time we had to turn the car around when Jane said, "Have you got your pencil case?"

Think of it as a learning opportunity. You won't leave the house without checking without checking for quite some time I'd imagine! But I'd put money that it will happen at some point in your future, so be kind to yourself when it does!

 

[Bruce Stephens]

But I'd put money that it will happen at some point in your future, so be kind to yourself when it does!

For all daft things it's possible to do, more than one of us will have done it, mostly more than once. It's inevitable. Never making a mistake means doing the right thing multiple times a day, and humans can't do that. Best we can do is to reduce the errors, maybe catching them early so we can handle them.

 

[SimonP]

Just asking them to remove beans and toast would have been fine surely? Minimal carbs in sausages, mushrooms, bacon, eggs, tomatoes, and you’d have got away with the small amount there is in that after all that walking I bet.

Certainly had it been a case of that or starving, but that would be more than half of the meal gone, which would make it an expensive snack, plus it wouldn't be the same without the other ingredients.

The kids enjoyed theirs which was the important bit, I learned my lesson, and I was probably able to ride up hills somewhat less slowly the next day too 😉

 

[Kol]

Thank you will certainly be double checking everything now

When you take a pen from the fridge to use, put a needle on straight away and don't remove it until your next injection.

Forgot needles? Worst case i have re-used successfuly without infection or growing an extra head.

Spare needles and hypo treatments (i use glucose tablets, last a long time even opened and don't get sticky in the heat or pockets) leave in vehicles, at work, at home, in wifes bag, always good to have a back up for the back up.

 

[Lucyr]

When you take a pen from the fridge to use, put a needle on straight away and don't remove it until your next injection.

You aren’t supposed to leave a needle on a pen between injections, all the manufacturers advise removing the needle straight away as leaving it on can cause leakage

 

[Woodywoodpecker]

Ah @Woodywoodpecker !

Sorry about the stressful time you had, but be kind to yourself. You certainly aren't the first to make this mistake (or something more dramatic!).

Many's the time we had to turn the car around when Jane said, "Have you got your pencil case?"

Think of it as a learning opportunity. You won't leave the house without checking without checking for quite some time I'd imagine! But I'd put money that it will happen at some point in your future, so be kind to yourself when it does!

Thank you, wouldn’t mind but double checked a had pencil case, just thought needles were in it. Have now put some spares in with jelly babies

 

[Kol]

You aren’t supposed to leave a needle on a pen between injections, all the manufacturers advise removing the needle straight away as leaving it on can cause leakage

In 26+ years of using Lantus and NovoRapid 3ml pens i have truthfully never had any leak with a needle left on, therefore I have never been in the unfortunate postion to have insulin but unable to administer.

Chances are i will continue to do the same for the next 26+ years, unless they leak that is 🙂