Men and carry bags

[JohnC2001]

Last week I went out for lunch for the first time and so injected myself away from home for the first time. I managed without fuss but did wish I had a bag with me. Besides my insulin pen, needles and pot for sharps I needed to carry Creons and Omerprazole and Buscopan. Then my phone and libre2 stopped talking to one another so had to guess my BG and dosage. So realised I should have brought my finger-prick kit too!

So my question is what do people carry all their stuff in? I’ve seen lots of terrific bags for women and the only thing suitable I’m finding is a small backpack!

Has anyone found anything innovative or a bag that’s not a handbag… being earnest!

 

[helli]

Has anyone found anything innovative or a bag that’s not a handbag… being earnest!

I often joke that the biggest change for me since my diagnosis is that I have to carry a bag.
I am not a handbag kinda gal. I used to feel comfortable with a credit card in one pocket and keys in another.
Then, like you, I had all this paraphernalia to lug around.

Sadly, I have not found a great solution beyond a small backpack.
Or, if I have to wear a dress, I can use a handbag.

Beware, if you get a bag too big, you will become the group camel carrying everyone elses' phone, wallet, keys, ... because they can't find a decent bag.

 

[rebrascora]

I am quite sure "man bags" are quite readily available these days or a small briefcase, bumbag or cross body bag or small rucksack.
I think the hardest thing is getting used to carrying it everywhere and not taking it out with you and then forgetting to bring it home again ie. leave it in the restaurant etc when you are not used to carrying one. Once you are in the habit of carrying it, you know there is something missing the moment you haven't got it, like driving without your seatbelt fastened, but it takes time to develop that habit.

 

[rebrascora]

If you do a search for "man bags" you will come up with plenty of options.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

Then my phone and libre2 stopped talking to one another so had to guess my BG and dosage.

You can still scan, though, unless the sensor decides it wants to wait for 10 minutes (or more) before giving a value? (I'm honestly not sure, but I'm assuming that's the case.)

 

[JohnC2001]

If you do a search for "man bags" you will come up with plenty of options.

Like Helli I’m happiest without a bag and just have stuff in my pocket but recognise I need to carry my kit. I have looked at and bought but sent back bags. Some are great for insulin but too small for extra meds.

It now occurs to me that what’s more difficult is carrying kit for a lunch / day out. Going away for the weekend is easy as I have no choice but to carry a big bag.

 

[JohnC2001]

You can still scan, though, unless the sensor decides it wants to wait for 10 minutes (or more) before giving a value? (I'm honestly not sure, but I'm assuming that's the case.)

Yes the sensor went offline and I needed to wait to rescan. However my meal arrival meant I didn’t have time to wait.

 

[mikeyB]

Do you use your phone or a Libre Reader to communicate? The sensor itself wouldn't go offline, it's not getting response from what you use, reader or phone. All sorts of things can interfere with the signal- a set of keys, or even loose change can disrupt the signal, and many wallets made these days have an effective blockade to Bluetooth signals.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

The sensor itself wouldn't go offline

I'm guessing the phone didn't get a reading from Bluetooth and when he scanned it he got the dreaded "Try again in 10 minutes" message (possibly more than once).

 

[JohnC2001]

Do you use your phone or a Libre Reader to communicate? The sensor itself wouldn't go offline, it's not getting response from what you use, reader or phone. All sorts of things can interfere with the signal- a set of keys, or even loose change can disrupt the signal, and many wallets made these days have an effective blockade to Bluetooth signals.

I use my iPhone. I’ve been having issues staying connected this last week. I’ve just hard-reset the phone and hope that’ll fix the issue.

 

[helli]

I think the way the sensor "went offline" is academic.
The advice is to carry finger prick tester with you when out because the sensor can fail or report unexpected highs and lows which are recommended to double check before treating.
I believe it is a DVLA requirement when driving.

It would be slightly untrue if I was to say I never leave the house without the finger pricker but I have it with me most of the time.

 

[khskel]

I have a leather cross body messenger bag but to be honest it's normally cargo pants for me. Creon goes in the mesh pouch of my meter case.

 

[Lucyr]

Here’s mine, would be fine for a man. You don’t need to carry a sharps bin when out you can put them in your sharps bin at home.

 

[JohnC2001]

I'm guessing the phone didn't get a reading from Bluetooth and when he scanned it he got the dreaded "Try again in 10 minutes" message (possibly more than once).

Yes!

Here’s mine, would be fine for a man. You don’t need to carry a sharps bin when out you can put them in your sharps bin at home

That big looks ideal…. if you don’t carry a small pot for spent needles, what do you do with the used needles?

 

[Lucyr]

Yes!

That big looks ideal…. if you don’t carry a small pot for spent needles, what do you do with the used needles?

I leave on the pen or put in the mesh pouch and put it in the sharps bin when I get home.

There’s another thread about carry cases at the moment that has the link to this one on it. The brand is MediGenix

 

[void]

Last week I went out for lunch for the first time and so injected myself away from home for the first time. I managed without fuss but did wish I had a bag with me. Besides my insulin pen, needles and pot for sharps I needed to carry Creons and Omerprazole and Buscopan. Then my phone and libre2 stopped talking to one another so had to guess my BG and dosage. So realised I should have brought my finger-prick kit too!

So my question is what do people carry all their stuff in? I’ve seen lots of terrific bags for women and the only thing suitable I’m finding is a small backpack!

Has anyone found anything innovative or a bag that’s not a handbag… being earnest!

I use one of these: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07D2FJ9MQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and my sharps go into a used pill container with lockable top, amber plastic. Strips go into an old strip container.

 

[RBZ5416]

When I first went onto insulin I spent ages looking for a decent case. I bought the smaller Medigenix case & that was absolutely useless, as it would only hold one pen. In the end I bought one of these as a cheap & cheerful solution. That fits in a cross-body bag that came from 7DayShop a few years back when I was commuting into London. They no longer do that but Googling "unisex cross body" will find many similar. Here's a pic of the case:

 

[Proud to be erratic]

John, I went through this challenge (and to some extent still am reviewing this).

Once I verified that trouser/jacket/coat pockets weren't ideal, I tried a small "bum bag" that we used to always use when we were travelling pretty well anywhere; that was an improvement, but still not ideal. I found on a market stall a low cost small bag for pens, a few needles some JBs, an extra-mini container for 10+ Creon capsules and my finger pricker; but very little else - certainly not a 150ml carton of orange juice. Sharps aren't sharp - they are either in their original package or put back like that after use, so suitably capped and just loose with my pens. For long trips away I either take them home or dispose of them as rubbish that needs reasonable respect.

I happened to be trawling Charity shops for something else (why do they live on High St's in packs of 3 or more) and came across a modest manbag for a fiver, with various zip pockets that allows it to be pretty small and compact when appropriate but to swell with various extras, eg: that carton of orange juice; ketone strips and that ketone specific meter; house and car keys; a small notebook and biro; extra sweets, biscs and snacks of varying GI; my wallet and passport for abroad; a fold-up shopping bag; face masks in Covid times; a mini fold-up umbrella; a pocket that will keep my phone secure yet easily accessed when screaming at me; and a small amount of reserve space for the unforeseen. All with a shoulder strap - it's not big enough to justify becoming a backpack. From this fiver I've had a lot of time to experiment and that bag is still in play but has suffered a lot of wear and tear and is now falling apart. Definitely no longer smart!

I found a more formal and smarter specific "man-bag" (= mini-luggage) which a friend kindly gave to me - similar in principle to my scruff bag, but very different in detail. Many zipped pockets. I used that when I went to a funeral; more appropriate for that occasion. I conceded to my wife that I now had an inkling of why she had more than one handbag! The big problem was remembering which pocket had what I wanted at that moment.

I also have several backpacks of varying sizes, most will readily take my man-bag inside. I guess an ideal would be a modest sized universal man-bag that would link up to a matching (or at least xomplimentary) bigger backpack; but that would be overkill for my actual need.

Trial and learning has left me better informed about what I want/need and I've seen future options in various charity shops, which helps the affordability of my trial and learning. But adaptability of my man-bag is my prime requirement; small almost pocket size for very short duration excursions yet expandable. Like @helli I never go without a finger pricker, I've got 3 - my original hospital one and 2 x Accuchek mobiles; the 2nd Accuchek came free after I phoned Roche, the manufacturer. They valued my continued custom of their expensive (but really useful) (and RollsRoyce) cassettes. I always take both basal and bolus pens everywhere. I've twice found myself on an unscheduled visit to hospital and do not intend to willingly surrender my BG management to a Hospital ward.

 

[Lucyr]

When I first went onto insulin I spent ages looking for a decent case. I bought the smaller Medigenix case & that was absolutely useless, as it would only hold one pen.

No idea how you came to that conclusion, did you try fitting 2 in?

I have the small medigenix lite case and it fits in my:
Lantus
Apidra
Pill case with 4 compartments
Test strip pot
BG Meter
Lancing device (accucheck fastclix)
Tictac box for used strips
Needles (have 4/5 in there usually)
fast carbs (love hearts but if you didn’t have pill case then dextrotabs would fit instead)
Slow carbs (eg mini cliff bar or lotus biscuit)

 

[Inka]

I’m not a man but my male friends tend to use either leather satchel type things with a kind of vintage look, messenger bags (cheaper) or those leather or canvas executive-looking daypacks in leather or grey. You could choose your size depending on how many other things you want to put in it, eg iPad, snacks, etc etc.

I love bags and have a lot!