Who remembers ????

[Jennywren]

Im going to make myself sound really old now but im not really im 40 😱 ive had type 1 diabetes for 30 years since 1980 , who remembers the glass syringes and having to boil them every so often just to keep them sterile lol , also there was none of this blood testing , you had to test your urine , so you had a little tube you had to wee in , stand it in a stand then add a tablet which would make it fizz and change your wee into a different colour depending if you was high or low ...... Blue was negative which was good no sugar and orange was the highest it could go which meant there was 2% sugar or more 😱 . Its amazing to think how far we've come today what with blood testing and insulin pumps , fingers crossed things can only carry on getting better🙂

 

[FM001]

Remember all too well as if it were yesterday Jennywren! Those glass syringes were awful things, and it took for ever and a day to pump the meths out of the syringe before drawing up the insulin. Also having to use both short and long acting insulin's in the same syringe was a complete nightmare, always getting air bubbles and wasting more than enough insulin trying to get rid off them. The Clinitest kit was the most inaccurate piece of equipment you could use to control your diabetes, how times have changed and I wouldn't wish those days on my worst enermy, is it any wonder that hba1c's have vastly improved over recent years! Toby.

 

[Caroline]

Slightly off topic I remember also people boiling babies glass feeding bottles and I'm 52.

 

[Ellie Jones]

I was lucky when I got dignosed in 1989 so just missed the glass syringes *phew* and had BM blood sticks which we had to cut down into half😱

But did use those alwful flat lancets that looked like a razor blade, and took some increddible courage to actually stab your finger... Evil or what..

I remeber using my first blood glucose meter, loaned to me during pregnangy, then I brought one costing ?150😱 after VAT had been removed!

And the carb exchange system, 3 meal and 3 snacks a day! The dietian working out that 180g of carbs to be spread through these yeah right a week later I had to have this reduced as I couldn't eat that much eventually they settled on 120g of carbs for me.. And the regime was as flexible as a brick!

It's so so much better now, with the aid of a pump and blood glucose meters I live a normal life..

 

[falcon123]

Being diagnosed in 1967 I remember it all to well! I was told to aim for a urine sugar of 1/4%. When I started occasional (very expensive) blood testing I found that my urine was 0% up to 11 and 2% at 12, so the 1/4% was an impossible target. I imagine the integer part of my HbA1c was always double digits then!

 

[paul.johnson]

Re Glass Syringes

Remember the 1" needle that used to go on the glass syringes.lol and the thickness of them,1 in 5 injections used to leave bruising,(ouch ) that was the RAF for you,didnt spend too much money on their troops for comfort.

 

[Robster65]

All too well. The needles I had were the 27g x 1/2". Came in a little plastic case.

I still think urine testing was the worst part. Plink, plink, fizz.

Rob

 

[Jennywren]

You are all reminding me off more lol , Ellie remeber cutting blood strips in half , Toby you reminded me of those meths square swabs that you use to have to use before taking injections and Paul yes them horrible old needles how fine are they now compared to back then ? 🙂

 

[ThunderBolt]

All too well. The needles I had were the 27g x 1/2". Came in a little plastic case.

I still think urine testing was the worst part. Plink, plink, fizz.

Rob

Did you ever try licking one?!? I know it's daft but I was only 5 or 6 at the time. Our kid nigh on swallowed one once. 😱

I've still got the set in the grey case somewhere along with the glass syringe in the wee blue case. Ah, memories... And damp fingers!?!

 

[Jennywren]

Lol thunderbolt , so we might see that urine testing kit on antiques roadshow one day 😱

 

[grandma]

Did you ever try licking one?!? I know it's daft but I was only 5 or 6 at the time. Our kid nigh on swallowed one once. 😱

I've still got the set in the grey case somewhere along with the glass syringe in the wee blue case. Ah, memories... And damp fingers!?!

yes Iremember it well to I have been diabetic since 1974. Iremember Iasked for disposable syringes once when going on a camping trip, and could not get them but all the people on drugs could dident seem right to me

 

[MCH]

who remembers the glass syringes and having to boil them every so often just to keep them sterile lol ,

Blue was negative which was good no sugar and orange was the highest it could go which meant there was 2% sugar or more 😱 .

Oh that takes me back! In my house, we were told to boil the syringe once a fortnight. Do you remember we used to get disposable - very, thick and long - needles till we were 16 and then had to buy our own or boil the metal opnes that came with the syringes?

My dad bought me coloured pencils to record my urine test results - I remember going to an artists type shop wher he spent ages matching up the colour chart from the Clinitest Bottle to the coloured pencils for me (I must have been about 9 at the time). 😉

 

[Northerner]

I've only been diagnosed a couple of years, and boy am I glad when I hear all this! 😱

Perhaps a recycling of my poem 'Diabetic Days of Yore' is appropriate here :

I won?t forget those wise old words my Daddy said to me
As he sat down in his chair one night and perched me on his knee.
He said, ?Son, diabetes wasn?t always so much fun,
So let me tell you how it was in 1931!?

Twice a day we?d drive to town, down to the abattoir,
Pick out a bovine pancreas and stow it in the car,
And when we got home Mum and Dad would mash that organ up,
And strain it through a muslin bag into a paper cup?

Then Dad would get some chemicals and boil them in a pan,
Adding bits of this and that with flourish and ?lan!
And meanwhile I would drink and drink until I had to pee,
And Mum would take a jar away, as swiftly as could be!

She?d add it to the chemicals, and if it turned bright red
Then I would have no supper and be sent off straight to bed.
But if it just turned yellowish, I?d have something to eat
Like carrots mashed in gravy, with sweet pickles for a treat!

I didn?t like the needles though, at least six inches long!
So Mum would jig around the room, distracting me with song!
And when he?d scraped the rust off, Dad would stick it in my butt,
I?d bite down on a leather strap to keep my mouth tight shut!

So, should you whinge and moan about how finger pricking?s bad,
Then pause to contemplate about the progress we have had.
We?ve gone from times when prospects for our future might seem poor,
To looking forward to the day that they announce the cure!

 

[Jennywren]

This made me laugh Thank you 🙂

 

[Flutterby]

I remember those days as well. Hated the clinitest palava. I used to not test and make up results to write in my book. I'd get all different pens to make it look realistic! The paediatrician was a dragon, we were all terrified of her, she was square - honestly! She had big scary glasses and a stethoscope round her neck always. I used to get admitted loads of times as control was rubbish and the care in the children's ward was appalling. I actually feel sorry for the child I was then, had some horrid experiences.

 

[Robster65]

Hated the clinitest palava. I used to not test and make up results to write in my book. I'd get all different pens to make it look realistic!

I'd forgotten about doing this !!

Used to do exactly the same thing. I'd even bend the corners on the pages to make them look well thumbed 😱

I doubt anyone was fooled by it all.

Rob

 

[AJLang]

But then came the blood test sticks that I was told I had to stick in the book after each test so they could see the results on the half cut strips..........although I'm sure that by the time of the clinic appointment they had all faded to the same colour

 

[ThunderBolt]

I used to not test and make up results to write in my book. I'd get all different pens to make it look realistic!.

😱

I'd forgotten about doing this !!

Used to do exactly the same thing. I'd even bend the corners on the pages to make them look well thumbed 😱

I've not forgot... I was still doing it earlier this year and I'm 36 now.

I plopped myself when they asked me to fetch the meter in one time so they could upload the results and show me what needed changing a graph. I took my meter out of the case and broke the strap. Then I told them it's slipped out on the bus. They ended up giving me a new one and I don't think that came out of it's box for a good 6 months either!

The things you do... Or don't. They usually bit yer bum at some point though, so I certainly regret it now.

 

[FM001]

Can you 'oldies' remember the plastic screw top container the syringe was placed in, it had a detachable stand which was totally useless cause the damn thing still fell over without much effort! I always loved the smell of the meths and surgical spirits, and those disposable pre-injection wipes also had a nice smell to them too..........don't worry I already know am strange!😉 Toby.

 

[ThunderBolt]

Can you 'oldies' remember the plastic screw top container the syringe was placed in, it had a detachable stand which was totally useless cause the damn thing still fell over without much effort! I always loved the smell of the meths and surgical spirits, and those disposable pre-injection wipes also had a nice smell to them too..........don't worry I already know am strange!😉 Toby.

Still got it!!! 😉