We learn something new every day from responses to our Question of the Day. We encourage you to log into your Online Community account and answer as many Questions of the Day as you can — your answers drive research that matters. Share your voice with the T1D Exchange community!    

 Here’s what we learned from the three most popular questions of May 2023:  

Do you wear medical alert jewelry or something on your body to signify you have type 1 diabetes in case of an emergency?

 Our most popular question this month asked the community if they wear any type of medical alert jewelry or something on their body to signify if they have T1D in case of an emergency. If a T1D event occurs where you can’t communicate for yourself, it is important that an emergency team knows that you live with T1D and are insulin dependent. About 46% of the community responded that they always or almost always wear something that states they are T1D, and 37% responded that they do not. Comments from the community reveal that many hope their T1D technology will alert emergency care teams of their diagnosis.  

Some insightful comments included:   

  • “I have a tattoo on my forearm. Thankfully I’ve never had to use it for an emergency, but I have had innumerable conversations about T1D because of it. In my opinion, the more people that know I’m diabetic the better…even strangers.” 
  • “I’ve worn an ID bracelet for years and always hated wearing it. I recently got a tag that fits on my Fitbit, so now I just wear the watch with the ID tag.” 
  • “I wear a bracelet with type 1 diabetes on one side and my husband’s name and cell number on the back as an emergency contact.” 
  • “I wear an insulin pump and a Dexcom G6, so I figure it shouldn’t be necessary to wear a medic alert bracelet.” 
  • “I don’t wear any jewelry anymore identifying my diabetes. I’m on an insulin pump and a sensor. I’m sure that’ll give a clue to any emergency care.” 

*Comments have been edited slightly for clarity as needed.  

On average, how many lows would you estimate you have per week?


Living with T1D brings a different journey every day with managing your T1D routine. We asked our community how many lows would they estimate they experience each week — the most popular answer choice was between two and three lows per week. The next most popular answer was between four and five lows per week. Even though each person can define having a “low” as being a different number, we assumed in this scenario that a reading of 80 mg/dL or lower. We know that T1D comes with its challenges, but experiencing low blood sugars can be one of the hardest parts of this disease.   

Popular quotes from the community included:     

  • “I have my G6 set to alarm at 70 mg/dL. It buzzes at least once a day. I usually feel it before the alarm, even while sleeping.” 
  • “Since I switched from Medtronic 723 pump and Dexcom a year ago, my incidence of lows has gone down dramatically.” 
  • “I answered 0-1. It’s easy to find them on T:Connect. But don’t ask me how many highs. I’ll have to count that!” 
  • “If you define lows as below 70 mg/dL, I usually average about two each day. So, I estimate about 14 per week.” 
  • “I said seven, about one a day, but my lows are mild, in the 60 to 70 mg/dL range. I never feel them, but the alarm warns me. One to two glucose tabs fix the problem. T1d 61 years, age 73, 90% TIR, I am pretty active and still kicking!” 

*Comments have been edited slightly for clarity as needed.  

When eating a food that you are not very familiar with, how often do you look up the nutritional information for the food you are about to eat?

As T1Ds, we always have to be aware of the amount of carbohydrates we’re eating to calculate insulin dose. Over time living with T1D, you get used to a routine of food items and how they affect your blood sugars. When you’re eating something out of your normal routine, a majority of the community, 80%, choose that they always, almost always, or often look up the food’s nutritional information so they can calculate an accurate bolus done for what they are eating.   

Here is how our community responded:   

  • “I like accuracy, so I always or almost always look up the carb content.” 
  • “I always look up carb counts for what I am about to eat. If I can’t find the exact item, I look at similar items and estimate the carbs based on portion size and the variations (IE: Is this sweeter than that? Is there more pasta here? More veggies? etc.).” 
  • “If it is totally unfamiliar, I investigate what it is, how it’s prepared, nutritional content, and then decide whether I want to eat it or not. I pretty much stick with wholesome, fresh, and simply prepared foods — vegetables, whole grains, fruits, lean protein, legumes, dairy, nuts, seed or vegetable oils, fresh herbs, and spices.” 
  • “I do when the information is reasonably easy to access. Smartphone certainly helps!” 
  • “I belong to several lunch groups. I always look up menu and nutrition facts before I go. Have been shocked at carb content of innocent-sounding side dishes.” 

*Comments have been edited slightly for clarity as needed. 

 Thank you to every member of the T1D Exchange Online Community for sharing your experiences. If you are not already a member of our Online Community, join us by clicking the “Join” button in your upper right corner!