Sarah Howard
Sarah Howard (nee Tackett) has dedicated her career to supporting the T1D community ever since she was diagnosed with T1D while in college in May 2013. Since then, she has worked for various diabetes organizations, focusing on research, advocacy, and community-building efforts for people with T1D and their loved ones. Sarah is currently the Senior Manager of Marketing at T1D Exchange.
Sarah and her husband live in NYC with their cat Gracie. In her spare time, she enjoys doing comedy, taking dance classes, visiting art museums, and exploring different neighborhoods in NYC.
I keep my blood sugar meter with me at all times. It goes with me 24/7 no matter what CGM I had because there are just times that I need to verify a number.
Also, with my current CGM (Eversense), calibrations are needed. (There are more calibrations needed at the beginning, but, once it gets to know you, fewer are needed until it is just once a day. I don’t mind calibrating at all.
I keep my insulin pen in my small meter case with a small supply of skittles & take it in my purse. I’ll leave it in the car when I shop or visit, so it’s nearby.
I marked yes because I keep a glucose meter in both mine and my wife’s car.
Yes I always carry my meter in my purse.
Same!
A meter and some strips can be purchased in any pharmacy. If I was hiking or off road would bring meter. I just went on a short cruise. My new Dexcom G7 did not deploy cannula. I had to rely on finger sticks for four days. I did have back up meter and strips and did just fine.
I always have a backup meter on a work day. On weekends when I am close to home and have the ability to get home if needed I do not carry one
only take backup glucometer when travelling out of town for the day or more
Don’t have backup one
I have a small cosmetic bag with testing supplies, insulin, syringes, alcohol and a battery that I have with me virtually all the time. Overkill? Maybe. But reassuring.
No. I run around town with my wife, shopping and for doctors’ appointments. I get my CGM readings off of my Tandem insulin pump. Generally, I do not carry a blood test kit for local running around. I always take a backup blood test kit when I am away from my home area.
Only if my sensor is being wonky, otherwise, no.
for Libre users, your reader is also a BGM ….. Hmmmm, this system must have been overlooked
the LAST thing that I’m going to do is give those clowns more $$$ because the CGM isn’t accurate!
I keep a small glucose meter with me in my purse, but sometimes I take it out when I know I’m not far from home for too long. It’s a matter of sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t.
I always carry a glucose meter with me.
I keep one in my purse all the time.
My last 3 G6 dexcom’s have been really wrong.. sending low alerts when my sugar is 90-110, also, sending over 160 alerts too late.. so I’m tied to the blood pokes for a real picture. Carry it with me.
I have a small bag containing a glucometer, juice box and granola bar that I take on all car trips no matter the duration. I just plop it in the back seat foot well.
I only carry a meter if I’m traveling overnight. If I did need one due to CgM failure and was several hours away from home I can just pop into a Walmart or other drug store and purchase an inexpensive meter.
I ALWAYS (well, almost always) have my regular BG meter along with me because despite the FALSE CLAIMS that Dexcom, Freestyle, and all the other companies make about how accurate their devices are, I have found that the Dexcom G4 CGM system was far more accurate for me than the Dexcom G6 has ever been.
There isn’t a CGM system available that is accurate enough to blindly trust without checking my BG meter reading prior to eating or just assuming “Well, the CGM says I’m too high, so I’ll trust it and take a Bolus.”
I have had countless times when my tSlim X2 pump with Control IQ has delivered automatic correction bolus doses in excess of 3 units because the CGM was indicating I was well over 250, but when I would double-check the CGM reading with my BG meter, my BG meter would indicate that my actual Blood Glucose level at the time the CGM said I was over 250 was actually below 40 mg/dl!!! And I have had just as many times when the pump would suspend insulin delivery because the CGM was indicating I was somewhere too low for the CGM to give a numeric reading (below 40 mg/dl), but when I’d double-check with my BG meter, my BG meter would indicate that my blood glucose was actually between 130 and 150 mg/dl, so my pump should have been at least increasing the basal, if not even delivering an automatic correction bolus instead of stopping the insulin delivery!!!
I have seen a similar thing.
Yes I always take my glucose meter as back up for verification purposes on results with me when I am away. from home and as well an extra Dexcom sensor in case of accidents happening like messages from my reader to replace the one I am wearing? It has happened a few times so I take no chances.
I spent more than 2 decades without blood glucose measurements. Perhaps that is why I am not uncomfortable being away from a glucometer as a backup. If I travel out of town for overnight, I will likely bring a spare libre sensor. As noted above, the scanner also can work as a glucometer.
I always keep meter in my glove compartment and in my gym bag or beach bag. I’ve had sensors get ripped off or have crazy fluctuations I need to confirm. I don’t often use it but has come in handy in unforeseen circumstance. I also keep pump supplies in my car and insulin in my purse for the same reason.
I took my granddaughters to the zoo for four hours yesterday. Both my eldest granddaughter and I use Dexcom G6 and we were both in the middle of a sensor session, so I did not bring a meter. But if our sessions were just starting or near the end of the 10 day cycle, I might have.
I think guys are somewhat at a disadvantage here b/c it’s not part of the male habitus to carry a bag with all kinds of other stuff the way it is for women. And a glucometer doesn’t easily fit in your jeans pocket. That said, pre-CGM I *DID* have small leather shoulder bag that I used for years on MDI and even after I started on a pump that I carried my GM and various supplies in. So I just always had that along everywhere I went. As CGM got more accurate I slowly got out of the habit b/c I so rarely needed it. I kept a GM in my desk at work as well as the one(s) at home, so carrying the bag-o’-d-gear seemed superfluous. I do use it occasionally but only if I’m taking a plane trip or something like that.
NO! On G6 with Tandem CIQ set to Sleep Mode 24/7, haven’t Calibrated in over 3 years, numbers are almost always within 15% which as in Hand Grenades ‘close enough’ I can’t remember the last time I used a Meter or even what brand. A1c was at 5.4 and hardly ever above 6.1, Extreme Lows at 0%, Lows at 4%. I’m not Perfect but it’s Close enough to say “This is the Cure they Promised 60 years ago!” Wishing All the Best of Bgs!
I hate bulky things in my pockets so I have a small 5.11 range bag I cary with my tester kit, wallet, letherman, and Swiss army knife. I keep my tester and test strips along with an old vial fir used strips in a small penguin container. It usually doesn’t get noticed except at airports if I forget to pack it in non-cary- on lugage.
Usually for that length of time for hours away, I take a meter and a small pack with syringes and insulin just in case everything goes wrong. Gotta be prepared.
I said probably not, but it all depends if I’m nearing the life of the sensor and it’s getting spotty
One is always in my backpack. I love my Dex but it’s been off enough times I double check if I feel off or if I get alerted by my dog.
Unsure…Rather…depends….if numbers on CGM are acting up I will bring a meter. If not, the meter gets left behind. Incorrect numbers on CGM yields wacky blood sugars and roller coasters. Sometimes I have CGM’s that even needs to be removed and a new one placed in a different area. I don’t like to be somewhere w/out a blood tester when this happens but I usually know ahead whether to prepare. Then I will bring a glucose meter. Sometimes the CGM levels out. Sometimes it doesn’t.
I answered probably not, but with that said, I always have a meter in my car and one in the house.
Why would you need to bring a glucose meter with you if you left the house for four hours and you have a CGM that question makes little to no sense at all. Your CGM is your convenience so you don’t have to do a blood sugar out in public
Because not all CGMs are reliable for treating blood sugar levels. Mine isn’t—Guardian 3 transmitter and sensor (Medtronic Diabetes). Even my endocrinologist said not to rely on the CGM readout but to check my blood sugar manually before I eat. For those of us on Medtronic tech and not yet on the 780G system, we still have to calibrate and the CGM is for trends, not near-exact BG data.
If somewhere I can get away from won’t bring a meter. Otherwise bring a meter, spare infusion set, syringe, and depending on insulin in my pump a full cartridge. Anything can happen and has. But I’m too busy to hope “nothing” does.
I live in earthquake country. For that reason I try to never go anywhere without a kit that not only has a backup meter, but also a generous supply of insulin and needles and some source of sugar. When I forget to bring along my fanny pack with these items, I feel very uncomfortable — and it happens far too often even after decades of Type 1. Earthquake concern is one of several reasons that I stick with MDI rather than pumping.
For all times when I’m away from home, work, etc for 8 hours or more, I carry it in my purse or car.
You never break protocol, not for any reason. Can we sure, should we, nope. You have backup emergency supplies, emergency cures period.
“unsure” as it depends.
If I am on my own, “yes” I carry (my many needed) medical supplies with me as I don’t drive. Four hours can extend to who knows how long due to bus trips or small unwanted medical events that don’t require a doctor.
If I with my husband, shopping, going out, … and only plan on being away for this short length of time, the answer would be “no.” We would go home quickly if needed.
I answered No, but realized that i do always have a meter with me. The whole kit (and kaboodle) comes with me everywhere, no matter how long I’m away from home.
My son Carrie’s a meter in his diabetes supply bag which goes everywhere he goes. That being said, carrying extra supplies is not a matter of time away, but distance. For example, if we go an hour away for a family celebration, we don’t want diabetes to disrupt our visit, or cut it short. We have a sling bag that we take along that as everything that we need to change our a pump site or replace a failed sensor.
In my everyday immediate use grab & go purse? No not usually. However I do keep one in my larger everyday carry all bag along with an extra supply of pump suuply paraphernalia, healthy snacks and hypoglycemia treatments.
I take my meter with me everywhere, no matter how long I’m away from home. If I don’t have it, I forgot it by accident
I answered “Yes” as I interpreted “backup” meter as having my blood glucose meter with me to backup the CGM rather than having a 2nd meter with me. I ALWAYS carry my meter, spare bottle of strips, battery backup and charging cords with me at all times. You never know what may happen and you can’t get back home.
I take a glucose checking kit with me wherever I go. Exception is walking to the mailbox.
I am on the MiniMed 770G with Guardian 3 CGM transmitter and sensors. It has to be calibrated. Plus, right now I am checking my blood sugar every time I put something in my mouth other than water or herbal tea: my endocrinologist wants to see what other substances besides carbs do to my BGs.