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Tuesday 2 April 2013

Sunshine & Test strips

Good morning everyone c:

I am so happy to say that the sun is shining this morning. It honestly puts me in such a good mood having had weeks and weeks of depressing cloud and rain and snow - It is definitely looking a bit more like Spring this morning. Gee, I hope I don't jinx the nice weather. Haha, woops.

Do you know what I hate?
The annoying fact that my test strips only come in little pots of 25. The strips that came with my old meter came with 50 so they lasted way longer than these ones do. I literally only changed the pot for my blood glucose meter last week, and they are all finished. This morning I had just woken up and then I went to have as shower etc. and I came back in to test my blood glucose levels again and I had one precious strip left...so I put it in, handling it with great care and then  I pricked and sucked up the blood. 5,4,3,2,1 E-4

UGH?! what?! The stupid thing is is that my meter doesn't tell me straight away if there is not enough blood on the test strip. It just goes ahead and counts down giving me false hope, and THEN tells me. Gosh, we don't have time to waste here, mister meter.

I suppose I should go downstairs now and open a new pot. The pots that are all individually wrapped...two pots of 25 come in one box, sealed rather tight. Then once you finally get into the box made from what seems to be extra-tough cardboard, you are then greeted by two pots almost vacuum packed into some plastic- which takes a day and an age to get off. I hope I never have to attempt to open one of those when I'm low because it would not be happening!

Anyway, there was my little rant about the test strips. They do irritate me.
Here, I will leave you with a picture of my blood glucose meter and the funny test strips. They are so weird. Look at the way they fit into the meter! The good part is is that they are actually so much better in terms of not touching the little "blood-sucker" part and giving yourself  a false reading, the huge white part makes it so much easier to get it out of the pot and those strips are quite thick too so, there is the good side to those strips. 

Oh also, the other day I was in science and I went to test my blood sugar and the meter came back telling me I was 2.9 mmol. I was like "what? noo" I mean clearly there was some sort of conspiracy going on there. My friend was like "no test again, if you were 2.9 you wouldn't be so alert" I was like yeah exactly! So I tested again and they were actually 5.6 mmol I think c: I haven't been that low in ages and I didn't feel low so  my meter was obviously very confused that day. 

-Ellie
[Peace&Insulin]

9 comments:

  1. Hi Ellie! I just found your blog and I just wanted to tell you that I think it's amazing, great job!!! I am not a diabetic myself, but two friends of mine are and I have a family friend who just got diagnosed last week on her 14th birthday-she's coping really well I think, but naturally she feels a bit isolated (and doesn't know any other diabetics under 40)so your blog is really helping all us non-diabetics get an insider view, so thanks!!
    My Mum is also T1, has been since she was about 14 I think and sometimes I have to help her with her Diabetes care-this can be frustrating when she has a hypo in the morning just before she is about to drive me to school!!
    But I know it's not easy, so I do my best to be patient and understanding, and your lovely little blog posts really seem to help with that, so please keep it up!

    Also, I am happy to chat any time, I love making new friends, and I'm sure the newly diagnosed family friend (I wont post her name here without asking her parents) would have a few questions for you if you were willing:)


    <3 Hayley-wow just realised I forgot to tell you my name, sorry! I am 17 and live in Australia by the way ^_^

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  2. Hiya Hayley,
    wow thankyou so much for your commment it really means a lot! I am glad that it is helping you guys out a bit as yes, diabetes can be a bit frustrating for everyone. Even those with out diabetes who have to live with diabetics :C haha.
    & oh great, i can chat anytime too c:
    - Ellie <3

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  3. I think you are doing just great and i love the optimism in you. Living a life with diabetes is not that easy but a lot of people managed to still live a normal life and i'm definitely sure, you will too.

    - HealthAndBeautyMatters.com

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    Replies
    1. Thank you very much for your comment! it means a lot. could you please follow my blog too c: thanks!

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  4. Love your blog Ellie! On the subject of meters, I use an Accu-Chek Mobile without test strips. You get a little cassette that fits in the meter and moves round to the next testing area on the strip whenever you open it. www.accu-chek.co.uk/gb/products/metersystems/index.html?product=mobile-silver It's also pretty quick to tell you when there's not enought blood to test!

    Maybe you should give it a try? One less fiddly thing to worry about!

    Kati

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    1. aw thank you! and yeah I really really want that meter. I'm going to see if I can get it on prescription c: because the testing strips are really expensive.

      Thanks so much for your comment. Could you follow my blog too please? C:

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  5. I honestly don't know much about those test strips or the glucose meters diabetics used because i don't have a diabetes but i know some people who have diabetes. I know it's a hard life but you make it sound easy. I'm wondering though how often you use those in a day? Anyway, i love your blog.

    - HealthAndBeautyMatters.com

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    1. Hello!
      Yes it is a hard life. It probably sounds "easy" from my point of view maybe because i try to stay optimistic about it. I can't sit around feeling sorry for myself all day because that gets you nowhere, you know? c: it's tough and I wish it would go away but it wont so i just have to make the best out of what i've got! c: I test my blood sugar about 4-6 times a day...sometimes more, so on average about seven test trips a day? c: and thankyou that means a lot!

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  6. Thanks for sharing nice information about blood test strips for diabetics test with us. i glad to read this post.

    ReplyDelete