Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Snow Blows And Juice Reserve Lows~

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Yep, these make me feel safe…. Just in case~
The east coast is prepping for a snow storm - People are rushing around trying to fill their cars up with gas and  making a mad dash to the grocery stores to buy enough food and toilet paper so they can get the hell home and honker down. 
And I’m right there with them. Yep, snow is pretty in doable amounts, but in massive doses and sans mountainous regions, snow totally blows.
I already knew I had enough back up insulin/pump supplies and test strips - but I double checked last night just to make sure.  
This morning I filled up my gas tank on the way to work. On my way home ( early out due to the weather), I stopped at the grocery store - Which wasn’t as crowded as I thought because everyone else had gone last night. 
I hadn't gone food shopping since before I left for California and loaded up on Almond milk, eggs, bread, Italian flatbread loaded with veggies and cheese, 2 whole grain blueberry muffins, oranges, chips and all the makings for my faux cream of broccoli soup. 
But here’s where a grocery list would have really come in handy. 
When I got home and unloaded my groceries, I realized that I only had about 25 ounces of cranberry juice in the fridge and no back up - And I wasn’t comfortable with that, not one bit. 

Now I don’t down juice like water, but I do add a dash of cranberry to my seltzer water, and occasion, to my seltzer water and red blood orange vodka martinis, but I digress. 
Bottom line: I feel safe having juice on hand for low blood sugars and always stock up. 
 I was mad at myself - I always have backup juice in my pantry, ALWAYS. Except for today. 
The snow had started to fall and stick, it was getting slippery out & the wind had picked up and sounded fierce.
I put my coat back on, braved the elements and walked to the deli down the street & bought myself three 16 ounce bottles of Nantucket Nectar Cranberry juice - JUST IN CASE. 
And on my way home I started thinking: What if I didn’t live near a deli? What if I couldn’t go out and get back up juice? What would I do then? 
When I got back home I took off my coat, put the Nantucket in the fridge and checked out the rest of my pantry supplies. 
I saw lots of dry goods. Cans of beans- black and cannelloni, tomatoes - crushed, whole peeled and paste. Tuna, vegetable broth, brown rice, a couple boxes of low carb pasta and a jar of Italian roasted peppers I'd totally forgotten about but was very happy to find. 
All great for meals - but not fab to quick treat lows. 
The next shelf had 2 bottles (more like 1.5 bottles because one was half empty) of glucose tabs - YAY! But on the flip side, the unopened bottle was a store brand and in a flavor I wasn't fan of, hence the reason I've never actually opened it, Still, I was happy to have it. 
There was also a jar of applesauce; honey, peanut butter, a bottle of Canadian maple syrup, an opened box of Trader Joe’s Mini Gingerbread Men cookies & a box of steel cooked oats. 
The next shelf had a bag of Starbucks dark roast, fully loaded Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate (15 grams of carbs per packet) tea, lots of tea - both caffeinated and fruity herb, lots of spices & a box of sugar.
OK, I  thought, I can make all of the above work to treat lows if I had to.  
I could make a cup of Swiss Miss hot chocolatey deliciousness or I could make fruity herb tea and dump copious amounts of sugar or honey and throw it back like a juice-box sans the straw.  
Speaking of honey, I could do honey straight from a spoon if I had to - same goes for the maple syrup. I’m already a fan of peanut butter and honey on a spoon, not to mention applesauce. 
The glucose tabs were a no brainer, so were the gingerbread men. 
Yep, I was covered. 
Still.... I’m glad I went out and bought the extra bottles of cranberry juice - Having those bottles of juice in the house made me feel safer. 
As a PWD (person with diabetes) who lives alone - It’s up to me to take care of myself, regardless of my diabetes, crazy weather or forgotten grocery items. 

So am I the only one who gets OCD when it comes to having food and food for treating lows - And back-ups of both, especially when there's a storm coming
And what’s your low blood sugar back-up in case your run out of your low blood sugar go-to’s? 

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Wow, sounds like a lot of the same items in my pantry. If I'm low and don't have my fruit snacks, starbursts, or juice I'll go right for a spoonful of honey. Depending on how bad it is I'll probably just go right for the honey and say screw the peanut butter.

Laddie said...

Your post is a reminder that no matter how many technological gadgets we have like BG meters, pumps, CGM's, there is the fact that we Type 1's are vulnerable. We wouldn't survive very long if a catastrophic disaster destroyed our insulin supplies and we had no way of getting more. And it's so ironic that we have a condition that makes our bodies unable to handle sugar, but at the same time we might die without sugar when needed to treat a low.

I don't let these vulnerabilities overwhelm me and. I know you don't either. And I am glad to know that you have extra bottles of Cranberry Nectar to keep you safe. Being over-prepared is how we make it from day to day.

Stay warm:-)

StephenS said...

I like the cranberry... It helps when my digestive system rebels too.

I'm at the point where, when a storm like this comes, I look at the pantry and the fridge. If there's enough stuff there to treat lows, I don't worry about the rest. Probably a little too cavalier (I've been caught off guard after hurricanes), but I try not to worry too much or I'll drive myself crazy. Good luck!

Scott E said...

I just stock up on glucose tabs...always have 3-4 jars in the house somewhere. If it comes down to survival mode, they'll do the trick. Granola bars are also a popular non-perishible stockpile item, but sadly I'm out of those. I almost never have juice in the house.

Yes, I like to make sure I have food to satisfy my hunger, but with a family of four I tend to stock up in large quantities anyway.

(And by the way, lows are inevitable in the snow. Had a 50s-grade low this morning after clearing the driveway, and a 50s-grade low last night.... after overestimating dinner)

k2 said...

Jess-
:)

Laddie -
I hear ya!

Stephen & Scott -
I try not to get all crazy about it!
Ironically Scott, I have 4 Kind Bars sitting in my pantry I just bought at whole foods.
But I can't eat them because 3 days after I purchased them, I went to the dentist & had two temporary crowns put on & I can't eat anything crunchy or nutty for a few weeks!

BBird said...

Last time I visited my endo he shoved handfuls of glucose tab samples at me, and this was just after I bought a bunch of glucolift.

I now have a bunch at work, in my car, I even gave some for the first aid box in my climbing gym. I think I'd have to work pretty hard to run out.