Life and Diabetes Hacks - AKA, Chilled Sharpie Marker FTW & My Sanity

I’ve been tweeking things up as of late in life and life with diabetes  - and by “tweeking,” of course I'm talking about life hacks. 

Nothing crazy, but still - little changes = big ones. 

Chilled Sharpie Marker FTW & My Sanity

I’ve started keeping a Sharpie Marker in the fridge, on the shelf where I keep my insulin. 

That way every time I start a new insulin bottle I can mark the date the bottle was started on the bottle and the box - no more wondering when said bottle was opened, or not being able to remember which insulin was the one that was temporarily lost in the fridge and required opening a new one, and not being able to remember what was which, when the lost bottle was found.  

**I also keep spare insulin reservoirs and a couple needles in the fridge because it saves me some extra steps. I can fill up my insulin reservoir while standing at my fridge. Sanity saving for sure.

Switching from Juice Boxes To Cute Little Juice Cans

I recently switched from juice-boxes to aluminum bottles of Dole© Pineapple juice cans - and keep 2 by my bed - just in case. 

The reason for the switch was easy. 

One day I went to the local grocery store and they were out of my favorite juice-boxes. Bummer, until I noticed the little Dole©  Pineapple juice cans on the bottom shelf.

1. They cost the same price as juice bottles
2. I think they are recyclable
3. 6 ounces each with 24 grams of carbs, one usually is all I need to treat a middle of the night low, but YDMV
4. The cans are more durable (as in they don’t get smashed, especially when I toss one in my bag to go for a workout,) and they remind me of my childhood.

No More Bottled Water For Me

I made the switch to Brita filtered water bottles and Brita filter pitchers quite some time ago and I couldn’t be happier. 

I still feel guilty about all the plastic bottles of water I’ve been responsible for over the years, but at least I’m no longer adding to the problem.

The Brita Sports bottles are 20 ounces, come with their own replaceable water filters and they pay themselves 10 fold. 

I believe mine cost $8.99 each and I cannot remember the last time I purchased bottled water. 

I also have a really nifty Thermos Water Bottle with a flip lid that holds 20+ ounces and allows me to add up the times I refill it via a twisty cap that keeps track. VERY cool and both Brita and Thermos bottles are PBA free. 

Speaking Of Bottled Water And Not Buying It 
I now only buy seltzer water in packages of 12,12 ounce cans.  Soda companies like Coke and Pepsi see the sparkling water marketing growing larger every year and are jumping on it - said companies (and others,) are down sizing the cans in both can size and cans per package, so they can make more money. I won’t purchase from those companies because that’s a crappy thing to do to their customers.  

Back To Filtered Water

I keep a recycled glass 64 ounce milk bottle in the  fridge filled with filtered water because EVERYTHING TASTES BETTER IN GLASS. 

Speaking of Water And Keeping Hydrated 

For as much water as I drink (and I drink freaking tons,) not to mention I moisturize like crazy, my skin is still very dry. 

I think my dry skin has to do with diabetes and being on several different medications to stay healthy. 

I’m trying out some different options and will report back on my findings, so stay tuned~

Breakfast and Morning Snacks Upgrade, Thanks To Summer Fruits and Veggies

Not really change, but still worth sharing. 

Every morning I make a fresh smoothie with frozen blueberries or what every fruit I’ve purchased at the local farmers market and lots of fresh basil and mint and protein powder -it’s yummy quick and easy to bolus for. 

And when I feel like grazing mid morning - I have a kind bar and about  3/4‘s of a cup of sweet yellow grape tomatoes. 

I get almost 2 servings of veggies from those sweet delicious tiny tomatoes and damn if they aren’t tasty!

My Canned Tuna Ah-HA Moment - GAME CHANGER

So back May when I had my surgeries and stayed with my friends for a few days to recover - I discovered something that changed my tuna salad loving, life!

My friends C & D keep their cans of tuna refrigerated,  that way when they make tuna salad, the tuna is already chilled. 

OK, this changed my life because in all of my years, my family NEVER kept canned goods in the fridge - they were always kept in the pantry. 

But over the years whenever I was hangry for a tuna salad, I would grab a can, drain it, throw some horseradish and mayo in (both already chilled,) and never had the patience to let the tuna salad chill - I’d end end up eating it slightly below room temp and some of the magic was gone. 

Now, I always throw the tuna cans right in the fridge - no need to wait for the tuna to chill. 

Tuna salad magic is back and seriously life changing! 

And you have any little life/ diabetes hacks you feel like sharing, that would be cool~ 

Diabetes MacGyverism #601: The Art & Convenience Of The Origami Pre-Filled Insulin Reservoir ~

Living with diabetes forces us to become creative and embrace our inner Diabetes MacGyver whenever and wherever we need to. Like Last week, when I was getting ready to go to a fundraiser and heard the all to familiar, 20 unit countdown alarm on my pump. Sometimes (and even though I hate, hate, hate to do it,) I find that I have to switch out my insulin reservoir when it’s hovering around 20 units or less because that particular reservoir seems to have lost its efficiency. 

Other times, my reservoir works perfectly - and I can go wear it until it’s down to 5 units.
FTR: I’ve talked to many people who wear different pumps re: this issue - this is not a  specific pump brand issue.
Sidebar: If I do have to switch it out around 20 units - I save the reservoir, calculate the bolus on my pump and manually inject the units because throwing out insulin is not an option.
The reservoir that was in my pump happened to be one of those amazing “good to the last drop,” reservoirs and my blood sugars were not only behaving, they were positively angelic - which of course meant my blood sugars could go all demonic at anytime, because diabetes. 
I was going out for dinner, I didn’t know what type of food was being served and I’d rather be safe than sorry when it comes to having enough insulin on my person and in my pump. 

I went to the fridge, grabbed my open bottle of insulin (which was on it’s last stand,) and filled a reservoir with the entire contents of the bottle- just over a hundred units of short acting insulin.

 Then I placed the reservoir back in its half opened wrapper....

and proceeded to origami the pre-filled reservoir all neat and pretty, and secured it with a fabric hair tie.

Then I placed the freshly filled reservoir in the small zippered compartment inside my handbag and said freshly reservoir was locked, ready to be loaded and now safe from handbag debris - and I was proud that I once again embraced my inner Diabetes MacGyver. 
I do this particular origami reservoir trick when I don’t feel like taking an entire bottle of insulin out with me - which is a lot and stems from me once losing 3/4 filled bottle of insulin over decade ago that had some how fallen out of my handbag and still haunts me to this day. 
If for some reason I needed to manually inject - I can still do that with the pre-filled reservoir, and if God forbid I lost it - I wouldn’t be freaking out as much as if I’d lost an entire bottle of insulin. 
I also do this trick when I’m flying. And YES, I keep my insulin bottles(s) in my carry-on bag AT ALL TIMES, but I find keeping an origami filled reservoir in small ziplock bag and tucked in a zippered compartment in said carry-on, makes it much easier to access and saves time when I’m uncomfortably crammed in a small space with limited elbow and leg room, and flying in a narrow, metal, germ filled tube of strangers. 
If you feel like sharing one of your Diabetes MacGyverisms, that would be great, because I'm all for learning something new and useful to add to my Diabetes MacGyver repertoire!